Phandemonium- Across the Universe

This last Saturday, I made it out to Capricon for the first time—along with Windycon, one of Chicagoland's only regular SF conventions. Capricon is run by Phandemonium (or perhaps vice versa?), a book club I've occasionally been able to join, and at the con I dropped in for their discussion of Guest of Honor Beth Revis's first novel, Across the Universe (2011).

Across the Universe takes place aboard a generation starship (with a load of cryogenically-frozen passengers). It alternates between two viewpoints: Amy, the daughter of two of the cryo-stored specialists, who is unexpectedly awoken hundreds of years into the journey, and Elder, a member of the generational crew who is being trained to be their next leader. Looking to solve the mystery of who is murdering frozen passengers, the two discover a web of lies and deception aboard the ship.

Good discussion! Notes and probable spoilers below:

Phandemonium- Karen Memory

I finally made it to a non-Windycon meeting of Phandemonium--they're the folks that run Capricon every spring, and also hold book club discussions in Northern Chicagoland. For January's meeting, a fair number turned out to discuss Elizabeth Bear's 2015 novel "Karen Memory".

It's an alt-history steampunk tale set in the Pacific Northwest, with a diverse cast of characters (primarily sex workers) and a plot that slowly builds to a fairly mad-cap, dime-novel action story. A theme that is repeated throughout is "the powerless taking power", although I'm not sure how much has really changed by the end.

We generally liked it! Discussion & spoilers below:

Windycon Phandemonium Discussion- "The Three-Body Problem"

I recently had the pleasure of attending the 42nd Windycon (appropriately, Hitchhiker-themed), and as a result I got to attend two bookclubs as well as a few fun panels.

First on deck was Cixin Liu's "The Three-Body Problem", hosted by Phandemonium, the folks who run Capricon in the spring as well as SF/F book clubs in Evanston & Elgin. It's the most recent winner of the Hugo Award for best novel; notable for being the first translated work so honored. Lots of fascinating drama around that, actually, but enough! To the book itself!

"The Three-Body Problem" is the story of Earth's contact with an advanced and (currently) distant alien race, and how that contact will inevitably bring about great change. It's also steeped in Chinese culture, particularly the fallout from the Cultural Revolution.

It's an interesting, somewhat tough read, with our most frequent questions revolving around issues of translation and culture--what was being lost with the idiom, how much was Cixin's personal style versus SF or fiction norms in its original language. A wonderful discussion. Notes in brief and possible spoilers below:

Upcoming Cons!

There's a few different conventions/conferences coming up, all worthy of your attention. Over on the CNSC Facebook, somebody linked to "10 Reasons to Go to a Con (even if it's your first Con and you're scared)", check that out! These are a great way to meet people, learn stuff, have a good time.

• Capricon: Fan-run con with good programming and lots of literary content, Feb. 12-15, in Wheeling IL. More info on that below!
• Chi-Fi: Fan-run con, kind of "all geek" genre, March 19-22 at the Palmer Hilton in the Loop in Chicago. Only the second year for this con; I'm hoping to see it take off since Chicago has a large active fannish community but, other than Chi-Fi, no fan-run cons in the city proper.
• C2E2: April 24-26. Primarily focused on comics, gaming, and television, this large event at McCormick Place also features SF/F authors (Charlaine Harris & Patrick Rothfuss featured this year) and literature-related panels. Also look for panels from or involving local fannish groups and establishments.
• The Oak Lawn Public Library Fan Fest: First year for this mini-con-type event. Looks fun, will have some crossover with Free Comics Day. May 2nd, in Oak Lawn, IL.
• A Celebration of Supernatural: Okay so I'm bending Positron rules a bit here ("Supernatural" the television show, not a text-based SF/F thing) but this deserves a shout-out. DePaul University has started doing these one-day pop-culture conferences--last year's Whedon event was fantastic. Expect a good mix of fannish celebration and scholarly analysis. Read more on their Facebook; you can submit paper proposals up until March 1st. Free, at DePaul's Loop Campus, May 9th.
• Wiscon! May 22-25 in Madison, WI. Wiscon is a fan-run feminist SF/F con, and truly fantastic. More reader/writer focused than many cons; while still fannish, Wiscon is also more scholarly than the norm (academic track submissions for papers or panels are open until February 23). Positron is hosting a panel on the academic track, looking at "Cognitive Diversity" in SF/F. There is still a spot left on the panel, and we could use a moderator. If you're interested, email positronchicago@gmail.com. But check out Wiscon either way!

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Capricon is next week, February 12-15. It's just outside Chicago proper, in Wheeling, IL, at the Westin Chicago North Shore. Capricon is run by Phandemonium, an SF/F club mostly based in the Northern/North-Western parts of Chicagoland.

Programming for Capricon is up and packed with good stuff, including lots of readings by author guests. Look out for folks from lots of area SF groups, including the Blackstone FSF, Chicago Speculative Fiction Community, and the Chicago Nerd Social Club (Michi is on a few different panels and there will probably be other CNSC folks involved as well).

Windycon Clubs!

 Phandemonium & Chi-SF, Ancillary Justice & Good Omens

Trekked out to Lombard, IL to visit Windy Con 41 for the day yesterday, mostly for a chance to sit down with the Phandemonium & Chicago Speculative Fiction Community reading groups.