I’ve ranted and roared about Great Big Sea’s albums before, so it should come as no surprise that I had high expectations for Saturday’s live show at the Music Mill.

Ladies and gentlemen, I was not disappointed.

Saturday night was their last show of the tour, and they did not hold anything back, through two one-hour sets and two encores.  Both the band and the sold-out crowd were bouncing up and down by the end of the night; everyone in the room was obviously having a wonderful time. Every single member of the band was rock-solid, even if one or two were a bit rough around the edges after the long haul. Each one of them still managed a lot of eye contact and interaction with the crowd. Of course, in a venue when you can come right up to the edge of the stage, it’s hardly surprising, but I was far off to one side and near the back, and couldn’t have been more involved if I were front and center.

We got songs from almost every album, as well as “Walk on the Moon,” which will be on the next album. (And I assure you, I’ll be first in line at amazon to buy it.) We had songs about pirates (as Alan said, what concert is complete without a song about a pirate), dead horses, berry-picking, and nagging wives. We had slow love songs and fast drinking songs.

I can only hope that they’ll come back to Indy when the next album comes out. If they do, that’ll be my elbow in your ribs as I cut in line for tickets. 

Greetings and welcome to the new ShotgunReviews.com. Since 1999, we’ve done our best to give you worthwhile (and often funny) reviews and columns, and it’s time to shake off the rust and do it a little differently. We’ve kicked around a few ideas regarding how we’d do this new thing, and we hope you like what you see.

The new design comes to us from Barb Hallock, a student of mine with the appropriate attitude for this place (that is, bad). The more bloggish format puts us more on par with the current landscape. After all, we’ve been doing this almost eight full years. It was time for a big change. I think that you’ll agree that the new format, with a huge list of categories and easy searching, is a good one.

As part of that big change, we’ve brought in an influx of new talent from a variety of places. The entirety of our Best Shots team, responsible for the Best Shots column that runs every Monday at Newsarama.com, is now operating here in several capacities. You’ll also meet several talented young writers, including Barb herself, who will be tackling a variety of topics.

However, if you’re one of the rare folks that has read us since 1999, don’t get too worried. Shawn Delaney will still grace us with terrific music reviews, as will Jonathan Birdsong and the Lyrical Lounge crew. The Russ is back on wrestling coverage in full force. L.I. Rapkin’s already kicking in some culture. Eric Barker’s already opened the film vaults. And they aren’t the only familiar faces lurking around.

In the next few days and weeks, you’ll see the roster expand a little more and you’ll see some new recurring columns and features that we hope will become favorites. If you want to check out the old stuff, the old site currently still exists in its full glory under the archive button. If you want to talk about any of the stuff, old or new, visit our newly established forums.

So there’s my big speech. Enjoy yourselves, express yourselves, and invite friends. ShotgunReviews.com never went away, but we are most certainly back. Thanks for your time.

Brugge Brasserie
1011a East Westfield Blvd. (Underneath Netheads)
Indianapolis, IN

I’ve never been to Belgium, but I do have  a cookbook that alleges everyone there eats well. If the food at Brugge Brasserie is anything to go by, I have no difficulty believing it. The space is a bit small, and got crowded quickly on a Thursday night; I can’t imagine how they’d fit a Saturday-night crowd in. However, the tables are generously sized, and the decor is comfortable and warm with the contemporary, offbeat look we all expect in Broad Ripple restauants and brewpubs (Brugge is both, but I’m not qualified to review beer, so you’ll have to do your own research.)

Housemate and I started off with a small order of frites, and while McDonald’s may be right next door, the fries are a world apart. There was barely any grease and minimal salt, just a crisp, gorgeous exterior dotted with herbs and a light, soft interior. They taste like—gasp—real potatoes. Fresh mayonnaise is traditional, but there are plenty of choices, from homemade ketchup (nothing like Heinz 57 and much the better for it) and two kinds of aioli to hot curry and pesto. I think that frites (and fries, for that matter) are like sushi, in that it’s better to go someplace good than make it yourself, because even if you have the tools and skills make it at home, somehow it’s never quite the same. This is the place to go.

