Brum Group News The Monthly Newsletter of the BIRMINGHAM SCIENCE FICTION GROUP MAY 2021 Issue 596 Honorary President: CHRISTOPHER PRIEST

Committee: Carol Goodwin (Chair); Pat Brown (Treasurer); Dave Corby (secretary); Theresa Derwin (Publicity Officer); Carol Goodwin (Newsletter Editor); Ian Morley (Membership Secretary); Novacon 50 Chair: Alice Lawson & Tony Berry website: Email: www.birminghamsfgroup.org.uk [email protected] Facebook: Twitter: www.facebook.com/groups/ @BirminghamSF BirminghamSFGroup

Carrie Vaughn May 14th at 7:45 pm One of the advantages of an online meeting is that we are far less restricted by geography. This month therefore we have an international guest and are delighted to welcome the award-winning Science Fiction and Fantasy author Carrie Vaughn. Carrie Vaughn's work includes the Philip K. Dick Award- winning novel BANNERLESS, bestselling Kitty Norville urban fantasy series, and over twenty novels and upwards of 100 short stories, two of which have been finalists for the Hugo Award. Her most recent work includes a

June 11th - 50th Birthday celebrations – details to be confirmed

Kitty spin-off collection, THE IMMORTAL CONQUISTADOR, and a pair of novellas about Robin Hood's children, THE GHOSTS OF SHERWOOD and THE HEIRS OF LOCKSLEY. She's a contributor to the Wild Cards series of shared world superhero books edited by George R. R. Martin and a graduate of the Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop. A bona fide Air Force “brat” (her father served on a B-52 flight crew during the Vietnam War), Carrie grew up all over the U.S. but managed to put down roots in Colorado, in the Boulder area, where she pursues an endlessly growing list of hobbies and enjoys the outdoors as much as she can. She is fiercely guarded by a miniature American Eskimo dog named Lily. When she was about eight years old, her mother gave her Heinlein's RED PLANET. Shortly after that, her father sat her down to watch 2001. So, really, this is all their fault. Information taken from author website www.carrievaughn.com CG

ONLINE MEETING – HOW TO JOIN IN The May 14th meeting will take place on Zoom. We will send an email with all the info you need to all members nearer the time. To login either copy the link into your web-browser or if you have Zoom, use the Meeting ID and Password. Reminder - There’s a video that shows how easy it is to join a meeting. The video is accessible via the Group website or directly on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpeYaUHDU5w

AND WHAT DID YOU THINK? THE LETTER COLUMN OF ‘BRUM GROUP NEWS Anything to say about the Group, meetings or SF in general? Email your opinions or queries to me at [email protected]

RED FLAME PUZZLE VERNON BROWN After a hard day’s bargaining about his next commission Red went out for the evening. He spent one-seventh of his money on two bottles of wine to collect later, then he lost four-fifths of the remainder playing cards. After collecting his wine and buying another bottle he paid four-sevenths of what was left on a taxi back, leaving six silvers in his purse. How much did he start with? (Answer on a later page). VB

BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION AWARDS The winners of the BSFA Awards were announced online on April 4th at the virtual Eastercon (ConFusion).

2 Best Novel: THE CITY WE BECAME by N K Jemisin (Orbit) Best Short Fiction: “Infinite Tea in the Demara Cafe” by Ida Keogh (In LONDON CENTRIC anthology (Newcon Press). Best Artwork: Ian Clarke for “Shipbuilding Over the Clyde” art for Glasgow in 2024 Worldcon bid. Best Non-Fiction: IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD: BUT WHAT ARE WE REALLY AFRAID OF? by Adam Roberts (Elliot & Thompson)

FORTHCOMING BOOKS (NB Prices given are Recommended Retail Price and may be available at cheaper prices). At the moment, given the situation, many publishers are changing the release dates on new books at short notice. The publication dates given below are correct to the best of my knowledge, but may change.

DAY ZERO (Sea of Rust prequel) by C Robert Cargill / Gollancz / 304 pgs / £16.99 paperback / ISBN 978-1473212812 / May 20th. SF. When a robot revolution threatens humanity, a young nanny-bot must choose whether to protect his human charge or join the revolt.

