The SCIENCE FICTION BOOK CLUB NEWS

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Now here's a fascinating thing. The casual observer might well discard utterly the rather unnattractive SCIENCE FICTION BOOK CLUB NEWS without a second glance as being little more than an advertising throwaway. I almost did myself. Until I realised that for a short bright moment it was an attempt to bring back some of the content and quality of the Golden Age of SCIENCE FICTION NEWS.

As indicated elsewhere the classic SCIENCE FICTION NEWS was absorbed into the all-encompassing READERS NEWS in May 1966. That latter title went through a variety of formats still incorpoating SFBC material until 1979 when SFBCN arrives.

The first issue of SCIENCE FICTION BOOK CLUB NEWS shelved off from READER'S NEWS is January 1979. As I understand it RN continued catering for several other book clubs under the general Readers Union umbrella, but it had obviously been felt that a separate publication for SFBC was useful. There is nothing in the text of the January 1979 issue to show that a new era has just dawned, but what we do have there is a nice little essay by Ian Watson on his THE MIRACLE VISITORS, that month's SFBC issue, and a column of news featuring the various sf awards of 1978, magazine information, film news, and details of the forthcoming 1979 Eastercon and Worldcon. This isn't just spacefiller, it is real information and clearly an attempt to ensure that SFBC members have the opportunity at least to involve themselves with the wider science fiction community

In the early part of 1979 none of this is attributed to anyone, although in later 1979 issues there is a specific request for letters and information to be sent to Paul Begg care of the Book Club, so one might reasonably assume he's the man due the compliment.

Many issues of SFBCN from January 1979 to January 1980 have real editorial content, and more - an editorial voice, apparently that of Paul Begg, who during his all-too-brief time of effort and influence at the SFBC for a while gave their SFBC information leaflet a real connection with the science fiction world at large. OK, we are talking about barely a few hundred words included in a double-sided advertising sheet mostly devoted to trumpeting the book club's wares, but it's something, yeah?

Unfortunately none of this could last. The amount of actual editorial matter - news and articles - starts to fall off rather quickly and the last News column appears in the January 1980 issue of SFBCN. The last time Paul Begg's name features as one to address letters to is September 1979.

Thereafter SFBCN seems just endless notices of the month's choice, extras and other backlist options - but surprisingly there is a brief resurgence in 1981, when from June to October the News column is reinstated. It doesn't have either the scope or character of what we might call the Begg Era, but does once include a list of 'fanzines' with a handy explanation of what they actually are. Is this the hand of Peter Roberts, once Britain's Hugest Name Fan and at the time a David & Charles employee?  Probably; in Ansible 12 of September 1980 -

"Peter Roberts explains his job: `No, I'm not in charge of the SFBC. As you might have guessed, nobody is.... All 10 Readers Union societies are run together, so I write copy for the SF newsletter along with the Sports, the Gardening et. al.... Look out for overuse of the word `eldritch' and other hallmarks of Roberts copywriting.'

Everything, even the relentless advertising of generally lesser-quality books by people who are now totally forgotten, comes to an end, in this case in December of 1982, the last issue of SFBCN though there's nothing to indicate that in its text. In the words of Peter Roberts, reported in Dave Langford's Ansible 28 of August 1982 -

"The last reprint selection will be in November, though members may be offered backlist books for some time after that. The Sportsmans BC is due to go as well, and the Country and Readers Union BCs have already gone. All four are (or were) reprint clubs, requiring members to buy a specific reprinted title every month or so, and that's basically an outmoded idea.'

 The absolute end - the last manifestion of the SFBC, the final sale.