If there’s one thing John Brunner is known for, it would be the culture shock he gives readers via his books. “Stand on Zanzibar” is one of those, with a staccato style of writing, Brunner throws everything at you; multiple points of view, news bulletins, media blitzes and a cacophony of characters, locations, immersing you in an anarchic, overcrowded corporate megalopolis.
Continue reading “Brunner 2010”
Writing science fiction gives an author the opportunity to have a go at predicting the future. For me, the best tool I always find helpful is this; in order to build a world in which to set the novel, you start by going back into history. ‘To see the future, one must look into the past’ and follow the trends. In the case of ‘A Hostile Takeover,’ I began by asking ‘What is a nation? A state? A country?’ and then went on to research different types of sovereign nations throughout history.
I followed the trends and discovered the future of the world’s political landscape is obvious and surprising. The one prediction that seems most definite among all the others is that the nation-states we live in today are not static, rigid institutions, but evolving, changing political creatures.
Continue reading “Supernations, Mega City-States and Virtual Countries”