by Iris
If you keep a weather eye on our website’s Events page (which you should! There’s loads of fun stuff being added all the time!), you’ll have probably spotted our upcoming event with authors Malka Older, Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Charlie Jane Anders. They will present We Will Rise Again, the speculative fiction anthology they jointly edited and contributed stories to.
But what exactly is ‘speculative fiction’? This is what our friends at Penguin have to say about it:
“Speculative fiction is a sub-genre where the narrative plays with the elements of what is possible in our world; a descriptor for ‘what if?’ stories examining alternative histories, futures and societies that seem possible within the parameters of reality.”
This specific anthology focuses on themes of protest, resistance, and hope. It contains essays and interviews in addition to short stories, making it a real mix of fiction and non-fiction. Our Else, who will be moderating the event on April 10th, says: “Usually I am not one for the short story collections, but this one might just have changed my mind.” She also recommends Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin for anyone interested in further reading about dreaming a better future together.
Speaking of recommendations, we have assembled a list of sci-fi titles that are heavy on the rebellion, protest, and resistance. We hope they inspire you!
1. Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
“Since she was born, Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of planet Earth. Raised in the bowels of Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she readies herself to face the Wisdom, the powerful, reality-shaping weapon that gave the majoda their victory over humanity. They are what’s left. They are what must survive. Kyr is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet. When Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to Nursery to bear sons until she dies trying, she knows she must take humanity’s revenge into her own hands. Alongside her brother’s brilliant but seditious friend and a lonely, captive alien, Kyr escapes from everything she’s known into a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could have imagined.”
2. The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz
“Clara Gutierrez is an AI repair technician and a wanderer. Her childhood with her migrant worker family has left her uncomfortable with lingering for too long, so she moves from place to place across retro-futuristic America. Sal is a fully autonomous robot. Older than the law declaring her kind illegal due to ethical concerns, she is at best out of place in society and at worst vilified. She continues to run the tea shop previously owned by her long-dead master, lost in memories of the past, struggling to fulfill her master’s dream for the shop while slowly breaking down. They meet by chance, but as they begin to spend time together, they both start to wrestle with the concept of moving on…”
3. The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
“Of the 380 realities that have been unlocked, Cara is dead in all but 8. Cara’s parallel selves are exceptionally good at dying – from disease, turf wars, or vendettas they couldn’t outrun – which makes Cara wary, and valuable. Because while multiverse travel is possible, no one can visit a world in which their counterpart is still alive. And no one has fewer counterparts than Cara. But then one of her eight doppelgangers dies under mysterious circumstances, and Cara is plunged into a new world with an old secret. What she discovers will connect her past and future in ways she never could have imagined – and reveal her own role in a plot that endangers not just her earth, but the entire multiverse.”
4. In the Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu
“The city of Ora is watching. Anima is an extrasensory human tasked with surveilling and protecting Ora’s citizens via a complex living network called the Gleaming. Although ær world is restricted to what æ can see and experience through the Gleaming, Anima takes pride and comfort in keeping Ora safe from harm. When a mysterious outsider enters the city carrying a cabinet of curiosities from around with the world with a story attached to each item, Anima’s world expands beyond the borders of Ora to places—and possibilities—æ never before imagined to exist. But such knowledge leaves Anima with a question that throws into doubt ær entire purpose: What good is a city if it can’t protect its people?”
5. The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed
“The world is nothing like it once was: climate disasters have wracked the continent, causing food shortages, ending industry, and leaving little behind. Then came Cad, mysterious mind-altering fungi that invade the bodies of the now scattered citizenry. Reid, a young woman who carries this parasite, has been given a chance to get away – to move to one of the last remnants of pre-disaster society – but she can’t bring herself to abandon her mother and the community that relies on her.
When she’s offered a coveted place on a dangerous and profitable mission, she jumps at the opportunity to set her family up for life, but how can Reid ask people to put their trust in her when she can’t even trust her own mind?”
Want more? Check out these titles:
