Science fiction is the marmite of literature – people tend to love it or hate it. Yet no one could deny that it has produced many of the great myths of our age, from Frankenstein's monster to William Gibson's cyber-reality.
SF blogger Damien Walter joins our panellists to discuss where it is now, and why we should all tune in to a genre that can be satirical, prophetic, political and plain good fun, often all at the same time. He also outlines some of the titles to look out for in 2010.
We also look at John Wyndham's previously unpublished novel, Plan for Chaos, and interview China Miéville, rising star of the "new weird".
Reading list:
Plan for Chaos, by John Wyndham (Penguin)
The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham (Penguin)
Yellow Blue Tibia, by Adam Roberts (Gollancz)
Finch by Jeff VanderMeer (Amerbgris series)
A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C Clarke (Gollancz)
Red Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson (Collins)
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson (HarperCollins)
Finch by Jeff VanderMeer (Underland Press)
The City and the City, by China Miéville (Macmillan)
Ones to watch in 2010:
Walking the Tree, Kaaron Warren (Angry Robot, February)
Kraken, China Miéville (Macmillan, May)
City of Ruin, Mark Charan Newton (Tor, June)
The Wind-Up Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi (Night Shade Books, September)
A Dance with Dragons, by George RR Martin (HarperVoyager, September)
