Nikka VanRy published a list of 100 Must-Read SF books by female writers at Bookriot. “From YA to adult lit, from magical realism to epic fantasy to post-apocalyptic sci-fi feminism, from short stories to series, there’s a book on this list for every single reader. Do note that I’ve only listed the first book in any given series, so expect that this list could easily give you ten times as much reading power (especially with those stick-to-your-gut epic fantasy series). I’ve also only included one book per writer to showcase the widest range of voices from sci-fi fantasy novels by female authors”
We invite you to choose one work on that list, or one which you think should be there, and come along to persuade us it is worth reading.
We meet at the Minor Works Building at 6:30pm Wednesday August 20th for the discussion. If you can’t make it in person, you can join us via zoom.
Reactor magazine recently published lists by their reviewers of best novels of 2024. Here are some of their suggestions:
The Tainted Cupby Robert Jackson Bennett—already one of my favorite authors for his Foundryside series—was everything I wanted from a fantasy murder mystery: a reclusive detective and a put-upon assistant reminiscent of the Nero Wolfe series; powerful biochemical magic; and all-too-realistic bureaucracy. And despite my love for vast, world-shattering stories like the two above, I enjoyed that The Tainted Cup wasn’t that; with this first book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series, Bennett threads the needle of setting the mystery in a sprawling world without raising the stakes too far. [Sasha Bonkowsky]
Kerstin Hall’s Asunder has slipped under a lot of radars. Written with precise and glittering prose and a deft eye for characterisation, its worldbuilding is complex and entertaining eldritch, while its protagonist keeps making terrible life choices on account of all the other ones are worse. Compelling, brilliant, weird: I will fight you for the sequel. [Liz Bourke]
Of courseMetal From Heaven by august clarke and The City in Glass by Nghi Vo are here. Their latest books were stunning literary achievements. The experience of reading these stories is as intense as the stories themselves. It felt like I was holding my breath the entire time. These books are gorgeous, lyrical, and relentless, and furious. [Alex Brown]
Kaliane Bradley’s The Ministry of Time was an unexpected read that I enjoyed—I picked it up for the deft critique of colonialism explored via the trope of time travel and stayed for the steamy relationship between the narrator and the darkly sexy 19th-century arctic explorer who becomes her roommate. Not every book is both thoughtful and entertaining, but The Ministry of Time is one of those books that knocks both out of the park. [Vanessa Armstrong]
If someone asks for the definition of magic, hand them Kelly Link’s debut novel, The Book of Love. Tell them that by the end, you will not have THE definition of magic, but you will have so many beautiful definitions to choose from. Whimsical, sexy, unrelenting, oppressive, sorrowful, hilarious, real, unreal, quirky, joyous, stalwart, deadly, vicious, musical, romantic, all-powerful, quite small indeed, just a little to the right of what you’re looking at, Link lets us define magic how we want through one of my new favorite novels for life. [Martin Cahill]
Kaliane Bradley’s fantastic The Ministry of Time leans all the way into the weirdness of bringing people from the past into our current moment. Having reeled you in with the promise of time travel and kissing, it slowly reveals itself to be an immensely thoughtful story of complicity, power, and the function of individual choice within unjust systems. [Jenny Hamilton]
A few weeks ago, we asked dozens of authors about the speculative books they considered The Most Iconic SFF Books of the 21st Century. We loved their responses, from modern classics to translated works to graphic novels to hidden gems.
But of course, readers had opinions! What about this book? How could that author not be in the top 10? It’s part of what we love about this community: a group of people who share a love for science fiction, fantasy, and horror from thousands of different angles, and who feel passionate enough about declaring their love for those books to come together to debate them from across the globe. We anticipated that people might want an outlet for these thoughts outside of social media, so we opened a poll asking for your input. And readers, you delivered!
We received well over 500 responses in the short time the poll was open. While the selections below are just a slice of that enthusiasm, we hope they show the diversity and fervor of SFF fans. Maybe you spot some favorites here. Maybe you get a new stack of recommendations for your shelves. Maybe you just take a minute to think about what the word “iconic” means to you. Either way… we hope you enjoy.
Jeff Harris’ talk at Critical Mass will be an overview of Stableford’s oeuvre. We will be meeting at 7:30pm November 20th, at the Minor Works Building, 22 Stamford Court, Adelaide. (If you are coming via Sturt St, there’s a walkway between the cafés at 50 and 52 Sturt Street)
Stableford produced so much that it is worth looking at the bibliographies at the above sites. The Wikipedia entry has links to interviews with BMS. Because they are done at different times you get sketches of the development of his career at different stages. It also has an excellent bibliography.
Because there is so much, yes, I am suggesting you can do your own research.
E. PUBLISHERS:
Places where Stableford’s books can be found. Mainly e-books, some are only available in print formats.
Not the most easy access to find Stableford’s books. It’s a long way down to the letter ‘S’ and there are lots of other authors with names beginning with an ‘S’. This is where you can find Sherlock Holmes and the Vampires of Eternity (2009). Only available in paperback. But it’s worth it.
It also lists his anthologies and translations (which they call ‘adaptations’).
Snuggly Books:
Again you have to work down to S for Stableford. The only place for some of his last books. Plus anthologies and translations. A curiosity publisher. A title like Snuggly Tales of Femme Fatales feels simultaneously wrong and yet so perversely right.
F. A note about BMS:
Brian Stableford has been writing for fifty years. His fiction includes include eleven novels and seven short story collections in a series of “tales of the biotech revolution”; a series of metaphysical fantasies set in Paris in the 1840s, featuring Edgar Poe’s Auguste Dupin, most recently The Cthulhu Palimpsest; A Romance of Termination (2024); and a series of supernatural mysteries set in an artist’s colony, recently The Pool of Mnemosyne (2018). Recent novels independent of any series include Vampires of Atlantis (2016) and The Tangled Web of Time (2016). He also translates antique works from the French, with particular interests in the Symbolist and Decadent Movements, roman scientifique and the fantastique.
(Included to give a sense that Stableford was more than simply a science-fiction writer.)
G. Notes:
It is a quirk of my nature that give titles to talks like this; a way of putting things into one place conceptually. There are two jokes therein, well, sort of jokes. More like bits of irony. Another of my quirks.
“I believe in the importance of science fiction and fantasy to inform, explore and challenge society: where it is now,where it has been, and where it might go.” Alexandra Pierce
Alexandra Pierce has been reading science fiction and fantasy since childhood. She did time as a book reviewer for ASiF! (Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus) and Strange Horizons, and currently reviews for Locus Magazine as well as on her own blog. For a decade she was one third of the Hugo Award-winning podcast Galactic Suburbia. Alex co-edited two award-winning books, both with Australian indie publisher Twelfth Planet Press: Letters to Tiptree and Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E Butler.
In January 2024 Alexandra launched Speculative Insight, publishing two essays a month about issues and themes in science fiction and fantasy. Born in Adelaide, Alex grew up in Darwin, moved to Melbourne for uni, and now lives in Ballarat.
In person: we are meeting once more at Kappy’s, 1/22 Compton St, Adelaide. Turn up at 6:15 for a 6:30pm start on Wednesday, October 16th.
Zoom details for Critical Mass Oct 16, 2024 6:30pm Adelaide, 7pm Melbourne/Sydney
Stableford produced so much that it is worth looking at the bibliographies at the above sites. The Wikipedia entry has links to interviews with BMS. Because they are done at different times you get sketches of the development of his career at different stages. It also has an excellent bibliography.
Because there is so much, yes, I am suggesting you can do your own research.
E. PUBLISHERS:
Places where Stableford’s books can be found. Mainly e-books, some are only available in print formats.
Not the most easy access to find Stableford’s books. It’s a long way down to the letter ‘S’ and there are lots of other authors with names beginning with an ‘S’. This is where you can find Sherlock Holmes and the Vampires of Eternity (2009). Only available in paperback. But it’s worth it.
It also lists his anthologies and translations (which they call ‘adaptations’).
Snuggly Books:
Again you have to work down to S for Stableford. The only place for some of his last books. Plus anthologies and translations. A curiosity publisher. A title like Snuggly Tales of Femme Fatales feels simultaneously wrong and yet so perversely right.
F. A note about BMS:
Brian Stableford has been writing for fifty years. His fiction includes include eleven novels and seven short story collections in a series of “tales of the biotech revolution”; a series of metaphysical fantasies set in Paris in the 1840s, featuring Edgar Poe’s Auguste Dupin, most recently The Cthulhu Palimpsest; A Romance of Termination (2024); and a series of supernatural mysteries set in an artist’s colony, recently The Pool of Mnemosyne (2018). Recent novels independent of any series include Vampires of Atlantis (2016) and The Tangled Web of Time (2016). He also translates antique works from the French, with particular interests in the Symbolist and Decadent Movements, roman scientifique and the fantastique.
(Included to give a sense that Stableford was more than simply a science-fiction writer.)
G. Notes:
It is a quirk of my nature that give titles to talks like this; a way of putting things into one place conceptually. There are two jokes therein, well, sort of jokes. More like bits of irony. Another of my quirks.
The nominees in the fiction categories for the 2024 Hugos have been announced:
Best Novel The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (Harper Voyager, Harper Voyager UK) The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom) Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (Tordotcom, Orbit UK) Starter Villain by John Scalzi (Tor, Tor UK) Translation State by Ann Leckie (Orbit US, Orbit UK) Witch King by Martha Wells (Tordotcom) 1420 ballots cast for 576 nominees. Finalists range 91-172.
Best Novella “Life Does Not Allow Us to Meet”, He Xi / 人生不相见, 何夕, translated by Alex Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English Science Fiction Writers) Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom) The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older (Tordotcom) Rose/House by Arkady Martine (Subterranean) “Seeds of Mercury”, Wang Jinkang / 水星播种, 王晋康, translated by Alex Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English Science Fiction Writers) Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Tor, Titan UK) 962 ballots cast for 187 nominees. Finalists range 106-186.
Best Novelette I AM AI by Ai Jiang (Shortwave) “Introduction to 2181 Overture, Second Edition”, Gu Shi /〈2181序曲〉再版导言, 顾适 translated by Emily Jin (Clarkesworld, February 2023) “Ivy, Angelica, Bay” by C. L. Polk (Tor.com 8 December 2023) “On the Fox Roads” by Nghi Vo (Tor.com 31 October 2023) “One Man’s Treasure” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, January-February 2023) “The Year Without Sunshine” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine, November-December 2023) 755 ballots cast for 212 nominees. Finalists range 40-117.
Best Short Story “Answerless Journey”, Han Song / 没有答案的航程, 韩松, translated by Alex Woodend (Adventures in Space: New Short stories by Chinese & English Science Fiction Writers) “Better Living Through Algorithms” by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld May 2023) “How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub” by P. Djèlí Clark (Uncanny Magazine, January-February 2023) “The Mausoleum’s Children” by Aliette de Bodard (Uncanny Magazine, May-June 2023) “The Sound of Children Screaming” by Rachael K. Jones (Nightmare Magazine, October 2023) 美食三品 (“ s”), 宝树 / Baoshu (银河边缘013：黑域密室 / Galaxy’s Edge Vol. 13: Secret Room in the Black Domain) 720 ballots cast for 612 nominees. Finalists range 27-69.
The Adelaide Fan Review 
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