| Books remain books, fandom having failed to establish any nickname for them tho hc and pb (distinguishing hardcovered and paperbacked books) are established adjectival modifiers. Fantasy in books antedated specialized magazine stf, and remains generally of a higher quality -- partly due to a higher intellectual level among book readers, and partly due to the fact that books can carry material so hot that it would ruin, by boycotts, any periodical publishing it. Of course, many stories from the prozines have been published in book form with changes and additions, but even here most of the sheer crud is weeded away. Most of it, we repeat.
|