BLACKHEART KNIGHTS by Laura Eve / Jo Fletcher Books / 400 pgs / £18.99 hardback / ISBN 978-1529411912 / May 27th. In a city where celebrity knights compete on motorbikes in televised fights, a young, magical bastard unexpectedly becomes a king.

SHARDS OF EARTH (Final Architecture 1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky / Tor / 560 pgs / £18.99 hardback / ISBN 978-1529051889 / May 27th. SF. 3 A forgotten war hero finds an artefact of the vanished Architects, who destroyed Earth 80 years ago and then vanished.

THE HOUSE OF STYX (Venus Ascendant 1) by Derek Künsken / Solaris / 500 pgs / £18.99 hardback / ISBN 978-1781088050 / May 27th. SF. The la colonie families live on floating “trawlers” in the acid clouds of Venus. Discovery of an impossible wind on the planet means riches to those clever enough to survive the extreme surface conditions.

TEN LOW by Stark Holborn / Titan Books / 336 pgs / £8.99 paperback / ISBN 978-1789096626 / June 1st. SF. A convict and a stranded general work together to escape an alien moon of aliens and criminals.

THE GOOD NEIGHBOURS by Nina Allan / Riverun / 304 pgs / £16.99 hardback / ISBN 978-1529405173 / June 10th. Two women reinvestigate an old murder, linked to the local myths of fairy folk.

BLACK WATER SISTER by Zen Cho / Macmillan / 384 pgs / £14.99 hardback / ISBN 978-1447299998 / June 10th. A graduate returning to Malaysia must contend with the ghost of her irrepressible Grandma, an angry local deity and family secrets.

JACK ASHER by Neal Asher / Tor / 448 pgs / £20 hardback / ISBN 978- 1529049978 / June 10th. SF. A Polity standalone. Jack Four is a clone created for experimentation by the alien Prador. But Jack Four knows far more than a clone should and he wants revenge. CG

4 HUGO AWARD NOMINATIONS The finalists for the Hugo Awards and the Astonishing Award for Best New Writer have been announced. The finalists for Best Novel are given below. (Full details of all categories are at www.thehugoawards.org/).

BEST NOVEL NOMINEES THE CITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Charlie Jane Anders (Titan) THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY by Alix E Harrow (Orbit) THE LIGHT BRIGADE by Kameron Hurley (Angry Robot) A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE by Arkady Martine (Tor UK) MIDDLEGAME by Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing) GIDEON THE NINTH by Tamysn Muir (Tor.com Publishing)

 B O O K R E V I E W S  (REVIEWERS please note: - all reviews should be emailed direct to me at [email protected] Deadline for each issue is 14 days prior to the date of the monthly meeting. EPISODES by Christopher Priest Gollancz / 354 pgs / £14.99 trade paperback / ISBN 978-1473200623 Reviewed by Chris Morgan When Chris & Nina paid their last visit to the group in July 2019, I bought this copy from Chris––and then forgot about it. It turned up recently, and what an enjoyable volume it is. I'm talking about a collection of 11 stories covering the whole of Chris's writing career, the last fifty years. What's different and most fascinating about this collection is that for each story Chris has provided 'Before' and 'After' notes. He explains how stories came to be written, how they compare with the novels he was writing at the time, and what happened to the story afterwards. His theory is that most stories (not just his but all those within SF/fantasy/horror) are quickly forgotten even if they make a splash at the time. It's a theory that almost falls at the first fence with "The Head and the Hand". The gruesome tale tells of a man who, for reasons of huge monetary gain, has parts of his body cut off in public performance. Once you've read it you can't forget it. It's a story written in 1970, from which a movie was planned but never executed. It should be reprinted in any 'Best of...' horror anthology. Several of the stories included here fall into the horror category, yet are elegantly told, fully demonstrating the power of Chris's style.

