BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:7@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20100618T200000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20100619T210000 DTSTAMP:20250817T172343Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/13529481/ SUMMARY:Dreams With Sharp Teeth - Harlan Ellison Documentary DESCRIPTION:Dreams With Sharp Teeth is the acclaimed documentary about the award-winning Sci-Fi writer Harlan Ellison featuring contributions from so me of his fans\, including Robin Williams and Neil Gaiman.\n\nHarlan Ellis on has published works include over 1\,000 short stories\, novellas\, scre enplays\, teleplays\, essays\, a wide range of criticism covering literatu re\, film\, television\, and print media. He was editor and anthologist fo r two ground-breaking science fiction anthologies\, Dangerous Visions and Again\, Dangerous Visions. Ellison has won numerous awards\, including mul tiple Hugos\, Nebulas and Edgars.\n\nMore can be read about Dreams With Sh arp Teeth here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_with_Sharp_Teeth).\n\ nAll money taken for these tickets will be donated to a charity chosen by those who attend. CATEGORIES:Book Discussion LOCATION:South Bank Centre - Royal Festival Hall\, Belvedere Road\, London\ , SE1 8XX\, United Kingdom GEO:51.505132;-0.11622 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Belvedere Road\, London\, S E1 8XX\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=South Bank Centre - Roy al Festival Hall:geo:51.505132,-0.11622 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:8@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20100809T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20100809T220000 DTSTAMP:20250902T112823Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/13529389/ SUMMARY:August 9th - Shadow of the Torturer & Claw of the Conciliator - Gen e Wolf DESCRIPTION:Shadow of the Torturer & Claw of the Conciliator make up the fi rst half of The Book of the New Sun. Recently voted the greatest fantasy o f all time\, after The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit\, Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun is an extraordinary epic\, set in a time when our pre sent culture is no longer even a memory.\n\nSeverian is a torturer\, born into the Guild of the Seekers for Truth & Penitence and with an exceptiona lly promising career ahead of him ...until he falls in love with one of hi s clients\, a beautiful young noblewoman. Out of love\, Severian helps her commit suicide and escape her fate - no more unforgivable act for a tortu rer.\n\nHe is exiled from the guild and his home city to a distant metropo lis with little more than his executioner sword to his name. Along the way he has to learn to survive in a wider world without the guild - a world i n which he has already made both allies and enemies. Welcome to a world in which nothing is quite as it seems\; to an unreliable narrator\; to extra ordinary\, vivid and evocative writing\; to one of the greatest genre clas sics of all time.\n\nPlease note\nTwo different editions are available fro m Amazon.co.uk.\nThe first contains all four parts of The Book of the New Sun series but has quite small print.https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.c om/images/I/518VDVCzT-L.SL180.jpg\nhttps://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com /images/G/02/buttons/buy-from-tan.gif\n\nWhile the second contains only Sh adow of the Torturer & Claw of the Conciliator but has a truly awful cover .">https://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/b/c/e/global_15159886.j peg\nhttps://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/02/buttons/buy-from- tan.gif\n\nLanguage in the books\nThe Book of the New Sun has been widely analysed for its deeper meanings\; some of these analyses have been publis hed\, such as Michael Andre-Druissi's Lexicon Urthus (https://www.amazon.c o.uk/dp/0964279517?tag=wimbbookclub-21&camp=2902&creative=19466&linkCode=a s4&creativeASIN=0964279517&adid=0VH6K01GGR80T9WNBP6V&) and Robert Borski's Solar Labyrinth (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0595317294?tag=wimbbookclub- 21&camp=2902&creative=19466&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=0595317294&adid=1A3Y YK31Q1FE4MEBF4CH&). Wolfe makes extensive use of allegory within the serie s\, as Severian is identified as a Christ/Apollo figure: he is destined to revitalize the Sun while at the same time destroying it. Adding further t o the books' many riddles is Wolfe's usage of archaic\, obscure (but never invented) words to describe the world of the far future. Wolfe explains t hat this is one of the difficulties in translating Severian's writing into English. An example can be found in Severian's fuligin cloak ("the colour that is darker than black")\, probably derived from fuliginous\, an obscu re and archaic word meaning sooty. Other examples are optimates\, named fo r a political party in Republican Rome\, aquastor\, a spiritual being that appears in the works of Paracelsus\, and fiacre\, a small carriage (which is\, in fact\, a French word with that meaning). CATEGORIES:Book Discussion LOCATION:The Golden Lion\, 25 King Street\, St James\, London\, SW1Y 6QY\, United Kingdom GEO:51.506294;-0.137464 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=25 King Street\, St James\, London\, SW1Y 6QY\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The Golden Lion:geo:51.506294,-0.137464 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:9@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20100913T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20100913T220000 DTSTAMP:20240927T120931Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/14076548/ SUMMARY:September 13th - The Windup Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi DESCRIPTION:Anderson Lake is a company man\, AgriGen's Calorie Man in Thail and. Under cover as a factory manager\, Anderson combs Bangkok's street ma rkets in search of foodstuffs thought to be extinct\, hoping to reap the b ounty of history's lost calories. There\, he encounters Emiko. Emiko is th e Windup Girl\, a strange and beautiful creature. One of the New People\, Emiko is not human\; instead\, she is an engineered being\, creche-grown a nd programmed to satisfy the decadent whims of a Kyoto businessman\, but n ow abandoned to the streets of Bangkok. Regarded as soulless beings by som e\, devils by others\, New People are slaves\, soldiers\, and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world\, the oil age has passed\, and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues r un rampant across the globe. What Happens when calories become currency? W hat happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits\, when said bio-terrorism's genetic drift forces mankind to the cusp of post-hum an evolution?\n\nIn The Windup Girl\, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalup i returns to the world of "The Calorie Man" (Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Aw ard-winner\, Hugo Award nominee\, 2006) and "Yellow Card Man" (Hugo Award nominee\, 2007) in order to address these poignant questions.\n\n\nThe Win dup Girl was won the 2010 Nebula Award for Best novel and jointly won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. LOCATION:The Archduke\, 153 Concert Hall Approach\, South Bank\, London\, S E1 8XU\, United Kingdom GEO:51.505134;-0.117128 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=153 Concert Hall Approach\, South Bank\, London\, SE1 8XU\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE =The Archduke:geo:51.505134,-0.117128 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:10@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20101011T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20101011T220000 DTSTAMP:20240818T104905Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/14390344/ SUMMARY:October 11th - The City and The City - China Miéville DESCRIPTION:When the body of a murdered woman is found in the extraordinary \, decaying city of Beszel\, somewhere at the edge of Europe\, it looks li ke a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad. But as he probes\, the evidence begins to point to conspiracies far strang er\, and more deadly\, than anything he could have imagined. Soon his work puts him and those he cares for in danger. Borlú must travel to the only metropolis on Earth as strange as his own\, across a border like no other .\n\n\n\nThe City and The City is the joint winner of the 2010 Hugo Award along with our September Novel The Windup Girl (https://www.meetup.com/The -Science-Fiction-Book-Club/calendar/14076548/). China Miéville's latest p aperback may fool you into thinking it's police procedural but it is anyth ing but.\n\nA full list of Hugo 2010 Nominees. (https://www.thehugoawards. org/2010/04/2010-hugo-award-nominees-details/)\n\nSome Reviews\n (https:// www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/may/30/china-mieville-fiction)\n\n https://w ww.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-city-and-the-cit y-by-china-miville-1715670.html LOCATION:The Crown\, 51 New Oxford Street\, London\, WC1A 1BL\, United King dom GEO:51.516854;-0.126376 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=51 New Oxford Street\, Lond on\, WC1A 1BL\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The Crown:geo:51 .516854,-0.126376 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:11@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20101108T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20101108T220000 DTSTAMP:20240818T105646Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/15019410/ SUMMARY:8th November - MAN PLUS - Frederik Pohl DESCRIPTION:Ill luck made Roger Torraway the subject of the Man Plus Progra me\, but it was deliberate biological engineering which turned him into a monster -- a machine perfectly adapted to survive on Mars. For according t o computer predictions\, Mars is humankind's only alternative to extinctio n. But beneath his monstrous exterior\, Torraway still carries a man's cap acity for suffering.\n\nMan Plus is a 1976 science fiction novel by Freder ik Pohl. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1976 and was nominated for the Hugo\, Campbell\, and Locus Awards in 1977.\n\n\nNebula Award winn er for Best Novel\n\nWikipedia entry for Man Plus (https://en.wikipedia.or g/wiki/Man_Plus) and Frederik Pohl (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederik _Pohl).\n\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:12@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20101213T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20101213T220000 DTSTAMP:20240818T111051Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/15081899/ SUMMARY:EON - Greg Bear DESCRIPTION:\nThe Soviets call it the Potato. The Americans call it the Sto ne. Whatever its name it's a 300km asteroid and its heading into a geosync hronous orbit of Earth. The Americans will get there first but the Soviets will get there in greater numbers. From a distance there are signs of art ificial structures on it.\n\nAs the worlds superpowers race towards the Po tato/Stone someone notices something very unusual.\n\nAn Asteroid identica l to the Potato/Stone in every way is in the Asteroid belt.\n\nIs it the s ame one? If not where did the Potato/Stone come from and who or what is in side...?\n\n\n\nLovers of space opera who like big ideas\, big technology and huge universe spanning storylines are in for a treat. It is also one o f the few books which has a sequel\, Eternity (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp /product/0765357771?ie=UTF8&\;tag=wimbbookclub-21&\;linkCode=as2& \;camp=1634&\;creative=19450&\;creativeASIN=0765357771)\, which is a t least as good.\n\nAs this is the closest meeting to Christmas the book c lub will get\, if people would like to\, at 9pm we could move down the roa d to My Old Dutch and enjoy a Dutch Pancake (and an optional Dutch beer!). \n\n https://www.myolddutch.com\n\nPLEASE NOTE\nEon is intended as a Space Opera/Mystery. If possible please resist reading to much about it in adva nce and spoil your surprise. LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:156@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20101216T210000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20101216T220000 DTSTAMP:20240927T220032Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/15719341/ SUMMARY:Dirk Gently - BBC4 DESCRIPTION:RSVP YES IF YOU'LL BE WATCHING THIS LIVE ON TV OR LATER ON BBC iPLAYER\n\nAfter years of waiting the BBC finally gets around to putting t ogether a pilot to Douglas Adams other famous creation\, Dirk Gently.\n\nD rama featuring writer Douglas Adams's holistic detective Dirk Gently\, who operates based on the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. An in vestigation into a missing cat is inextricably linked to a chance encounte r with an old friend\, an exploding warehouse\, a missing billionaire and a plate of biscuits.