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  • 18/10/2021 16:57 | Anonymous

    Ready Player Two cover

    Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

    (Penguin Random House, 2020)

    Reviewed by Kate Onyett

    Welcome to an overcrowded, polluted, highly iniquitous Earth of the future where humanity plugs into a virtual reality called OASIS to be educated, socialise, trade, escape and explore, limited only by their imaginations. In Cline’s first OASIS novel, Wade, poor and unremarkable, undertook an epic gaming quest across multiple virtual worlds. He and his friends won, Willy Wonka-style, the corporation that created and maintained OASIS.

    Continue reading…

    Review from BSFA Review 14 - Download your copy here.


  • 17/10/2021 14:30 | Anonymous

    Project Hail Mary cover

    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

    (Del Rey, 2021)

    Reviewed by Ben Jeapes

    Andy Weir’s first two novels, The Martian and Artemis, established a distinct style: a loner who resolves their way out of one big crisis and a series of lesser ones armed with nothing but science and a sense of humour. His third novel starts almost in self-parody but goes on to have the most moving, redemptive and emotionally satisfying ending so far.

    Continue reading…

    Review from BSFA Review 14 - Download your copy here.


  • 16/10/2021 12:16 | Anonymous

    The Society of Time: The Original Trilogy and Other Stories by John Brunner

    (British Library, 2020)

    Reviewed by Nick Hubble

    This is an entry in the British Library’s somewhat eclectic series of ‘Science Fiction Classics’. The book contains five novellas: ‘The Analysts’ (1961) and ‘Father of Lies’ (1962), both originally published in Science Fantasy; and the three ‘Society of Time’ novellas, ‘Spoil of Yesterday’, ‘The Word Not Writien’ and ‘The Fullness of Time’, first published in 1962 in successive issues of Science Fiction Adventures. The back-cover blurb is slightly misleading in that although it correctly states that the trilogy was abridged when first collected as Times Without Number in 1962, it does not mention that the cuts were restored in the expanded 1969 edition. Mike Ashley discusses this in his introduction, but it should be more clearly labelled on the cover.

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    Review from BSFA Review 14 - Download your copy here.


  • 15/10/2021 11:50 | Anonymous

    Terminal Boredom cover

    Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki

    (Verso, 2021)

    Reviewed by Nick Hubble

    Verso are best known for publishing fairly weighty tomes of left-wing politics, history and theory, but in September 2019 they launched Verso Fiction: ‘a new series of uncompromisingly intelligent and beautiful books with an international focus.’ Terminal Boredom ticks all these boxes but more importantly it has an authentic edgy feel to it that is a welcome reminder of the days when spikiness and attitude were not just marketing categories but a genuine challenge to post-war consumerist complacency. While this period feel is not surprising given that the seven short stories collected here were first published in the 1970s and 1980s, it is a shock that it has taken over 35 years to translate the work of Izumi Suzuki (1949-1986) into English. I suspect that any Anglosphere publishers who might have contemplated it found the complete lack of sentiment too bleak. The overall themes are suggested by the title of the recent review of this edition in the New York Times: ‘Where Every Coupling Depends on Lies, and Men Are Aliens’. However, such themes are now commercially attractive and, more fundamentally, the context of reception has changed now. For example, while themes revolving around androgyny were countercultural in the 1970s and 1980s, the existence of nonbinary genders is now widely accepted within society and I suspect that this is the context in which Suzuki would be understood today.

    Continue reading…

    Review from BSFA Review 14 - Download your copy here.


  • 14/10/2021 08:41 | Anonymous

    The Road to Woop Woop cover

    The Road to Woop Woop and Other Stories by Eugen Bacon

    (Meercat Press, 2021)

    Reviewed by Ivy Roberts

    Eugen Bacon’s The Road to Woop Woop and Other Stories invites readers into an eclectic world of Gods, demons, shape shifters, bounty hunters, and spirits. This loosely connected web of tales weaves together themes of death, memory, and relationships. Beneath stories of ancient beasts and heroes lie profoundly modern problems: how to deal with breakup, struggles to overcome trauma, surviving the death of a loved one… Bacon’s fantasies blend effortlessly with modern day contexts ala American Gods.

    Continue reading…

    Review from BSFA Review 14 - Download your copy here.

  • 13/10/2021 09:03 | Anonymous

    The Wall cover

    The Wall by Gautam Bhatia

    (HarperCollins, 2020)

    Reviewed by Dan Hartland

    If Gautam Bhatia’s debut novel has a governing geometry, it is circular. This adjective is often used pejoratively by reviewers, and so it’s worth foregrounding the unusual annularity of The Wall before proceeding any further into—or rather, around—it.

    Continue reading…

    Review from BSFA Review 14 - Download your copy here.

  • 26/06/2021 16:29 | Anonymous member

    Alison Scott, one of the Guests of Honour from this year's mini-convention, co-hosted with the Science Fiction Foundation.


    Here are some of the links Alison mentioned:

    Café Moose - you need to be my pal, on FB, Discord, or so on - if this sounds like something you want to do then get in touch

    Buy my badges: https://stowshirts.etsy.com

    and t-shirts:  https://fannish-clothing-emporium.creator-spring.com/

    London First Thursday meetings - https://news.ansible.uk/london.html

    Octothorpe - https://octothorpe.podbean.com (or your favourite browser)

    GUFF - https://taff.org.uk/guff.html

    Punctuation - https://punctuationcon.uk

    Alison doing a barbershop quartet: https://youtu.be/YT7Ga_zGiXQ

    Alison singing a barbershop quartet in the style of William Shatner: https://youtu.be/yyWn4OvOasM

    DisCon III has a virtual membership - https://discon3.org

  • 25/06/2021 19:42 | Anonymous member

    We've got some fun stuff happening online tomorrow, including panels, writing sessions, and interviews. If you're a member, you will have already got your invites. If you're not a member, you can still attend most of these sessions for free: there's more info here.

    10.00 // 50 Years of the SFF

    Join eminent panellists Edward James, Roz Kaveney, Farah Mendlesohn, and Andy Sawyer, to reflect on the history of science fiction criticism, and in the particular role of the Science Fiction Foundation. Moderated by Maureen Kincaid-Speller, facilitated by Ali Baker.

    10.00 // Shhh ... Just Write! Co-Writing Session 1

    We’ll chat briefly at the beginning and spend most of the session writing. You can bring your own work-in-progress, or respond to one of the writing prompts or exercises provided. Co-hosted by Jo Lindsay Walton and Yen Ooi.

    11.00 // John Clute

    An interview with our first Guest of Honor, the prolific, polemic, and perspicacious SF critic John Clute. Moderated by Paul March-Russell, facilitated by Farah Mendlesohn.

    12.00 // BSFA AGM

    Members only. The Annual General Meeting of the British Science Fiction Association. Chaired by Allen Stroud. The agenda can be found here. All members should have received your Zoom link on 21 June, and in two earlier emails. If you're missing the link, or if you can't attend but would like to vote, please get in touch with membership@bsfa.co.uk at least 48 prior to the AGM.

    12.00 // Glasgow in 2024 Presents Roll for Armadillo: Diverse Possibilities within TRPGs

    Join panellists Esther MacCallum-Stewart, Paul Anthony Shortt, and Grace Worm for a lively exploration of the world of tabletop roleplaying. Moderated by Emma French.

    13.30 // SF Foundation AGM

    Members only. The Annual General Meeting of the Science Fiction Association. Chaired by Graham Sleight. SFF members, please RSVP to ensure you get your invite.

    13.30 // Shhhhhh ... Just Write Some More! Co-Writing Session 2

    We’ll say hello briefly at the beginning and spend most of the session writing. You can bring your own work-in-progress, continue something from the morning session, or start something new in response to the writing prompts we’ll provide. Co-hosted by Yen Ooi and Francis Gene-Rowe.

    14.30 // SF on Trial: SF and the Law

    Join our panellists Gautam Bhatia, Ida Keogh, Caroline Mersey, and Adrian Tchaikovsky, as we talk about law and justice in science fiction, and maybe even put science fiction itself in the dock. Moderated by Jo Lindsay Walton, facilitated by Francis Gene-Rowe.

    14.30 // Lasers & Feelings

    Join SF authors, publishers and critics as they explore strange new worlds … and maybe some strange new feelings too. With Eryn Levine, David Moore, Trip Galey, Russell Smith, and Emma Newman. Moderated by Eryn Levine, facilitated by Allen Stroud.

    15.30 // Alison Scott

    Our Guest of Honour, the incomparable Alison Scott, will talk about ‘My Year in Virtual Fandom,’ followed by Q&A. Moderated by Farah Mendlesohn, facilitated by Jo Lindsay Walton.

    16.30 // Tade Thompson

    Join our Guest of Honour, Tade Thompson, author of the Wormwood Trilogy and many more brilliant and twisted tales, in conversation with Caroline Mersey. Moderated by Caroline Mersey, facilitated by Jo Lindsay Walton.

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