Housemate ordered the moules frites, which is two pounds of large mussels with a side of frites and a chunk of fresh, lightly toasted French bread. Again, there are many choices  for the broth in which they’re cooked—European classics include beurre blanc and Provencal (butter, shallots & garlic, chardonnay, and herbes de Provence) and global fusion options red curry and citron (lime/jalepeno/cilantro/onion). In my mind, two pounds is a truly enormous serving, so if you prefer to eat light, bring a like-minded friend. The mussels were perfectly done—by which I mean they had a texture and it wasn’t rubbery—and I don’t recall seeing any unopened ones.

My entree was the grilled chicken crepe with Roquefort, endive, spinach, and garlic aioli. Unfolded, the crepe would have been larger than the plate, and was solid but not heavy. There was a generous, but not excessive portion of filling, with plenty of vegetables and chicken that tasted like chicken, rather than industrial protein. The chef had a light hand with strong flavors, including the Roquefort and aioli, so that all the various flavors of the dish were balanced. With it, I had a glass of the Moselland Riesling, which was fruity without being overly sweet.

The menu also offers mitraillettes (sub-style sandwiches), soups, and salads, with a decent selection of vegetarian (but not vegan) crepes and sandwiches. The dessert menu is entirely sweet crepes, and I wavered between the Nutella and the crepes Suzette with mascarpone. In the end, I simply didn’t have room for either, but I have intent to go back…many, many times.

The Big Question with RJ Sawyer
Interview with: Li Rapkin

Li talks to author Robert J. Saywer about alternate history, writing, and why it’s great to be Canadian.

(more…)

The Big Quesiton with Dr. Catherine Asaro
Interview with: Li Rapkin

In which Li has coffee with the lovely and talented Dr. Catherine Asaro — physicist, dancer, mother, and award-winning science fiction author.

THE BIG Q&A

(more…)

The Big Question with Jack McDevitt
Interview with: Li Rapkin

THE BIG Q&A

Q1. Aspiring writers hear a lot about self-discipline, dedication, and professionalism when the pros talk about writing. An English or journalism degree is a great start, but new writers have a lot to learn that academia doesn’t cover. What are some of the things you’ve learned in the field, as opposed to the classroom?

A1. The kind of knowledge we’re talking about is hard to put into words. If you could, people could acquire their skills in an academic setting. But trying to become a writer by taking classes in creative writing is like trying to learn to drive by reading the driver’s manual. There’s literally everything to learn, and most of it simply cannot be taught.

The aspiring writer has to know how to stage dramatic moments, has to acquire a sense for the flow of language, and for the flow of dialogue. He has to learn how to get critical information to the reader without slowing the narrative down, or bringing it to a dead stop. He has to learn how to create human beings and get them down on a page. He has to be able to construct a plot that makes sense, how to motivate his characters, how to create characters that people will root for.

There’s a lot more, but none of this is very easy to put into a lesson plan. The best approach is probably to read as widely as one can –history, science, the great novels, probably some Greek drama– to write, and to watch the life around us. Watch how people react to problems and how they celebrate success. Listen to the way they speak. Get into their minds. Empathy is one of the basic tools anyone needs who plans to write fiction.

Q2. Have you ever considered writing for a visual medium-TV, film, or theater? Why or why not?

A2. No. I enjoy working with prose fiction and just have no ambition to go elsewhere. I like what I’m doing. Anything else would take time.

Q3. NASA, which is a civilian agency, has run into funding problems with its programs, resulting in the “faster, better, cheaper” paradigm and use of 20-year-old space shuttle technology. The Soviet Union funded its space program as part of the military, and while it had its problems, its status as a military agency had quite an effect on funding. What’s your take on civilian and/or private vs. military funding for space science, exploration, and development?