\n\nhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wqfl2 LOCATION:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wqfl2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:13@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110110T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110110T220000 DTSTAMP:20240818T155011Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/15389935/ SUMMARY:THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS - John Wyndham DESCRIPTION:\n\n\n\nWhen a freak cosmic event renders most of the Earth’s population blind\, Bill Masen is one of the lucky few to retain his sight . The London he walks is crammed with groups of men and women needing help \, some ready to prey on those who can still see. But another menace stalk s blind and sighted alike. With nobody to stop their spread the Triffids\, mobile plants with lethal stingers and carnivorous appetites\, seem set t o take control.\n\nThe Day of the Triffids is perhaps the most famous cata strophe novel of the twentieth century and its startling imagery of desola te streets and lurching\, lethal plant life retains its power to haunt tod ay.\n\n\n\n\n\nPaperback: 272 pages LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:88@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110215T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110215T220000 DTSTAMP:20250711T184740Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/15812749/ SUMMARY:Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny DESCRIPTION:Their names include Brahma\, Kali\, Krishna and also he who was called Buddha\, the Lord of Light\, but who now prefers to be known simpl y as Sam. The gradual unfolding of the story -- how the colonisation of an other planet became a re-enactment of Eastern mythology -- is one of the g reat imaginative feats of modern science fiction.\n\nImagine a distant wor ld where gods walk as men\, but wield vast and hidden powers. Here they ha ve made the stage on which they build a subtle pattern of alliance\, love\ , and deadly enmity. Are they truly immortal? Who are these gods who rule the destiny of a teeming world?\n\n\n\nLord of Light won the 1968 Hugo awa rd for best novel\n\nMany thanks to Richard for suggesting Lord of Light. CATEGORIES:Book Discussion LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:117@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110314T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110314T220000 DTSTAMP:20240925T140302Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/15747091/ SUMMARY:Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro DESCRIPTION:In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years \, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group children\, living as stude nts growing up in a darkly skewered alternate of contemporary England.\n\n Narrated by Kathy H\, now 31\, Never Let Me Go hauntingly dramatises her a ttempts to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hails ham School\, and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world. A story of love\, friendship\, memory and her inevitable fate\, Never Let Me Go is charged throughout with a sense of t he fragility of life.\n\nAn amazing examination of the emotional\, spiritu al and human consequences of technology we are currently on the cusp of re alising.\n\nFilm Night\nWe will be going to see the film version of Never Let Me Go on Saturday 14th March. Event details are here.\n\n\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:157@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110319T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110319T220000 DTSTAMP:20240927T220952Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/16586685/ SUMMARY:Never Let Me Go - FILM NIGHT DESCRIPTION:Even if you have seen the film come along for a drink from 9pm. \n\nDetails for Saturday are as follows.\n\nMeeting at 6pm at the White Ho rse in Soho (http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=White+Horse%2C+Soho%2C+Londo n%2C+W1F+7RY+&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client =firefox-a) for a quick drink and a chat. Go see the 19:00 screening of Ne ver Let Me Go (http://www.cineworld.co.uk/booking?performance=2931309). He ad back by 9pm to the White Horse or perhaps the Glasshouse Stores (http:/ /www.google.co.uk/search?q=The+Glasshouse+Stores+Soho%2C+55+Brewer+Street% 2C+W1F+9UJ&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=fi refox-a) for a post film cogitation.\n\nThe film begins with onscreen capt ions explaining that a medical breakthrough in 1952 has permitted the huma n lifespan to be extended beyond 100 years. Subsequently\, the film is nar rated by 28-year-old Kathy H. as she reminisces about her childhood at Hai lsham\, as well as her adult life after leaving the school.\n\nNever Let M e Go is a 2010 British dystopian drama film based on Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Mark Romanek from a scre enplay written by Alex Garland. It stars Carey Mulligan\, Keira Knightley\ , and Andrew Garfield. Never Let Me Go centers on Kathy\, Ruth\, and Tommy \, played respectively by Mulligan\, Knightley\, and Garfield\, who become entangled in a love triangle and are scientific specimens\, created in a laboratory and raised in order to provide their organs to severely ill pat ients. Principal photography began in April 2009\, lasting a few weeks\, a nd filmed at various locations\, including Andrew Melville Hall. Made on a $15 million budget\, Never Let Me Go was produced by DNA Films and Film4. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/wp-conten t/uploads/2024/09/never-let-me-go_poster_goldposter_com_15.jpg LOCATION:Cineworld Shaftesbury Avenue\, Trocadero Centre\, 13 Coventry Stre et\, Piccadilly\, London\, W1D 7DH\, United Kingdom GEO:51.510272;-0.133202 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Trocadero Centre\, 13 Coven try Street\, Piccadilly\, London\, W1D 7DH\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS =100;X-TITLE=Cineworld Shaftesbury Avenue:geo:51.510272,-0.133202 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:42@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110411T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110411T220000 DTSTAMP:20240923T224845Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/16011027/ SUMMARY:The Vor Game - Lois McMaster Bujold DESCRIPTION:It isn't easy\, being Vor. Being a Vor lord on the war-torn pla net Barrayar wasn't easy. Being an officer in Barrayar's military wasn't e asy. And being the leader of a force of spaceborne mercenaries while maint aining a secret identity wasn't easy in fact it should have been impossibl e\, to say nothing of being a capital offense on Barrayar. Not that imposs ibility or great danger would slow down young Miles Vorkosigan much.\n\nWa shed out of the Barrayaran Military Academy for being overly fragile (he h ad been biochemically damaged during an assassination attempt while still in his mother's womb)\, Miles' natural (if unorthodox) leadership qualitie s quickly led to his off-handedly acquiring a fleet of nineteen ships and three thousand troops\, all unswervingly loyal to him or at least to his a lter ego\, Admiral Naismith. In short order\, he foiled a plot against his father\, returned to and graduated from the academy\, solved a murder amo ng his people\, joined a mutiny against a deranged superior officer\, thwa rted an interstellar invasion\, and rescued the Barrayaran Emperor. Then t hings get interesting...\n\nLois McMaster Bujold's Website can be found he re: http://www.dendarii.com\n\nThe Vor Game is included in the collection Young Miles which also includes the first two Miles Vorkosigan books: The Warrior's Apprentice and The Vor Game plus the double Hugo and Nebula awar d winning Novella The Mountains of Mourning\, which acts as a prequel to T he Vor Game.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Vor Game won the 1991 Hugo award for best no vel LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:158@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110423T200000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110423T230000 DTSTAMP:20240928T081812Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/17383454/ SUMMARY:1950's SciFi Film Double Bill - Invasion of the Body Snatchers & Th e Blob DESCRIPTION:We present a late night double bill of cult 1950's science fict ion cinema exploring the era's paranoid obsession with invasion as part of this year's Barbican SPILL Festival\, an international programme of exper imental theatre\, live art and performance spreading throughout the whole of the Barbican Centre and beyond... maybe even to outer space!\n\nThe Pla n\nMeet for a drink in the Barbican at around 8:00pm\nWatch Invasion of th e Body Snatchers\nWatch The Blob\nGo home\n\nInvasion of the Body Snatcher s\nSaturday 23rd April 9:00pm\nBarbican Booking Link (https://www.barbican .org.uk/eticketing/performancelist.asp?shoid=33333)\n\nhttps://www.barbica n.org.uk/images/events/medium/11980incasionofthebodysnatchers-event.jpgA s mall town Doctor returns to find a rash of patients suffering the paranoid delusion that some of the townsfolk have been replaced by imposters. Init ially diagnosing “epidemic mass hysteria” he soon begins to think that they might be right.\n\nA classic in the genre of films that play out cul tural anxieties around the idea of becoming first tainted and then subsume d by an unseen force\, in this case communism.\n\nUS 1956 Dir. Don Siegel 80 min.\n\nThe Blob\nSaturday 23rd April 11:00pm\nBarbican Booking Link (h ttps://www.barbican.org.uk/eticketing/performancelist.asp?shoid=33334)\nht tps://www.barbican.org.uk/images/events/medium/11979thebloblead-event.jpgA nother manifestation of cultural anxiety played out as body panic\, with t hat body being both individual and collective here. In this film the threa t is an external amorphous mass\, a giant amoeba-like alien that terrorize s the small community of Phoenixville\, Pennsylvania.\n\nMade outside the Hollywood system\, The Blob launched the careers of superstud Steve McQuee n and composer Burt Bacharach with the tongue-in-cheek theme song “Bewar e the Blob”.\n\nUS 1958 Dir. Irvin Yeaworth 86 min. LOCATION:Barbican Centre\, Silk Street\, London\, EC2Y 8DS\, United Kingdom GEO:51.51988;-0.091623 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Silk Street\, London\, EC2Y 8DS\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Barbican Centre:geo:51.51 988,-0.091623 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:146@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110505T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110505T213000 DTSTAMP:20240926T163902Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/16984708/ SUMMARY:CHINA MIÉVILLE TALK DESCRIPTION:He's awoken the Kraken and undone London. Now China Mieville we lcomes us to Embassytown. His newest novel takes us to the furthest outski rts of the universe\, where a tiny cadre of elite human Ambassadors and my sterious aliens is under threat with the appearance of a mysterious new ar rival. Join us in welcoming the winner of both the Arthur C. Clarke & Brit ish Fantasy awards to the Gallery this evening.\n\n\n\n\n\nThe above blurb is taken from the Foyles site\, who are both hosting and running this eve nt. Full details can be seen here (http://www.foyles.co.uk/Public/Events/D etail.aspx?eventId=1202).\n\nThe Plan\nThe Plan is to meet upstairs at Foy les in Rays Jazz Cafe from 6pm sharp for a coffee and a natter. Then at 6: 20 we can head upstairs for the talk. Simple.\n\nAfterwards we might head off for a bite to eat somewhere close by\, like Chinatown. LOCATION:Foyles (Charing Cross Road)\, 107 Charing Cross Road\, London\, WC 2H 0EB\, United Kingdom GEO:51.514242;-0.129881 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=107 Charing Cross Road\, Lo ndon\, WC2H 0EB\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Foyles (Charin g Cross Road):geo:51.514242,-0.129881 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:150@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110509T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110509T220000 DTSTAMP:20240927T125032Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/16012518/ SUMMARY:A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge DESCRIPTION:Faster-than-light travel remains impossible near Earth\, deep i n the galaxy's Slow Zone--but physical laws relax in the surrounding Beyon d. Outside that again is the Transcend\, full of unpredictable\, godlike " Powers". When human meddling wakes an old Power\, the Blight\, this spread s like a wildfire mind virus that turns whole civilisations into its unthi nking tools. And the half-mythical Countermeasure\, if it exists\, is lost with two human children on primitive Tines World.