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June 7, 2000

Convention Season

I can't recall the first genre fan convention I attended, but it was probably a Dr. Who con back in Chicago in the early '80s. I do remember that it was a lot of fun hanging out with other folks who (for the most part) were pretty normal and yet shared this sometimes-considered-weird love of the fantastic.

Since those bygone days, I've attended a double handful of other conventions, ranging from very small to gi-normous, show-specific to genre-wide, poorly run to slick-as-a-whistle, and I've always found it to be a very enjoyable experience.

Though cons are held year-round, summertime is traditionally the season for the really big science fiction/ fantasy/ horror/ comics/ gaming conventions, with stand-outs like Dragon*Con, Worldcon, Origins, GenCon, and others all vying for the thousands and thousands of potential visitors.

These gi-normous cons can be a bit daunting the first time you attend one, but most folks you'll meet will be glad to help you figure things out. Arrange a group outing, take a friend or two, or fly solo -- regardless, you'll probably end up knowing a few more people at the end of the con than you did going in. Maybe it's the nature of our type of fans, maybe it's the party atmosphere, or maybe I'm the exception, but I run across more outgoing, friendly, helpful people at these things than anywhere else I've been.

So, which cons will I be attending this season? Well, living in Atlanta and knowing some of the folks involved, I always end up at Dragon*Con (June 29-July 2). So if you're planning to attend, maybe we'll run into each other at the SG-1 panels. I'll be there (or at the B5 panels or mostly hanging around the board gaming), and I would love to put faces to some of the names in our little community.

After that, at the tail end of the season, is the BIG one, of course. GateCon. September 22-24. Vancouver, BC. First-ever strictly Stargate SG-1 convention. Lots of guests, lots of familiar names from the forums, mailing lists, fan fiction sites. Bodes well to be an absolutely amazing experience, especially if you're as addicted to this whole thing as (cough cough) some of us are.

Boy, do I want to be there. I am still trying to work it out, between available vacation, expenses, general logistics. We'll have to see. *grin*

-- Meli

The Book Nook

I thought it was about time we had a few more fiction books on the list, so this month I'm presenting two novels that are... a little different. There's nothing specifically Stargate-ish about them, but they're both very good, fun books.

Dark of the Gods by P.C. Hodgell (June 2000)

PC Hodgell has long been one of my favorite authors. Unfortunately, the first two novels in her Kencyr series (Godstalk and Dark of the Moon) have been out of print for quite awhile, and the third book (Seeker's Mask) was never released via the mass market.
Enter Meisha Merlin Publishing (see the Special Note above). They are releasing an omnibus containing the first two novels and the short story "Bones" in both trade paperback and signed hardcopy. Yippee!

Meisha Merlin Publishing / ISBN 1892065258
The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse by Keith Hartman (June 2000)

Ok, I may be a bit partial to this one because it takes place in Atlanta and was written by a local resident. But it's also just a darn good read. Funny, fast-paced, intriguing -- it'd pretty much have to be to combine a gay private investigator, his missing Wiccan partner, their evangelical rock star client, a Cherokee shaman, and a serial killer with occult tendencies as successfully as it does.

Meisha Merlin Publishing / ISBN 1892065053