A3. I assume by military funding you mean that the government underwrites the expenses. Considering the costs involved, and with no serious prospect for offsetting profits, it seems to me that a national effort is the only way to go at present.

Q4. You’ve mentioned in some other interviews that as a kid, you enjoyed Flash Gordon serials. Were you or are you also interested in comics?

A4. I learned to read from Superman and Sheena back in 1940. Before I got to school. I’ve always believed that a lot of kids in my generation did the same. The comic readers were always way ahead of the vocabulary lists. At present I still have a fondness for the old comics. I enjoy reading an occasional JSA update, but it’s mostly nostalgia.

Q5. In the Foreword to the Meisha Merlin edition of Hello Out There, you wrote, “Who today would believe that a major power might seriously consider launching a pre-emptive strike over a question of weapons development, a scenario that was front and center in the original Hercules Text? Somehow it seemed not entirely implausible in 1985.” Now, President Bush wants to “update” the 1972 treaty that prevents the U.S. from developing a “Star Wars” missile defense system, despite the fact that even our allies are opposed to the prospect. Are we back where you started?

A5: I sincerely hope not, although in some ways the world in 1972 was less dangerous. The Atlantic carried a cover story some years ago titled “Why We Will Soon Miss the Cold War.” Its thesis was that, with the Soviets, we always knew who the bad guys were, who we had to negotiate with, and what the risks were. It made for stability.

I’m no fan of Soviet premiers, but they do deserve some credit. A long line of them combined with U.S. presidents to keep out of a hot war, and we owe our lives to their joint restraint.

Joint restraint is a lot harder to come by when you increase the number of participants (”players,” as the term seems to be), and everybody holds his cards under the table. The risks that armageddon may happen are, I think, considerably reduced from the 1970’s, but the possibility of isolated use of mass weaponry has increased. So it’s not a return to 1972, but we seem instead to be on a bus to a place with its own unique hazards. Not as potentially devastating, but more difficult to control.

Q6. You’ve written about archaeology in several of your novels-what about the subject captures your attention? Have you ever visited a dig?

A6: I’m fascinated by aliens. They are romantic, mysterious, edgy, utterly unpredictable. They are the reason we are so hooked on starflight. If we were somehow to establish that there are no aliens, that we are alone in the universe, most of us would immediately lose all interest in going to Vega.

But the problem with the alien is that as soon as you bring it on stage, it becomes a guy in a rubber suit. This is true whether we’re talking about movies or books. And at that point all sense of mystery and romance is lost. Some writers try to get around the problem by creating exotic logic systems, but then the creature simply becomes a guy in a rubber suit who is also incomprehensible to the reader.

My own solution is to keep the little green men offstage. That can be done by leaving them at a distance (as in The Hercules Text, where they’re a million light years away), or by arranging to have them either dead or missing. That’s where the archeology comes in. A ruin once inhabited by aliens is to me far more interesting than a full-blown civilization with alien patrols and alien taxis.

I’ve never been on a real dig, although I once participated in a mock dig on Mars (with real archeologists) during a meeting of the Asimov Seminar some years ago.

Q7. In the beginning of Infinity Beach, scientists are preparing to turn several stars into supernovae as part of a plan to search for intelligent life. One of the main objections from the opposition is that humanity will attract the wrong sort of attention. What’s your opinion of projects such as Voyager and SETI, which could attract the wrong sort of attention in real life?

A7: The universe would obviously be a safer place if we were the only ones in it. But I think the possibility of intelligent aliens being both hostile and (relatively) nearby is extremely unlikely. The level of reason required to achieve interstellar travel should be sufficient to preclude any possibility of attack, especially when one tries to imagine a motive for such an assault. Why would they bother? Surely we have nothing they can’t manufacture themselves. Even the notion of humans serving as food (think “To Serve Man”) for creatures with a different kind of digestive tract is far-fetched.

I’ve wondered how we’d respond as a society if SETI struck gold. And I suspect while the science and SF communities would get excited, the rest of the population would behave more or less in the same way they would if a new tribe were discovered along the Amazon.