\n\nSerious complication s follow. One paranoid alien alliance blames humanity for the Blight and l aunches a genocidal strike. Pham Nuwen\, the man who knows about Counterme asure\, escapes this ruin in the spacecraft Out of Band--heading for more violence and treachery\, with 500 warships soon in hot pursuit. On his des tination world\, the fascinating Tines are intelligent only in combination : named "individuals" are small packs of the dog-like aliens. Primitive do esn't mean stupid\, and opposed Tine leaders wheedle the young castaways f or information about guns and radios. Low-tech war looms\, with elaboratel y nested betrayals and schemes to seize Out of Band if it ever arrives. Th e tension becomes extreme... while half the Beyond debates the issues on g alactic Usenet.\n\n\n\n\nA Fire upon the Deep is included in the collectio n Zones of Thought which also includes the Prequel novel A Deepness in the Sky. We will be reading this (totally self-contained) prequel sometime in the next few months.\n\n\n\nAwards A Fire on the Deep\n\n\n\nAnd was also nominated for best Novel at these awards\n\n\n\nJohn W. Campbell Memorial Award http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/external-link-ltr -icon.png (http://www.ku.edu/%7Esfcenter/campbell.htm)\nLocus Award http:/ /bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.5/vector/images/external-link-ltr-icon.png (ht tp://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Locus.html)\n\nPraise for A Fire Upon Th e Deep\n\n"Fleeing a menace of galactic proportions\, a spaceship crashes on an unfamiliar world\, leaving the survivors a pair of children to the n ot-so-tender mercies of a medieval\, lupine race. Responding to the crippl ed ship's distress signal\, a rescue mission races against time to retriev e the children and recover the weapon they need to prevent the universe fo rm being forever changed. Against a background depicting a space-time cont inuum stratified into 'zones of thought\,' the author has created a rarity —a unique blend of hard science\, high drama\, and superb storytelling." \n-Library Journal\n\n"A tale that burns with the brazen energy of the bes t space operas of the golden age. Vinge has created a galaxy for the reade rs of the 90s to believe in...immense\, ancient\, athrum with data webs\, dotted with wonders."\n-John Clute\, Interzone\n\n"Vernor Vinge's best nov el yet."\nGreg Bear\, author of Moving Mars\n\n"Vast\, riveting\, far-futu re saga...The overall concept astonishes\; the aliens are developed with m emorable skill and insight\, the plot twists and turns with unputdownable tension. A masterpiece of universe-building."\n-Kirkus Reviews\n\n"The fir st grand SF I've read in ages...Vinge is one of the best visionary writers of SF today."\n-David Brin\, author of Earth\n\n"Fiercely original...Comp elling ideas in the book include the problems and advantages of group mind \, galactic communications turbidity\, and the prospect of civilizations a spiring to godhood."\n-Steward Brand\, founder of the Whole Earth Catalog\ n\nA New York Times Notable Book of the Year LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:159@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110520T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110520T210000 DTSTAMP:20240928T091629Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/19084801/ SUMMARY:British Library: SF-Exhibition : Why science fiction speaks to us a ll DESCRIPTION:The first event of the British Library's Out of This World Scie nce Fiction exhibition is happening tonight from 6 - 830pm and is entitled Why science fiction speaks to us all.\n\nAnyone interested in going along can book a place here\, its £7.50\n\nBlurb from the British Library is a s follows.\n\nThroughout history\, people have asked ‘what if?’. We ha ve always allowed our imaginations to create other worlds as expressions o f our wildest dreams\, hopes and fears\, and so better to understand our o wn. ‘Science Fiction’ expresses this human need in potent ways\, but s o does the work of Jonathan Swift\, Lewis Carroll and George Orwell.\n\nTh e story and present state of our speculations are explored by Erik Davis\, China Miéville\, Adam Roberts\, Tricia Sullivan and special guests. Chai r: Sam Leith\n\nChina Miéville can be seen discussing the exhibition on t he BBC Website HERE.\n\nhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_948900 0/9489104.stm\n\nDrinks may optionally be imbibed afterwards. LOCATION:British Library\, 96 Euston Road\, London\, NW1 2DB\, United Kingd om GEO:51.529334;-0.127559 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=96 Euston Road\, London\, N W1 2DB\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=British Library:geo:51. 529334,-0.127559 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:160@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110604T170000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110604T200000 DTSTAMP:20240928T092022Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/17825291/ SUMMARY:FILM NIGHT: X-Men - First Class DESCRIPTION:Bookclub social events are open to members who have attended on e or more events (or paid the Honorarium) prior to this event.\n\nPeople s eem up for the idea of catching genera films occasionally\, so lets give t he eagerly anticipated XMen: First Class a go.\n\nhttp://upload.wikimedia. org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/55/X-MenFirstClassMoviePoster.jpg/220px-X-MenFirs tClassMoviePoster.jpg\n\nThe "Plan"\n\nTickets can be booked in advance he re (http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/booking-interactive/s135/pCC720000023EW BNJIE/).\n\n5:00pm - Meet for a quick drink in the Jack Horner pub\n\n5:45 pm - Leave for the cinema.\n\n6:00pm - Film starts.\n\n8:30ish - Go for so me food and a couple of drinks.\n\nSimple!\n\nPlease note: Tottenham Court Road Station will be closed until November 2011 at the earliest. The near est tube will be Goodge Street\, which is a 3 min walk. LINK LOCATION:Odeon Tottenham Court Road\, 30 Tottenham Court Road\, Central Cro ss\, London\, W1T 1BX\, United Kingdom GEO:51.518995;-0.13278 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=30 Tottenham Court Road\, C entral Cross\, London\, W1T 1BX\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITL E=Odeon Tottenham Court Road:geo:51.518995,-0.13278 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:89@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110613T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110613T220000 DTSTAMP:20240927T115435Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/15201343/ SUMMARY:Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse 5 DESCRIPTION:Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist time-travel classic Slaughterhouse-Fi ve introduces us to Billy Pilgrim\, a man who becomes unstuck in time afte r he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambl ing display of virtuosity\, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all p hases of his life\, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering exper ience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dres den.\n\n\n\nIt took Vonnegut more than 20 years to put his Dresden experie nces into words. He explained\, 'there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. Everybody is supposed to be dead\, to never say anything or w ant anything ever again.' Slaughterhouse Five is a powerful novel incorpor ating a number of genres. Only those who have fought in wars can say wheth er it represents the experience well. However\, what the novel does do is invite the reader to look at the absurdity of war. Human versus human\, he donist politicians pressing buttons and ordering millions to their deaths all for ideologies many cannot even comprehend. Flicking between the US\, 1940's Germany and Tralfamadore\, Vonnegut's semi- autobiographical protag onist Billy Pilgrim finds himself very lost. One minute he is being viewed as a specimen in a Tralfamadorian Zoo\, the next he is wandering a post-a pocalyptic city looking for corpses. Slaughterhouse Five-Or The Children's Crusade A Duty-Dance with Death is a remarkable blend of black humour\, i rony\, the truth and the absurd. The author regards his work a 'failure'\, millions of readers do not. Released the same time bombs were falling on South East Asia\, this title caused controversy and awakening. Essential r eading for all. So it goes.--Jon Smith\n\nAwards for Slaughterhouse 5\n\n\ n\n\n\n\n\n\nAPRIL FOOL!!!!!\nAnyone who seriously thought we were actuall y going to read a "Slip in Time" should restart their medication & take th emselves out behind the gas sheds.\n\nApologies to the two poor souls who actually bought a copy of this through Amazon.co.uk. You are sad brave won derful trusting fools who made my evening by seeing that. Bring it along a nd I'll refund you in drinks. :-)\n\nGerard\nYour Glorious Leader ® LOCATION:The Bricklayers Arms\, 31 Gresse Street\, Fitzrovia\, London\, W1T 1QS\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517779;-0.133376 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=31 Gresse Street\, Fitzrovi a\, London\, W1T 1QS\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The Brick layers Arms:geo:51.517779,-0.133376 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:162@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110618T150000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110618T180000 DTSTAMP:20240928T092816Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/17162871/ SUMMARY:PUB LUNCH & FILM NIGHT - Green Lantern DESCRIPTION:Bookclub social events are open to members who have attended on e or more events (or paid the Honorarium (http://www.sciencefictionbookclu b.org/dues/))\nprior to this event.\n\nhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped ia/en/thumb/6/6b/Green_Lantern_poster.jpg/220px-Green_Lantern_poster.jpg I n a universe as vast as it is mysterious\, a small but powerful force has existed for eons. Protectors of peace and justice\, they are called the Gr een Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic o rder\, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But wh en a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power i n the Universe\, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of thei r newest recruit\, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan.\n\nHal is a gifted and cocky test pilot\, but the Green Lanterns have little respect f or humans\, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring befor e. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle\, and along with his determination and willpower\, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively)\, if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears\, he may prove to be no t only the key to defeating Parallax…he will become the greatest Green L antern of all.\n\nThe Plan\nThe plan is to meetup at about 3pm at Clapham Common station for some fun and food in the Sun. Then at about 6pm take th e short walk over to the Clapham Picture house for the early evening scree ning of Green Lantern (yay). Then after the screening head back over to th e Windmill Pub to round the evening off. Perfect.\n\n3pm - Meet @ Clapham Common Tube\n\n6pm - Clapham Picture House for GREEN LANTERN\n\nBOOK TICKE TS HERE (http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Clapham_Picturehouse/film/T he_Green_Lantern_3D/show/tkbao4/)\n\nGoogle Map\nStreetview\nWebsite (http ://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F% 2Fwww.picturehouses.co.uk%2Fcinema%2FClapham_Picturehouse%2F&rct=j&q=Claph am%20Picture%20House&ei=Up2kTf3oC4Wt8APstbi5Dw&usg=AFQjCNHAbLcH6j3cDUKfBOX _Htn2osJJng&sig2=X-QKhqah_6UhEhyB6-2RIg&cad=rja)\n\n830pm - Back to the Wi ndmill Pub or Food LOCATION:Clapham Picture House\, 76 Venn Street\, Clapham\, London\, SW4 0A T\, United Kingdom GEO:51.462537;-0.138217 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=76 Venn Street\, Clapham\, London\, SW4 0AT\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Clapham Pictu re House:geo:51.462537,-0.138217 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:161@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110628T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110628T213000 DTSTAMP:20240928T092423Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/19520401/ SUMMARY:British Library: Science Fiction: Out Of This World - Aliens and Th e Imagination DESCRIPTION:Are we alone in the universe? While we wait for an answer that may never come\, we seem compelled in the meantime to imagine alien encoun ters\, devise extraordinary alien worlds and races\, and find ‘the other ’ much closer to home.\n\nhttp://www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/outof/eve nts/manfrommars-411x195.jpg (http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchas e?agency=AGENCY_NAME&organ_val=org_id&pid=6994028)\nYou can enjoy fascinat ing presentations and discussion from film director Gareth Edwards (Monste rs)\, author Gwyneth Jones\, Mark Pilkington (Strange Attractor)\; scienti sts and writers Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart\, (What Does a Martian Look Lik e?: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life) and David Clarke\, Sheffield Hal lam University and consultant to the National Archives UFO project.