Science Fiction London
We meet on the first Saturday of the month at 1:30 PM Eastern Time to discuss the selected topic, which could be a science fiction book, short story, movie, TV show, or theme. Detailed information on topic selection, meeting times and locations can be found on the meetings page.
Our upcoming topics
December 2, 2023
Upgrade
by Blake Crouch
Presented by Margot B.
“You are the next step in human evolution.”
At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.
But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.
The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.
Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost.
Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.
And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?
Intimate in scale yet epic in scope, Upgrade is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential.
Availability Available from the London Public Library or from book stores e.g. Chapters/Indigo or Amazon or local used book shops.
Topic selection for March 2024 to August 2024 will also be decided at this meeting. Please use the Topic Proposal form to submit an idea.
January 6, 2024
The Call of Cthulhu
by the HP Lovecraft Historical Society
Presented by JD D.
This clever 2005 indie film brings H.P. Lovecraft's famous story to the screen as a faux 1920's silent movie--made as if it were filmed when the story came out. The DVD also includes the highly entertaining documentary about how the HP Lovecraft Historical Society made their movie on a modest budget.
Availability The presenter has copies to share. The originating short story is available online.
February 3, 2024
This meeting has two topics, one in each half of the meeting.
A Quiet Place
directed by John Krasinski
Selling 'Silence' In Contemporary Horror
an essay by Selma Purac, PhD
Presented by Mark A.
If they hear you, they hunt you. In this terrifyingly suspenseful thriller, a family must navigate their lives in silence to avoid mysterious creatures that hunt by sound. Knowing that even the slightest whisper or footstep can bring death, Evelyn and Lee Abbott are determined to find a way to protect their children at all costs while they desperately search for a way to fight back.
"Selling 'Silence' in Contemporary Horror" is an essay that explores the use of silence as a device in the 2018 film "A Quiet Place". The essay is available at this link.
Availability We will watch the movie before the meeting in the library. The presenter has a copy to share and DVDs are available from the London Public Library or it can be streamed, purchased or rented.
The Kaiju Preservation Society
by John Scalzi
Presented by Terry B.
When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.
What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm, human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.
It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society who have found their way to the alternate world. Others have, too. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.
Availability Available from the London Public Library or from book stores e.g. Chapters/Indigo or Amazon or local used book shops.