EUtopias and Other Futures: A European Journal of Science Fiction

Former British Royal Marine Richard Browning has recently given a round of demonstrations and press appearances to present his Daedalus jet-powered flying suit with which one can rise up to 12,000 feet or 3,600 metres, and fly at a speed of 52 kmh (or 32 mph). Duration of flight is only a couple of minutes, currently, but once efficiency of fuel use improves further, this may be stretched out of course. There are already some pretty obvious markets being targeted with this innovation, from search-and-rescue services (including for militaries) to fun-loving billionaires. The price is currently estimated at £340,000 or $442,396. So – as always – we are looking ahead to some exciting times.

By Péter MARTON ** Join the European Science Fiction group on Facebook for related discussions. ** Anita Moskát 's novel, "The Anchoring Place," shares its title – in my translation of the original Hungarian Horgonyhely – with Aleksei Bogolyubov's 19th century painting, used (with that excuse) as convenient illustration above. The two works do not have too much in common, though: for example, Moskát's novel doesn't have anything to do with Russia. But there certainly are steamers and anchoring places in it (unconnected to each other). The "anchoring places" play the key role: every person has one, right on the spot where one was born. Should one try to leave it (and its vicinity within a certain radius) behind, it won't work – it pulls one back, makes one physically ill. Fatally, even, if this is stretched to the limit. There is only one exception, one segment of the population that has freedom of movement: pregnant women. The ...

By Péter MARTON This is a moderately spoilered review of the Hungarian movie " Lajkó: Cigány az űrben " (in our own translation: Lajko: Gipsy in Space ). Head to the cinemas first if you would like to form your own opinion of it, before reading a critical evaluation like this. And in the meantime, spend a last second marvelling at the art on the packaging of my favourite Russian chocolate ("Cosmic Odyssey") above , which is only loosely related, as illustration, to the subject of this post. Still here? Then let's talk, firstly, about key terms – because some people may be hesitant to watch this film upon encountering its title. Some think that "Gipsy" as a term is offensive, and perhaps "Roma" should be preferred as an alternative. What one then needs to realise is that there is nothing inherently offensive about the word Gipsy, and yet neither of the above terms is really fully appropriate. At different points in time, they were e...

Inaarsuit, a small village in Western Greenland is facing the threat of a tsunami after a huge iceberg drifted close to it and may split further (see photo above - credit : Reuters). Should a huge chunk of ice crash right into the sea underneath, it may unleash major waves, with considerable destructive power indeed. Around 170 residents have been evacuated already. Not that similar things have not happened before, but there is a "glimpse of the future" element to this in how the same type of contingency may become more common in the future, should the melting of the Greenlandic icesheet accelerate. Inaarsuit is so small and remote, Google Maps doesn't seem to show it (or it may have exceeded our ability to find it there). It does, however, have an internet café, as mentioned here .

By Péter MARTON ** Join the European Science Fiction group on Facebook for related discussions. ** Used as illustration above is a detail of Anton Semenov's cover art for the 2012 album " Army of Mushrooms " by Infected Mushroom, a psychedelic musical duo from Israel. Bo Balder's story strongly reminded me of it, hence its inclusion here... Speaking of infections: before we delve into Balder's work, the very first story reviewed here in our series, imagine the following scenario. It will be worth it, the detour... We are in a small village in the Democratic Republic of Nowhere. A small team of medical personnel and members of what passes for the "local" police force (ordered in from a town fifty kilometres away) approach a house where several sick patients are thought to be suffering from hemorrhagic fever. Those who feel healthy are ordered to come out. Those who are sick at bed should stay inside, they are told. The medical team moves...

By Péter MARTON This essay argues that although there is a considerable body of European SF literature, there may be a need, with a view to contemporary world trends, for a more acute understanding of what it altogether represents in terms of implicit discourses and general character. And that to this end, it needs to be consciously and explicitly framed as "European," something that has not often been done in the past. *** In the popular understanding, science fiction often appears as a U.S.-based genre. No one necessarily thinks of it that way, yet that's how it appears according to key measures of impact. Ask fans of Science Fiction just about anywhere in comparatively open societies around the globe to list the names of the greatest SF writers in the world, and they will invariably drop mostly U.S. names. Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Frederik Pohl, Frank Herbert, Philip K. Dick, Theodore Sturgeon, Samuel Delany, Ursula K. Le Guin, Cordwainer Smith, Harl...

Pictured above (credit: Halldor Kolbeins, AFP/Getty): A hangar housing mining rigs of the supercomputer used by the Genesis company for Bitcoin mining. From an article on Wired , warning that Bitcoin mining will soon surpass the consumption of all Icelandic households in terms of its electricity needs. It's news like this that make us worried about the future of humanity. Bitcoin mining is not even, strictly speaking, real economic activity, and the resources used up for it are (in part) literally wasted. Here you can find an explanation of how . By the way, here is a video about Genesis, worth watching to get a sense of the dimensions and the secretiveness of this industry.

Nordine and Nouria Ramadani, a couple with children, are the family to move into the world's first 3D-printed home in Nantes, France (pictured above: a snapshot of the construction process, from the video referenced below). This is happening as part of a social housing project, in collaboration between the city council, a housing association and the University of Nantes, in a relatively deprived northern area of town. Besides housing, it is also an aim of the project to create a more vivid environment with curvy walls (made up of cement poured in-between polyurethane insulator layers). This structure may give increased thermal resistance to the house, and reduce humidity inside. Here's a longer article about this, and here's a video as well.

The UK is experiencing a major heatwave these days. The above picture (credit: ncjMedia), taken in Heaton (no pun intended), in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on July 5, 2018, shows a man with his leg stuck under semi-molten tarmac . It gave way to his foot as he stepped on it. It seems that there was a small sinkhole under the pavement - and so there was nothing under the layer of tarmac to hold it up against his weight. The firefighters had to come out and rescue the young man after about twenty minutes. Note that this happened at 10.45am, not even during the hottest part of the day. A glimpse of what the future may hold more of, with climate change in mind .

This community blogzine will cover Europe and Europeans in Science Fiction. (Belated exclamation mark! In brackets!) Explanation "Europeans" may imply European authors as well as European characters. We are equally interested in what European authors have to say, and what happens, individually or collectively, to Europeans in science fiction. And in what happens there to Europe, for that matter. Science fiction is understood here in a broad sense, in overlap with other genres, and at times presenting itself as something different but in reality containing some kind of SF element. Find a longer explanation of our raison d'être here . Forms in which we welcome contributions Short essays , in up to 1,000 words, about all that is mentioned above, under "Explanation."  They should all set out to answer clear questions, or have a clear focus. Please consider arranging proof-reading by a native English speaker before submitting text as our language-edi...