Q8. What have you been reading lately?

A8: Pax Brittanica by Jan Morris; Dreamcatcher by Stephen King; A History of the American People by Paul Johnson; the Benjamin Franklin edition from the Library of America; The Great Design by Robert K. Adair; and Laurie King’s The Moor.

Q9. Deepsix just came out in March…what have you got in store for your readers?

A9: Live From Babylon will be out next year from Ace/Berkley. Priscilla Hutchins, from The Engines of God and Deepsix, gets into more trouble. More archeological trouble, I should add. This time with a very old starship.

Q10. You’ve had quite a variety of “day jobs”–customs inspector, taxi driver, English teacher, to name a few. Which was your favorite, and why?

A10: There were two. I enjoyed being an English teacher (and theater director). My former students still track me down on occasion. I had the good fortune to introduce some of them, when they were actively resisting reading, to Ray Bradbury and The Martian Chronicles.

It was magnificent to watch them come alive when that exploratory ship lands on Mars, near a town that has picket fences and a church steeple. And they open the hatch and hear a distant piano playing “Beautiful Dreamer.”

Doing supervisory and management training for the Customs Service was also rewarding. They have good people, and we used to spend our time talking about how you get employees (or kids) to work hard and produce results. Mostly, of course, it has to do with leading the way.

Q11. The Deep South has a reputation in other parts of the country as somewhat lacking in culture, and especially higher learning. How’s the view from early 21st Century Georgia?

A11: We’re looking at a bright future. The areas of the South with which I’m familiar are actively seeking to upgrade education. And the region that produced Willa Cather, Richard Wright, and William Faulkner, must be doing something right.

Websites:
http://www.sfwa.org/members/McDevitt
http://www.asisem.org/1996/jack.html
http://www.booksnbytes.com/authors/mcdevitt_jack.html

Family: Married to Maureen McDevitt.

Former Day Jobs: Naval officer, Philadelphia taxi driver, customs officer, motivational trainer, English teacher.

Hobbies: Chess, bridge, theater, movies, reading mysteries, lunch.

Professional Organizations: Science Fiction Writers of America

Awards: Arthur C. Clarke Award Finalist, Engines of God
2000, Phoenix Award for body of work
2000, Nebula Award nomination, Infinity Beach
1999, Nebula Award nomination, “Good Intentions”
1998, Darrell Award, Eternity Road
1998, SF/F Editor’s Choice, Moonfall
1998, Nebula Award nomination, Moonfall
1997, Nebula Award nomination, Ancient Shores
1996, Hugo Award nomination, “Time Travelers Never Die”
1996, Nebula Award nomination, “Time Travelers Never Die”
1991, UPC International Prize, “Ships in the Night”
1986, Philip K. Dick Special Award, The Hercules Text

Publishers: Eos
Harper Prism
Tachyon Publications
In Europe, Voyager

Novels

Deepsix, 2001
Infinity Beach, 2000 (UK Title; Slow Lightning)
Moonfall, 1998
Eternity Road, 1997
Ancient Shores, 1996
Standard Candles, 1996 (Anthology)
The Engines of God, 1995
A Talent For War, 1989
The Hercules Text, 1986 (Ace Special No. 7)
Hello Out There (contains a rewritten version of The Hercules Text and A Talent For War)

Novellas & Short Stories

“The Emerson Effect”, 1981
“Cryptic”, 1984
“Ships in the Night”
“Time Travelers Never Die”
“Good Intentions” (Co-written with Stanley Schmidt)

Nonfiction

“Twelve Blunders”

The Big Question with Harry Turtledove
Interview with: Li Rapkin

THE BIG Q&A

Q1. You’ve often described Byzantine history as one of the least marketable fields out there. What about the subject captured your attention so thoroughly as to result in a doctorate?

