THE EDITOR’S WORD by Mike Resnick

I am devastated to announce that Mike Resnick passed away a little after midnight on the morning of January 9th, 2020, due to cancer. I have  lost my mentor, my partner and a very good friend. A GoFundMe campaign for his medical costs is still active to help his family pay for medical bills.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mike-resnick-pay-off-a-neardeath-experience

The magazine will continue with the next issue (issue 43) being released in March.

Shahid Mahmud, Publisher

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Welcome to the seventh anniversary of Galaxy’s Edge. We’re happy to present new and newer writers including Tara Calaby, P.A. Cornell, Liviu Surugiu, Sean Patrick Hazlett, Michael A. Clark, and Robert P. Switzer, as well as old friends Robert Silverberg, Joe Haldeman, Mercedes Lackey, and Gregory Benford. We also feature our regular Recommended Books, science, and literary columns, the Joy Ward interview, and the next installment on Jack Chalker’s megaseller Midnight at the Well of Souls.

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The thought occurred to me while laying out the magazine that there was no reason to run only one poem by a previous Worldcon Guest of Honor. So, therefore…

A LIMERICK HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION

by Mike Wadsworth Resnick

1926 At the start, Hugo brought out Amazing,
In spite of some serious hazing
From lawyers and writers.
(It seems that the blighters
Sought cash for their written star-gazing.)

1939 John Campbell then surveyed the field,
And said, “Now this drivel must yield.
I shall draw a fine line
With writers like Heinlein,
And think of the power I’ll wield!”

1949 Tony Boucher at once saw the light,
And he said (sounding quite erudite):
“I don’t give a fig
If the concept is big—
My authors must know how to write!”

1950 Then Horace Gold quickly appeared,
And he wasn’t the failure we’d feared,
Galaxy was afire
With wit and satire—
And the poorer stuff all disappeared.

1964 Then along came Mike Moorcock, who said:
“SF is most certainly dead.
Who wants to re-hash
Even more of this trash?
I’ll give them the New Wave instead.”

1978 Judy-Lynn del Rey said, “Lester,
Our readers will never dig Bester,
But with cute fuzzy robots
There’s no ifs and no buts,
You’ll be a most happy investor.”

1984 A mirrorshade crowd made the scene,
And said, looking hungry and lean,
“With punks made of cyber,
And no moral fiber,
We’ll sweep the bestseller list clean.”

2016 When Lucas from college departed,
His vision to film was imparted;
The books have been pleasant,
But quite adolescent—
And now we’re right back where we started.