5 Two of my favourite Priest stories are here: "Palely Loitering" and "An Infinite Summer", both of which are SF with fantasy trimmings and feature in his collection An Infinite Summer (which I recommend strongly but which is now 43 years old). Both are, in different ways, love stories. "Palely Loitering" was nominated for a Hugo but had to settle for a BSFA Award. I remember it, but how many of you do? Several of the later stories in the volume were new to me–– especially those with surreal elements. They had one appearance in an anthology (sometimes a very obscure one) and have not been seen since. In his 'Before' note to "futouristic.co.uk" (sic) Chris mentions Robert Sheckley's humorous social satire, and that is, indeed, a story Sheckley would have been proud to have written. Yet it was broadcast on Radio 4 and this seems to be its first printed appearance. "Shooting an Episode" is a fine piece of OTT future technology that has only appeared in a slightly obscure anthology, 2084 edited by George Sandison. And the final story is the unsettling "The Sorting Out" a very subtle suggestion of horror that not even I have in its original anthology, The New Uncanny edited by Ra Page. So if you enjoy good, clever writing across the genres of SF, fantasy and horror, hunt out this volume. (I bought my trade paperback direct from Chris Priest; it's a 2019 book; the hardcover and Orion standard paperbacks are still available.) CM

A DESOLATION CALLED PEACE (Teixcalaan 2) by Arkady Martine Tor / 496 pgs / £16.99 hardback / ISBN 978-1529001624 Reviewed by Carol Goodwin The first novel in this series (A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE) was one of my favourite SF books from last year. I reviewed it in the April 2020 newsletter (#583) and I was clearly not the only one who appreciated it as it

6 won last year’s Hugo for Best Novel (even more remarkable as this was a debut novel). Book 2 (A DESOLATION CALLED PEACE) had a hard act to follow. Thankfully I think it succeeds extremely well. The book continues on from the incidents in the first book. In A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE, Mahit is a new ambassador from a small orbiting mining station who was hastily appointed after the sudden death of her predecessor. Sent to the capital of the massive Teixcalaan Empire, she is woefully unprepared for the formality and politics of the Imperial court. Aided only by her Teixcalaanli aide and cultural liaison, Three Seagrass she must try to ensure her own survival and keep her colony safe from imperial expansion. Adding to her difficulties was an Imperial succession crisis and the need to uncover the cause (and potentially the culprits) for the previous ambassador’s death. This second story continues on soon after the events in Book 1, and with the same two main protagonists. Mahit, although nominally still an ambassador has returned to Lsel station. However, she is not safe there – one leader would happily have her dissected for the information stored in the “imago” machine stored in her head, which stores a facsimile of her personality and memories. Her only avenue of escape is with another leader who wants her to betray all her Teixcalaanli friends and potentially precipitate a catastrophic collapse of the Empire. Luckily, she is “rescued” by her former aide, Three Seagrass who thinks that the “imago” technology, which is used to pass knowledge across generations, may be key to communicating with an alien race who are decimating Empire planets and the military fleet sent to intercept them. Arriving on the fleet flagship, their already difficult mission is complicated by factional rivalries between various generals and the

7 Imperial court, and by an enemy who seem to have a hive-mind structure and struggle to accept individuals as sentient beings. The main plot strand of learning to communicate with aliens who think differently is one which has been seen in other SF novels and the solution is not actually that complicated. Much of the main action of the book is in the many clashing agendas and how that interferes in the process. Where the book succeeds is in its depth – the worldbuilding again is excellent, and there is much to engage the reader with themes of privilege, culture clashes, political manoeuvrings, identity and ways of thinking. I really liked the depth of characterisation of Mahit and Three Seagrass. They are in the early stages of friendship (and possibly more). The major obstacle is learning to trust one another against the scope for misunderstanding given their different backgrounds. Three Seagrass, as an aristocratic Teixcalaanli, is able to get away with impetuous and bold moves whereas Mahit must be more restrained and circumspect given most Teixcalaanli perceptions of outsiders as ignorant and uncultured barbarians. Mahit in particular also struggles with conflicting loyalties – contributing to the destruction of a conquering people is much harder when you know the actual individuals that will get hurt. There is very much a sense of her not truly belonging to either culture – the Teixcalaanli, which she admires but which will never fully accept her, versus her original society whose aims she no longer totally agrees with. In some ways, this is also a coming of age novel, as both Mahit and Three Seagrass need to analyse past behaviours and loyalties and decide what type of future they want. All in all, I found this a worthy successor. Inevitably, there is not the steep learning curve that there was in the first book, but it retains much of the attention to small details which added verisimilitude and enjoyment (for this reader at least). The locational shift of focus to the Imperial fleet and an alien threat seems a wise one to me. While Imperial court in- fighting still plays a pivotal role, moving to a different environment allows for the introduction of new characters, rivalries and technologies. This all contributes to a more interesting story by moving the main protagonists and the reader out of their comfort zone. It’s a book I loved reading, and as before I expect to see it appearing on award shortlists. CG (Review copy kindly donated by Tor/BlackCrow PR)

