179. Ann Leckie (a.k.a. Singularitrix) — Ancillary Justice (An Interview + Giveaway)
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode179AnInterviewWAnnLeckie/SandF%20–%20Episode%20179%20–%20An%20Interview%20w%20Ann%20Leckie.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSEmpires, spaceships, and corruption, oh my! Author Ann Leckie joins us to discuss her much-discussed novel, Ancillary Justice. We talk about gender paradigms (in her work and elsewhere), research, colonial empires, science fiction as a genre, and much more! We hope you enjoy the episode! Giveaway Rules: Answer the following question: What is your favorite science fiction novel? Submit your answer as a comment below, an email message to skiffyandfanty[at]gmail[dot]com, or as a Tweet to @skiffyandfanty We’ll get in contact when we pick a winner on the 13th of December! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 179 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Ann’s Website Orbit Books John Harris’ Website You can also support this podcast by signing up for a one month free trial at Audible. Doing so helps us, gives you a change to try out Audible’s service, and brings joy to everyone. Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening. See you next week.
Eric Brown to Head Abaddon's Weird Space Series
Abaddon Books has announced a new shared-world space opera series called Weird Space. The series is set to begin in Summer 2012 with Eric Brown’s The Devil’s Nebula as the opening installment. Here’s the synopsis for the series and Brown’s introductory novel: Starship Captain Ed Carew and his crew of two – ex-marine Lania Takiomar and ex-convict Gord Neffard – lead a carefree life of smuggling, gun-running and other illicit pursuits in a far future ruled by the fascistic Expansion Authority. But when an Expansion judiciary ship captures Carew and his crew leaving the planet of Hesperides, an out-of-bounds world governed now by the fearsome Vetch extraterrestrials, Carew, Takiomar and Neffard are sentenced to death… Unless they agree to travel through Vetch territory in pursuit of an human colony vessel which set off for the Devil’s Nebula one hundred years ago. But why are the Expansion authorities so eager to track down the ship, will Carew and co. survive the journey through Vetch territory – and what might they find when they arrive at the Devil’s Nebula? The Devil’s Nebula is the first book in a thrilling space opera series, Weird Space. An evil race is threatening not only the human Expansion, but the Vetch Empire, too – an evil from another dimension which infests humans and Vetch alike and bends individuals to do their hideous bidding. And only if humans and Vetch cooperate to fight off the fearsome Weird do they stand a chance of ensuring their survival… Sounds interesting, no? And the cover is bloody gorgeous! Good on Abaddon for taking a shot at space opera!
Question of the Week: How can Space Opera keep itself relevant?
Shaun asked me to do the question of the week a few hours ago, and I accepted, even though he forgot my birthday. So the question I pose this week is: how can space opera stay relevant? Space opera, in many ways, is the heart of SF. A decent space opera extrapolates current technologies and theories past their breaking points, muse on alien culture and philosophy, contrasts the everyman with the extraordinary, and heaps on that good ol’ sensawunda until it topples over and spills some into other subgenres. That’s what a decent space opera should do, in my opinion, but they’ve been doing it for decades. In this time of the naysayer slandering SF, saying it’s a “dying medium” because of some garbage about “SF catching up with reality,” what can space opera do to say, “Au contraire Monsieur (or Madame) Naysayer,” and proclaim its relevance? How can a subgenre over 100 years old reinvent itself for our increasingly cynical and overly fantastic world? Respond please. P.S.: I didn’t forget his birthday. He never told me that his birthday was this weekend. Totally Adam’s fault.
