Oktoberfest: Robot Discussion

Tom Hunter, Professor of AI Dr. Kerstin Dautenhahn and I will  be taking part in a discussion at The Royal Society on Friday 15th October at 6:30pm.

Kerstin is a pioneering researcher in robot social learning and imitation whose research interests include Human-Robot Interaction, Social Robotics, Socially Intelligent Agents and Artificial Life.

The event is free, you can find more details by following this link.

http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2010/oktoberfest/programme/talk/rise-machines

Other Worlds

Tor UK and Alt.Fiction present

Derby Quad, Market Place, Derby,

Saturday 6^th Nov, 1pm-4pm

Tickets £8 (£6 concession) from QUAD box office on 01332 290606 or at www.derbyquad.co.uk/other-worlds

Other Worlds offers panel discussions, giveaways and signings and is an ideal event for both readers and writers of science-fiction and fantasy. Authors appearing include the UK’s best-selling SF author PETER F HAMILTON, Shadows of the Apt writer ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY, rising fantasy star MARK CHARAN NEWTON and author of the Recursion trilogy and the Penrose Series,  TONY BALLANTYNE. For the latest updates visit Derby Quad’s website at www.derbyquad.co.uk/other-worlds

Other Worlds workshops

Sat 6^th Nov, 11am-12pm

Tickets £3. Numbers are strictly limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

Other Worlds is also proud to present a pair of writing workshops. Both workshops will take place at 11am-12pm at QUAD and can be booked at the box office details as above.

Science-fiction writing workshop with TONY BALLANTYNE

Fantasy writing workshop with MARK CHARAN NEWTON

The Wind on the Moon by Eric Linklater

“When there is a wind on the moon, you must be very careful about how you behave.  Because if it is an ill wind, and you behave badly, it will blow straight into your heart, and then you will behave badly for a long time to come.”

So says the Major to his daughters, Dinah and Dorinda, before heading off to a foreign country.  Unfortunately, when the girls’ attempts to help their father with his packing go wrong, they decide that they must indeed be naughty girls, and as the wind has now got into their hearts, that’s the way they must act.

So begins one of the most bizarre children’s books I have read.  For the next 300 or so pages, the story twists and turns in the most unlikely directions as the girls visit a witch, turn themselves into kangaroos, make friends with a Puma, solve the mystery of the missing ostrich eggs, and rescue their father from the evil Count Hulagu.  Along the way, they meet a wide cast of characters including a singing vicar, a newspaper reading bear and an incompetent giraffe detective.  All this sounds very wacky, but what lifts the book up into the top league is that fact that, regardless of the off-the-wall nature of the characters, there is something very real about them, with more than a hint of satire in the actions, and a darkness at the heart of their nature which can be unexpected in a children’s book.

What impressed me most about the book, however, was that despite the seemingly random paths the story takes, all of the apparently insignificant diversions are there for a reason, and they all tie up in a satisfying conclusion.

The Wind on the Moon won the Carnegie Medal when it was published in 1944; I can’t believe I only heard of it when a friend bought my daughter a copy for her birthday. If you know a child age 10+, buy them a copy and then borrow it.  Better yet, buy your own.

The Wind on the Moon, 364pp, Jane Nissen Books. Recommended.