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The Last IROSF
Thursday, 11 February 2010 11:03Well, We Knew It Was Coming... To An End
Last month I mentioned that The Internet Review of Science Fiction was going to end its run with the February 2010 issue. Alas, that day has come. But it's still worth checking out IROSF, since there is still a February 2010 issue.
Of course, any magazine worthy of the title "Review" should contain reviews -- and IROSF did. Both in terms of current short fiction and analytical and retrospective discussions of science fiction. I think what I was anticipating missing most was Lois Tilton's short fiction review column. But...
Locus magazine already has lots of reviews in its pages -- Lois Tilton's comments will provide them with another set of reviews in the online pages.
Then again there's the case of Kristine Kathryn Rusch, whose column is entitled "Here We Go Again" this month:
How normal? Consider Ellen Datlow's comment posted to Kristine's column:
I'm sure we haven't heard the last of that argument. (grin)
A Last Hurrah -- And Three Cheers For The Folks At IROSF
So let us raise the metaphorical glass in praise of IROSF and all those who contributed. Though this venue will fall silent with new content, we can hope that the years of content for IROSF will continue to be a resource for some time to come. And those who wrote columns will surely, as others have noted, write again.
Dr. Phil
Last month I mentioned that The Internet Review of Science Fiction was going to end its run with the February 2010 issue. Alas, that day has come. But it's still worth checking out IROSF, since there is still a February 2010 issue.
Of course, any magazine worthy of the title "Review" should contain reviews -- and IROSF did. Both in terms of current short fiction and analytical and retrospective discussions of science fiction. I think what I was anticipating missing most was Lois Tilton's short fiction review column. But...
Despair not, gentle reader, we knew that a reviewer of Lois' caliber would not languish in obscurity. Henceforward, her reviews can be found at Locus Online. We all congratulate Lois for this transition, and look forward to her future efforts.
Locus magazine already has lots of reviews in its pages -- Lois Tilton's comments will provide them with another set of reviews in the online pages.
Then again there's the case of Kristine Kathryn Rusch, whose column is entitled "Here We Go Again" this month:
I'm going to write two essays like this in two months. This is the first; the second is for my column in Baen's Universe. Both magazines are going away, both for different reasons.
If I were the pessimistic sort, I'd think I'll never work again. Or that internet magazines are doomed. Or that magazines in general are doomed. Or that writing is doomed.
But as anyone who has read this column through its first incarnation in Æon and now here at IROSF knows, I'm a realist. I know magazines come and go, markets come and go, and that's normal.
How normal? Consider Ellen Datlow's comment posted to Kristine's column:
Hi Kris,
Actually Baen's Universe was not "one of the first online magazines to pay well and get excellent fiction;"-not by a long shot.
Maybe the 5th?
OMNI Online,
Event Horizon
SCIFICTION
Strange Horizons
Those were the first.
Cheers
Ellen
I'm sure we haven't heard the last of that argument. (grin)
A Last Hurrah -- And Three Cheers For The Folks At IROSF
So let us raise the metaphorical glass in praise of IROSF and all those who contributed. Though this venue will fall silent with new content, we can hope that the years of content for IROSF will continue to be a resource for some time to come. And those who wrote columns will surely, as others have noted, write again.
Dr. Phil
