Gibson’s The Peripheral (2014) was a novel based around immersive virtual reality, which makes you feel like you’ve been transported to another place and even another person’s body. The book is set in 2032, in an age where it’s possible to move from one version of time to another. It’s not a kind of time travel, it’s a point in time where you can move backward, change the events of the past, and create two or more different branches of time. One might go on to become reality, and the other might disappear as a truncated “stub” of time.
Flynne Fisher (played by Chloe Grace Moretz), her Marine veteran brother, Burton (Jack Reynor), and their dying mother live in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2032. As their mother’s health deteriorates and the medical bills add up, Flynne and Burton make extra money playing simulations (Sims). When Burton is offered a chance to beta test a new Sim, it’s Flynne who ends up playing, pretending to be her brother. The Sim takes place in London and it involves Flynne breaking into a corporation known as the Research Institute to steal a valuable secret. When the assignment goes badly wrong, Flynne begins to realize the Sim might be more real than she thinks.
Some of the strange additions to a future London in the Prime Video adaptation of the William Gibson novel The Peripheral.
The Best of World of World SF is back in a second glorious volume containing twenty-nine new short stories representing the state of the art in international science fiction.
The annual Arthur C. Clarke Award is given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year.The award judges are a voluntary body with members nominated by the award’s supporting organisations, currently the British Science Fiction Association, the Science Fiction Foundation and the Sci-Fi-London film festival.
2022 Deep Wheel Orcadia by Harry Josephine Giles – WINNER Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine A River Called Time by Courttia Newland Wergen: The Alien Love War by Mercurio D. Rivera Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley
2021 The Animals in that Country – Laura Jean McKay – WINNER The Infinite – Patience Agbabi The Vanished Birds – Simon Jimenez Vagabonds – Hao Jingfang Edge of Heaven – R.B. Kelly Chilling Effect - Valerie Valdes
Mondiale – Ian Mond’s best books not packaged as genre
One of the pleasures of the Nova Mob is Ian’s annual talk on the year’s best SF, fantasy, and horror books, selected from those that aren’t marketed as genre but instead typically have the words “A Novel” somewhere on the cover for the discerning book shop browser to be absolutely certain as to what it is they are buying. We welcome Ian again this year, and he has selected 10 books for your reading delight. Hear about them, and why #10 is good and his #1 pick is better, at our meeting on 2 November. As usual with Nova Mob talks there’s lively discussion, so attendance in person is recommended, however the Zoom option is available, it’s part of how we do things now.
Face to face
You are invited to an in-person Nova Mob meeting: Wednesday 2 November 8.00pm – 9.15 pm or so, first floor Conference Room
Kensington Town Hall, 30 – 34 Bellair St
Kensington Melbourne VIC 3031
By Zoom – simulcast
For those who prefer not to travel or are unable to attend face-to-face. This’ll be close to a webcast or radiocast in style, emitted electronically from the Kensington Town Hall. Questions or comments typed into the Zoom chat will be passed through to Ian as the opportunity permits.
Ian writes for Locus as well as being a Nova Mob member and enthusiastic viewer of Dr Who (and occasional writer of Whovian fiction), so I’ll quote from Locus by way of bio and an example of his work:
“Ian Mond loves to talk about books. For eight years he co-hosted a book podcast, The Writer and the Critic, with Kirstyn McDermott. Recently he has revived his blog, The Hysterical Hamster, and is again posting mostly vulgar reviews on an eclectic range of literary and genre novels. You can also follow Ian on Twitter (@Mondyboy) or contact him at mondyboy74@gmail.com.
“The year was 1994 and I was attending the monthly meeting of the Melbourne Horror Society at the Māori Chief Hotel in South Melbourne. Issue #3 of Bloodsongs – Australia’s first professional horror fiction magazine – had just been released, and the members, which included the periodical’s two editors, were poring over copies and discussing the content.
Sitting across from me at one of the tables was a new member, a young woman around my age dressed mostly in black. Before I had a chance to introduce myself, she asked me what I thought of “And the Moon Yelps”, one of the stories featured in the issue. I told her that I loved it, that I thought it was one of the best, if not the strongest piece, in the magazine. “I’m glad you thought so,” she said, “because I wrote it.” This is how I met Kirstyn McDermott. Twenty-eight years later and we remain close friends; we even host a podcast together (it’s called The Writer and the Critic; I may have mentioned it a few hundred times in this column). I’ve never really given much thought to what might have happened if I’d told Kirstyn that I didn’t like “And the Moon Yelps”. But then, I can’t imagine a possible universe where I didn’t love that story or the horror and dark fantasy she has written since. Now, with the publication of Hard Places, a curated collection of her short fiction, I have the pleasure of revisiting her work.”
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Pre-Mob dining – at the Doutta Galla Hotel
November 2. Booking made. Hats and fascinators optional.
The usual booking has been made at the Doutta Galla for those who enjoy good pub fare. Usual story – arrive when you like and as a Mob member there’s a seat for you and any friends you bring along. Most folk arrive about 6.30p.m.
339 Racecourse Rd, Flemington. Corner of Eastwood St, next to the railway bridge immediately south of Newmarket Station.
Booking for: NOVA MOB REGULAR BOOK CLUB Booking on: Wednesday, 2nd of November (2/11/22) Area: Dining Time: 6:00pm onward
I’m not aware of any alternative dining locations or groups being arranged. Cheap eats in Melbourne are a confusing picture at the moment.
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Nova Mob Calendar
November 2 – Ian Mond “Mondiale – best books of 2022”. In person and Zoom.
December 7 – Chris Flynn “Here Be Leviathans”. In person and Zoom.
December 14 – end of year celebration event. In person only. Post Office Hotel, Coburg, 6.00pm until late (pub closes at 11.00pm)
1st February 2023 – First meeting of the new year. Topic to be finalised, as well as suggestions for the 2023 program.
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Shelley Parker-Chan wins Astounding Award
We rather like how the publicity was handled in Australia
“Hugo Award for Best New Writer” said the news release.
“Parker-Chan wins Hugo Award for Best New Writer“
9 September 2022
“Australian writer Shelley Parker-Chan has won the Best New Writer category at the Hugo Awards for science fiction.
“Parker-Chan’s debut She Who Became the Sun was first published in the US by Tor Books in 2021 before being published by Pan Macmillan Australia. The novel is a genderqueer reimagining of the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang’s rise to power in 14th-century China. Zhu, a peasant assigned female at birth, assumes their deceased brother’s identity as they begin their path to unifying China under native rule and becoming the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
“She Who Became the Sun was also nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, which was won by Arkady Martine for A Desolation Called Peace (Tor).”
At last: the collection of Peter Nicholls’s science fiction essays and reviews that he first planned way back in the 1970s, and reconsidered late in life but never completed. All proceeds from sales go to support the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, of which he was the founding editor in 1979 – writing much of the text himself – and co-editor for the second (1993) and third (2011 online) editions.
Genre Fiction: The Roaring Years comprises 60 witty and insightful pieces by Peter Nicholls, including a long, previously unpublished speech and the new introduction he wrote in 2012. His long-time Encyclopedia colleague John Clute contributes a foreword. The collection was compiled by David Langford with the support and assistance of Peter’s family, and runs to more than 220,000 words of vintage Nicholls. epub available from https://ae.ansible.uk/?t=roaring
September 7 – Jane Routley & the Nova Mob discussion “My Favourite Utopia”. In person and Zoom. October 5 – to be finalised. Zoom only. November 2 – Ian Mond “Mondiale – best books of 2022”. In person and Zoom. December 7 – Chris Flynn “Here Be Leviathans”. In person and Zoom. December 14 – end of year celebration event. In person only. 1st February 2023 – First meeting of the new year. Topic to be finalised.
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Jane Routley – “My Favourite Utopia”
September 7 – Jane Routley & Mob “My Favourite Utopia”.
In person and remotely by Zoom.
Utopias are perfect places, which is a problem for story-tellers because compelling stories require conflict and the ideal utopia is universally a happy place. It follows that Utopian fiction is about the flies in the ointment, not the ointment itself. There is an exception, it’s of limited appeal, where recipes of the ointment are provided by way of tour guides of the utopia and not much happens by way of story.
Jane’s been reading the 2022 Utopia Award nominees and it’s put the spotlight on the problem of Utopia as “ointment, would you like flies with that?”. According to some academics Utopian fiction is one of sf’s largest subgenres, or is a separate genre. If there’s so much of it, surely there should be some really good stories?
Jane will discuss this year’s Utopia Award nominees.
Then it’s open discussion on these questions:
1.one’s favourite utopia – in which utopia would you want to live?
2.recommend a novel or story for someone new to utopian fiction
3.best film or TV utopia
Of course, a utopia doesn’t have to be labelled as such to be perceived as being a utopia by the reader or by its inhabitants. Is the near-future of Star Trek a utopia? To many viewers, it is.
Discussion will include Zoom participants. The list of stories from the night will be published.
Each meeting we get a little better at Zoom, and encounter new twists to the conundrum of operating a seamless video conference in combination with the face to face meeting. We see this process of continuous improvement as never-ending, indeed interminable.
Screening at the Mercury, Tuesday, Aug 30th Directors: Robert B. Weide & Don Argott Stars: Linda Bates, Jerome Klinkowitz, Sidney Offit Recounting the extraordinary life of author Kurt Vonnegut, and the 25-year friendship with the filmmaker who set out to document it. A gorgeously rendered, unexpectedly moving appraisal of the life and craft of one of the best-loved literary voices of the late 20th century.
If you think about film adaptations of SF stories, you might well notice the large number of films (and TV shows) based on the works of Philip K Dick.
This month, we’re inviting you to read one (or more) of his stories, then watch a film (or TV show) based on the story. Was it an interesting film? How faithful was it to the story? Did they make any major changes? What is your favourite PK Dick film? How faithful was it?
Films based on PK Dick stories
Title (year of publication)
Title (Year, Director)
Second Variety (1953)
Screamers (1995, Christian Duguay) Screamers: the Hunting (2009, Sheldon Wilson)
Paycheck (1953)
Paycheck (2003, John Woo)
Imposter (1953)
Imposter (2002, Gary Fleder)
Adjustment Team (1954)
The Adjustment Bureau (2011, George Nolfi)
The Golden Man (1954)
Next (2007, Lee Tamahori)
The Crystal Crypt (1954)
The Crystal Crypt (2013, Shahab Zargari)
The Minority Report (1956)
Minority Report (2002, Steven Speilberg)
We Can Remember It For You Wholesale (1966)
Total Recall (1990, Paul Verhoeven) Total Recall (2012, Len Wiseman)
The Father Thing, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
The Impossible Planet (1955)
David Farr
The Impossible Planet, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
Human Is (1955)
Francesca Gregorini
Human Is, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
Autofac (1955)
Peter Horton
Autofac, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
Foster, You’re Dead! (1955)
Alan Taylor
Safe and Sound, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
Minority Report
Minority Report (2015)
The Man In The High Castle
The Man In The High Castle TV series (2015)
Total Recall
Total Recall 2070 (1999)
They have collected the stories on which the TV series Philip K Dick’s Electric Dreams is based in the book Electric Dreams. Alternatively, the stories can be found in the five volume collected short stories of PK Dick (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Collected_Stories_of_Philip_K._Dick for a listing of stories by volume)
Doors open at Kappys in Compton St at 6:15, meeting starts at 6:30 Adelaide time. It will be a joint live/zoom meeting, barring a nasty outbreak of a new covid variety.
The Adelaide Fan Review 
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