A1. I was about 15 when I found Lest Darkness Fall in a secondhand bookstore. I didn’t know much about this stuff then, and started trying to find out how much the author was making up and how much was real, and ended up getting hooked. So, basically, my academic career (and much of my writing, and my meeting my wife and having the kids I have–details, details) is L. Sprague de Camp’s fault.

Q2. A vast number of alternate history novels are set in (or based on) World War II, the American Civil War, or prehistoric times. What do you think makes these three eras so appealing as settings for alternate history?

A2. Don’t know about prehistoric times; that covers a lot of ground. But the Civil War is the great chokepoint of U.S. history; we are what we are, for better and for worse, because of what happened and how it happened in those four crowded years. Had it happened differently, in a variety of different ways, we’d be different now. People think the same thing about WW2. It’s certainly true, but WW2 is only the second act of the 20th century. The First World War is even more important, but overshadowed in our memory by the more recent conflict.

Q3. What other historical periods or events do you think hold a lot of potential for alternate history?

A3. World War I, as I noted above. The “fall of the Roman Empire.” A possible industrial revolution in Hellenistic times, and what might have come from it. A Spanish victory in the Armada. A world where Bolshevism didn’t succeed in Russia. A world where nuclear physics didn’t get off the ground, and we’ve already fought a conventional WW3.

Q4. It seems to me that one of the most difficult parts of writing alternate history would be extrapolating the results of a single change, while keeping your story believable, especially considering how many improbable and unbelievable events have occurred in “real” history.

A4. This is certainly true. All history has to do is happen. Fiction has to be plausible, too. If anyone wrote a novel in 1999 setting out the 2000 election in detail, no editor would have bought it because it would have seemed too unlikely.

Q5. What do you consider a promising “breaking point” from real history? For example, what made the dropped dispatch a better jumping-off point for How Few Remain than changing the outcome of a battle?

A5: The point is, if the despatch hadn’t been lost, the battle would have happened somewhere else, and under different conditions, which is the key to the breakpoint. Changes should be made at places that are both interesting and would have important consequences if they happened differently.

Q6. You’re a frequent guest at science fiction conventions, including your turn as Toastmaster at last year’s WorldCon in Chicago. What’s your perception of the fan community?

A6: They’re bright people who like to think, like to read, like to find books that make them think, and like to get together with others of their own kind. I fit into that group fairly well, I believe, though I’m more social caterpillar than social butterfly.

Q7. How does the experience of collaborating with another author compare to writing solo?

A7: A collaboration, somebody said, is a book where both partners do 100% of the work. With luck, you manage to get both writers’ strengths and neither writer’s weaknesses. I’ve done relatively little, but I’ve been pleased with The Two Georges and especially with Household Gods, my recent work with Judith Tarr.

Q8. Your wife is also a professional writer, and one of your daughters won a writing contest at Chicon 2000. Any comments on the ups and downs of writing as a family business?

A8: If you can do it, writing is the best job in the world. You set your own hours, you can wear whatever you want, you get to run full-sensory movies in your head and write down what your characters see and feel and experience, and they pay you for it. What could be better? Whether the kids will be able to make a living at it remains to be seen. They have the talent, I think; they also need the desire and the discipline to make it go. Only time will tell if those are there, too.

Q9. For the past few years, you’ve had several series going, as well as producing stand-alone novels, short stories, and editing. How do you keep up with your publishing schedule?

A9: The short answer is, I’m obsessive-compulsive, probably in the clinical sense. People laugh when I say that, which doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

Q10. How do you think the publishing industry is going to look ten or twenty years from now, given that there are so many relatively new media, such as the Internet and e-books?

A10: As far as I know, nobody is yet making a living from the Internet or e-books. I have no idea what things will look like 10 or 20 years from now. I look forward to finding out.

Q11. Read any good books lately?

A11: Things I’ve read lately include Sabatini’s Scaramouche, le Guin’s The Telling, an oral history of Japanese life during WW2, and the letters of Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in the early 18th century. High on the to-read pile are a book about man-powered flight and another on the history of science in the Hellenistic period. I read all kinds of weird stuff, in other words.

