An interesting article on Kummersdorf in Germany, site of some of Wernher von Braun‘s rocket experiments before WWII:
It is here that the German military initiated the world’s first large-scale rocket development programme in the first half of the 20th Century.
This programme led to the development of the infamous V-2 rocket, used by Germany against the allies during World War II.
More information about the Kummersdorf proving grounds can be found here.
The charming, modest and erudite Geoff Ryman – author of Air, The Child Garden and more, plus the progenitor of the still-divisive Mundane SF manifesto – gets his turn in the interview hotseat over at the Nebula Awards website. Here he is explaining what inspired that controversial manifesto:
In 2002 Clarion I saw that a whole kind of SF writer, those whose work was based on science, were increasingly outside the SF and fantasy culture. I wanted to help get them published and I very suddenly found myself writing The Mundane Manifesto, based on some of the things the guys (and they were guys) had said. Both about old tropes driving out the new, and also an avoidance of the coming crunch in terms of oil, global warming, overpopulation, and development economics.
Some interesting stuff there, including an admission that Ryman himself may not have been the ideal figurehead for the subgenre. Go read. [photo by Danacea]
Quite old, but still relevant, here is an exerpt from a brief comment by author Ken MacLeod on the “new enlightenment” and the divisive debate surrounding global warming and environmentalism:
In science fiction, the key challenge is thinking about questions of the future. Some of the tools we have for thinking are broken or blunted. The climate change issue is a good example.
It’s difficult for the informed lay person even to decide if there’s a problem or not. The difficulty lies not in the complexity of the science, but in the subversion of the institutions of science, communication and democracy.
The role of the interest groups involved, whether it’s the energy corporations or the environmental campaigners, has been to accuse the other side of doing what the other side accuses them of doing – namely, subversion.
MacLeod may not be a climatologist but he makes a good point about the basic nature of the argument.
The headline pretty much says it all, really, but in case you’d not heard it elsewhere it appears that the wranglings between Google and the publishing companies over the company’s Book Search project have finally been settled. Once the plan has been stamped off by a federal judge, the Big G will build an independent ‘Book Rights Registry’ to monitor copyright matters, and we’ll have some new ways of getting access to old or obscure books without leaving the comfort of our swivel chairs. [image by Thomas Hawk]
What’s interesting is that there was apparently a good chance of Google actually winning the case had it gone to court… and it’s not quite the bed of roses for the publishers as it might initially seem, as Google’s now nicely placed to play a very influential role in the future of publishing.
Well, it looks like all those who’ve been so negative about the positive science fiction manifesto will get a chance to see whether or not it can work in the real world. Jetse de Vries, former Interzone fiction co-editor (and a writer in his own right) has pitched and sold an anthology of positive sf to Solaris Books. Here’s the press blurb:
Shine is a collection of near-future, optimistic SF stories where some of the genre’s brightest stars and some of its most exciting new talents portray the possible roads to a better tomorrow. Definitely not a plethora of Pollyannas (but neither a barrage of dystopias), Shine will show that positive change is far from being a foregone conclusion, but needs to be hardfought, innovative, robust and imaginative. Most importantly, it aims to demonstrate that while times are tough and outcomes are uncertain, we can still bend the future in benevolent ways if we embrace change and steer its momentum in the right direction.
There’s a separate Shine anthology blog/website which Jetse intends to become “an open platform for optimistic sf”, and there are guidelines for those interested in submitting stories for consideration – the reading period isn’t until late spring next year, so there’s plenty of time to polish up your piece before sending it off.
I’m happy to say that, while we’re not involved in any material way, Futurismic is proud to stand behind Jetse and Solaris on this project, and we’ll be giving it whatever support we can; I hope some other science fiction venues will see the merit in supporting people who are trying something new, even if it doesn’t necessarily line up with their own personal tastes.
That said, it seems even the strident ladies of io9 are divided on the merits of dystopian science fiction… maybe Shine will win over the hardcore? We’ll just have to wait and see… 🙂