Manchester Digital Laboratory

Sci Fi Book Club

Title: Manchester SciFi Book Club: Rule 34
Location: MadLab
Description: Book Club for Science Fiction Fans
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2011-10-18
End Time: 21:00

Rule 34

This month’s book is Rule 34 by Charles Stross.

The near-future setting and focus on technological changes makes it tempting to call Rule 34 a cyberpunk novel, but unlike most in the genre, it focuses on the effects of technology on ordinary people, instead of the hackers who create it. In Rule 34’s case, the focus is on the police investigation of a string of bizarre murders apparently related to Internet spamming.

Set in the near future of 2030 or so, the book derives its name from the commonly held rubric that Rule 34 of the Internet is “If it exists, there is porn of it. No exceptions.” The main character, Liz Kavanaugh, is a cop in Edinburgh assigned to the Rule 34 squad, which chases meme-crimes—scouring the darkest corners of the Internet to detect whether people’s darkest fantasies are turning into reality anywhere. –Rowan Kaiser

Why not read Rule 34 and join us at Madlab for a light hearted, yet in-depth, discussion about it?

Manchester Sci-Fi Book Club Contacts

You can contact us via Twitter @mcrsf_madlab using #mcrsf

Keep up to date with Manchester Sci-Fi book club posts at Madlab:
http://madlab.org.uk/content/tag/mcrsf/

We also have a group on Google which we would encourage you to join.

SciFi Books for Following Months:

• November - Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• January - Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
• February - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Sci Fi Book Club

Title: Manchester SciFi Book Club – Anvil of Stars
Location: MadLab
Description: Book Club for Science Fiction Fans
Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2011-08-16
End Time: 21:00

Anvil of Stars

This month’s book is Anvil of Stars by Greg Bear.

Anvil of Stars (1992) is a book by Greg Bear and a sequel to The Forge of God. In the novel, volunteers from among the children saved from the recently destroyed Earth are sent on a quest by a galactic faction called “The Benefactors” to find and destroy “The Killers”, the civilisation who sent the killer probes in the first place. The Law that the Benefactors subscribe to requires the “Destruction of all intelligences responsible for or associated with the manufacture of self-replicating and destructive devices.”

Why not read Anvil of Stars and join us at Madlab for a bit of a natter about it? Even if you don’t finish reading it, come along anyway!

Manchester Sci-Fi Book Club Contacts

You can contact us via Twitter @mcrsf_madlab using #mcrsf

Keep up to date with Manchester Sci-Fi book club posts at Madlab: http://madlab.org.uk/content/tag/mcrsf/

We also have a group on Google which we would encourage you to join.

Sci-Fi Books for following months are:

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. This meeting will be held with the Graphic Novel Group. For more information about this series of events please read the I Am Legend Book Club and Film Screenings post in our Google Group.

Books for October onwards have been put forward and will be voted on at the next meeting. Please see the postFuture Books on our Google Group for the list of choices.

In the meantime, why not vote on our next book poll? Its just for fun!