Interzone 211 the Michael Moorcock special

[Roy1]

July/Aug 2007 issue due out July 12

Cover Art: Interzone's striking new cover design starts with Richard Marchand's 'Lunar Flare' and leads with news that Interzone 211 is a special edition featuring Michael Moorcock, who was described by the late Angela Carter as "a lord of misrule, whose work is the nearest thing we have in English to a never-ending carnival."

Contents
Moorcock's name will trigger a host of associations for SF and other readers. He has given us the albino warrior Elric of Melniboné; the multiverse-traversing trickster-victim Jerry Cornelius; the genre-bending voyages of the Von Bek dynasty; the self-deceiving Colonel Pyat’s secret history of the last century; steampunk time traveller Oswald Bastable's exploits; 'Mother London', the magnificently mythic, affecting and optimistic celebration of life in that city and 'Behold the Man' a very relevant examination of the impulses for faith and martyrdom.
Unmentioned: the Hawkmoon books, the Dancers at the End of Time cycle or his, partly satirical, response to J.R.R. Tolkein's works, The Chronicles of Corum.
As editor of New Worlds (1964 - 1971), Moorcock strove to encourage sf with greater narrative and linguistic complexity.
A never-ending carnival indeed. But there's a lot more to Michael Moorcock's work than its variety. David Pringle, Interzone's former editor, was spot-on in calling Moorcock "the consummate professional entertainer", but what makes Moorock unique is his ability to combine dazzling, compelling and accessible storytelling with relentlessly challenging moral exploration.
This moral focus, always a defining aspect of Moorcock's work, has become more concentrated, more intense over the years. 25 years ago, in Interzone’s first issue, Moorcock was entering a new phase of moral engagement with his searing examination of sexual obsession, escapism and alienation, 'The Brothel in Rosenstrasse'. Since then we've had the rest of the Pyat quartet; the wonderful 'Mother London', Jerry Cornelius's hilariously angry outing in 'The Alchemist's Question'; the savagely satirical fable 'King of the City'; and an underrated but, for some, hugely influential polemic, 'The Retreat from Liberty'.
Talking of polemics, read Michael Moorcock's Guest Editorial, 'The March of the Whiteshirts'. It's a fascinating dissection of the deadening effect of cultural stasis and conformity over the past four decades, and a plea for a vibrant counterculture to challenge the domination of the 'Whiteshirts'. It makes an inspiring start to a cracking Moorcock special:

Michael Moorcock:
Guest Editorial: The March of the Whiteshirts
The Affair of the Bassin les Hivers (short story)
Lovers: A Memoir of Mervyn and Maeve Peake (extract from work in progress)
London, My Life! or The Sedentary Jew (extract from novel in progress)
Interviewed by Andrew Hedgecock: Staring Down the Witches (with unpublished photos)

In the rest of Interzone 211:

Original Fiction

Exvisible by Carlos Hernandez
illustrated by Fraser Warwick-Coombe
Deer Flight by Aliette de Bodard
illustrated by Stefan Olsen
Elevator Episodes in Seven Genres by Ahmed A. Khan
Knowledge by Grace Dugan
illustrated by David Gentry

Non Fiction

25 IZ: Celebrating 25 Years of Interzone, with contributions from John Picacio, Jason Stoddard, Paul Di Filippo, Eric Brown, Gwyneth Jones, Jamie Barras, Peter F. Hamilton, Ian R. MacLeod, Stephen Baxter.
Ansible Link by David Langford: news and gossip.
Mutant Popcorn by Nick Lowe: film reviews
Laser Fodder @ 500 RPM by Tony Lee: DVD reviews (NEW!)
Scores by John Clute: book reviews
Interview Richard Morgan on Black Man/Thirteen, by Andrew Hedgecock

Bookzone: more book reviews
Mangazone by Sarah Ash: manga reviews
Coming soon with double page spreads, and... for subscribers only, a bookmark!

Overall, 4 more pages than usual, at 68, matt art paper, plus gloss sealed cover and printed in full colour throughout.

[Roy1]

It's in the shops now, so go out and buy it asap.

Review on Tangent at http://www.tangentonline.com/index.p...096&Itemid=260 and http://www.tangentonline.com/index.p...097&Itemid=284

[Roy1]

Another review at SF Diplomat: REVIEW : Interzone Issue 221 (July-August 2007) - Michael Moorcock Special

Note that 221 is a typo, should be 211. (221 would be May 2010)

PS copies available in both Borders and Foyles on Charing Cross Road, London and also in Waterstones, Deansgate Branch, Manchester (1st floor counter).

Let me know if you see them elsewhere.

[Anthony G Williams]

I've posted my views of Interzone 211 on my blog.

[Roy1]

Well done Anthony, there's a link on the TTA forum to your review