Due to the planned strike action on London Underground, we have decided to reschedule our launch of Stephen Oram’s new collection. The event will now take place on Thursday 3rd August from 6:30pm. All other details remain the same. If you already booked, you will automatically be transferred to the new date unless you let us know you can no longer attend. If you haven’t booked yet, you can do so for free here: Burley Fisher.

And what a great excuse to remind you that the book will be out in just one week! Here’s the synopsis:

In this remarkably perceptive collection, Stephen Oram blends cutting-edge science and tech with everyday emotions and values to create 20 thought experiments with heart.

Extracting Humanity is a skilful exploration of smart currencies, memorials, medical care, treatment of refugees, social networks, data monitoring, and justice systems. Always without prescription or reprimand, these stories are simply the beginning of the conversation.

From an eerie haptic suit that Tommy must call Father, to a protective, nutritious bubble that allows Feng Mian to survive on a colonised Moon; from tattoos that will earn their wearers a mini-break in a sensory chamber, to Harrie anxiously awaiting AI feedback on her unborn child… These startling, diverse narratives map all-too-real possibilities for our future and the things that might ultimately divide or unite us.

And here’s what people are saying:

“Each of the stories in Extracting Humanity takes real possibility, and inserts humanity. This is science fiction doing its day job, and doing it well.”

Ken MacLeod author of Intrusion

“This is science fiction rooted within the bounds of possibilities. These are stories to make you think about the next steps in our automated futures. Oram’s writing places you at the human heart of all things technological.”

Kate Devlin, author of Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots

“Oram manages to maintain humanity and humour, even when he descends into post-human worlds where the boundaries between human and non-human are queasily blurred – a trick that reminds me of Philip K Dick, though here the science and technology feel more grounded and researched.”

Chris Beckett, author of the Dark Eden Trilogy

If this sounds like you kind of thing, please consider ordering a copy from us direct. We offer free shipping within the UK on all pre-orders, and we have signed copies available if you specify at checkout. Our shop is right here.

You can also pre-order through Waterstones or Amazon.