There are people who believe conservative science fiction and fantasy have been unfairly slighted in the World Science Fiction Society awards (aka the Hugos.)  As some of you know, this year two groups have tried to remedy the problem they see.

Perhaps there should be a list of older sf which Sad Puppies, Mad Puppies, and those inclined to agree with them might find objectionable.  

Here is a start:

Robert A. Heinlein, Revolt in 2100.  A strongly Christian US government is overthrown, with the author's obvious approval.

Robert A. Heinlein, The Puppet Masters.  The future setting has term marriages.

Robert A. Heinlein, "Delilah and the Space Rigger."  Blatant feminism.

H. G. Wells, The Time Machine.  In the far future, descendants of the upper classes are exploited by the dictatorship of the proletariat.  (Marxists might also find this novel objectionable.)

Harry Turtledove, Guns of the South.  A victorious Confederate government deprives many citizens of their property.

Harry Turtledove, Joe Steele.  ROC, 2015

Alternate history:   Stalin's parents emigrate to the US, and he's born here rather than in the Tsarist Empire.  He changes his name to "Steele" rather than the Russian equivalent.

He gets the 1932 Democratic Presidential nomination, after Franklin Roosevelt's unfortunate death.  Wins the election, stays President till his death.

After an interval in which it looks like the US will stop being a dictatorship, a worse man takes over:   J. Edgar Hoover.

Do I recommend it?  If you're a history buff or a political junkie, yes.  Otherwise, worth a look to see if you want to continue reading.

Some sf-fantasy related events, Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro, Jan-Feb 2014

Erotic Writers of America sf/fantasy/horror special interest group meeting postponed for medical reasons.  The male officers are pregnant.

Thursday January 2, 6:30 PM Sci-Fi Adult Book Club.  Nokomis Library, 5100 34th Ave S, Minneapolis
Join our discussion of new and interesting sci-fi titles.  Bring along your recommendations for future meetings.  Lending copies may be picked up at the information desk prior to meeting.

Tuesday January 14, 7 PM East St Paul (ESP) Speculative Fiction Writers Meetup
Davannis Pizza and Hot Hoagies -- East Side, 310 White Bear Ave, Saint Paul, MN
We're set up back in the party room with our pizzas and manuscripts. Feel free to stop and order your food when you arrive.

As we head into 2014, our topic of discussion will be The Do's and Don'ts of World Building.  Even though we may have creative license to build a world of our own design, there are basic rules that should apply. Readers will expect that there is some semblance of order involved, no matter which sub-genre we are writing in.

Once again, we will be critiquing three submissions. The guidelines are....
http://www.meetup.com/MinnSpec/events/155146702/

Thursday January 16, 6-8 An Evening at the Night Vale Public Library.  Nokomis Library, 5100 34th Ave S, Minneapolis [Teen event]  Spend an evening devoted to the popular podcast, "Welcome to Night Vale."  Enjoy Night Vale crafts and activities, participate in a costume or art show, and of course, "All Hail the Glow Cloud!"  Librarian repellent will be provided.

Sunday January 19, noon-1:30 Minnesota Speculative Fiction Writers (MinnSpec) Writing characters with minds different from mine. This workshop may cover topics like this:
* Synesthesia
* Help! I'm a man and I need to write about my woman protagonist falling in love.
* I need to write a character who's a psion. What's a good way to do this?
* My character is an alien who can see radio waves. What's a good way to do this?
Dan Goodman and Margaret Taylor will both talk about synesthesia from personal experience
Further information: www.meetup.com/MinnSpec/

Thursday February 5, 6:30 PM Sci-Fi Adult Book Club.  Nokomis Library, 5100 34th Ave S, Minneapolis  Join our discussion of new and interesting sci-fi titles.  Bring along your recommendations for future meetings.  Lending copies may be picked up at the information desk prior to meeting.

Saturday February 22, 3-4 PM Author Talk:  Patricia C. Wrede  Brookdale Library, 6125 Shingle Creek Pkway, Brooklyn Center [Teen event]  Wrede is an acclaimed local author of numerous fantasy and young adult books, including the beloved "The Enchanted Forest Chronicles" as well as the Mairelon books and the Old West Frontier Magic series.  Wrede will read from her books and answer questions.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Information for the Minnesota Science Fiction Society (oldest surviving local sf club) at www.mnstf.org

Information for the Geek Partnership Society and numerous affiliated groups at http://www.meetup.com/Geek-Partnership-Society/

Wrong Futures: James Blish, "Beep"

About the future of science fiction, I can make one surefire prediction.  Writers will make wrong predictions.  And the kinds of mistakes they'll make can be predicted by reading old sf stories.

James Blish's short story "Beep" was published in 1954.  It begins centuries in the future, jumps back to 2089 or 2090, then returns to the far future.

Here is the late 21st century heroine:  "Dana Lje -- her father had been a Hollander, her mother born in the Celebes...The conqueror Resident who had given the girl her entirely European name had been paid in kind, for his daughter's beauty had nothing fair and Dutch about it."

The Netherlands acknowledged Indonesia's independence in 1949.  Dutch colonial officials were probably scarce for a while before that.  In the last years of the 21st century, Dana is a bit old to be called a girl.

1949 was before 1954.  The author missed social and political changes which had already happened.

Dana smokes incessantly, in other people's offices.  Today's smoking restrictions weren't in place; but by 1954 there were medical studies which showed smoking caused lung cancer.  Tighter rules on smoking could have easily been foreseen.

Technology, Blish overestimated and underestimated. 

Overestimation:  An extensive interstellar empire by the end of our century is unlikely.  In the implausible future we inhabit, even Mars hasn't been settled yet.

By the way, Earth and its empire are run almost entirely by American men.  The only female government employee shown is a secretary.

Underestimation:  When the viewpoint character of several hundred years later is introduced, he's hiding behind a newspaper.  A printed newspaper.

Print newspapers have gotten thinner, and include pointers to material only available on the Web.  I do not expect them to be common centuries from now.

"Jo hailed a hopper."  The hopper is apparently a flying taxi.  Its driver -- male, of course -- is a hoppy.

Self-driving cars are becoming practical now.  I expect human-piloted cabs to be very scarce in the far future.

Would readers have found anything implausible about this future?  Perhaps the absence of the Red Menace.  It was obvious to the meanest intelligence that the Soviet Union would still be strong at the end of the 21st century.

Is Your Future Strange Enough?

Prediction 1:  Three months from now, the weather will be exactly the same as it is today -- all over the world.

Prediction 2:  Twenty years from now, human society will be exactly the same as it is today.  Take the United States, for example.  Americans will have the same political beliefs, consider the same matters most important, have the same sexual mores, listen to the same kinds of music (if not the exact same music you like now.)

The first prediction is more likely to be accurate.

Two hundred years from now:  The United States will probably remain the most powerful country in North America.  It's unlikely to still be the world's most powerful country.  (I do think it's likely the US won't be among the weakest nations.  The country which exported frankfurters to Frankfurt, hamburgers to Hamburg, and bagels to Warsaw is adaptable.)

If the current major parties survive, they'll be very different from what they now are. 

Any music which survives from our time will almost certainly be played rather differently than it is now.

Two thousand years from now:  English, like every other living language, will be changed enough so if you were brought forward into that time you'd need to relearn it.  Any cities which remain from our time will be much changed. 

Tuesday May 14, 2013.  Four days ago:  sleet in the morning.  Today:  Over 90 degrees F.

***Read:  Ken MacLeod, The Human Front.  Alternate history, beginning in 1963 with the news of Stalin's death.

Very good use of the author's childhood memories (adapted for the story, of course.) 

In my opinion, the protagonist's political beliefs are junk magic.  But they're close to MacLeod's own views, which can be a great advantage in writing a character.

Note:  The point of divergence is something which never actually happened, happening differently than the conspiracy theories say it did.  This might offend purists.

Skimmed:  Victoria Blake (ed.), Cyberpunk:  stories of hardware, software, wetware, revolution and evolution.  I was struck by how old-fashioned these stories seemed, including the recent ones. 

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***Comment I made on Facebook:  If we're living in the future, where are the flying cars which were supposed to completely replace groundcars right after WW II? We were supposed to have cities well-established on Mars by 1970! Where are the British and Soviet interstellar empires?