ArmadilloCon 47 - 2025 September 12-14

Soon after I moved to Austin in 2011 and joined some local clubs in my interest areas  IEEE Fellow Kurt Baty invited me to attend ArmadilloCon. I replied, "I went to a Trekker con, and it was OK, but it is not really my thing." And he said, "Mike, this is not like any other science fiction convention. No one will be in Starfleet uniforms signing autographs. This is just for writers, artists, editors, and publishers--and, of course, readers." He was right. 

"Heresy! In the SFF Canon" - Linsey Miller, Jacob Weisman, Tracy Morris (moderator),

Amy Salley, Adrian Simmons. "What you hate most about long time favorites 

such as Larry Niven's Ringworld, Tolkien's Rings, Dune, and everything else."

I first attended ArmadilloCon 39 in 2017. Since then, Laurel and I have enjoyed many  panels. I also served on panels and delivered my own presentations. This year, I volunteered for the Registration Desk and the Hospitality Suite and found a couple of readings from our stalwart authors. Mostly, I had time enough to chat.

Dealers Room Opening Night

Friday afternoon, I attended "Speculative Geology" -- From those weird ass right angle mountains around Mordor to the hard-edged geologizing in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. the earth sciences are an important and tricky part of much speculative fiction! Moderator Eric Williams; panelists Avery Parks, Shlomi Harif, Lauren C. Teffeau. 

Holly Walrath and William Ledbetter.
Bill writes, sells, and publishes
after a career in aerospace.
(See "Space Tries to Kill You" below.)

It was disappointing. They all just said that Nature is Important and Trees and Rocks are Important and a lot of stories have Trees and Rocks in them. They did note that plate tectonics was still being debated (sometimes acrimoniously) when classic scifi of the 1960s was being written and they said that there is a lot of Martian geology in Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. 

In the Q&A, I asked if there was any speculative geology the way we have FTL and tachyon drives in speculative physics for science fiction. They said that new discoveries of exoplanets show that our solar system model of small rocky planets inside and gas giants outside seems not to be common after all. And we moved on from there. None of the panelists was a practicing geologist, though Lauren Teffeau and Avery Parks had worked in the subject area as students. Shlomi Harif was absent. Moderator Eric Williams did posit that geology itself is a speculative science because unlike experimental sciences geology can only create narratives to explain discoveries. He also offered the rapidly rotating planet in Hal Clement's Mission of Gravity as an example of speculative geology. And the panel agreed that Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars-Green Mars-Blue Mars makes a character out of the geology of the planet. Ann McCaffrey's Crystal Singers was among others mentioned. as was "La Mort de la Terre" (1910) by J-H Rosny in which hematite crystals prey on animals with iron in their blood.

InfiniVox publishes anthologies 
with more science in the fiction. 

After a difficult launch, it was up and out into other times and stranger spaces and I really benefited from the experience. Working the Con Suite, I loaded in ice and sliced cucumbers, and made time to sit and listen to published writers bragging and complaining.  At Registration, it was easy enough to find packets for those who registered in advance. I also made a point of escorting people to the elevators or the Art Show because "Over there" does not always work in a crowded room. 

 

Georgia Day at her table

 I met Georgia Day last year when we had tables near each other in the Dealers Room. She bought a new-in-the-box binocular microscope for her father. (I held it for a year trying to get the manufacturer to agree that they shipped me two, not one. Then, I just gave up...) Anyway, I confess that I am not a reader or at least not an avid reader of fiction. Some scifi writers claim 50 books a year while writing and marketing. They must not move their lips when they read. And so, I cut and paste this: 

"Of Sand and Bone by Georgia Day is an adventurous tale about a girl named Rue who sets out on a life-changing journey after a tragedy strikes that turns her life upside down. She meets a mysterious woman named Connor who is on a journey of her own. Together, they set off into the desert where they find loneliness, isolation, and an unforgiving landscape. Along the way, they meet many odd characters, some friendly and helpful while others are deadly enemies. 

Author Georgia Day’s writing style is sparse but deep and thoughtful, and her words float together in a poetic fashion. Of Sand and Bone is brilliant at times in its portrayal of the human mind as it journeys onward through unimaginable difficulties and trials. Every character, from Connor and Rue to the people they meet along the way, is a pleasing combination of realism and storybook fantasy. The author has made each character fascinating in their own unique way. I enjoyed reading Of Sand and Bone and found myself drawn into the personal struggles of the main characters. With each laborious step through the hot sand and under the merciless sun, I found myself cheering for them to keep going. Their journey became my journey, only I experienced it from the safety of my home. This novel succeeds in pulling the reader in for an immersive, enjoyable experience that won't soon be forgotten. I highly recommend Of Sand and Bone by Georgia Day. - Reviewed by Scott Cahan for Readers' Favorite. (https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/of-sand-and-bone)

Michelle Muenzler was a panelist on "Novel or Short Story?" at ArmadilloCon 39 (2017)  chaired by Louise Marley, with T. Eric Bakutis, Urania Fung, Patrice Sarath, and William Browning Spencer. 

She is also known as The Cookie Woman because she brings her homemade treats to the convention. I am not a sweet-toothed person, but I give in for her ginger snaps and other creations. She also writes well. More to the point, she reads aloud well. Not all authors do. Some just rush through the words as if they were reading silently to themselves. Others are hesitant in front of an audience, uncertain if this is going over well. Some people are performers and Michelle carries herself well. Reading her new short story, "In the Wet and the Pine" (Road Kill: Texas Horror volume 10, to be released) she was expressive while making good eye contact around the room, left-center-right. I bought her collection, The Hills of Meat, the Forest of Bone: A Broken Cities Novella (Falstaff Books, 2016), from Siros Books in the Dealers Room. The lesson I learned: there is no safety in numbers when the thing in the woods can eat a dozen people at once. 

 

Previously on NecessaryFacts

ArmadilloCon 39

My ArmadilloCon Presentations 

ArmadilloCon 41 Day 3 Part 2: Dealers Make the Show

ArmadilloCon versus Artificial Intelligence 

ArmadilloCon 44 Day 3