(ReacTor) Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)

[James Nicoll]

Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)

London, England! A stage for so many adventures!

https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

[Scott Lurndal]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_(disambiguation)

[Christian Weisgerber]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

Nice touch there, using the cover of the German translation of
_SS-GB_. :-)

[Bobbie Sellers]

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

Nice touch there, using the cover of the German translation of
_SS-GB_. :-)

Well they are very cunning those publishers.

I have read SS-GB and seen a PBS show that resembles it.
But I prefer the Laundry Files novels by Charles Stross and
if they are too down in attitude then the Rivers of London
(and some otehr places) by Ben Aaronovitch. Of course
while originating in London the main characters get to
travel all over Blighty.

bliss

[The Horny Goat]

On Tue, 6 Aug 2024 18:33:34 -0700, Bobbie Sellers

Post by Bobbie Sellers

Post by Christian Weisgerber

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

Nice touch there, using the cover of the German translation of
_SS-GB_. :-)

Well they are very cunning those publishers.
I have read SS-GB and seen a PBS show that resembles it.
But I prefer the Laundry Files novels by Charles Stross and
if they are too down in attitude then the Rivers of London
(and some otehr places) by Ben Aaronovitch. Of course
while originating in London the main characters get to
travel all over Blighty.
bliss

Good catch on SS-GB though I never really considered alternate history
an SF sub-genre (and I've read over 100 AH novels and I do not
exaggerate - I'm a 25 year veteran of alt.history.what-if and
soc.history.what-if and prefer a well written AH novel to most SF)

[Tony Nance]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

Neat topic. I'd guess there are a lot of them out there. Very quickly
off the top of my head, there's Jacka's Alex Verus series, and two of
Shaw's Dr Greta Helsing trilogy.

Tony

[William Hyde]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

London, Ontario, is inhabited by people so diabolically clever that they
can handle an election with ranked ballots.

Fortunately, the Ford government interceded to forbid more of these,
saving the rest of us from having to come up with a second choice, an
exercise beneath our limited mental abilities.

Which also saved us from having a conservative mayor in Toronto. With
ranked ballots Bailao could certainly have won as several other
conservative candidates split the vote, while the left was more united.

I do hope Mayor Chow sent a thank-you note.

William Hyde

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by James Nicoll

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!

https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/
London, Ontario, is inhabited by people so diabolically clever that they
can handle an election with ranked ballots.
Fortunately, the Ford government interceded to forbid more of these,
saving the rest of us from having to come up with a second choice, an
exercise beneath our limited mental abilities.
Which also saved us from having a conservative mayor in Toronto. With
ranked ballots Bailao could certainly have won as several other
conservative candidates split the vote, while the left was more united.
I do hope Mayor Chow sent a thank-you note.
William Hyde

The Werewolf of London (Ontario) is an ongoing character in the online
superhero comic "Spinnerette". He used to be able to change at will,
but kind of forget how and is now stuck in half-form. (Which he doesn't
really mind, especially since his girlfriend is a three-headed dog woman).

I believe "Green Gable" is another Canadian member of the team: All the
powers of "Anne Of Green Gable", though the mantle is currently
held by a guy (who does rock the costume..)

[Scott Dorsey]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

In spite of all of these my favorite story set in London is Arthur
C. Clarke's _The Forgotten Enemy_. Probably the most depressing story
I have ever read though.
--scott

[Charles Packer]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-

canada/

In spite of all of these my favorite story set in London is Arthur C.
Clarke's _The Forgotten Enemy_. Probably the most depressing story I
have ever read though.
--scott

Could this story explain why its author relocated to Sri Lanka?

[James Nicoll]

Post by James Nicoll

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-

canada/

In spite of all of these my favorite story set in London is Arthur C.
Clarke's _The Forgotten Enemy_. Probably the most depressing story I
have ever read though.
--scott

Could this story explain why its author relocated to Sri Lanka?

More a desire not to be jailed for being gay, was my impression.
Ceylon didn't prosecute gay men in the 1950s but the UK very
definitely did.

[Scott Dorsey]

Post by James Nicoll

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-

canada/

In spite of all of these my favorite story set in London is Arthur C.
Clarke's _The Forgotten Enemy_. Probably the most depressing story I
have ever read though.

Could this story explain why its author relocated to Sri Lanka?

Probably not. Nothing was heard on the radio from tropical lands, so
odds are good that Sri Lanka was uninhabitable in the story too.
--scott

[Robert Carnegie]

Post by James Nicoll

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-

canada/

In spite of all of these my favorite story set in London is Arthur C.
Clarke's _The Forgotten Enemy_. Probably the most depressing story I
have ever read though.
--scott

Could this story explain why its author relocated to Sri Lanka?

I posted in 2020 -

My inner sniggering schoolboy still fondly remembers
a radio-based parody of Arthur C. Clarke's
"Mysterious World" - from the Red Dwarf creators
I think, in series _Son of Cliche_ - where their
"Clarke", speaking from the place he called home -
specifically I think, Joe's Beach Bar, Sri Lanka (!) -
explained that "Abominable Snowman, Bigfoot, the Yeti"
was seen in many places around the world, but never in
Joe's Beach Bar, Sri Lanka. "That's why I live here."

[Chris Buckley]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

A fairly recent very good book is _The Left-Handed Booksellers of London_
by Garth Nix. His Abhorsen/Sabriel series is a Favorite; this wasn't quite
that good. The sequel _The Sinister Booksellers of Bath_ was more
disappointing; perhaps the worldbuilding around London was better than
the worldbuilding around Bath?

Chris

[John Savard]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

Well, I was rewarded for following that link. I never realized that
two of the Fathers of Confederation were named John Hamilton Grey.

John Savard

[Default User]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!

Genevieve Cogman's Invisible Library series has a myriad of alternate
Earths, with varying degrees of technology and magic. One frequent
settings is a Victorian London with steampunk and magic.


Brian

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

Zero for five of course.

There are many SF/F novels set in London. "The Time Machine", etc.

Lynn

[Jerry Brown]

On Thu, 11 Jul 2024 23:28:54 -0500, Lynn McGuire

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

Zero for five of course.
There are many SF/F novels set in London. "The Time Machine", etc.

The Time Traveller's house was in Richmond Surrey, which didn't become
a London borough until 1965 - maybe it still will be in 802,701. The
Palace of Green Porcelain was in Banstead which still is in Surrey -
but might not be in 802,701.

[Cryptoengineer]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

I'd have added:

'After London' by Richard Jefferies. 1885. Post apocalyptic.
'Un Lun Dun' by China Mieville, 2007.
'Neverwhere' by Neil Gaiman, 1996

pt

[Titus G]

Post by Cryptoengineer

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England!  A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

'After London' by Richard Jefferies. 1885. Post apocalyptic.
'Un Lun Dun' by China Mieville, 2007.
'Neverwhere' by Neil Gaiman, 1996
pt

The brilliant Neverwhere was the one I first thought of before Mieville.
I haven't read Un Lun Dun but The Kraken, which is the only Mieville not
enjoyed by me, was set in London as well as was most of Tim Powers' The
Anubis Gates.

[Dimensional Traveler]

Post by James Nicoll
Five SFF Novels Set in London (But Not the One in Canada)
London, England! A stage for so many adventures!
https://reactormag.com/five-sff-novels-set-in-london-but-not-the-one-in-canada/

I don't think anyone has yet mentioned the 'Laundry Files' series by
Charles Stross.