THIS VIRTUAL NIGHT (The Outworlds 2) by C S Friedman Head of Zeus / 528 pgs / £18.99 / ISBN 978-1800245396 Reviewed by Carol Goodwin

8 For those not familiar with the author, C S Friedman was nominated for the Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1988 and has published 13 novels of science fiction and fantasy. Her most well-known is probably her excellent science-fantasy series, The Coldfire Trilogy (1991 to 1996). THIS VIRTUAL NIGHT is the second in The Outworlds SF series. While billed as a sequel, I hadn’t read THIS ALIEN SHORE (the first in the series) and found it didn’t affect my reading. This book works perfectly well as a stand- alone, especially as the two main protagonists are new and not a carry-over from the first book. The first colonists from Earth used the Hausman drive. Too late, they realised that it changed their genes irrevocably. Horrified, Earth abandoned the fledgling colonies. Some of them survived and built a new society, tolerant of all the physical and mental “Variants” caused by space travel and centred mainly around space stations called “outworlds”. When a different method of interstellar travel was discovered, some of the colonists had unique abilities necessary for piloting. Forming the Gueran Guild, they helped shift the balance of power and re-establish contact with Earth. When a presumed suicide assault destroys the life-support on a major waystation, two unlikely allies are drawn into the investigation, and a plot that threatens all of humanity. All that is known about the dead is that they were playing a virtual reality game and at the time of their death they were receiving messages from an uninhabited sector of space. Micah Bello is a game designer who flees an Earth corporation waystation, fearful he will be made the scapegoat for the incident. Ru Gaya is an explorer who undertakes high-risk missions for the Gueran guild, primarily re-establishing contact with colonists separated since the first abandonment. They both end up on a derelict station where two bands of survivors endlessly fight – each believing the other group are monsters. Realising something is manipulating the minds of the survivors, they 9 doggedly follow a trail to uncover an enemy intent on collapsing the whole outworld civilisation. All the while they must be constantly on guard as they’re never sure who may be under the influence of their adversary. This is a good fast-paced space opera. The story works well and the progress from one discovery to the next feels unforced and credible. The characters of Ru and Micah are likeable and their skills complement each other. However, with all the high-stakes action, I felt there wasn’t enough time to look much beyond the superficial level of their characters and the story would have benefited from a few more quiet interludes. The worldbuilding was interesting, especially the concept of a society forced by circumstance to be more accepting and adapted to people with diverse physical and mental abilities. However, I found beyond a few mentions, this didn’t really appear or affect the narrative which I found a little disappointing. I assume that more of this was evident in the first book. The gradual uncovering of the details of the threat and the nature of the “big bad” are well-thought out. However, there is little direct contact, so there isn’t much room to explore the enemy’s viewpoint and justification, which is something I prefer in my antagonists. I suspect how you view this book depends on what you want from a space opera. It’s easy to read and has a good flow. The plot and characters are entertaining and the societal set-up is unusual and appealing, though at least to me feels under-explored. Basically, it’s a space romp and on that level, I enjoyed it but felt a little more depth would have benefitted the book. It’s not the absolute stand-out memorable books that I found in her Coldfire series (and maybe that explains some of my disappointment) but is well-written nonetheless and a pleasurable quick read. CG (Review copy kindly donated by Head of Zeus)

