Why the future could be British

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4742177.stm

Something for the British to be proud about.

For the first time in its 63-year history, all the writers nominated for the prestigious Hugo award for the best novel are British.

I read The Iron Council .Excellent! Hope it wins.

Mr Stross says that what an author writes is a reflection of his society, and currently US genre writers are mirroring the "deep trauma" that 9/11 wrought on America.

"What we write tends to reflect our perceptions of the world around us," he says, "and if it's an uncertain world full of shadows it's no surprise you get wish fulfilment or a bit downbeat."

So super-hero movies divide the world into black and white moralities and authors try to write alternative histories of key US events, such as the Civil War.

By contrast British genre writers are not looking back, they are eyeing the future with lip-smacking anticipation.

"We're a bit more upbeat and there's an openness about there being a future for us," says Mr Stross.

And they are better getting to grips with the ever-increasing pace of technological change, which makes prediction a trickier job than ever.