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Acolyte, v. 1, issue 4, Summer 1943
Page 27
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FANTASY FORUM There has been considerable misapprehension of [[underline]]The Acolyte's[[end underline]] rating system. We realize that it is not perfect, but it is the only system that enables us to take a letter of comment and convert it into figures. The best item in the issue scores 5; second and third best, 4 and 3 respectively; favorable mention, 2; unfavorable mention, -3. Only one item may receive a 5, but there may be any number of 4's, 3's, 2's, or -3's. It has also been suggested that -3 is a heavy penalty to pay for one person's dislike, but one must consider that if an item grates one someone to the extent that he will write a special letter to say so, -3 is a very generous allowance. Be all this as it may, the system will stand as before. The third issue worked out as follows: (cumulative totals): [[left column]] Poetry and the Artistic Ideal...84 Music of the Stars...61 The Snake...54 Mime of Sleep...53 Within the Circle...51 Little-Known Fantaisistes...47 Claimed...45 Cover...42 [[right column]] Angkor Thom...42 Variety Is The Spice...39 Superstitious?...27 Keeper of the Gate...34 Cracks--Wise and Otherwise...29 Editorial...23 Canada Calling...22 Night...13 The Summons...3 Ratings through the courtesy of: R. Wright, child, Swisher,Lyon, Sinn, Miller, W. Evans, Ackermann, Widner, Shaw, Wakefield, Mason,Betts, Warner, Bronson, Lamb, Derleth, Hornig, Cunningham, Bovard, Jenkins, Holby, Sykora, Banister, van Vogt. -oOo- The three [[underline]]Acolytes[[end underline]] are proud to present our letter section this time, and believe that you folks are going to have to do some massive correspondence to top it in our next issue. -oOo- I observe the present criticism and villification of so-called science-fiction, and wonder if anybody really knows what science-fiction is. Back in the days of the great experimenter, Hugo Gernsback, [[underline]]Amazing Stories[[end underline]] was put on the market as a popular medium for presenting to the general public reprints of such famous stories as Wells' [[underline]]War of the Worlds[[end underline]] and the Jules Verne epics. Now it is certain that these men had something to say when they wrote. Unfortunately, they did not, in their time, write enough to last a magazine forever. Therefore, an alarming shortage appeared imminent in this type of literature. At the same time, the magazine was doing wonderfully well, and couldn't be discarded simply because there were no more stories to reprint. Therefore a few well-known authors were band-bred to the task of producing this type of fiction. It was not long before every possible plot had been written. Every world and dimension had been visited. Every type of fantastic machine had been invented and discarded for something better. Science-fiction probably reached its end when it succeeded in working itself to the ultimate end of time. At first, you doubtless remember, stories were laid a few years in the future. This future kept growing more and more distant. One writer described the world as a hundred years from now, another leaped a thousand, and another took ten thousand or a million. And what did they discover? That only so far could they go, then history must repeat. Humanity could become only so civilized, then it had nothing more to strive for and needs must die out. And right then, science-fiction died out with it, after all possibilities had been explored. Who wants to read of the future a hundred years distant when his imagination is already sated with the million-year future? Now you see what has happened. Present writers are just digging over the terri- -- 27 --
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FANTASY FORUM There has been considerable misapprehension of [[underline]]The Acolyte's[[end underline]] rating system. We realize that it is not perfect, but it is the only system that enables us to take a letter of comment and convert it into figures. The best item in the issue scores 5; second and third best, 4 and 3 respectively; favorable mention, 2; unfavorable mention, -3. Only one item may receive a 5, but there may be any number of 4's, 3's, 2's, or -3's. It has also been suggested that -3 is a heavy penalty to pay for one person's dislike, but one must consider that if an item grates one someone to the extent that he will write a special letter to say so, -3 is a very generous allowance. Be all this as it may, the system will stand as before. The third issue worked out as follows: (cumulative totals): [[left column]] Poetry and the Artistic Ideal...84 Music of the Stars...61 The Snake...54 Mime of Sleep...53 Within the Circle...51 Little-Known Fantaisistes...47 Claimed...45 Cover...42 [[right column]] Angkor Thom...42 Variety Is The Spice...39 Superstitious?...27 Keeper of the Gate...34 Cracks--Wise and Otherwise...29 Editorial...23 Canada Calling...22 Night...13 The Summons...3 Ratings through the courtesy of: R. Wright, child, Swisher,Lyon, Sinn, Miller, W. Evans, Ackermann, Widner, Shaw, Wakefield, Mason,Betts, Warner, Bronson, Lamb, Derleth, Hornig, Cunningham, Bovard, Jenkins, Holby, Sykora, Banister, van Vogt. -oOo- The three [[underline]]Acolytes[[end underline]] are proud to present our letter section this time, and believe that you folks are going to have to do some massive correspondence to top it in our next issue. -oOo- I observe the present criticism and villification of so-called science-fiction, and wonder if anybody really knows what science-fiction is. Back in the days of the great experimenter, Hugo Gernsback, [[underline]]Amazing Stories[[end underline]] was put on the market as a popular medium for presenting to the general public reprints of such famous stories as Wells' [[underline]]War of the Worlds[[end underline]] and the Jules Verne epics. Now it is certain that these men had something to say when they wrote. Unfortunately, they did not, in their time, write enough to last a magazine forever. Therefore, an alarming shortage appeared imminent in this type of literature. At the same time, the magazine was doing wonderfully well, and couldn't be discarded simply because there were no more stories to reprint. Therefore a few well-known authors were band-bred to the task of producing this type of fiction. It was not long before every possible plot had been written. Every world and dimension had been visited. Every type of fantastic machine had been invented and discarded for something better. Science-fiction probably reached its end when it succeeded in working itself to the ultimate end of time. At first, you doubtless remember, stories were laid a few years in the future. This future kept growing more and more distant. One writer described the world as a hundred years from now, another leaped a thousand, and another took ten thousand or a million. And what did they discover? That only so far could they go, then history must repeat. Humanity could become only so civilized, then it had nothing more to strive for and needs must die out. And right then, science-fiction died out with it, after all possibilities had been explored. Who wants to read of the future a hundred years distant when his imagination is already sated with the million-year future? Now you see what has happened. Present writers are just digging over the terri- -- 27 --
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