Space Imagined gets a fair bit of mail, so much that we've decided it's high time to follow in the footsteps of print SF magazines and establish a letter column.

On to our first batch of letters, then . . .

-- Edward Merryweather

The authorship of Fantastic Voyage is kind of a weird story that's had people confused for years.

Like you I miss Isaac too. Like you I never knew him personally, but felt I did through his very personal way of writing.

As a young kid growing up on the violent gang warfare streets of Phoenix, Ariz., in the late 1970s, Isaac Asimov's magazine and his monthly columns were a secret pleasure I kept to myself. Reading Isaac made me know that there were far better things in the world that I could attain the very moment I saw a chance for escape.

Once I was old enough to join the military I did so, allowing me to extract myself not only from my environment, but also allowing me to separate my years of mindset from one way of living to another. Not that the Navy itself was such great shakes or that the people were in anyway superior, but it took me from drowning in mud to at least being able to swim through it and finally out of it.

Foolishly, since I had been aware of him throughout my late childhood and teenage years, I always thought that I had plenty of time to someday meet him in person. He and Ray Bradbury were my two connections to my own humanity in their writings and I don't think they (or perhaps any writer) truly understand the profound effect they can have on someone's life. I never got the chance to meet Isaac for that 5 second handshake.

Soon after I did get the chance to meet Ray Bradbury at a book signing (U of A, Tucson, Ariz.). He not only signed everybody's books, but since he had nowhere else to go (he was also due to give a speech a few hours later) he hung around chatting and listening to whoever wanted to talk to him.

Here I was, 6' 2", shaved head and looking every bit the hardcore biker and I start bashfully telling him (without trying to scare him off, HA!) what a great and positive effect he and Isaac had on my life.

Ray is no small man himself, and this big bear sized guy put his arm around my shoulder and said (of my gang years), "And that's all over now is it?" And of course, it was.

Since then I have become a published fiction writer in my own right. Life was worth making better. It was even worth the attempt.

Thanks for reminding folks once again about Isaac and keeping him fresh in all our minds.

A few things about your last paragraph however: Isaac wrote the novelization for Fantastic Voyage, turned down Woody Allen for co-writing the script (and science advisor, passed it on to his buddy Ben Bova) for Sleeper, and wrote a screenplay for the animated movie Light Years.

Lastly, he saw his Hugo award-winning story "Nightfall" turned into crap by Hollywood and swore off the town forever after.

-- Eddie McMullen

Now, we go from one of the grand old voices of SF to one of the newest. Here's a comment on our interview with Nalo Hopkinson:

As an African-American science-fiction fan I was pleasantly surprised to see the article on Nalo Hopkinson. Given your interset in the subject matter of Nalo's works I wondered if you were familiar with the works of Octavia Butler or Samuel Delany.

Just in case you have never heard of them check out: