Murray writes:
Hi Mob members and friends –
Paul Kincaid, our speaker on Wednesday 3 September, writes “The title of the talk is “Molly and Lemady and Keith”, but that’s really all that’s needed beforehand. I make passing reference to most of his books during the talk, especially Pavane and The Chalk Giants and Molly Zero, but there is no great need for people to rush out and read them first. (I’m rather hoping that people might be tempted to rush out and read them afterwards, but that is a different thing.)”
You know the deal. One of science fiction’s finest critics on one of science fiction’s most interesting writers, directly dialled in to the luxury of your own home or gathered with the fen as we cluster around a large screen in the pristine fashionable white-and-grey expanse of the Conference Room at the Kensington Town Hall, Melbourne.
Meeting details are below, closely followed by a report of last month’s discussion of the best Hugo candidates.
The Hugos are announced tonight as I write this.
I’m travelling this month and so the usual second reminder email is unlikely to happen. If you rely on that nearer-the-night reminder, please set your social calendars and reminder alarms now to Paul Kincaid on Keith Roberts.
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Molly and Lemady and Keith
Paul Kincaid is our guest for September’s meeting, speaking about Keith Roberts via Zoom from the UK.
“Pavane (stories March-July 1966 Impulse; coll of linked stories 1968; rev with “The White Boat” [December 1966 New Worlds] added 1969) superbly depicts an Alternate History in which – Elizabeth I having been assassinated, the Spanish Armada victorious and no Protestant rise of capitalism in the offing – a technologically backward England survives under the sway of the Catholic Church Militant. The individual stories are moody, eloquent, elegiac and thoroughly convincing. The Inner Wheel (coll of linked stories 1970) deals with the kind of gestalt Superman-cum-Telepathy theme made familiar by Theodore Sturgeon‘s More Than Human (fixup 1953) and is similarly powerful.”
— Science Fiction Encyclopedia, text by John Clute.
https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/roberts_keith
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Please share this invitation with like-minded friends and fans
Face to face
You are invited to a Nova Mob meeting gathered near a big Zoom-related TV screen at the Kensington Town Hall: Wednesday 3 September 2025. 8.00pm – 9.00 (formal close), first floor Presentation Room.
Lift access. Stairs access. Both available.
Zoom meeting closes about 9.20pm or so.
Kensington Town Hall
30 – 34 Bellair St|
Kensington Melbourne VIC 3031
By Zoom – simulcast
You are invited to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Please join us on-line!
Wednesday 3 September 2025
8.00pm – 9.30 pm Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney time|
7.30pm – 9.00pm Adelaide time
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4177583193?pwd=VjdPL1BhSTBNclN2YnRsejN3Y1hlUT09
Passcode: nova
Meeting ID: 417 758 3193
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Pre-Mob dining
Mob members continue to experiment with the local hostelries as we await the return of the Traditional Fannish Pub.
Rick’s place – no RSVP required!
507 Macauley Rd Kensington. “Reviews highly”. Gluten-free
Rick’s Place continue to be comfortable and accommodating, with excellent food and ability to handle many food preferences and intolerances.
Table for four under the name of the Nova Mob SF Discussion group also Murray, 6.00pm for 6.15, through to 8.00pm.
A short walk up the hill from the Kensington Railway Station. Not the Newmarket Station!
“At Rick’s Place, we’re more than just an Italian restaurant in Kensington; we’re an experience in the heart of Melbourne. Our culinary skills blend traditional Italian delicacies with innovative Australian flavours, offering a varied menu that appeals to coeliacs, halal-certified meat lovers, low FODMAP, lower carb, vegetarians, and vegans alike. Our dishes are meticulously crafted using only the freshest local ingredients, ensuring that each bite is a burst of unparalleled flavour.”
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Hugo Awards discussion at the Mob, August 6 2025 – results
With thanks to Joe Haldeman, marvellous friend to science fiction, for the photo.
The question on the night was “The Hugo Award ceremony is a focal point of Worldcon and a seminal event to celebrate the best SFF works and creators of 2024. It will be held on Saturday, August 16, 2025, in Ballroom 1 of the convention center. Who of the finalists should win?”
Rose Mitchell tackled the novelettes, Lucy Sussex the Short Stories, and Perry Middlemiss the Novellas. Scoring systems varied and a critical consensus arose. The classic thesis, antithesis, synthesis discussion.
Worth your time and ranked with first as best (but will it actually win?)
Short story
“Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole” by Isabel J. Kim is a nice but perhaps empty conceit.
Novelette
- “The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video” by Thomas Ha
- “Lake of Souls” by Ann Leckie in Lake of Souls
- “The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea” by Naomi Kritzer
Novella
3. (tie) The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo [SAMPLE]
3. (tie) What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher [SAMPLE]
BEST NOVEL
- Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky [SAMPLE]
Favourably spoken of, although ultimately not without flaws:
- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley [SAMPLE]
- Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky [SAMPLE]
- A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher [SAMPLE]
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Great fannish hoaxes
Much tut-tutting back in 2020 when the bulk of the Scots-language wikipedia was found to have been written by someone who knew not of the language. Think of the Muppets’ version of the Swedish Chef, in text form.
“It’s not clear whether the Wikipedian – who identifies as a Christian furry living in the US – has spent the past near-decade creating thousands of fake posts as some kind of incredible practical joke, or that they honestly felt they were doing a good job. There have been occasional interactions with real Scottish folk taking exception to pages, and the administrator has responded in a dead-pan fashion.”
Here’s the lede. Alas no mention of the great fannish tradition of hoaxes. But mentioned here for the sheer scale and hutzpah of the wikipedian’s commitment.
“In an extraordinary and somewhat devastating discovery, it turns out virtually the entire Scots version of Wikipedia, comprising more than 57,000 articles, was written, edited or overseen by a netizen who clearly had nae the slightest idea about the language.
“The user is not only a prolific contributor, they are an administrator of sco.wikipedia.org, having created, modified or guided the vast majority of its pages in more than 200,000 edits. The result is tens of thousands of articles in English with occasional, and often ridiculous, letter changes – such as replacing a “y” with “ee.”
“That’s right, someone doing a bad impression of a Scottish accent and then writing it down phonetically is the chief maintainer of the online encyclopedia’s Scots edition. And although this has been carrying on for the best part of a decade, the world was mostly oblivious to it all – until today, when one Redditor finally had enough of reading terrible Scots and decided to look behind the curtain.
https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/26/scots_wikipedia_fake/
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Nova Mob About and Contact Us
Nova Mob on social media:
https://novamob.blog/
We’re on Mastodon. Click the invite to follow
https://mastodonbooks.net/@NovaMob
https://mastodonbooks.net/invite/YECXVBUk
nova@aussiebb.com.au
Friends, out-of-town guests, and new arrivals – you are always welcome and have an open invitation to the Mob’s face-to-face and Zoom meetings.
First time arrivals – free. Otherwise a $5 donation for expenses please.
Donations can be made electronically using playgroups@aussiebb.com.au on Paypal.
Face-to-face meetings are at the Kensington Town Hall:
https://activemelbourne.ymca.org.au/venues/kensington-town-hall
Murray MacLachlan
Convenor
The Adelaide Fan Review 
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