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Looking Landwards
With the impending crises of climate change, scarcity of water, dwindling energy reserves and spiraling global populations, the effective management of our land and the food it produces has never been more relevant. Established in 1938 by a small group of far-seeing and enthusiastic engineers and agriculturalists, the Institution of Agricultural Engineers provides a professional nexus for the scientists, technologists, engineers, and managers working in the many and varied forms of land-based industry.
In 1988 the IAgrE marked its 50th anniversary with a publication that considered the changing face of farming and agricultural engineering over the previous half century. In 2013, to mark their 75th anniversary, they have chosen to commission a book that looks forward at what the future might hold. To help them achieve this, they approached NewCon Press.
Atrracting submissions not only from within the UK but also from the USA, Australia, mainland Europe, Africa, and Asia; from professional writers and would-be writers, from scientists and engineers who are actively involved in dealing with the book’s themes to people who have simply been inspired by them. Looking Landwards features twenty-three works of science fiction and speculation that dare to look to the future and examine what lies ahead for farming, for agricultural engineering and for all of us.
In 1988 the IAgrE marked its 50th anniversary with a publication that considered the changing face of farming and agricultural engineering over the previous half century. In 2013, to mark their 75th anniversary, they have chosen to commission a book that looks forward at what the future might hold. To help them achieve this, they approached NewCon Press.
Atrracting submissions not only from within the UK but also from the USA, Australia, mainland Europe, Africa, and Asia; from professional writers and would-be writers, from scientists and engineers who are actively involved in dealing with the book’s themes to people who have simply been inspired by them. Looking Landwards features twenty-three works of science fiction and speculation that dare to look to the future and examine what lies ahead for farming, for agricultural engineering and for all of us.
274 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 23, 2013
About the author
Ian Whates
123 books82 followersIan Whates lives in a comfortable home down a quiet cul-de-sac in an idyllic Cambridgeshire village, which he shares with his partner Helen and their pets – Honey the golden cocker spaniel, Calvin the tailless black cat and Inky the goldfish (sadly, Binky died a few years ago).
Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.
This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his school days, when he produced an SF murder mystery as homework after being set the essay title “The Language of Shakespeare”, much to the bemusement of his English teacher.
Ian’s first published stories appeared in the late 1980s in small press magazines such as Dream and New Moon Quarterly, after which he took a break from writing in order to research his chosen fields of science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he read copious amounts of both. Clearly the research was extensive, because he published nothing further for some seventeen years. In the early 2000s he made the decision to pursue writing seriously, joining the Northampton SF Writers Group in 2004 after being introduced to its chairman, Ian Watson.
In 2006 he started submitting stories again, and has subsequently been surprised at how many otherwise eminently sensible people have chosen to publish him. A couple have even appeared in the science journal Nature, and one, “The Gift of Joy”, even found its way onto the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. And it didn’t come last! Ironically, the award was actually won by Ken MacLeod’s “Lighting Out”, a piece Ian had commissioned, edited and published in the NewCon Press anthology disLOCATIONS (2007).
In 2006 Ian launched independent publisher NewCon Press, quite by accident (buy him a pint sometime and he’ll tell you about it). Through NewCon he has been privileged to publish original stories from some of the biggest names in genre fiction, as well as provide debuts to some genuinely talented newcomers. The books, their covers and contents have racked up an impressive array of credits – four BSFA Awards, one BSF Award to date, inclusion in ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies and recommendations and honourable mentions from the likes of Gardner Dozios and Locus magazine.
In addition to his publishing and writing, Ian is currently a director of both the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), editing Matrix, the online news and media reviews magazine, for the latter.
His first two completed novels are both due to appear in early 2010: City of Dreams and Nightmare via Harper Collins’ imprint Angry Robot, and The Noise Within from Rebellion imprint Solaris, with sequels to follow. When not pinching himself to make sure this is all really happening, Ian is currently beavering away at the sequels… honest!
Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.
This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his school days, when he produced an SF murder mystery as homework after being set the essay title “The Language of Shakespeare”, much to the bemusement of his English teacher.
Ian’s first published stories appeared in the late 1980s in small press magazines such as Dream and New Moon Quarterly, after which he took a break from writing in order to research his chosen fields of science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he read copious amounts of both. Clearly the research was extensive, because he published nothing further for some seventeen years. In the early 2000s he made the decision to pursue writing seriously, joining the Northampton SF Writers Group in 2004 after being introduced to its chairman, Ian Watson.