\n\nThi s talk is part of the British Library's "Out Of The World" Science Fiction Exhibition.\nTICKETS CAN BE BOOKED HERE (http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/ TicketPurchase?agency=AGENCY_NAME&organ_val=org_id&pid=6994028) - £7.50 / £5 concessions\n\nhttp://www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/outof/outofthiswo rldhome.jpg (http://www.bl.uk/sciencefiction) LOCATION:British Library\, 96 Euston Road\, London\, NW1 2DB\, United Kingd om GEO:51.529334;-0.127559 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=96 Euston Road\, London\, N W1 2DB\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=British Library:geo:51. 529334,-0.127559 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:163@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110706T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110706T213000 DTSTAMP:20240928T093053Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/24486451/ SUMMARY:British Library: Science Fiction: Out Of This World - ROSSUM'S UNIV ERSAL ROBOTS DESCRIPTION:Ninety years ago the great Czech playwright and novelist Karel Capek first presented his remarkable play R.U.R\, from which the word 'rob ot' is derived and which describes the elimination of humanity by robots. A powerful comment on politics and technological progress\, it also presag es the questions of cloning and nanotechnology of our own time. A staged r eading\, abridged and directed by Ivor Benjamin.\n\nThe performance on Wed nesday 6 July is followed by a discussion with leading scientists and tech nologists on the impact of robotics on our lives\, past\, present and futu re.\n\nhttp://www.bl.uk/whatson/exhibitions/outof/events/robot-411x195.jpg (http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?agency=AGENCY_NAME&organ_ val=org_id&pid=6994039)\n\nThis talk is part of the British Library's "Out Of The World" Science Fiction Exhibition.\nTICKETS CAN BE BOOKED HERE (ht tp://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?agency=AGENCY_NAME&organ_val= org_id&pid=6994039) - £7.50 / £5 concessions\n\nThe Plan\nMeet outside t he British Library Cafe\, The Last Word\, at 615.\n\nhttp://www.bl.uk/what son/exhibitions/outof/outofthisworldhome.jpg (http://www.bl.uk/sciencefict ion) LOCATION:British Library\, 96 Euston Road\, London\, NW1 2DB\, United Kingd om GEO:51.529334;-0.127559 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=96 Euston Road\, London\, N W1 2DB\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=British Library:geo:51. 529334,-0.127559 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:52@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110711T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110711T220000 DTSTAMP:20240924T104610Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/16941123/ SUMMARY:A Deepness in the Sky - Vernor Vinge DESCRIPTION:A Deepness In the Sky is the story of Pham Nuwen\, a small cog in the interstellar trading fleet of the Queng Ho. Both they and the Emerg ents are orbiting Arachna\, a dormant planet which will shortly wake up wh en it's On/Off star relights after decades of darkness. Both groups hope t o exploit the coming age of technology and commerce on Arachna. But while the Queng Ho seek only to trade aggressively\, the Emergents plans are far more sinister\, amounting to little short of genocide . . .\n\nThis hefty novel returns to the Universe of Vernor Vinge's 1993 Hugo winner A Fire U pon the Deep--but 30\,000 years earlier. It has the same sense of epic vas tness despite happening mostly in one isolated solar system. Here there's a world of intelligent spider- creatures who traditionally hibernate throu gh the "Deepest Darkness" of their strange variable sun's long "off" perio ds\, when even the atmosphere freezes. Now science offers them an alternat ive. Meanwhile\, attracted by spider radio transmissions\, two human starf leets come exploring: merchants hoping for customers\, and tyrants who wan t slaves. Their inevitable clash leaves only crippled remnants of both fle ets\, with power in the wrong hands\, leading to a long wait in space unti l the spiders develop exploitable technology. Over the years Vinge builds compelling tension through multiple story lines and characters. In the sky \, hopes of rebellion against tyranny continue despite soothing lies\, bru tal repression and a mental bondage that can convert people into literal t ools. Down below\, the engagingly sympathetic spiders have their own probl ems. In flashback\, we see the grandiose ideals and ultimate betrayal of t he merchant culture's founder\, now among the human contingent and pretend ing to be a senile buffoon while plotting\, plotting. Major revelations\, ironies and payoffs follow. A powerful story in the grandest SF tradition. \n-- David Langford\n\nA Deepness in the Sky is included in the collection Zones of Thought which also includes the sequel novel A Fire Upon the Dee p.\n\n\n\n\n\nAwards for A Deepness In The Sky\n\nA Deepness In The Sky is generally regarded as one of the most awarded Science Fiction novels of a ll time.\n\nNebula Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award): nomi nated for Best Novel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula_Award_for_Best_N ovel)\n\n1999 Hugo Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award): winner of Best Novel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novel)\n\ n2000 Prometheus Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus_Award): wi nner of best libertarian science fiction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lib ertarian_science_fiction)\n\n2000 John W. Campbell Memorial Award (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_W._Campbell_Memorial_Award)\, winner\n\n2000 Ar thur C. Clarke Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke_Award) : nominee\n\n2000 Locus Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_Award): nominee\n\n2000 http://www.londonin2014.org/sites/default/files/logosmalla lpha2.png (http://www.londonin2014.org)\n\nPlaces to this will be £3\, wh ich will help pay for our full supporters membership of London's bid for t he 72nd World Science Fiction Convention in 2014. LOCATION:The Bricklayers Arms\, 31 Gresse Street\, Fitzrovia\, London\, W1T 1QS\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517779;-0.133376 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=31 Gresse Street\, Fitzrovi a\, London\, W1T 1QS\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The Brick layers Arms:geo:51.517779,-0.133376 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:164@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110724T170000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110724T200000 DTSTAMP:20240928T093809Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/26604731/ SUMMARY:THEATRE NIGHT - Mirror Mirror by Robert Calvert DESCRIPTION:Mirror Mirror was written in 1979 by Robert Calvert\, inspired by his friend\, Helen Mirren. It portrays Eleanor Bryant (Eva Gray)\, her psychechromic dress which responds to her feelings and moods\, a multipers pectival mirror which reflects her image as others see her\, and her encou nter with a Mirror Technician from Reflexotronics (Christian Devellerez).\ n\nA futuristic fantasy\, set in 2030\, by the renowned writer\, poet\, mu sician & lead singer with Hawkwind Robert Calvert (9th April 1944-14th Aug ust 1988). Directed and produced by Léonie Scott-Matthews who first prese nted Robert Calvert at Pentameters in 1969 reading from his play ‘The Bo x’. He subsequently read his poetry there and Léonie Scott-Matthews com missioned him to write the successful play ‘Stars That Play with Laughin g Sam’s Dice’ which has had several productions at Pentameters and els ewhere over the years.\n\nMirror Mirror will be a multimedia event\, featu ring poetry\, film\, specially commissioned music and set designs.\n\nSet Design/Costumes by Alice Old and Oliver Archimedes\nSound Design by Godfre y Old\nLighting by Oliver Cooper\nAssistant Director/Stage Manager Deneige Barr\nSpecial Thanks to Chris Purdon\, Jill Calvert and Rob Groves\n\n“ A precise potency”\n\nTime Out **** (4 stars)\n\n“Well worth seeing\, a unique piece of science fiction visionary theatre”“funny and touchin g”\n\nFringe Review ****(4 stars) LOCATION:Pentameters Theatre\, 28 Heath Street\, Hampstead\, London\, NW3 6 TE\, United Kingdom GEO:51.555953;-0.178455 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=28 Heath Street\, Hampstead \, London\, NW3 6TE\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Pentameter s Theatre:geo:51.555953,-0.178455 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:36@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110808T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110808T220000 DTSTAMP:20240923T134136Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/17523798/ SUMMARY:Babel-17/Empire Star - Samuel R. Delany DESCRIPTION:In the far future\, after human civilization has spread through the galaxy\, communications begin to arrive in an apparently alien langua ge. They appear to threaten invasion\, but in order to counter the threat\ , the messages must first be understood.\n\nBabel-17\, winner of the Nebul a Award for best novel of the year\, is a fascinating tale of a famous poe t bent on deciphering a secret language that is the key to the enemy’s d eadly force\, a task that requires she travel with a splendidly improbable crew to the site of the next attack. For the first time\, Babel-17 is pub lished as the author intended with the short novel Empire Star\, the tale of Comet Jo\, a simple-minded teen thrust into a complex galaxy when he’ s entrusted to carry a vital message to a distant world. Spellbinding and smart\, both novels are testimony to Delany’s vast and singular talent.\ n\nPlease note: This meeting is now £5\, which includes a buffet!\n\nThis will be the first meeting to include a BUFFET which given that over 95% o f members voted in favour of\, seems a pretty good bet. If for any reason we cannot go to the Bricklayers Arms\, we will return to the Pendrells Oak and the money will be spent on a selection of foods there instead. This s election will include Vegetarian and some extra-solar (Vegan) foods. Place s for this meeting without the Buffert are not available.\n\n\n\n\n\nHere' s Amazon.co.uk's most popular review of Babel-17\nIn 1967\, Samuel R. Dela ny was young\, gay\, black and possibly the hippest person on the planet. He was to write no more perfect book than Babel-17\, it is perhaps the mos t delightful\, clever and sensual of his works. Its set pieces--an extende d wander through space-dock bars as poetess and code-breaker Rydra Wong as sembles a crew for desperate adventures\; a high society dinner that turns into mayhem\; Rydra's subversion/seduction of the sinister Butcher\, who cannot say\, or think\, I\, me or mine--are glorious in their arrogant sen se that no-one has ever been this smart before. Rydra is one of those prot agonists whom the author loves because he identifies with her\, whom we lo ve because we are overwhelmed by his infatuation. And the plot? Invaders f rom another part of human space are using as code a language which cannot be broken\, and Rydra must save the day. As a meditation on language and t hought\, this is as sharp as its decor. Most important\, though\, is the c omplex\, polymorphous sexiness of the whole thing--its sense of surgical c himerahood\, life after death\, and clone assassins as just unbearably hot and really really cool.\n\n\n50p from each RSVP will help pay for our ful l supporters membership of London's bid for the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention in 2014. LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:165@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110819T193000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110819T223000 DTSTAMP:20240928T094348Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/24599031/ SUMMARY:THEATRE NIGHT - A Hero Rises - An SF / Dr Who-ish play DESCRIPTION:Please do confirm what your doing in the available text box whe n you RSVP . Coming for some food first\, meeting us at the Theatre or jus t coming for a drink afterwards. Any and all options are welcome but I'm b ooking the Restaurant on Saturday and I don't want to muck them about with last minute changes. Its a family business.\n\nA HERO'S JOURNEY is a surr eal new Science Fiction comedy about the constant turmoil and failures of being a writer\, by Steve Jordan and Patrick Baker. Don't worry\, it's not quite as depressing as it sounds...\n\n'A hero ventures forth from the wo rld of common day into a region of wonder: fabulous forces are there encou ntered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this myster ious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.' - 'The H ero With a Thousand Faces'\, Joseph Campbell.\n\nMatthew is convinced he h as the makings of such a hero\, like Luke Skywalker and Dorothy Gale befor e him. However\, his life seems reluctant to follow the 'Monomyth' structu re. His career as a writer is failing\, his ideas are terrible\, and his o nly success to date is a trashy Doctor Who novel\, of which he is deeply a shamed. For Matthew\, our hero\, life is a chore.\n\nWhile teaching dramat ic structure to a class of illiterate imbeciles\, Matthew finds himself at the centre of his own 'hero's journey'. Driven by jealousy of his irritat ingly successful best friend\, Matthew must pull himself away from late-ni ght showings of The Wizard of Oz to finally prove his 'genius'. About time too.\n\nTicket can be bought here (http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?regio n=gb_london&query=detail&event=449975) and are £8 each.\n\nThe Etcetera T heatre is above the Oxford Arms pub.\nGoogle Maps\, Google Streetview\n\nT he Plan\nThe Plan will roughly be:\n\n6.00pm - Meet at Lemongrass for some Cambodian food & a drink\nFacebook page with menu\, Google maps\, Google Streetview\n\n7.10pm - leave to for Theatre\n7.30pm - Show starts\n8.45pm - Show ends\, we will stay in the Oxford Arms pub.\n9.00pm - Order first d rinks\n10.00pm - Order more drinks\n11.00pm - Scare away local by talking in Klingon LOCATION:Etcetera Theatre at the Oxford Arms\, 265 Camden High Street\, Cam den Town\, London\, NW1 7BU\, United Kingdom GEO:51.540617;-0.144258 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=265 Camden High Street\, Ca mden Town\, London\, NW1 7BU\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=E tcetera Theatre at the Oxford Arms:geo:51.540617,-0.144258 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:86@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110912T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110912T220000 DTSTAMP:20240925T071404Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/19263301/ SUMMARY:UBIK - Philip K. Dick DESCRIPTION:Chip works for Glen Runciter's anti-psi security agency\, which hires out its talents to block telepathic snooping and paranormal dirty t ricks. When its special team tackles a big job on the Moon\, something goe s badly wrong. Runciter is killed\, it seems--but messages from him now ap pear on toilet walls\, traffic tickets or product labels. Meanwhile fragme nts of reality are time-slipping into past versions: Joe Chip's beloved st ereo system reverts to a hand-cranked 78 player with bamboo needles. Why d oes Runciter's face appear on US coins? Why the repeated ads for a hard-to -find universal panacea called Ubik ("safe when taken as directed")?\n\nUb ik is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. In 2 005\, Time magazine named it one of the 100 greatest English-language nove ls published since 1923\; critic Lev Grossman described it as "a deeply un settling existential horror story\, a nightmare you'll never be sure you'v e woken up from."\n\n\n\n50p from each RPVP will help pay for our full sup porters membership of London's bid to host the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention in 2014.\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:40@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20110926T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20110926T220000 DTSTAMP:20240923T161446Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/25195171/ SUMMARY:UBIK - Philip K. Dick DESCRIPTION:Chip works for Glen Runciter's anti-psi security agency\, which hires out its talents to block telepathic snooping and paranormal dirty t ricks. When its special team tackles a big job on the Moon\, something goe s badly wrong. Runciter is killed\, it seems--but messages from him now ap pear on toilet walls\, traffic tickets or product labels. Meanwhile fragme nts of reality are time-slipping into past versions: Joe Chip's beloved st ereo system reverts to a hand-cranked 78 player with bamboo needles. Why d oes Runciter's face appear on US coins? Why the repeated ads for a hard-to -find universal panacea called Ubik ("safe when taken as directed")?\n\nUb ik is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. In 2 005\, Time magazine named it one of the 100 greatest English-language nove ls published since 1923\; critic Lev Grossman described it as "a deeply un settling existential horror story\, a nightmare you'll never be sure you'v e woken up from."\n\n\n\n50p from each RPVP will help pay for our full sup porters membership of London's bid to host the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention in 2014.\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:166@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111001T160000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111001T190000 DTSTAMP:20240928T095209Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/32473972/ SUMMARY:FILM NIGHT - Lars von Trier's Melancholia DESCRIPTION:Those into seeing a Science Fiction film at the Arthouse end of the spectrum are invited to see Lars Von Trier's Melancholia.\n\nThe plan is to have gastronomic experience together then watch this noncey Arthous e Science Fiction film\, pontificate endlessly as to the inner rages of th e directors troubled psyche and maybe even debate the hidden meta-textures implicit in his vertiginous celluloid work.\n\nThe rest of us can have di nner\, watch a film and go down the pub afterwards.\n\nDinner\n\nVery clos e to the Polka Theatre is the family owned Thai restaurant [ Chang Thai (h ttp://www.changthai.co.uk/)]\, where the husband and wife team of Jitsada and Sandy have quietly been raising their new family and making a name for themselves producing what is arguably the best Thai food in the area. Yum !\n\nPlease note: The £5 RSVP charge is a deposit for your restaurant pla ce. Please add an additional £5 for each guest you plan to bring along. A s its a family owned restaurant & as we don't want to mess them around\; s o unless arranged with the management of the restaurant and the organiser\ , the bill for food will be evenly split between all those attending. And to avoid WineMonsters© inflating to the bill\, members can get their own drinks.\n\nFilm\n\nPLEASE NOTE\nthis film maker has a reputation for produ cing difficult\, emotionally damaging and challenging to watch films. Your Glorious Leader ® takes no responsibility for any emotional trauma you m ay suffer.\n\nhttp://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTPxIYYpAhAgTRPmGLXS 8fl6bJ2KgdY7v8_AxUKlQjpL9C4pTppNgFrom Lars Von Trier the director of Dance r in the dark\, Dogville and the Antichrist comes Melancholia. An examinat ion of how a profoundly depressed person\, and her immediate family\, deal with the end of the world when a previously unknown planet is on a collis ion course with earth.\n\nThe film premièred in May 2011 at the 64th Cann es Film Festival\, where its press conference gained notoriety when the di rector made jokes about Hitler and Nazis\, which eventually led to the fes tival declare him "persona non grata".\n\nDunst received the Cannes Film F estival's Best Actress Award for her performance.\n\nHMVcurzon Booking Lin k\n\nhttps://hmvcurzonsales.clients.newmanonline.org.uk/book/add?what=3c0o dw\n\nIs it me or does the music in this trailer\nsound a little like the incidental music\nin Space 1999's first season?\n\nDrinks\n\nLocation to b e confirmed. Suggestions are welcome by reply.\n\nThe Plan\n\nAll times ar e approximate until the cinema formally release their film schedule\n\n4.0 0pm - Meet for a relaxed dinner at Chang Thai\n\n6.10pm - Film program sta rts in the HMVCurzon\n\n6.25pm - The actual Film starts in the HMVCurzon\n \n8.30pm - Film ends\, head to our bar of choice for some drinks\n\nPlease note\n\nPlaces to this event are only available to Science Fiction Bookcl ub members who have attended one or more Bookclub events prior to this eve nt. Other RSVPing for this will loose their place and have their RSVP dues considered as a donation to the running of the group. Caveat emptor. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/wp-conten t/uploads/2024/09/Lars_von_Trier_-_Melancholia.jpg LOCATION:Chang Thai Restaurant\, 136 Merton Road\, Wimbledon\, London\, SW1 9 1EH\, United Kingdom GEO:51.419018;-0.193503 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=136 Merton Road\, Wimbledon \, London\, SW19 1EH\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Chang Tha i Restaurant:geo:51.419018,-0.193503 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:144@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111010T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111010T220000 DTSTAMP:20240926T135255Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/17217317/ SUMMARY:THE SPARROW - Mary Doria Russell DESCRIPTION:Father Emilio Sandoz\, a Jesuit linguist\, heads a team of scie ntists and explorers on an expedition to the planet Rakhat\, where contact has been established with two apparently primitive races\, the Runa and t he Jana'ata. Beyond all expectations one of these peoples have started tra nsmitting by radio but while the UN debates the moral issues of cultural c ontamination that any investigation would bring\, the Vatican equips a shi p and sets off.\n\nThey meant no harm.\n\nThe narrative shifts back and fo rth between 2016\, when contact is first made\, and 2060\, to a Vatican in quest interrogating the maimed and broken Sandoz. A palaeoanthropologist\, Russell makes the descriptions of the inhabitants of Rakhat both convinci ng and unsettling.\n\n\nThe Sparrow has received the following awards:\n\n The 1996 James Tiptree\, Jr. Award\n The 2001 Kurd Laßwitz Award 1998\ n John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer\n\nThe Sparrows and it's seq uel\, Children of God\, together won the 2001 Gaylactic Spectrum Hall of F ame. LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:167@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111019T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111019T213000 DTSTAMP:20240928T095550Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/36814652/ SUMMARY:FILM NIGHT- Real Steel (2011) DESCRIPTION:\n\nSometime in the future robot boxing is a popular sport and struggling promoter (Jackman) thinks he's found a champion in a discarded robot. During his hopeful rise to the top\, he also discovers he has an 11 -year-old son who wants to know his father.\n\nReal Steel (http://en.wikip edia.org/wiki/Real_Steel) is the new film starring Hugh Jackman (http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Jackman) and is loosely based on the short Story "Steel" by Richard Metheson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson )\, which was also filmed as an episode of the classic Twilight Zone (http ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_%28The_Twilight_Zone%29).\n\nLets meet at 6 30 at Tortilla for a Burrito [link (http://tortilla.co.uk/html/pages/locat ions.php)] which start from about £6 then go for a cheeky drink somewhere close\, then the film. Sounds good? I'll post my number to people on the day. LOCATION:VUE Islington\, 36 Parkfield Street\, Islington\, London\, N1 0PS\ , United Kingdom GEO:51.534223;-0.105989 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=36 Parkfield Street\, Islin gton\, London\, N1 0PS\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=VUE Isl ington:geo:51.534223,-0.105989 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:168@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111022T170000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111022T200000 DTSTAMP:20240928T100417Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/26150171/ SUMMARY:FILM NIGHT - Contagion by Steven Soderbergh DESCRIPTION:\n\nAfter he loses first his midwestern ophthalmology practice to a for-profit medical giant and then his family to a commuter airline tr agedy\, Dr. Jack Stapleton's life is transformed to ashes. Feeling less th e golden boy than a jaded cynic\, Stapleton retrains in forensic pathology and relocates to find an uneasy niche for himself in a city that suits hi s changed perspective: the cold\, indifferent\, concrete maze of New York. \n\nStapleton thinks he is past pain and past caring\, but as a series of virulent and extremely lethal illnesses - capped by a particularly deadly outbreak of a rare strain of influenza strikes the young\, the old\, and t he innocent\, his suspicions are aroused. When the apparent epicenters of these outbreaks are revealed to be hospitals and clinics controlled by the same for-profit giant that cannibalized his old ophthalmology practice\, Stapleton fears he has stumbled upon a diabolic conspiracy of catastrophic proportions.\n\nGetting at the truth leads to Stapleton's unlikely pairin g - both professionally and personally - with Terese Hagen\, an art direct or at a hot Madison Avenue advertising firm. Together they discover that t he real explanation behind the killer contagion is even more Machiavellian than could be imagined.\n\nThe Plan\n\n5.00pm - Meet for a little light f ood at Icco which is near to the cinema (see below)\n\n6.30pm - See the ea rly evening screening of the film\n\n8.30pm - After the film head to The C rown for some socialising and cross genera banter.