Time Warp: The Gunslinger

Fantasy and Science Fiction
Date: February 1981
Cost: $1.50
King story: The Oracle and the Mountains
Also in this edition: Isaac Asimov
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ads of interest:
"Hypnotism revealed. Free illustrated details powers. . ."
"ESP Laboratory. this new research service group can help you. For free information write. . ." (hey, careful now, this might be a shadow ad for the Shop.)
"Mimeograph Press, type, write or draw you own full size pamphlets, newsletters, etc. SASE for details; shipped complete, $50." (Do you all remember mimeograph's? I do. . . from school.)
"Beautiful Mexican-Oriental ladies needing American husbands. Free details. . ." (Talk about time warp! That's pretty blatant, though.)
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Articles of interest:
Next to the King story, my greatest interest was Baird Searles' article "Films, strike stricken." He was sad about an actors strike. In fact, poor Searles writes, "So here I am, nearing my deadline and no new season on which to report. Well, not quite true. PBS apparently being above such sordid things as labor disputes, did indeed debut a new series which is of peripheral interest to this column." (The series he was referring to was Cosmos, by Carl Sagan.)
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What is interesting reading this column is that a reporter would be stumped by a actors strike. No cable television to bridge the gap
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Story of interest:
I did enjoy Michael Armstrong's Short story, "Absolutely the last, this is it, no more, the final pact with the devil story." Yes, that's really the story. And it's wonderfully strange. It's a series of short letters between and editor rejecting a story and the author. Today this correspondence would be done by email.
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The King entry:
It is interesting to me that Fantasy and Science Fiction was the place where these stories were published. I don't think there was any way to know the King story was upcoming -- if you subscribed to F&SF, then you just got a nice surprise. But, a strange one, since you had to keep up with a story that was last printed years earlier!
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What are the time warp posts? -- http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2010/05/time-warp.html