FORTHCOMING EVENTS All details are correct to the best of our knowledge, although we advise checking nearer the date. Any information about forthcoming SF/Fantasy/Horror events is always welcome – please send to Carol at [email protected]

EVENT HORIZON, 13th May. Online. Myths and Legends. Music, prose and poetry. 8pm. Free. Register at www.shorelineofinfinity.com

BRITSCIFI ONLINE, 14th - 16th May. Online celebration by Space Centre Leicester of British TV SF. Free. Q&A etc. Guests Joanna Lumley, Alex Kingston, Big Finish https://spacecentre.co.uk/event/britscifi/

10 SFF ANTHOLOGIES AND HOW TO PREPARE THEM, 19th May. An evening with Ann VanderMeer, Farah Mendlesohn & Marita Arvanti from Glasgow in 2024. 7pm. Free. Eventbrite https://bit.ly/3e67FKA

TASHA SURI & SUYI DAVIES OKUNGBOWA, 25th May. Q&A and Conversation. 7 pm. Online. Free. Book: https://bit.ly/3320EE9

DEREK KÜNSKEN BOOK LAUNCH, 25th May. Launch of SF novel THE HOUSE OF STYX. Facebook Live. 10pm. Free. Book at www.facebook.com/events/4101407003254283

LAURA EVE & SAMANTHA SHANNON, 3rd June. Conversation & Book Launch of BLACKHEART KNIGHTS. Free. 7pm. Book: https://bit.ly/3vyFeLa

LONDON FIRST THURSDAY SFF GROUP, Online. Virtual first Thursday. At https://medium.com/@BohemianCoast/first-thursday-london- sf-fan-virtual-drinks-5232021e961f

CONVENTIONS and EXHIBITIONS CYMERA SFFH Book Festival 2021, 4th - 6th June, Online. Festival of SF, Fantasy & Horror Writing. Weekend Pass £35 until April 2nd. Individual events £5-6. www.cymerafestival.co.uk/cymera2021

FANTASYCON, 24th – 26th September, Birmingham. At Jury’s Inn, Broad Street. Early Bird £66. No GOH info. www.hwsevents.co.uk/

BRISTOLCON, 30th October 2021, Bristol. Guests of Honour Adrian Tchaikovsky and Anna Smith Spark. Doubletree Hotel. £20. Details at www.bristolcon.org

NOVACON 50, November 2021, Nottingham. Guests of Honour: Chris Baker, Emma Newman, Claire North, Christopher Priest. Mercure Nottingham Sherwood Hotel. Details at www.novacon.org.uk

CHILLERCON, 10th – 13th March, Scarborough. International Horror Convention. Guests of Honour Mike Carey, Kim Newman, Grady Hendrix etc. At the Grand/Royal Hotels, Scarborough. £115. https://chillercon-uk.com

SATELLITE 7, moved to 27th – 29th May 2022, Glasgow. Guest of Honour Aliette de Bodard, Margaret Walty. At Crowne Plaza, Glasgow. Membership £70. https://seven.satellitex.org.uk 11

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FUTURE MEETINGS OF THE BSFG All 2021 meetings are online until further notice. Some dates may change. June 11th – 50th Birthday celebration – details tbc July 9th – SFF Author and Gamer Danie Ware August 13th - tbc September 10th - tbc October 8th - tbc November 5th - tbc December 10th – tbc

BRUM GROUP NEWS #596 (May 2021) copyright 2021 for Birmingham SF Group. Articles, artwork and photographs must not be reproduced in whole or part without the consent of the editor and/or the respective authors. This issue produced by Carol Goodwin ([email protected]). Thanks to all the named contributors. ABOUT US... The Birmingham Science Fiction Group meets on the second Friday of each month. Membership is £25 per year per person (or £35 for two members living at the same address). This includes the 12 free issues of the Newsletter plus reduced entrance fee at each meeting. Details of how to join/pay can be obtained at a meeting or by email to [email protected] 12