Speculative fiction: Wave of books raise profile of genre

By Colin Steele
Updated February 26 2015 - 10:08am, first published February 20 2015 - 11:45pm
A strange future foreseen in speculative fiction. Photo: Supplied
A strange future foreseen in speculative fiction. Photo: Supplied

More and more mainstream authors are turning to speculative fiction (SF) as a means of reflecting contemporary angst. Leading Australian author and critic, James Bradley, is the latest to take this path in Clade (Hamish Hamilton, $32.99), although it must be said that Bradley, like Margaret Atwood, has long had an interest in the genre. Bradley's story of the Leith family's fortunes over three generations in the 21st century serves as a microcosm for traumatic global change reflected in apocalyptic weather, a global pandemic and economic collapse.

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