EUtopias and Other Futures: A European Journal of Science Fiction

The main message. By Péter MARTON ** Join the  European Science Fiction group  on Facebook for related discussions. ** The idea behind this post is simple. I am re-reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , the full series, novel(ette) by novel(ette). Again. Not for the first time. As I do this, I will write down a few reflections on what stands out for me now, after so much time since the publication of the story has passed (40 years! OMG!), and after so much time since even Douglas Adams' passing away has passed (since 2001, that is). I read HG2G such a long time ago for the first time myself that... it's seriously a lot of water under the bridge since then... and if I continue like this, it will be a lot of water under the bridge before this paragraph ends. So I'll stop here. The most important quantity is 42, anyways. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979) The very fruitful marriage of absurdism and science-fiction. From the lonely,...

Brighton Pier, for reasons explained below - picture by Jean Housen (Wikimedia Commons) By Péter MARTON ** Join the European Science Fiction group on Facebook for related discussions. ** Science fiction would not be what it is today if it wouldn't deal with the topic of climate change as a very prominent subject. Many stories address Europe's future as it may be impacted by related processes, and to do a comprehensive review of all those that are relevant in this respect would be... wonderful! For lack of time, and in appreciation of all the collective wisdom out there, however, this brief post only looks to sow some seeds, mention a few works, call attention to the issue, and, basically, invite others to point out further, other works that pertain to our interests here, in the comments... if there are other survivors out there ready to make such comments. (1) One of the first authors who come to mind, historically speaking, is J. G. Ballard (a.k.a. James ...

By Péter MARTON ** Join the European Science Fiction group on Facebook for related discussions. ** Snowpiercer is a 2013 movie directed by Bong Joon Ho of South Korea. It is relevant for EUtopias and Other Futures because it is often referred to as SF due to its premise, and because it also has key European connections and elements. The premise is that humanity had reached a point where climate engineering had to be tried, which then badly backfired. "Backfroze" may be a better word as a new ice age was brought about. There are survivors to be found on a very long train that is powered by a perpetum mobile (perpetual motion) engine and is going eternally in circles, clearing the track ahead of snow, extracting water in the process, and so on. It functions as a near-closed ecological system. Still from the comic (the English-language edition)... European connections include that the film was loosely (as in real loooooosely) based on Le Transpercen...

Underground springwater reservoir beneath Mount Gellért in Budapest, the author's photo (2018) By Péter MARTON ** Join the European Science Fiction group on Facebook for related discussions. ** Seeing my reviews full of praise for writers like Bo Balder , Anita Moskát or Yuriy Shcherbak you may wonder: Can this guy bite? Does he have the guts to write something really critical for a review? Well, the wondering ends today... This will be a takedown. "Lovely," "lyrical," "beautiful," etc. These are the adjectives I've typically heard from people describing how Finnish author Emmi Itäranta's book is written. They had less to say about its substance. Now, I'm really not hard put to suspend disbelief for the sake of a good story. I like to enjoy literary values independently of plausibility issues. For a recent and good example of when I benefited from this, take Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven , another dystop...

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 .