No. 284 Summer 2016 £4.00 Vector the Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association
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Vector The Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association No. 284 Summer 2016 £4.00 Vector The Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association Features, Editorial Glyn Morgan ARTICLES and Letters: 35 Belgrave Road, Aigburth, Torque Control Liverpool L17 7AG Editorial by Anna McFarlane....................... 3 [email protected] File Under ‘B’: Aliette de Bodard is Co-Editor: Anna McFarlane interviewed by Edward Cox Book Reviews: Susan Oke 18 Cromer Road, by Andrew Wallace ..................................... 4 Barnet EN5 5HT [email protected] Swallowing a Tragedy: Ecocide in Production: Alex Bardy Edwidge Danticat’s Claire of the Sea Light [email protected] by Polina Levantin ...................................... 6 British Science Fiction Association Ltd The BSFA was founded in 1958 and is a non-profitmaking History, Metaphysics, and Meta-Science organisation entirely staffed by unpaid volunteers. Fiction: An Interview with Adam Roberts Registered in England. Limited by guarantee. by Anna McFarlane ................................. 11 BSFA Website www.bsfa.co.uk Fit To Be Tied Through Time and Space Company No. 921500 by Graham Andrews ................................. 17 Registered address: 61 Ivycroft Road, Warton, Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 0JJ President Stephen Baxter RECURRENT Chair Donna Scott [email protected] Kincaid in Short: Paul Kincaid ............... 25 Treasurer Martin Potts Foundation Favourites: Andy Sawyer .... 28 61 Ivy Croft Road, Warton, Resonances: Stephen Baxter .................. 30 Nr. Tamworth B79 0JJ [email protected] Membership Services Dave Lally (incl. changes of address) [email protected] THE BSFA REVIEW Your BSFA Membership No. is shown on the address label of the envelope this magazine came in, please note The BSFA Review it down NOW and use it in all BSFA communications re. Edited by Susan Oke .................................. 32 Membership and Renewals. If using Paypal to renew, please use the Comments/Notes box to quote your In this issue, Paul Graham Raven takes on some Membership No. because this helps us a lot. Thank you! Invaders, Paul Kincaid builds Azanian Bridges, MEMBERSHIP FEES Kerry Dodd visits United States of Japan, Stuart UK £29 per annum (Unwaged: £20 pa) Carter gets Windswept, Nick Hubble pops in to Life Membership £500 Outside UK £40 see The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, Maureen Joint/Family Membership Add £2 to the above prices Kincaid Speller meets Two Travelers, Graham Cheques (Pounds Sterling only) should be made payable to Andrews finally finds The Fire Children, and ‘BSFA Ltd’ and sent to Martin Potts at the address above, Sandra Underman bags an interview with The or Prince of Carentan... join via the BSFA website using Paypal at www.bsfa.co.uk FOCUS: THE BSFA MAGAZINE FOR WRITERS Editor: Dev Agarwal [email protected] Published by the BSFA Ltd © 2016 .......... ISSN 05050448 BSFA AWARDS All opinions expressed are those of the individual contributors and Administrator: Clare Boothby not BSFA Ltd except where expressly stated. Copyright of individual [email protected] articles remains with the author. ORBITER WRITING GROUPS http://vectoreditors.wordpress.com Online: Terry Jackman [email protected] page 2 VECTOR #284 – Summer 2016 Tweet about Vector, use the hashtag Torque Control #sfVector nadvertently, this issue of Vector seems to have become something of a meditation on history and how we I We also have a paper by Graham Andrews, who takes us on a tour through the history of television and film literary In additionrepresent to itregular in fiction columns – on what from we Andy owe Sawyer, to reality Steven when adaptations. He puts the history of the form into context weBaxter, write, and and Paul particularly Kincaid, we when have we a serieswrite ofscience articles fiction. that before giving an account of sixteen different tie-in novels question our relationship with history and the impact fromadaptation a form of that a visual is often work dominated into the literaryby science form fiction but, asand that we have when we rewrite old stories, whether factual fantastika of every kind. This form, of course, relies on the capitalised on existing literary works, so the exchange written up an interview that took place between Edward Andrewsof stories remindsand the complications us, since its inception of adaptation film has go alwaysin both or fictional. Firstly, Andrew Wallace has recorded and de Bodard, an article that we hope will be one of many Coxfuture and accounts the BSFA- of andsuch Nebula-award interviews at thewinning British Aliette Science directions. Andrews’ article is an interesting account of someremembering big names despite in science the normally fiction writing ephemeral little-known nature of novelisations, and some little-known works that are worth Fiction Association meetings for those of us who find it Claire of difficulton Ancient to attend.Aztec civilisation Once