Vector The critical journal of the British Science Fiction Association No. 269 SPRING 2012 £4.00 Vector 269 The Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association ARTICLES Women SF Writers: Vector An Endangered Species? http://vectoreditors.wordpress.com Cheryl Morgan ....................................... 4 Features, Editorial Shana Worthen Death and Transcendence in the and Letters: 127 Forest Road, Loughton, “Forged” Novels of Justina Robson Essex IG10 1EF, UK Tony Keen .............................................. 7 [email protected] Telling the World: The Exodus Trilogy Book Reviews: Martin Lewis 14 Antony House, Pembury by Julie Bertagna Place, London, E5 8GZ Niall Harrison ....................................... 10 Production: Martin McGrath Single-Gendered Worlds In Science- [email protected] Fiction – Better For Whom? British Science Fiction Association Ltd Victor Grech with Clare Thake-Vassallo, The BSFA was founded in 1958 and is a non-profitmaking and Ivan Callus .................................... 15 organisation entirely staffed by unpaid volunteers. Registered in England. Limited by guarantee. 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[email protected] VECTOR 269 – SPRING 2012 Torque Control © Soundtech.com John Martin’s artwork at the Tate Modern ust over a year ago, Niall Harrison concluded his survey of the science fiction doesn’t focus on women science fiction authors, but best science fiction written by women and published in the does deal with quite a few of them in the process of discussing the Jprevious decade, 2001-2010. The survey was the product of variety of single-gendered world in science fiction. In particular, he the realization of how few women had won the Arthur C Clarke examines the in-story reasons, the biological explanations for their Award recently – or the Hugo or the BSFA best novel award existence, and the degrees to which those mechanisms are found which, in turn, was part of a larger discussion of the degree to in the ecologies of our own world. which women authors of science fiction were or were not being One of this autumn’s major events was the launch of the published in Britain in particular. Women were clearly writing third edition of The Science Fiction Encyclopedia. This valuable science fiction, and just as clearly, it was being published. So why reference book was overdue for an update, and the third edition weren’t more of them winning awards? The purpose of the poll has launched as an online-only one in order to enable to escape wasn’t to compile a definitive list of any sort, but to help raise the constraints of print and be continually updated. The downside awareness of the quality of some of the recent works of science is that the third edition is, thus far, only partially revised. The full fiction written by women. version of the encyclopedia should be updated by the end of 2012 So here we are, a year later. Many blogs, including Vector’s if all goes to plan. own Torque Control, have hosted year-long discussions of science One of the many contributors to the Encylopedia’s expansion fiction written by women. The BSFA hosted a discussion of the and revision was Adam Roberts, who covered science fictional subject at its 2010 AGM and mini-convention. Lauren Beukes’ Zoo music. In this issue, he considers the challenges of determining City won the Clarke Award and Connie Willis the Hugo for best just what science fictional music even is, and how the edge cases novel with her duology, Blackout/All Clear. in that argument can help with thinking about the larger, perennial This issue of Vector is dedicated, in part, to revisiting the version of just what science fiction is. In the process, he provides subject of women writers of science fiction. Few female UK-based a thought-provoking discography of tracks, albums, and bands science fiction authors currently have contracts, but worldwide, whose work might count. there’s a great deal going on, a geographic, cultural, and linguistic Another of this year’s major events was a series of exhibitions diversity which Cheryl Morgan surveys in this issue. I came away around the work of John Martin. The current version is at the Tate from reading it with a massively expanded to-read list, and I hope Britain, although it will almost certainly have closed by the time it inspires you similarly. Tony Keen examines the roles of death and you read this. Andrew M. Butler reviews the show, in all three of transformation in Justina Robson’s books Natural History (one of its iterations. Even if you weren’t able to catch it, he still argues for the books on last year’s list of the previous decades best science why Martin’s work is worth seeking out, whether in the form of the fiction by women) and Living Next Door to the God of Love. In exhibition catalogues or in his multitude of paintings and prints, contrast, Niall Harrison examines a very different author, Glasgow- which have inspired imagery in numerous science fiction films. based Julie Bertagna. Her post-apocalyptic trilogy, which begins Also consider looking up Pandemonium: Stories of the Apocalypse, with Exodus, provides an intriguing comparison with Stephen the short-story collection of works based on John Martin’s work, Baxter’s current series of prehistoric climate change novels which and published in conjunction with the Tate version of the show. began with Stone Spring. SHANA WORTHEN The second in Victor Grech’s three-part series on gender in EDITOR 3 SPRING 2012 – VECTOR 269 Women SF Writers: An Endangered Species? Cheryl Morgan ecently on Twitter I got into a conversation with a could claim for science fiction. After all, ifZoo City can win friend of mine from Ireland. Having seen the online the Clarke Award and be a finalist for a World Fantasy Rdebate about men not reading women writers, he Award, the genre fences are clearly rather porous these decided to buy a book by a woman science fiction writer. days. There are people on the fringes that we can bring In Dublin’s largest bookstore, he started at the beginning in. Storm Constantine, Mary Gentle and Steph Swainston of the SF&F section, which is shelved alphabetically by are all on the border with fantasy, though none of them author’s last name. The first SF book he found by a woman have produced anything recently, and Swainston has was Lightborn by Tricia Sullivan. famously left the business altogether. Kim Lakin-Smith Ouch! treads the boundary between SF and horror. A check of I tried the same test in my local Waterstones. I found the YA market turns up Moira Young whose Blood Red Zoo City fairly quickly, though I remember arguing fairly Road is a post-apocalyptic Western. A lot of Diana Wynne strongly in award discussions that it is fantasy. Other than Jones novels had SF sensibilities too. Writing genre novels that the only SF by women was from Justina Robson and is something of a fashion with the literati these days, so Connie Willis. The store has a separate steampunk section we can perhaps claim Jeanette Winterson for The Stone where I found Cherie Priest and Ekaterina Sedia. There Gods. And there are women producing short fiction. Juliet were lots and lots of fantasy books by women. Having McKenna has written a Warhammer 40k story, so she been there, I’m sure the same can be said of the Dublin counts (if you think orcs in space is science fiction), and store. Dark Spires, an anthology I published in 2009, included SF So are women SF writers really that rare? Have they stories from Roz Clarke and Christina Lake. In the UK, it all given up, or been seduced by the Dark Side of Urban seems, science fiction by women is rare, but can be found Paranormal Fantasy Romance (or whatever it is called if you look. I’m very much hoping that there are some I these days)? Were there none to begin with? Armed with have missed, but I have the whole world to explore so I’m a pith helmet, a sturdy pair of boots, and a powerful heading overseas.