Out of this world: The rise and fall of Planet Sci-fi’s ‘competent man’

Today’s science fiction literature is a diverse landscape, says David Barnett, but it wasn’t always like that. A new book looks at the origins of the genre’s Golden Age… and the women who were airbrushed from history

When we think of the Golden Age we think of the classic science fiction tropes. Sleek rockets and square-jawed heroes, damsels in distress menaced by slimy, tentacled aliens

In August this year, the writer NK Jemisin was called to the stage at the World Science Fiction Convention in San Jose to collect her third consecutive Hugo Award for the best novel of the year.

Three wins on the trot for one of the most venerable and hotly contested awards in science fiction is remarkable enough. The fact that Jemisin is a black woman made her winning streak all the more historic.