\n\nWhere:\nOdeon Totten ham Court Road\n[Booking Link (http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/booking-inte ractive/s135/p94E20000023EWBNJIE/)]\n\nWhen:\nMeeting: 5pm at Icco Pizza n ear Goodge Street\n[link (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?q=icco+Pizza &hl=en&cid=5087422594969174057)]\nFilm: 6:30\nPub: 8:30\nNearest Tube:\nGo odge Street - Northern Line\nTottenham Court Road - Central Line\n\nPub:\n The Crown\n51 New Oxford Street\, City of London WC1A 1BL (http://maps.goo gle.co.uk/maps?q=WC1A+1BL&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=f irefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=wl)\n020 7836 2752 ‎\n[link (http: //maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?q=The+Crown\,+51+New+Oxford+St\,+Bloomsbury &cid=9879226253494554703)] ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/wp-conten t/uploads/2024/09/Contagion_by_Steven_Soderbergh.jpg LOCATION:Odeon Tottenham Court Road\, 30 Tottenham Court Road\, Central Cro ss\, London\, W1T 1BX\, United Kingdom GEO:51.518995;-0.13278 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=30 Tottenham Court Road\, C entral Cross\, London\, W1T 1BX\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITL E=Odeon Tottenham Court Road:geo:51.518995,-0.13278 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:48@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111024T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111024T220000 DTSTAMP:20240924T093404Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/28458801/ SUMMARY:THE SPARROW - Mary Doria Russell DESCRIPTION:Father Emilio Sandoz\, a Jesuit linguist\, heads a team of scie ntists and explorers on an expedition to the planet Rakhat\, where contact has been established with two apparently primitive races\, the Runa and t he Jana'ata. Beyond all expectations one of these peoples have started tra nsmitting by radio but while the UN debates the moral issues of cultural c ontamination that any investigation would bring\, the Vatican equips a shi p and sets off.\n\nThey meant no harm.\n\nThe narrative shifts back and fo rth between 2016\, when contact is first made\, and 2060\, to a Vatican in quest interrogating the maimed and broken Sandoz. A palaeoanthropologist\, Russell makes the descriptions of the inhabitants of Rakhat both convinci ng and unsettling.\n\n\nThe Sparrow has received the following awards:\n\n The 1996 James Tiptree\, Jr. Award\n The 2001 Kurd Laßwitz Award 1998\ n John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer\n\nThe Sparrows and it's seq uel\, Children of God\, together won the 2001 Gaylactic Spectrum Hall of F ame. LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:131@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111031T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111031T220000 DTSTAMP:20240925T231228Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/31712952/ SUMMARY:Children of God (Sequel to The Sparrow) - Mary Doria Russell DESCRIPTION:Mary Doria Russell's first novel\, the award-winning The Sparro w\, proved that any stock SF theme can be renewed by hard thought and good writing. The first human expedition to the alien world of Rakhat ends in complex disaster\; the only survivor\, the Jesuit linguist Emilio Sandoz\, is brought back an emotional wreck--only by telling his story of complex cultural misunderstandings does he even gradually regain his sanity\, if n ot his faith.\n\nSPOILER WARNING - SELECT TEXT TO READ IT\n\nRakhat is a w orld with... two intelligent species\, not one--and the gifted biologists and musicians whose radio messages attracted Earth's attention not only en slave\, but eat\, the likable efficient peasants that humans first contact ed. Sandoz is shanghaied back\, by a coalition of the Church and the Mafia \, ...only to find the situation even more complicated...--he was not\, af ter all\, the only survivor. XXXXXX\, infuriated by massacres\, has starte d a ...revolution... - and when prey determine to be rid of their predator s\, revolution becomes genocide. This is a powerful novel of religion\, po litics and bad choices--it is a sequel which intelligently undercuts and r evises assumptions its predecessor imposed on us\; like its predecessor\, it is one of the key sf novels of the 90s.\n\n\n\nThe Sparrow has received the following awards:\n\nLonglist for the 1999 James Tiptree\, Jr. Award\ nNominee for the 1999 Hugo Awards\nThe Sparrow and Children of God togethe r won the 2001 Gaylactic Spectrum Hall of Fame. LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:170@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111112T173000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111112T203000 DTSTAMP:20240928T101635Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/40420912/ SUMMARY:THEATRE NIGHT: Death Finds a Lover DESCRIPTION:As this months book\, Frankenstein\, did much to define the Got hic tradition I thought a stage play with a dark Gothic edge would be the perfect way to round out our month.\n\nA new play by Olivier Bosman Direct ed by Steve Hubbard\n\nhttp://www.theredhedgehog.co.uk/theatre/DeathTakesA LoverIMAGE.gif Every mother wants the\nbest for her little boy...\n\nTwo s ons: One dead in the ground\n\nAnother\, all but dead inside.\n\nJohn Bill ings has been sent to investigate the untimely death of a young man who se emed to have everything to live for. But\, as hidden desires and dark secr ets emerge\, will John find a reason to start living life for himself?\n\n Fusing Gothic romanticism and fin-de-siecle melodrama\, Death Takes A Love r is a chilling and claustrophobic slice of Victoriana.\n\nBOOKING INFO\n\ nI have three ticket going for £7.00 each on a first come first served ba sis.\n\nTICKETS: £12 / £10 (concessions) ONLINE BOOKINGS\nTickets availa ble c/o\nWeGotTickets (http://www.wegottickets.com/f/3136)\n\nTickets also available from the BOX OFFICE on 0208 348 5050(Credit / Debit cards accep ted) LOCATION:The Red Hedgehog\, 255-257 Archway Road\, Highgate\, London\, N6 5 BS\, United Kingdom GEO:51.576147;-0.143936 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=255-257 Archway Road\, High gate\, London\, N6 5BS\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The Red Hedgehog:geo:51.576147,-0.143936 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:143@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111114T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111114T220000 DTSTAMP:20240926T135015Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/17275241/ SUMMARY:FRANKENSTEIN (Or\, the Modern Prometheus) - Mary Shelley DESCRIPTION:An intelligent and promising young student indulges a moment of thoughtless scientific passion and creates life. Horrified at himself\, V ictor Frankenstein shuns the creature and attempts to continue his life wi thout thinking about it. The creature\, however\, is lost in an unkind wor ld and he never stops thinking about its 'father'\, Frankenstein.\n\nCommo nly regarded as one of the first Science Fiction books ever written\, Frak enstein has gone on to become one of the most iconic and topical books eve r published in the English language.\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:169@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111116T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111116T220000 DTSTAMP:20240928T101214Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/26954731/ SUMMARY:FILM NIGHT: In Time (or something else if its as bad as everyone sa ys it is) DESCRIPTION:From the Director of Gattaca comes a new SF film where\, in a n ot-too-distant future when the ageing gene has been switched off\, people must pay to stay alive. To avoid overpopulation\, time has become the curr ency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can liv e forever\, while the rest try to negotiate for their immortality.\n\nA po or young man is accused of murder when he inherits a fortune of time from a dead upper class man\, though too late to help his mother from dying. He is forced to go on the run from a corrupt police force known as 'time kee pers'.\n\nThe Plan\n\n7.00pm - Meet at the box office\, get out tickets an d then head for some food near to the cinema\n\n9.10/9:30pm - See the even ing screening of whatever film we want. The program for In Time is 910 and the film is probably 925. Other films are within 10 mins of that. LOCATION:Cineworld Shaftesbury Avenue\, Trocadero Centre\, 13 Coventry Stre et\, Piccadilly\, London\, W1D 7DH\, United Kingdom GEO:51.510272;-0.133202 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Trocadero Centre\, 13 Coven try Street\, Piccadilly\, London\, W1D 7DH\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS =100;X-TITLE=Cineworld Shaftesbury Avenue:geo:51.510272,-0.133202 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:16@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111128T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111128T220000 DTSTAMP:20240923T160913Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/29815301/ SUMMARY:FRANKENSTEIN (Or\, the Modern Prometheus) - Mary Shelley DESCRIPTION:An intelligent and promising young student indulges a moment of thoughtless scientific passion and creates life. Horrified at himself\, V ictor Frankenstein shuns the creature and attempts to continue his life wi thout thinking about it. The creature\, however\, is lost in an unkind wor ld and he never stops thinking about its 'father'\, Frankenstein.\n\nCommo nly regarded as one of the first Science Fiction books ever written\, Frak enstein has gone on to become one of the most iconic and topical books eve r published in the English language.\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:50@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111212T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111212T220000 DTSTAMP:20240924T095339Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/22193501/ SUMMARY:City - Clifford D. Simak DESCRIPTION:Due to our usual second monthly meeting falling on Dec 26th\, w e will instead have one large meeting and split into two groups of equal s ize\, Humans and Clones.\n\nFar in the future Dogs & Robots have a shared mythology of a creature called Man that strode the Earth before Dogs and R obot evolved. But was Man real or is he simply a mythic creation used to s care pups at bed kennel-time? City is considered Simak's seminal work and is eight short stories or myths of Dogkind with critical interpretation be tween each\, to help readers make up their own minds on 'Man'.\n\nCity is set on a far future Earth where mankind's achievements are immense: artifi cially intelligence\, genetically uplifted animals\, interplanetary travel \, genetic modification of the human form itself. But nothing comes withou t a cost. Humanity is tired\, its vigour all but gone. Society is breaking down into smaller communities\, dispersing into the countryside and aband oning the great cities of the world. As the human race dwindles and declin es\, which of its great creations will inherit the Earth? And which will c laim the stars . . . ?\n\n\n\n LOCATION:The Wheatsheaf\, 25 Rathbone Place\, Fitzrovia\, London\, W1T 1JB\ , United Kingdom GEO:51.517747;-0.134007 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=25 Rathbone Place\, Fitzrov ia\, London\, W1T 1JB\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The Whea tsheaf:geo:51.517747,-0.134007 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:72@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111217T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111217T230000 DTSTAMP:20240924T165801Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/37032282/ SUMMARY:XMAS MEAL 2011 DESCRIPTION:\n\nDear Replicants\nThis year the location for our Xmas meal i s right bang in the centre of town\, near Tottenham Court Road\, which mak es it VERY easy for Public Transport.\n\nIts a fantastic family owned Kore an Restaurant\, which specialises in tabletop BBQ's right in font of you! Yahoo!\n\nThe plan\n\n6:00pm - Meet for Drinks at [The Angel Pub on High H olborn (http://bit.ly/rKYrJN)]. Its one of the area oldest pubs and its a Samuel Smiths which means its VERY good value. They have a small private r oom at the back of the pub that Your Glorious Leader ® will reserve exclu sively for our use.\n\n6:45pm - We can all stagger/wobble/crawl/walk to th e Restaurant for our 7pm booking! Simple.\n\n8:45pm - Post meal drinks or coffee\n\n11:00pm - Head over to the 12 Bar Club (http://www.12barclub.com /) on Denmark Street for some Traditional Christmas Punk Rock with [The Bl each Boys (http://www.thebleachboys.co.uk/homepage.htm)]. Two tracks from their latest album "Taking the O out of Country" can be heard here (stealt h bomber) (http://www.thebleachboys.co.uk/stealth.mp3) and here (Psycho Se mtex Sex) (http://www.thebleachboys.co.uk/psycho.mp3). ROCK AND ROLL!