Dark Space

The Caribbean Gothic Down Under: Caribbean Influences in Marianne de Pierres’ Parrish Plessis Novels

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It’s always so humbling to have your work critically explored. This was from a couple of years ago. Though not the Sentients of Orion series, thought I’d share it for those interested in deeper connections to science fiction.

Dr Gerry Turcotte, who is the current President & Principal, St Mark’s College & Corpus Christi College, Vancouver, wrote this research paper, which was published in 2018 in the journal Caietele Echinox. Here is the description from the citation.

The Caribbean Gothic Down Under: Caribbean Influences in Marianne de Pierres’ Parrish Plessis Novels

Author(s): Gerry Turcotte
Subject(s): Studies of Literature
Published by: Fundatia Culturala Echinox
Keywords: Caribbean Literature; Marianne de Pierres’ Parrish Plessis; Gothic; Science Fiction; Indigenous Identity Politics;

Summary/Abstract: This paper investigates the way voodoo, postcolonial theory, Indigenous spirituality and Caribbean culture are brought together to discuss contemporary and future race politics down under in the novel Nylon Angel, Code Noir and Crash Deluxe. Marianne de Pierres’ Parrish Plessis books are edgy, street-smart science fiction novels set in a future Sydney where government has effectively collapsed, media controls its citizenry and gangs vie for control of the streets. In some ways it appears a fairly typical model for SF writing, except that de Pierres has invested great effort in the delineation of racially complex groups. Of these, the encounter between Caribbean (and Voodoo), shamans, and Indigenous Kaidaitcha men, makes for are freshing, but uncomfortable, contemporary negotiation of race politics in Australia.

“Is there a Woman in this Space Opera?”A Gender Analysis of the Aliens of Orion

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Delighted to share another scholarly article from Dr Thea Boschoff and Dr Deidre C Byrne that explores the Sentients of Orion world. Below is the publications details and a description from the citation:

“Is there a woman in this space opera?” a gender analysis of the aliens of Orion.

Authors – Dorothea Boshoff, Deirdre C Byrne

Publication date – 2021

Journal – Fafnir–Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research

Publisher – The Finnish Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy Research

This article provides a textual analysis of The Sentients of Orion, a space-opera series by Australian feminist SF author Marianne de Pierres, with a view to investigating the series’s depiction of aliens as a reflection of contemporary views of human gender. This highlights the question of whether aliens are still used to reflect on the state of human gender roles now that society is moving past the simple black and white of the male/female binary. We undertake a qualitative exploration of selected aliens through the theoretical lenses of Judith Butler’s theory of gender as performative and queer theory. By drawing on these interpretive paradigms, we suggest that de Pierres’s aliens both register and reflect a significant broadening of the gender spectrum.

The Dark Space inside each of us

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SOO_Dark Space_US_TNFabulous and thoughtful review of Dark Space by Deadline Zombie! A great read in itself.

The Dark Space inside each of us.

“De Pierres has written a beautiful, touching story. This is one of those novels which doesn’t spoon feed you – it throws you straight into the action, so be prepared to hit the ground running. However I found the lack of ‘hand-holding’ very refreshing. Don’t feel that you can’t go back and read bits again – I most certainly did.”

 

New Dark Space review

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Mark Webb reviews Dark Space for the Australian Women Writers 2013 Reading Challenge. Here is an excerpt,

“Italian is not the first culture you expect to see represented in a space opera. This created an interesting point of difference from a lot of other books. The repressed role of women on Araldis provided the source of a lot of the conflict in the novel. It was interesting to think about how some cultural traits that we consider backwards could flourish if the cohort who supports them were to get their own planet.”

SOO_Dark Space_US_TN    Commonwealth Edition: pbk, ebook

 

Top SF Books of the Decade

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So immensely pleased to see Dark Space mentioned on Liviu Suciu’s  list for 2007. Liviu’s probably one of the most well read SFF critics on the web:

Mark Van Name, One Jump Ahead (2007)
Rhys Hughes, The Crystal Cosmos (2007)
David Gunn, Death’s Head (2007)
Marianne de Pierres, Dark Space (2007)

Read the full list.