 | |
| Author | Nike Sulway |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Tartarus Press |
Publication date | 2013 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 9781905784509 |
Rupetta (2013) is a science fiction novel by Australian writer Nike Sulway, who has previously published work under the pseudonym Nicole Bourke. [1] The novel won the 2013 James Tiptree, Jr. Award. [2]
The novel follows the story of Rupetta, a mechanical woman built in rural France in 1619 and endowed with sentience and immortality. In order for Rupetta to function properly she must be "wound" like a clock. The responsibility for this "wynding" falls on the female descendants of Rupetta's creator Eloise. The novel explores the interactions over the generations between Rupetta and her "wynders".
George Williams in The Australian found: "The book is notable not just for its original story but its form. It is written in an unusual, lilting style that somehow manages to capture the emotional resonance of the scene, whether it be happy, melancholy, earnest or reflective. The style brings to mind a children's fairytale...Rupetta is a rich, complex work wrapped in an engaging style. It is not a book that can be pigeonholed. It has elements of fantasy, romance and even gothic horror in the mould of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. At the same time, it contains lengthy discussions on questions such as the meaning of knowledge." [3]
The James Tiptree, Jr. Award jury noted that the novel was: "A deft blend of fantasy, science fiction, romance, and even gothic horror, this beautifully written story challenges the reader’s expectations about gender and of a gendering society. It examines power and what makes an object of power, relationships and love, sexuality and identity, and how culture is shaped and history is made." [2]
The Otherwise Award, formerly known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science fiction authors Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler, subsequent to a discussion at WisCon.
Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre.
LGBT themes in speculative fiction include lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) themes in science fiction, fantasy, horror fiction and related genres. Such elements may include an LGBT character as the protagonist or a major character, or explorations of sexuality or gender that deviate from the heteronormative.
Patrice Ann "Pat" Murphy is an American science writer and author of science fiction and fantasy novels.
Nina Kiriki Hoffman is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror writer.
Karen Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation.
Kelley Eskridge is an American writer of fiction, non-fiction and screenplays. Her work is generally regarded as speculative fiction and is associated with the more literary edge of the category, as well as with the category of slipstream fiction.
Rebecca Ore is the pseudonym of science fiction writer Rebecca B. Brown. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1948. In 1968 she moved to New York City and attended Columbia University. Rebecca Ore is known for the Becoming Alien series and her short stories.
Alison Goodman is an Australian writer of books for young adults.
Raphael Carter is an American science fiction author who moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995.
Nisi Shawl is an African-American writer, editor, and journalist. They are best known as an author of science fiction and fantasy short stories who writes and teaches about how fantastic fiction might reflect real-world diversity of gender, sexual orientation, race, colonialism, physical ability, age, and other sociocultural factors.
Diversicon is an annual speculative fiction convention held the first weekend of August in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota area. Diversicon provides programming and social opportunities to encourage the multicultural, multimedia exploration and celebration of SF by those within and outside of the traditional SF community. Diversicon includes both live and posthumous guests. It is sponsored by SF Minnesota.
Sandra McDonald is an American science fiction and fantasy author.
Nike Sulway is an Australian novelist.
The role of women in speculative fiction has changed a great deal since the early to mid-20th century. There are several aspects to women's roles, including their participation as authors of speculative fiction and their role in science fiction fandom. Regarding authorship, in 1948, 10–15% of science fiction writers were female. Women's role in speculative fiction has grown since then, and in 1999, women comprised 36% of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's professional members. Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley has been called the first science fiction novel, although women wrote utopian novels even before that, with Margaret Cavendish publishing the first in the seventeenth century. Early published fantasy was written by and for any gender. However, speculative fiction, with science fiction in particular, has traditionally been viewed as a male-oriented genre.
Kim Westwood is an Australian author born in Sydney and currently living in Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory.
Greer Ilene Gilman is an American author of fantasy stories.
Nora Keita Jemisin is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, better known as N. K. Jemisin. Her fiction includes a wide range of themes, notably cultural conflict and oppression. Her debut novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and the subsequent books in her Inheritance Trilogy received critical acclaim. She has won several awards for her work, including the Locus Award. The three books of her Broken Earth series made her the first author to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel in three consecutive years, as well as the first to win for all three novels in a trilogy. Jemisin was a recipient of the MacArthur Fellows Program Genius Grant in 2020. Jemisin won a fourth Hugo Award, for Best Novelette, in 2020 for Emergency Skin.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fantasy:
Ancillary Justice is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in 2013. It is Leckie's debut novel and the first in her Imperial Radch space opera trilogy, followed by Ancillary Sword (2014) and Ancillary Mercy (2015). The novel follows Breq—who is both the sole survivor of a starship destroyed by treachery and the vessel of that ship's artificial consciousness—as she seeks revenge against the ruler of her civilization. The cover art is by John Harris.