\n\n3 :00am - Kicked out of 12 Bar Club\n\n3:15am - Sing songs in praise of Your Glorious Leader ®\, who will modestly accept.\n\nPlease Note:\n\nOnly 32 places available PLEASE BRING CASH Bookclub members can bring up to +2 gu ests The £5 RSVP charge is a deposit for your restaurant place.\n\nPlease add an additional £5 for each guest you plan to bring along Extra Solar [Vegan] food can be arranged on request Your dutiful Chief Bookworm has pe rsonally sampled the food at this venue and it gets his DoublePlusGood rat ing After our meal there may optionally be more late night cavorting. This is optional Reading fantasy is ReadCrime Do not [look at this (http://bit .ly/vpSU8D)] or [this (http://bit.ly/ucrDPR)]. You have been warned :) LOCATION:Han Kang\, 16 Hanway Street\, Fitzrovia\, London\, W1T 1UE\, Unite d Kingdom GEO:51.516932;-0.131797 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=16 Hanway Street\, Fitzrovi a\, London\, W1T 1UE\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Han Kang: geo:51.516932,-0.131797 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:77@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20111221T113000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20111221T143000 DTSTAMP:20240924T173140Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/23803681/ SUMMARY:The Awakening of Cthulhu DESCRIPTION:\n\nThe winter solstice of 2012 will occur at 11:11 GMT on Dece mber 21st 2012\, the same day the Mayan Long Count Calender flips over or "ends" as some say. On that morning the sun will appear to rise into the a rea of the sky we refer to as the galactic center or nuclear bulge. It is the location of the super-massive black hole at the center of the rotation of the the Milky Way galaxy. The sun's position in the sky on this day wi ll also be perceptively aligned with the "Dark Rift" (the dark band that t o the eye seems to divide the bright band of the Milky Way galaxy). Additi onally on this day\, Jupiter and Saturn will be involved in an astrologica l formation known as a Yod (finger of God.) With the combination of all th ese celestial events\, the "stars will be right" and Cthulhu will begin to awaken.\n\nSome things to note about this event.\n\nAs the event is in th e South Pacific seas\, at the newly refurbished [R'lyeh (http://en.wikiped ia.org/wiki/R%27lyeh)] [GoogleMaps http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=47%C2%B 09%27S+126%C2%B043%27W&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sll=51.433351\,-0.294328&sspn=0.10744 6\,0.308647&vpsrc=0&t=m&z=16\, members will need to arrange their own tran sport. Due to health and safety concerns only those willing to be in bound mental and spiritual servitude to the great Cuthlhu should attend. All ot her members should prepare for The End Of The World in their own particula r way. In the event of The End Of The World all future Science Fiction Boo kclub meetings will be cancelled and refunded provided. Bookclub social ev ents are open to members who have attended one or more book events (or pai d the Honorarium) prior to this event. At the proper time\,"the secret pri ests would take great Cthulhu from his tomb to revive His subjects and res ume his rule of earth....Then mankind would have become as the Great Old O nes\; free and wild and beyond good and evil\, with laws and morals thrown aside and all men shouting and killing and revelling in joy. Then the lib erated Old Ones would teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel and enjoy themselves\, and all the earth would flame with a holocaust of ecsta sy and freedom"\n\nIn 1997 (15 years in advance to 2012) a "bloop" was hea rd in the southern Pacific Ocean within a 500 mile proximity of the suppos ed location of Cthulhu's sunken tomb-city known as R'lyeh located at 47°9 'S 126°43'W. This "bloop" was louder than any known animal noise (even wh ales) and suggested to possibly be from a gigantic cephalopod.\n\nCthulhu' s appearance has been said to be of a gigantic cephalopod with a body like a man's and bat-like wings. "a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline\, bu t with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers\, a scaly\, r ubbery-looking body\, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet\, and long\, narrow wings behind"\n\nCthulhu rises in 2012. LOCATION:The Golden Lion\, 25 King Street\, St James\, London\, SW1Y 6QY\, United Kingdom GEO:51.506294;-0.137464 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=25 King Street\, St James\, London\, SW1Y 6QY\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The Golden Lion:geo:51.506294,-0.137464 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:76@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120116T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120116T220000 DTSTAMP:20240924T172604Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/28970241/ SUMMARY:The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood DESCRIPTION:Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She has only on e function: to breed. If she deviates\, she will\, like dissenters\, be ha nged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire – neither Offred’s nor th at of the two men on which her future hangs. Offred can remember the years before\, when she was an independent woman\, had a job of her own\, a hus band and child. But all of that is gone now...everything has changed.\n\nI n The Handmaid’s Tale\, Atwood explores the consequences of a reversal o f women’s rights. In the novel’s nightmare world of Gilead\, a group o f conservative religious extremists has taken power and turned the sexual revolution on its head. Feminists argued for liberation from traditional g ender roles\, but Gilead is a society founded on a “return to traditiona l values” and gender roles\, and on the subjugation of women by men. Wha t feminists considered the great triumphs of the 1970s—namely\, widespre ad access to contraception\, the legalization of abortion\, and the increa sing political influence of female voters—have all been undone. Women in Gilead are not only forbidden to vote\, they are forbidden to read or wri te. Atwood’s novel also paints a picture of a world undone by pollution and infertility\, reflecting 1980s fears about declining birthrates\, the dangers of nuclear power\, and -environmental degradation.\n\n\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:75@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120130T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120130T220000 DTSTAMP:20240924T172452Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/32514052/ SUMMARY:THE HANDMAID'S TALE - Margaret Atwood DESCRIPTION:Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She has only on e function: to breed. If she deviates\, she will\, like dissenters\, be ha nged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire – neither Offred’s nor th at of the two men on which her future hangs. Offred can remember the years before\, when she was an independent woman\, had a job of her own\, a hus band and child. But all of that is gone now...everything has changed.\n\nI n The Handmaid’s Tale\, Atwood explores the consequences of a reversal o f women’s rights. In the novel’s nightmare world of Gilead\, a group o f conservative religious extremists has taken power and turned the sexual revolution on its head. Feminists argued for liberation from traditional g ender roles\, but Gilead is a society founded on a “return to traditiona l values” and gender roles\, and on the subjugation of women by men. Wha t feminists considered the great triumphs of the 1970s—namely\, widespre ad access to contraception\, the legalization of abortion\, and the increa sing political influence of female voters—have all been undone. Women in Gilead are not only forbidden to vote\, they are forbidden to read or wri te. Atwood’s novel also paints a picture of a world undone by pollution and infertility\, reflecting 1980s fears about declining birthrates\, the dangers of nuclear power\, and -environmental degradation.\n\n\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:172@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120201T173000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120201T203000 DTSTAMP:20240928T102553Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/38119582/ SUMMARY:FILM NIGHT - Chronicle DESCRIPTION:Three high school friends gain the superhuman abilities of tele kinesis\, flight\, and invulnerability after making an incredible discover y in a mysterious crater. Soon\, though\, they find their lives spinning o ut of control and their bond tested as one of them\, Andrew Detmer\, embra ces his darker side.\n\nDen of Geek gives it 5/5 stars [LINK (http://www.d enofgeek.com/movies/1211344/chronicle_review.html)] while DigitalSpy.co.uk [LINK (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/review/a362462/chronicle-review .html)] and SFX [LINK (http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/01/27/chronicle-film-revi ew/)] have both given it 4/5 stars.\n\nThe Plan\n\n5.30pm - Meet for a lit tle light food at Icco which is near to the cinema (see below)\n\n6.30pm - See the early evening screening of the film\n\n8.30pm - After the film le ts head to The Fitzroy Tavern for some socialising and banter.\n\nWhere:\n Odeon Tottenham Court Road\n[Booking Link (http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/ booking-interactive/s135/p6C230000023EWBNJIE/)]\n\nWhen:\nMeeting: From 5: 30pm at Icco Pizza near Goodge Street\n[link (http://maps.google.co.uk/map s/place?q=icco+Pizza&hl=en&cid=5087422594969174057)]\nFilm: 6:30 approx\nP ub: 8:30\nNearest Tube:\nGoodge Street - Northern Line\nTottenham Court Ro ad - Central Line\n\nPub:\nThe Fitzroy Tavern\n16 Charlotte Street\, Londo n\, W1T 2LY (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=W1T+2LY&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozi lla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=wl)\n020 7580 3714\n[link (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:e n-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=The+Fitzroy+Tavern&fb=1&gl= uk&hq=The+Fitzroy+Tavern&cid=0\,0\,14671138661998480920)] ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/wp-conten t/uploads/2024/09/Chronicle_2012.jpg LOCATION:Odeon Tottenham Court Road\, 30 Tottenham Court Road\, Central Cro ss\, London\, W1T 1BX\, United Kingdom GEO:51.518995;-0.13278 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=30 Tottenham Court Road\, C entral Cross\, London\, W1T 1BX\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITL E=Odeon Tottenham Court Road:geo:51.518995,-0.13278 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:104@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120213T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120213T220000 DTSTAMP:20240925T102124Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/30869571/ SUMMARY:Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner) - Philip K. Dic k DESCRIPTION:All remaining places to this meeting will be £5 with all proce eds going to the National Literacy Trust.\n\n\n\nWorld War Terminus had le ft the Earth devastated. Through its ruins\, bounty hunter Rick Deckard st alked\, in search of the renegade replicants who were his prey. When he wa sn't 'retiring' them with his laser weapon\, he dreamed of owning a live a nimal -- the ultimate status symbol in a world all but bereft of animal li fe. Then Rick got his chance: the assignment to kill six Nexus-6 targets\, for a huge reward. But in Deckard's world things were never that simple\, and his assignment quickly turned into a nightmare kaleidoscope of subter fuge and deceit -- and the threat of death for the hunter rather than the hunted . . .\n\nDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a book that most p eople think they remember\, and almost always get more or less wrong. Ridl ey Scott's film Blade Runner took a lot from it\, and threw a lot away\; w onderful in itself\, it is a flash thriller where Dick's novel is a sober meditation. As we all know\, bounty hunter Rick Deckard is stalking a grou p of androids returned from space with short life spans and murder on thei r minds--where Scott's Deckard was Harrison Ford\, Dick's is a financially over-stretched municipal employee with bills to pay and a depressed wife. In a world where most animals have died\, and pet-keeping is a social dut y\, he can only afford a robot imitation\, unless he gets a big financial break. The genetically warped "chickenhead" John Isidore has visions of a tomb-world where entropy has finally won. And everyone plugs in to the spi ritual agony of Mercer\, whose sufferings for the sins of humanity are bro adcast several times a day. Prefiguring the religious obsessions of Dick's last novels\, this asks dark questions about identity and altruism. After all\, is it right to kill the killers just because Mercer says so?