In 2006 he started submitting stories again, and has subsequently been surprised at how many otherwise eminently sensible people have chosen to publish him. A couple have even appeared in the science journal Nature, and one, “The Gift of Joy”, even found its way onto the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. And it didn’t come last! Ironically, the award was actually won by Ken MacLeod’s “Lighting Out”, a piece Ian had commissioned, edited and published in the NewCon Press anthology disLOCATIONS (2007).
In 2006 Ian launched independent publisher NewCon Press, quite by accident (buy him a pint sometime and he’ll tell you about it). Through NewCon he has been privileged to publish original stories from some of the biggest names in genre fiction, as well as provide debuts to some genuinely talented newcomers. The books, their covers and contents have racked up an impressive array of credits – four BSFA Awards, one BSF Award to date, inclusion in ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies and recommendations and honourable mentions from the likes of Gardner Dozios and Locus magazine.
In addition to his publishing and writing, Ian is currently a director of both the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), editing Matrix, the online news and media reviews magazine, for the latter.
His first two completed novels are both due to appear in early 2010: City of Dreams and Nightmare via Harper Collins’ imprint Angry Robot, and The Noise Within from Rebellion imprint Solaris, with sequels to follow. When not pinching himself to make sure this is all really happening, Ian is currently beavering away at the sequels… honest!
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 11, 2015
Some fabulous stories by an eclectic mix of talent (including me!) :)
August 24, 2022
A collection of 23 short stories, all based on the future of farming and agricultural engineering. This book was put together in 2013 to celebrate 75 years of IAgrE (The Institution of Agricultural Engineers).
I've had the book for a while (another excellent edition from NewCon Press, this version being number 31 of a limited special edition of 150 copies, signed by all the authors). For some reason I've kept knocking it down the order as the premise just didn't seem that interesting. How wrong I was!
There's not a poor story there, and most are very good. The weakest story is still worth 3 stars (and there was only one of those in my opinion), while most are worth 4 or 5 stars.
There was only a couple of authors I remember coming across before. Adrian Tchaikovsky (author of a number of SF and fantasy novels, and whose 'Charlie's Ant' story was excellent, warning of what may happen when artificial intelligence is allowed free reign without adequate controls) and Kim Lakin Smith (who has had short stories in other NewCon Press compilations and is consistently good including his 'Soul Story' here).
The highlights of this compilation, in my opinion, were Blight, Tractor Time and Charlies Ant.
Many of the stories painted a bleak picture of the future of farming (and hence the future of society), a number of them were set in Britain (most of these having half the country under water and the rest at threat of drought or flood), and imagined the possible solutions to those scenarios. A few had hopeful conclusions when man was willing to work together and with nature. Many didn't and forced you to consider the future repercussions of failing crops and the demise of the farmer.
I've had the book for a while (another excellent edition from NewCon Press, this version being number 31 of a limited special edition of 150 copies, signed by all the authors). For some reason I've kept knocking it down the order as the premise just didn't seem that interesting. How wrong I was!
There's not a poor story there, and most are very good. The weakest story is still worth 3 stars (and there was only one of those in my opinion), while most are worth 4 or 5 stars.
There was only a couple of authors I remember coming across before. Adrian Tchaikovsky (author of a number of SF and fantasy novels, and whose 'Charlie's Ant' story was excellent, warning of what may happen when artificial intelligence is allowed free reign without adequate controls) and Kim Lakin Smith (who has had short stories in other NewCon Press compilations and is consistently good including his 'Soul Story' here).
The highlights of this compilation, in my opinion, were Blight, Tractor Time and Charlies Ant.
Many of the stories painted a bleak picture of the future of farming (and hence the future of society), a number of them were set in Britain (most of these having half the country under water and the rest at threat of drought or flood), and imagined the possible solutions to those scenarios. A few had hopeful conclusions when man was willing to work together and with nature. Many didn't and forced you to consider the future repercussions of failing crops and the demise of the farmer.
February 23, 2025
Intriguing book with an agricultural theme - mostly dystopic - some hopeful, some not so much. The mix of authors was refreshing. Hard to find, but worth tracking down.
Read
August 4, 2016I'm not going to offer a full review, as I am biased and would like to leave that to more neutral readers, but it's nice to see that British science fiction publishing is alive and kicking with as much vim and vigour as ever.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews