I didn’t set out with the deliberate intention to write subversive speculative fiction. I just fell into it. After all, there’s much to subvert in the world today—misogyny, religious fundamentalism, racism, runaway capitalism, extreme nationalism, over-population, fascism, environmental disasters, global climate change, so-called artificial intelligence, and more—it’s terrifying. So much it can be overwhelming. Through my stories, I try to offer an escape, some hope, an alternative or a template for resistance and rebellion.
To understand what I consider is subversive speculative literature a simple dictionary definition falls short. For me, it’s fiction that challenges societal norms, questions methods of social control and defies the conventions of current mainstream culture. It's stories that encourage us to think critically and examine conflicting ideologies. Subversive literature is transformative, offers us new insights and expands our thinking. It provides us the opportunity to develop empathy, to question our beliefs and values, and to consider alternate viewpoints.
Using this wider view, what’s considered subversive not only changes with time but also with the socio-political and cultural climate. It's also personal. When, where and who you are will sway your view. Books banned for being subversive in parts of the USA, are freely available in Aotearoa / New Zealand. Being subversive is a very far cry from being harmful.
Through the vehicle of subversive literature, readers are given the opportunity to try on someone else’s skin and feel the world through their hands or tentacles or programming. It allows us to smell, taste and see the universe through the lens of another’s experiences—to be ‘other’. Subversive literature gives us permission to change and grow and be better. It has the capacity to burrow under our skin, penetrate the marrow of our bones and alter our DNA. But it doesn’t need to preach or beat us over the head to do so. The best subversive literature entertains us—it draws us in with majestically wrought worlds and complex characters—and takes us on a wondrous, thrilling or terrifying journey.
Asked to name titles of subversive speculative literature it’s easy to only consider the classics. Most people know Orwell’s 1984, Dick’s Blade Runner, Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness and Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Going back further we think of Verne’s 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein. In Aotearoa / New Zealand we have our very own Vogel’s Anno Domini 2000; or Woman’s Destiny. While these were all subversive in their day, very few of them meet the lowest bar of that definition in a modern context.
Instead, I offer you the following list. These are some of my favourite examples of subversive speculative fiction from the last few years (it’s far from exhaustive and in no particular order!).
Lee Murray – Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud
Claire Coleman – Terra Nullius
Martha Wells – Murderbot Diaries
Ann Leckie – Imperial Radch Trilogy
Nnedi Okorafor – Binti Trilogy
Pip Adam – Audition
Nicky Drayden – The Prey of Gods
Sarah Gailey – Upright Women Wanted
Guy Morpuss – Five Minds
Kathryn Hore – The Stranger
N. K. Jemison – Broken Earth Trilogy
Nicky Lee – Once We Flew
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Children of Time
Tabitha Wood – Dark Winds Over Wellington
Laura Jean McKay – The Animals in that Country
Simon Stephenson – Set My Heart to Five
To understand what I consider is subversive speculative literature a simple dictionary definition falls short. For me, it’s fiction that challenges societal norms, questions methods of social control and defies the conventions of current mainstream culture. It's stories that encourage us to think critically and examine conflicting ideologies. Subversive literature is transformative, offers us new insights and expands our thinking. It provides us the opportunity to develop empathy, to question our beliefs and values, and to consider alternate viewpoints.
Using this wider view, what’s considered subversive not only changes with time but also with the socio-political and cultural climate. It's also personal. When, where and who you are will sway your view. Books banned for being subversive in parts of the USA, are freely available in Aotearoa / New Zealand. Being subversive is a very far cry from being harmful.
Through the vehicle of subversive literature, readers are given the opportunity to try on someone else’s skin and feel the world through their hands or tentacles or programming. It allows us to smell, taste and see the universe through the lens of another’s experiences—to be ‘other’. Subversive literature gives us permission to change and grow and be better. It has the capacity to burrow under our skin, penetrate the marrow of our bones and alter our DNA. But it doesn’t need to preach or beat us over the head to do so. The best subversive literature entertains us—it draws us in with majestically wrought worlds and complex characters—and takes us on a wondrous, thrilling or terrifying journey.
Asked to name titles of subversive speculative literature it’s easy to only consider the classics. Most people know Orwell’s 1984, Dick’s Blade Runner, Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness and Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Going back further we think of Verne’s 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein. In Aotearoa / New Zealand we have our very own Vogel’s Anno Domini 2000; or Woman’s Destiny. While these were all subversive in their day, very few of them meet the lowest bar of that definition in a modern context.
Instead, I offer you the following list. These are some of my favourite examples of subversive speculative fiction from the last few years (it’s far from exhaustive and in no particular order!).
Lee Murray – Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud
Claire Coleman – Terra Nullius
Martha Wells – Murderbot Diaries
Ann Leckie – Imperial Radch Trilogy
Nnedi Okorafor – Binti Trilogy
Pip Adam – Audition
Nicky Drayden – The Prey of Gods
Sarah Gailey – Upright Women Wanted
Guy Morpuss – Five Minds
Kathryn Hore – The Stranger
N. K. Jemison – Broken Earth Trilogy
Nicky Lee – Once We Flew
Adrian Tchaikovsky – Children of Time
Tabitha Wood – Dark Winds Over Wellington
Laura Jean McKay – The Animals in that Country
Simon Stephenson – Set My Heart to Five
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