\n\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:171@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120222T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120222T213000 DTSTAMP:20240928T102240Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/51839062/ SUMMARY:Secondhand Sci-Fi Book Shop as exhibition in London DESCRIPTION:Science Fiction Book Club Members are formally invited to Rossi & Rossi where Heman Chong\, the Singaporean conceptual artist\, writer an d curator\, is going to turn the noted West-End gallery into a fully funct ional second-hand Science Fiction & Fatnasy Popup bookshop. The full descr iption of the event follows.\n\nhttp://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/eve nt/1/2/1/8/event_92404632.jpegHEMAN CHONG : LEM1\n[Exhibition Website (htt p://www.rossirossi.com/contemporary/exhibitions/lem1/information)]\n\n22 F eb - 31 Mar 2012\n\n'LEM' is a space created by Singaporean Artist Heman C hong\, a space which occurs within other spaces configured to house specif ic fields of research in diverse forms of presentations\, from anthology o f short stories\, archive bookshop\, novel\, installation or performance.\ n\nThe exhibition\, entitled 'LEM1' - the first of a proposed 'LEM' series - will present a functioning sci-fi and fantasy bookshop opened to the pu blic where visitors are welcome to browse as well as purchase books\, tran sforming the viewing experience into a system of monetary and goods exchan ge. The books in LEM1 are all taken from a list compiled by Chong\, many o f which he has used for research whilst writing his own science fiction no vel\, due to be completed in 2013.\n\nThe Plan\n\n6.00pm - Meet for a quic k drink at the Red Lion pub (see below)\n\n6.45pm - Walk over to the venue via [this route (http://bit.ly/wyAYNU)]. Its a 3 min walk :)\n\n8ish pm - Head back to the Red Lion for drinks or dinner\, depending on how people feel.\n\nNearest Tube:\nOxford Circus - Central & Victoria Lines\nPiccadil ly Circus - Piccadilly & Bakerloo Lines\n\nPub:\nThe Red Lion\n14 Kingly S t\, London\, W1B 5PR (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=W1B+5PR&oe=utf-8&rls =org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab= wl)\n020 7734 4985\n[link (http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=The+Red+Lion%2 C+Soho)] LOCATION:Rossi and Rossi\, 16 Clifford Street\, Mayfair\, London\, W1S 3RG\ , United Kingdom GEO:51.510848;-0.141596 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=16 Clifford Street\, Mayfai r\, London\, W1S 3RG\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Rossi and Rossi:geo:51.510848,-0.141596 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:62@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120227T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120227T220000 DTSTAMP:20240924T153911Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/32514442/ SUMMARY:DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? (Blade Runner) - Philip K. Dic k DESCRIPTION:All remaining places to this meeting will be £5 with all proce eds going to the National Literacy Trust.\n\n\n\nWorld War Terminus had le ft the Earth devastated. Through its ruins\, bounty hunter Rick Deckard st alked\, in search of the renegade replicants who were his prey. When he wa sn't 'retiring' them with his laser weapon\, he dreamed of owning a live a nimal -- the ultimate status symbol in a world all but bereft of animal li fe. Then Rick got his chance: the assignment to kill six Nexus-6 targets\, for a huge reward. But in Deckard's world things were never that simple\, and his assignment quickly turned into a nightmare kaleidoscope of subter fuge and deceit -- and the threat of death for the hunter rather than the hunted . . .\n\nDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a book that most p eople think they remember\, and almost always get more or less wrong. Ridl ey Scott's film Blade Runner took a lot from it\, and threw a lot away\; w onderful in itself\, it is a flash thriller where Dick's novel is a sober meditation. As we all know\, bounty hunter Rick Deckard is stalking a grou p of androids returned from space with short life spans and murder on thei r minds--where Scott's Deckard was Harrison Ford\, Dick's is a financially over-stretched municipal employee with bills to pay and a depressed wife. In a world where most animals have died\, and pet-keeping is a social dut y\, he can only afford a robot imitation\, unless he gets a big financial break. The genetically warped "chickenhead" John Isidore has visions of a tomb-world where entropy has finally won. And everyone plugs in to the spi ritual agony of Mercer\, whose sufferings for the sins of humanity are bro adcast several times a day. Prefiguring the religious obsessions of Dick's last novels\, this asks dark questions about identity and altruism. After all\, is it right to kill the killers just because Mercer says so?\n\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:59@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120304T150000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120304T180000 DTSTAMP:20240924T151629Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/41496582/ SUMMARY:A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs DESCRIPTION:\n\nIn anticipation of the new film John Carter which will be o pening across the UK in early March 2012 [A Film Night event is listed her e]\, lets use the 5th Monday of January to squeeze in a discussion of the books that form the basis of the film A Princess of Mars.\n\nA Princess of Mars is a science fiction novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs\, the first of hi s Barsoom series. It is also Burroughs' first novel\, pre-dating his famou s Tarzan series. Full of swordplay and daring feats\, the novel is conside red a classic example of 20th century pulp fiction. It is also a seminal i nstance of the planetary romance\, a genre that became highly popular in t he decades following its publication. Its early chapters also contain elem ents of the Western. The story is set on Mars\, imagined as a dying planet with a harsh desert environment. This vision of Mars was based on the wor k of the astronomer Percival Lowell\, whose ideas were widely popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.\n\nThe Barsoom series inspired a number of well-known 20th century science fiction writers\, including Ra y Bradbury\, John Norman\, and Arthur C. Clarke\, and was also inspiration al for many scientists in the fields of space exploration and the search f or extraterrestrial life\, including Carl Sagan\, who read A Princess of M ars as a child.\n\n\n\n\nA Princess of Mars is out of Copyright in the Uni ted Kingdom and can be downloaded for FREE at Project Gutenburg!!!\n\nThe Plan\nAs this is an extra meeting we are going somewhere a little differen t. Just south of London Bridge station is a rabbits warren of streets that are almost all offices and old warehouse space but nestled amongst all th is is a fantastic pub called The Miller (http://www.themiller.co.uk). It's normally a real oasis of craziness but will be VERY quiet on a Sunday aft ernoon. LOCATION:The Ordinance Arms\, 29 Ordnance Hill\, St Johns Wood\, London\, N W8 6PS\, United Kingdom GEO:51.535809;-0.171503 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=29 Ordnance Hill\, St Johns Wood\, London\, NW8 6PS\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The O rdinance Arms:geo:51.535809,-0.171503 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:195@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120310T163000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120310T193000 DTSTAMP:20250511T102908Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/41495432/ SUMMARY:FILM NIGHT: John Carter of Mars DESCRIPTION:John Carter the newest movie from Academy Award®–winning film maker Andrew Stanton is an action adventure story set on Barsoom\, the exo tic and mysterious planet we know as Mars. Based on the Edgar Rice Burroug hs classic novel\, John Carter is the story which inspired many of the mos t imaginative and well known Hollywood movies\, past and present.\n\nThe m ovie tells the tale of war-weary\, former military captain John Carter (Ta ylor Kitsch)\, who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes re luctantly involved in a conflict of epic proportions between the inhabitan ts of the planet\, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivatin g Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins).\n\nIn a world on the brink of coll apse\, John Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the surv ival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.\n\nBFI IMAX: BOOKING LI NK (https://tickets.bfi.org.uk/selectseat.asp?Venue=IMAX&PerIndex=35473)\n \nWe will be meeting to discuss the book that forms the basis of this film \, A Princess of Mars\, on the Sunday before the film opens [Details here (http://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/41496582/)].\n\nThe Plan\n\n 4-4.15pm - Grab Tickets at BFI IMAX\n\n4.30pm - Head for a little light fo od near to the cinema or if the groups want to eat after just head for a d rink.\n\n6.00pm - See the early evening screening of the film at BFI IMAX 3D.\n\n8.30pm - After the film head to a nearby pub or food. LOCATION:BFI IMAX\, 1 Charlie Chaplin Walk\, South Bank\, Waterloo\, London \, SE1 8XR\, United Kingdom GEO:51.504851;-0.113636 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=1 Charlie Chaplin Walk\, So uth Bank\, Waterloo\, London\, SE1 8XR\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100 ;X-TITLE=BFI IMAX:geo:51.504851,-0.113636 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:103@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120312T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120312T220000 DTSTAMP:20240925T102013Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/36941482/ SUMMARY:Speed of Dark - Elizabeth Moon DESCRIPTION:Corporate life in early 21st-century America is even more ruthl ess than it was at the turn of the millennium. Lou Arrendale\, well compen sated for his remarkable pattern-recognition skills\, enjoys his job and e xpects never to lose it. But he has a new boss\, a man who thinks Lou and the others in his building are a liability. Lou and his coworkers are auti stic. And the new boss is going to fire Lou and all his coworkers--unless they agree to undergo an experimental new procedure to "cure" them.\n\nIn The Speed of Dark\, Elizabeth Moon has created a powerful\, complex\, and believable portrayal of a man who varies radically from what is defined as "normal." The author insightfully explores the nature of "normality\," id entity\, choice\, responsibility\, free will\, illness and health\, and go od and evil. The Speed of Dark is a powerful\, moving\, illuminating novel in the tradition of Flowers for Algernon\, Forrest Gump\, and Rain Man.\n \n\n\n LOCATION:Penderel's Oak\, 283-288 High Holborn\, London\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom GEO:51.517922;-0.115371 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=283-288 High Holborn\, Lond on\, WC1V 7HP\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Penderel's Oak:g eo:51.517922,-0.115371 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:73@sciencefictionbookclub.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20120326T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20120326T220000 DTSTAMP:20240924T170151Z URL:https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/36941562/ SUMMARY:SPEED OF DARK - Elizabeth Moon DESCRIPTION:Corporate life in early 21st-century America is even more ruthl ess than it was at the turn of the millennium. Lou Arrendale\, well compen sated for his remarkable pattern-recognition skills\, enjoys his job and e xpects never to lose it. But he has a new boss\, a man who thinks Lou and the others in his building are a liability. Lou and his coworkers are auti stic. And the new boss is going to fire Lou and all his coworkers--unless they agree to undergo an experimental new procedure to "cure" them.\n\nIn The Speed of Dark\, Elizabeth Moon has created a powerful\, complex\, and believable portrayal of a man who varies radically from what is defined as "normal." The author insightfully explores the nature of "normality\," id entity\, choice\, responsibility\, free will\, illness and health\, and go od and evil. The Speed of Dark is a powerful\, moving\, illuminating novel in the tradition of Flowers for Algernon\, Forrest Gump\, and Rain Man.\n \n\n\n LOCATION:The Wheatsheaf\, 25 Rathbone Place\, Fitzrovia\, London\, W1T 1JB\ , United Kingdom GEO:51.517747;-0.134007 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=25 Rathbone Place\, Fitzrov ia\, London\, W1T 1JB\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=The Whea tsheaf:geo:51.517747,-0.134007 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20100328T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20101031T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20110327T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20111030T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20120325T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR