The Sci-Fi Exploration Bundle – curated by Adam Gaffen:
Exploration. It’s hardwired into humanity’s genes.
As far back into history you want to go, there have always been people who want to push the boundaries of what we know. Whether that was looking to the stars and wondering where those twinkling lights came from, or what was across that intimidating-looking ocean, or what the purpose of all that red stuff inside the human body, the questions never seemed to end.
That spirit of exploration has never stopped. It’s alive today, as we push boundaries in space, on the planet, and into the dreams of cyberspace. We’ve gathered ten notable authors to give you their takes on where humanity’s endless curiosity might take us.
Some of us wonder if today’s SF fans enjoy the same sf novels as earlier SF fans. As it turns out, there were interesting surveys taken of best SF novels in 1987 (at the British eastercon) and 2022 (a poll of the media death cult members). SFF Concatention recently published their analysis of the comparison here.
In summary:
“the result do not show a wildly difference in SF tastes between the 1980s and 2020s generations of fans: in fact, there are similarities. 10 of the SF² Concatenation top twenty appear in of the Cult’s top 40: indeed all but one, Tiger Tiger / Stars My destination appear in the Cult’s top 30. When it comes to authors, there is an even greater similarity: 7 in SF² Concatenation top twenty top ten cited authors appear in the Cult’s top 40. This bumps up to 8 authors if Alfred (working class) Bester, author of Tiger Tiger / Stars My destination, who was not one of the top ten most cited author but was in the mix as a lower ranking author.”the result do not show a wildly difference in SF tastes between the 1980s and 2020s generations of fans: in fat, there are similarities. 10 of the SF² Concatenation top twenty appear in of the Cult’s top 40: indeed all but one, Tiger Tiger / Stars My destination appear in the Cult’s top 30. When it comes to authors, there is an even greater similarity: 7 in SF² Concatenation top twenty top ten cited authors appear in the Cult’s top 40. “
The BSFA awards are voted on by BSFA members and, more recently, members of the British science fiction convention, Eastercon. Their aim, according to the BSFA website, is to “seek to honour the most worthy examples in each category, but also to promote the genre of science fiction, and get people reading, talking about, and enjoying all that contemporary science fiction has to offer.”
To qualify, the work must have been released in 2022.
Best Novel (defined as a work greater than 40,000 words)
Winner: City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Stars and Bones by Gareth Powell
The Coral Bones by E.J. Swift
The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette de Bodard
The This by Adam Roberts
Best Short Fiction (defined as work less than 40,000 words)
“A Moment of Zugzwang” by Neil Williiamson
Luca by Or Luca
Winner: Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard
Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky
“Seller’s Remorse” by Rick Danforth
Venessa Armstrong, Tor.com for details of all awards
When Amazon Studios bought the legendary movie studio MGM last year, they bought a huge catalog of movie and television properties. Obviously, they weren’t just going to sit on those new acquisitions—not when there are always remakes and reboots to create! According to Deadline, executives have been combing through that catalog, deciding which bits of intellectual property are best suited to being further developed—and sorting out the rights to said projects.
A handful of projects have been chosen for movie or TV development—and Stargate is among them. […] The future potential of Stargate has been discussed for years and years, but the last related project to come to fruition was the brief web series Stargate Origins in 2018. Before Amazon bought MGM, there was talk of a Stargate revival featuring members of the Stargate SG-1 cast. Once upon a time, there were plans for a Stargate Extinction movie.
Okay, you may be saying, but what do you mean by Weird West? Oh boy, here’s where things get REALLY good. Weird West is a subgenre of speculative fiction that combines bits of traditional Western stories with supernatural, science fiction, steampunk, or even horror elements. In other words, it turns the good ole standby of cowboys and Indians firmly on its head, and throws in a dash of shamans and sorcerers, a spritz of steampower and magic (and sometimes steampowered magic!), or a sprinkle of zombies and Fae, and nearly every goldurn one of ’em is a gunslinger!
April features Perry Middlemiss on “1966 and all that – best short SF of 1966”. A year in which John Bangsund and Australian Science Fiction Review were shortlisted for the Best Fanzine Hugo. Perry will be talking to the short fiction categories.
Lockwood & Co. is a young adult supernatural thriller series which follows three young operatives of a psychic detection agency (Lucy Carlyle, Anthony Lockwood, and George Cubbins) as they fight ghosts (known throughout the series as Visitors) in London, England. There are five novels in the series, published from 2013.
More recently, it has been turned into a Netflix TV series of eight episodes, screened from January this year.
Adam enjoyed the series (both as novels & TV), and is going to talk about why it’s of interest this month. Reminder: Crit Mass has moved back to the third Wednesday of the month, so this will be on April 19th at Kappy’s.
If you’re in Adelaide, meet at kappy’s in Compton St (near the market). Doors open at 6:15 for a 6:30pm start.
Zoom Details
Topic: Critical Mass Time: Apr 19, 2023 at 6:30 at kappy’s / 7:00 PM Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Join us for an enthralling discussion that delves into the dark and mysterious world of Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood & Co. book series, and its spine-chilling adaptation into the Netflix TV series. This captivating talk will explore the intricacies of Stroud’s immersive storytelling, the challenges and triumphs of adapting the ghostly adventures for a visual medium, and the creative choices that brought the characters and their supernatural escapades to life on screen. Fans of the books and TV series alike won’t want to miss this fascinating journey into the eerie universe of Lockwood & Co. as we uncover the secrets behind its haunting success!
On Wednesday, March 22nd, we will meet at Kappys at 6:30 to discuss ChatGPT and SF featuring AI.
There’s a long history of SF featuring AI, from the 1920 science-fiction play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek, R.U.R.(Rossum’s Universal Robots), to HAL9000 in Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey. Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics which feature in the Susan Calvin stories are well known (later sidestepped by the Zeroth Law).
There’s a long history of SF featuring AI, from the 1920 science-fiction play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek, R.U.R.(Rossum’s Universal Robots), to HAL9000 in Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey. Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics which feature in the Susan Calvin stories are well known (later sidestepped by the Zeroth Law).
And of course, the classic novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” By P K Dick, turned into the film Bladerunner.
Come along to share your thoughts on ChatGBT, and join the discussion on AI in sf and how it’s changed.
As usual, the in person meeting will be at Kappys, 22 Compton St, Adelaide 6:15 for a 6:30 start, Adelaide time
Those who can’t make the meeting in person are welcome to join us via Zoom.
From Pulp Era pioneers to the radical innovators of the 1960s and ’70s, visionary women writers have been a transformative force in American science fiction. For Women’s History Month, acclaimed SF authors Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Pamela Sargent, and Sheree Renée Thomas join Lisa Yaszek, editor of LOA’s The Future Is Female!, for a conversation about the writers who smashed the genre’s gender barrier to create worlds and works that remain revolutionary.
The Adelaide Fan Review 
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