Websites:
http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/turtledove.html
http://www.scifan.com/writers/tt/turtledoveharry.asp

Born: June 14, 1949, in Los Angeles, CA

Education: Ph.D., Byzantine History, UCLA, 1977. Dissertation: The Immediate Successors of Justinian: A Study of the Persian Problem and of Continuity and Change in Internal Secular Affairs in the Later Roman Empire During the Reigns of Justin II and Tiberius II Constantine (A.D. 565-582)

Family: Married to Laura Frankos, who writes mysteries. They have three daughters, Alison, Rachel, and Rebecca. Allison was born right before the 1984 WorldCon in Los Angeles, the first convention Dr. Turtledove attended.

Former Day Jobs: Professor of Byzantine History; Technical Writer for Los Angeles County Office of Education. Dr. Turtledove has been writing full time since 1991.

Professional Organizations: Science Fiction Writers of America (Treasurer 1986-1987)

Awards: 1996, Sidewise Award for Alternate History, Honorable Mention, World War series
1996, Hugo Award, Best Novelette, “Must and Shall”
1996, Nebula Award, Best Novelette, “Must and Shall”
1995, Sidewise Award for Alternate History, Honorable Mention, “Must and Shall”
1995, Sidewise Award for Alternate History, Honorable Mention, The Two Georges
1994, Hugo Award, Best Novella, Down in the Bottomlands
1993, John Esthen Cook Award for Southern Fiction, Guns of the South
1990, HOMer Award for Short Story, “Designated Hitler”

Pen Names: Mark Gordian, Eric Iverson, H. N. Turtletaub

Publishers: Baen Books, P.O. Box 1403, New York, NY 10471
Del Rey Books, 201 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022
Tor Books, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
In Europe, PO BOX 244, 1150 Vienna, Austria

Novels

1999, Household Gods (with Judith Tarr)
1998, Between the Rivers
1998, Justinian (as H. N. Turtletaub)
1997, How Few Remain
1997, Thessalonica
1995, The Two Georges (with Richard Dreyfuss)
1993, The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump
1992, The Guns of the South

Series Works
Gerin the Fox (as Eric Iverson)

Wereblood, 1979
Werenight, 1979
The Prince of the North, 1994
King of the North, 1996
Fox and Empire, 1998
Wisdom of the Fox (Werenight and The Prince of the North), 1999
Tale of the Fox (King of the North and Fox and Empire), 2000

Time of Troubles

The Stolen Throne, 1995
Hammer and Anvil, 1996
The Thousand Cities, 1997
Videssos Besieged, 1998

Tale of Krispos

Krispos Rising, 1991
Krispos of Videssos, 1991
Krispos the Emperor, 1994

Videssos

The Misplaced Legion, 1994
An Emperor for the Legion, 1994
The Legion of Videssos, 1987
The Swords of the Legion, 1987

War World

“Tribute Maidens,” War World I: The Burning Eye, 1988
“The Field of Double Sowing,” War World II: Death’s Head Rebellion, 1990
“Juchi the Accursed,” War World III: Sauron Dominion, 1991
“Hang Together,” Codominium: Revolt on War World, 1992
Bloodfeuds (with S.M. Stirling, Judith Tarr & Susan Shwartz), 1993
Blood Vengeance (with S.M. Stirling, Judith Tarr & Susan Shwartz), 1994
“Those Who Lose,” War World IV: Invasion, 1994

World War

In the Balance, 1994
Tilting the Balance, 1995
Upsetting the Balance, 1996
Striking the Balance, 1996
Colonization: Second Contact, 1999
Colonization: Down to Earth, 2001

Great War

American Front, 1998
Walk In Hell, 1999
Breakthroughs, 2001

Darkness

Into the Darkness, 1999
Darkness Descending, 2000
Through the Darkness, 2001

Fantastic Civil War

Sentry Peak, 2000
2 additional titles in work

Novellas & Short Stories

2000

“The Catcher in the Rhine”, The Chick is in the Mail
“A Different Vein”, Chicon 2000 Guest of Honor Book
“Farmers’ Law”, Crime Through Time III
“The Last Word”, Drakas!
“The Lieutenant”, The Touch

1999

“Drang von Osten”, First to Fight
“Forty, Counting Down”, Asimov’s
“Myth Manners’ Guide to Greek Missology #1″, Chicks ‘n Chained Males
“Twenty-One, Counting Up”, Analog

1998

“La Différence”, Did You Say Chicks?
“Ils Ne Passeront Pas”, Armageddon
“The Phantom Tolbukhin”, Alternate Generals

1997

“Elder Skelter”, George
“The Seventh Chapter”, Fantasy & Science Fiction

1995

“The Bleeding Moon”, Orphans of the Night
“Goddess for a Day”, Chicks in Chainmail
“The Maltese Elephant”, Analog
“Must and Shall”, Asimov’s
“Suffer a Sorceress”, Ancient Enchantresses

1994

“They’d Never–”, Alien Pregnant by Elvis

1993

“Down in the Bottomlands”, Analog
“Vermin”, Fantasy & Science Fiction

1992

“Breakups”, Unnatural Diplomacy
“Deconstruction Gang”, Amazing
“The Decoy Duck”, After the King
“The Green Buffalo”, The Ultimate Dinosaur
“In the Presence of Mine Enemies”, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
“In This Season”, Christmas Bestiary
“The Last Reunion”, Amazing
“A Massachusetts Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”, Alternate Kennedys
“Mebodes’ Fly”, Fantasy & Science Fiction
“Ready for the Fatherland”, Alternate Wars
“Secret Names”, Analog
“Two Thieves”, Tales of Riverworld

1991

“Gladly Wolde He Lerne”, Analog
“The Great Unknown, Part I”, Analog
“The Great Unknown, Part II”, Analog
“The Great Unknown, Part III”, Analog
“The Long Drum Roll”, The Fantastic Civil War
“Thirty Pieces”, Phases in Chaos

1990

“Designated Hitler”, Fantasy & Science Fiction
“The Emperor’s Return”, Weird Tales Spring 1990
“The Field of Double Sowing”, War World II: Death’s Head Rebellion 1990
“Half the Battle”, There Will Be War IX: After Armageddon 1990
“Island Of The Gods”, The Diplomacy Guild, 1990
The Pugnacious Peacemaker, Tor SF Double No. 20
“Reincarnation”, Amazing
“The Summer Garden”, Kaleidoscope

1989

“Counting Potsherds”, Amazing
“Curse of the Three Demons”, Arabesques 2
“Departures”, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
“Festival Night”, Spells of Wonder
“Islands in the Sea”, Alternatives
“Nasty, Brutish, And…”, Analog
“Nothing in the Night-Time”, Analog
“Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire”, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
“Precious Treasure”, Friends of the Horseclans 2
“Ten Times Over”, Amazing
“Trantor Falls”, Foundation’s Friends

1988

“After the Last Elf is Dead”, Weird Tales
“The Banner of Kaviyan”, Arabesques
“Batboy”, Fantasy & Science Fiction
“Clash of Arms”, New Destinies IV
“Freedom”, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
“Gentlemen of the Shade”, Ripper!
“The Girl Who Took Lessons”, Playboy
“King of All”, New Destinies VI
“The Last Article”, Fantasy & Science Fiction
“Lure”, Analog
“Not All Wolves”, Werewolves
“Trapping Run”, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine

1987

“Crybaby”, Twilight Zone
“Images”, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
“The Irvhank Effect”, New Destinies II
“Last Favor”, Analog
“The Report on Bilbeis IV, Part I”, Analog
“The Report on Bilbeis IV, Part II”, Analog
“The Report on Bilbeis IV, Part III”, Analog
“6+”, Analog
“Superwine”, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
“The Weather’s Fine”, Playboy

1986

“And So To Bed”, Analog
“Around the Salt Lick”, Analog
“The Barbecue, The Movie, & Other Unfortunately Not So Relevant Material”, Analog
“A Difficult Undertaking”, The Dragon
“The Eyes of Argos”, Amazing
“The Iron Elephant”, Analog
“Second Survey”, Analog
“Strange Eruptions”, Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine
“Thicker Than Water”, Fantasy Book
“Though the Heavens Fall”, Analog

1985

“Archetypes”, (as Eric Iverson) Amazing
“Bluff”, (as Eric Iverson) Analog
“The Castle of the Sparrowhawk”, (as Eric Iverson) Fantasy Book
“Hatching Season”, (as Eric Iverson), Analog
“Les Mortes d’Arthur”, (as Eric Iverson), Analog
“Noninterference”, (as Eric Iverson), Analog
“Notes from the General Secretariat”, (as Mark Gordian), Analog
“The R Strain”, (as Eric Iverson), Analog
“The Road Not Taken”, (as Eric Iverson), Analog
“Unholy Trinity”, (as Eric Iverson), Amazing
“Vilest Beast”, (as Eric Iverson), Analog

1984

“Herbig-Haro”, (as Eric Iverson), Analog
“Hindsight”, (as Eric Iverson), Analog

1983

“Blue Fox and Werewolf” (as Eric Iverson) Amazing
“Traditions”, (as Eric Iverson), Amazing

1982

“The Summer’s Garden”, (as Eric Iverson), Fantasy Book

1981

“Death in Vesunna”, (as Eric Iverson, with Elaine O’Byrne), Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine

1980

“Report of the Special Committee on the Quality of Life”, (as Eric Iverson), Universe 10
“Honeymouth” Pulphouse 9
“Gilgamesh and the Home Boys” Pulphouse 11

Nonfiction

2000, “Catherine Crook de Camp: An Appreciation”, Locus
2000, “Hox in Box”, The Bulletin
2000, “L. Sprague de Camp: An Appreciation”, Locus
1999 Essay on Writing How Few Remain, SFWA Bulletin
1999, with Geoffrey Landis and John Barnes, “Science: Looking Backward, One Must Be as Forward Thinking As When Looking at the Future,” Science Fiction Age
1998, “How I Do What I Do,” SFWA Bulletin
1997, editor, with Stanley Burstein, “Meeting with a King of Axum,” Ancient African Civilizations: Kush and Axum
1996 “Introduction” Lest Darkness Fall & To Bring the Light, L. Sprague de Camp & David Drake
1995, “How the Worldwar Series Came to Be,” Science Fiction News: Crystal Tower Issue 1
1992, with Laura Frankos Turtledove, “Pros and Cons of Being a Writer Couple,” SFWA Bulletin
1992, “Thank You,” Requiem, edited by Yoji Kondo
1987, “Historical Realism, or, Oh my God, Not Another Movement”, OtherRealms
1985 “The Date of Composition of the Historia Syntomos of Patriarch Nikephoros,” Byzantina kai Metabyzantina, 4: Byzantine Studies in Honor of Milton Anastos
1984, with Mary D. Martin, Patricia Cabrera and Joseph F. Payne, The Green Book: A Manual for School Districts on Developing Proposals for Special Funding
1983, editor, The Chronicle of Theophanes
1983, “Justin II’s Observance of Justinian’s Persian Treaty of 562,” Byzantinische Zeitschrift 76:2, pp.292-301
1983, “The True Size of a Post-Justiniac Army,” Byzantine Studies/Études byzantines 10, 216-22

10 Favorite Tool Names
by Li Rapkin

1. Knockout Punches

2. Flexible Rules

3. Gender Adapter Kits

4. Pop-Up Rods

5. Friction Rings

6. Penetrating Lubricant

7. Bare Butt Splices

8. Strip Joints

9. Bender & Hickey Handles

10. Shaft Protector Sets