Martha Wells’ Murderbot series is one of my favourite new series of books from the last few years. I love everything about them: I love Murderbot, and how breathtakingly relatable it is while resolutely refusing to be human; I love the relationship between Murderbot and ART; I love the intricate development of the in-world shows that Murderbot would prefer to spend all of its time watching, rather than having to deal with humans (urgh; also, relatable). I don’t love the universe it’s set in, because “the Corporation Rim” is a deeply unpleasant place and also all too believable - but I do love the way Wells deftly captures what it’s like, and how some on the edges might refuse to participate.

All of which is to say our first subscriber essay, from Joanne Anderton, is an absolute delight for me, because Anderton looks at Murderbot and its emotions over the whole seven-book (so far?!) arc, and what that tells us about ourselves as well as about Murderbot. As someone who rewatches and rereads their favourites a lot (I just finished Ann Beckie’s Ancillary Justice for the 8th time), and who enjoys binging tv, this absolutely hit home.

And if you haven’t yet read Murderbot, don’t worry! I think you’ll still get a lot out of the essay… not least the desire to go read the books… .

Our first essay is now live: Cheryl Morgan’s “What is Fantasy, Anyway?”. It’s an essay I enjoyed the first time I read it, and that I still enjoy when I read it for the nth time.

In many ways, it’s exactly the sort of essay I intend Speculative Insight to champion: it’s thoroughly grounded in research, and it’s accessible to a general audience; it challenges and provokes, and does so thoughtfully; and it gave me a few books I really need to follow up (Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula in particular).

I hope you’ll get as much out of it as I did.

The ‘life is a journey’ metaphor is hackneyed, and yet - here I am, using it.

This is an exciting new thing for me. Starting something completely new, getting other people on board, figuring out all of the minutiae…. there is an unavoidable overtone of ‘preparing to step out the door’.

This journal will provide a place for exploring the ideas and themes that stand behind, inform, and develop out of, speculative fiction - the science fiction, fantasy, space opera, slipstream, magical realism, mythological retellings, and other genres that have a wonderfully rich history, are key to understanding and exploring our society today and into the future, and which I have loved since I first learned to read.

… click to read more