more in that her theme Obsidian of accuracy, and Blood both thetheir Sea form. historicalnovels, a historical and linguistic, distance comes that up requires again. Bodard a large measuredraws Finally, we come to Polina Levontin’s article on of poetic license, given that the Aztec civilisation on which by Edwidge Danticat, a Haitian writer who draws nottechnological on history, or but social on the situations present toand explore the future. the effects While science fiction traditionally extrapolates from current herdraw fiction on distant is based historical has disappeared periods, she with also very uses little language detail alternate historical circumstances to guess at how differ aboutunconventionally, everyday life writing and customs. in English Not despite only does the Bodard fact that of such trends - or finds its drama in extrapolating from she lives in Paris and set her novel The House of Shattered to extrapolate as her subject is the environment, and the - Wings entextrapolation things might that have she beenseeks - toDanticat’s trace has novel already barely begun, needs if The longest piece in this issue is an interview with Adam Robertsthere. by yours truly, and therefore one that deals with her story, is on the frontline of climate change, a global notthreat raced that out is disproportionatelyof human control. Haiti, affected where the Danitcat global south, sets a hemisphere already weighed down by the issues caused many of the issues that first brought Roberts to my atten- tion as a writer. While he writes fiction, Roberts is also an September might wear on, but we are still not at the end academicPalgrave History who has of produced Science Fiction one of which the most came significant into its by colonialism, their mineral riches proving to be cursed. works of science fiction criticism in the last decade, the read the interview, I am interested in the ways in which of the latest record-breaking summer and as time goes second edition in August. As you will probably see as you bywork and and we its still relationship find ourselves to the reaching burgeoning for the theoretical sun cream to me a skill that relies on dipping into the subconscious rather than the woolens, Levontin’s account of Danitcat’s writersand losing process some realityawareness into ofthe reality, medium transforming of fiction, it reality seems school of ecocriticism becomes increasingly disturbing. like Roberts can access this subconscious while still Whileand the much work of being this issuedone focusesin the name on the of debtecocriticism that we oweis a andkeeping the mindin mind through the historical the alchemy debts of he prose. owes, Yet both a writer to the totimely the past reminder as we thatwrite we and owe rewrite a great it, deal Levontin’s to the future, article and to those who are already suffering the profound effects interview focuses mainly on The Thing Itself, Roberts’ most historyrecent novel of science and one fiction that and portrays to the several history time of ideas. periods Our in different geographical locations, including one section ofhistorical climate momentchange in where all its science everyday struggles forms. Itto is adopt certainly a tone worth thinking about what fiction might offer us at this thatinterview, gives usthe a novelfictionalised returns perspective to the theme on of the homosexuality life of the that might go some way to changing theAnna political McFarlane agenda. philosopherand to the limitations Emmanuel placed Kant. upon As Roberts it historically told me when in the the and Glyn Morgan homosexual act was illegal, as it still is in many countries Co-Editors, Vector to extrapolate from his philosophy, Roberts gives some today.recognition In telling to homosexual Kant’s story desire and using and itsscience suppression fiction Cover artwork © Alejandro Burdisio - Burda throughoutcollection of history. essays onIt was his work,a particular Adam Roberts:pleasure Critical to inter - ‘Universo Chatarra’ viewEssays Adam, which not will long be before published the release by Gylphi of theon thefirst 4th academic of Website: facebook.com/alejandroburdisio October and which I had the honour of co-editing with Dr Christos Callow.Please submit all articles, comments and queries to [email protected] page 3 VECTOR #284 – Summer 2016 File Under ‘B’ by Andrew Wallace Aliette de Bodard is interviewed by Edward Cox (from the BSFA meeting, 23rd March 2016) An account of Aliette de Bodard’s interview with Edward Cox at the BSFA meeting, 23rd of March 2016 writer of numerous short stories, many set in the follow the Roman model, but Aliette’s Xuya civilisation is AlietteXuya universede Bodard of isher the acclaimed Nebula Award-winning novella On A Red For example, science-fiction’s galactic empires tend to Station, Drifting; the Obsidian & Blood at sixteenth century China, when extreme Confucianism themed mystery novels and, most recently, the fantasy based on Imperial China and Vietnam. She needed to look epic The House of Shattered Wings trilogy of Aztec- that perhaps a faction who wanted trade would come to caused the country to shut itself off.