Canada as a Superpower in Elizabeth Bear’s Science Fiction: The Jenny Casey Trilogy

Abstract

English-speaking science fiction readers were impressed by Elizabeth Bear’s Jenny Casey trilogy when it appeared in 2005. Along with the high quality of the novels, Hammered, Scardown and Worldwired, the American author surprised her public by a number of features that distinguishes this trilogy from most recent American science fiction. The aim of this article is to examine two of these features more closely: Bear’s combination and revision of certain earlier science fiction genres and her depiction of a world of 2062 in which Canada and not the USA has the leading role in space exploration and global conflicts. The article uses both a comparative examination of science fiction genres and a qualitative analysis of those aspects of Canada that Bear chooses to highlight. American space fiction tends to be nationalistic, but the USA of 2062 is shown as suffering from ecological disasters that its weak and divided society cannot deal with. Canada, on the other hand, though not an ideal society, successfully upholds values like moderation, and is still able to rely on the loyalty of very different kinds of characters.