Lee Flanagan made his debut in 2001-02 and went on to score 124 times for the club (8th all-time scorer). The early part of the new millennium saw Billingham runner-up twice in the Durham Challenge Cup (2002-03 & 2005-06), runners-up in the League Cup (2002-03) and a runners-up spot in the Northern League (2004-05). This period also saw the latest player to join the 400+ appearance club; Michael Cater (2002-12) making 403 appearances. Also making his debut was James Magowan (2004-15), coming off the bench to score against Brandon United, who completes the top ten of all-time goal scorers coming in at joint 6th with 125 goals. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1982 novel Friday in part to Cadigan following her being the guest liaison to him at the 34th Worldcon in Kansas City. [7] Pat Cadigan in 2018 Health [ edit ] One element which I did like about this was the sheer amount of female characters. A lot of the time I read books by male authors when reading SFF and I think over time that has made me accept the 'token' women in the story more than I should. This book, being written by a lady, has about a 50/50 split of male/female characters, and that alone was truly refreshing. Ultraman: The Official Novelization (Titan Books, March 2023; novelization of the series Ultraman).

Pat Cadigan (Author of Synners) - Goodreads

Vince What's-His-Name," said Sam. "Died in a terrorist raid or something. I thought you said all information should be free." I wouldn't say that I'd like to read this again anytime soon, perhaps, because it was something of a chore, but the satisfaction quotient is WAY up there. She knows how to pull of ENDINGS. Wow. He smiled his dreamy little smile at her. "Ah, but I think we're approaching a kind of corruption unlike anything we've ever known before, Sam-I-Am. Sometimes I think we may be on the verge of an original sin."Experienced readers will know this is not your standard Christmas story. In fact, it’s not a real Christmas story at all. I first heard this story over twenty years ago, and when the holiday season rolled around, it was the first thing I thought of. So I’ve been posting it every year, and will do so until further notice: It’s genius, and a mess and incredibly ground-breaking and seriously, should be considered a science fiction classic . . . Question any list of “great/classic SF” that doesn’t include this book’– Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This period also saw the emergence of three more 400+ Synthonia appearance makers with Barney Malone (1987-2008, 420 appearances), Glen Corkain (1989-2003, 443 appearances) & Sean O'Brien (1989-2002, 438 appearances) joining the Synners ranks. It should. It isn't. Knowledge is power. But power corrupts. Which means the Age of Fast Information is an extremely corrupt age in which to live."

Billingham Synthonia saved from extinction after firm

Cadigan sold her first professional science fiction story in 1980. Her success as an author encouraged her to become a full-time writer in 1987. As chairman you take that burden on. I didn't sleep much worrying about the end of the season and where we'd go and how we'd get this club to 100 years old. The statuesque tattoo artist paused between the lotuses she was applying to the arm of the space case lolling half-conscious in the chair. "What, again?" The name 'Synthonia' often throws up the question of what it means and its origins. It comes from a contraction of an agricultural product manufactured by ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries); 'Synthetic Ammonia' (a fertiliser). ICI was a company which was the principal employer in Billingham for many years and encouraged its employees to partake in a number of different sports. The Synners were connected to ICI until the early 1990's when ICI sold off its Billingham operations. Cadigan got some things spot on - the concept not only of built in traffic-warning GPS stands out, but even more so for the prediction that it would always get you the info just too late to do anything about it. The sense of an ever-connected life - a staple of the genre - seems much less surprising than it did in the 1990s.This novel has really everything I want when reading SF: mind-blowing technology, non-utopia setting, and ‘real’ personal characters’– Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ann Summers - Market Force Ann Summers - Market Force

Racingly told, linguistically acute, simultaneously pell-mell and precise in its detailing’– The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Alita: Battle Angel—The Official Movie Novelization (Titan Books, February 2019; novelization of the movie Alita: Battle Angel) Winner of the 1992 Arthur C. Clarke Award, Synners was Pat Cadigan’s early stories, and cemented her place in the core of the cyberpunk movement, and has even inspired academic works. Lauded for her complex characters and plots, and seen as a stalwart of feminist SF, Cadigan has gone on to win another Clarke and a Hugo for subsequent works. The 88-89 season saw the 1st Division title claimed for a second time with the firepower of striker Allen and Charlie Butler (3rd Synners all-time goal scorer with 183 goals); the start of a formidable partnership. A first Durham Challenge Cup success was also obtained with a 4-1 win over neighbours Billingham Town in the final, goals from Granycome, a Butler brace and David Shearer. A third Northern League title was secured in 89-90 and a third Northern League Cup was also claimed in a 5-2 win over Whitby Town in the Final. Further FA Cup progression also ensued with a 1st Round tie away at Lincoln City where Synners narrowly missed out with a 1-0 defeat at Sincil Bank. Cadigan also has a way with words that twists the reader to see things in a new light. For example, the phrase "change for the machines" which is echoed throughout the book was first introduced in a scene shortly after Visual Mark's small music video production company was acquired by Diversification Inc, a huge conglomerate. He wanders into an employee meet-and-greet to use the coffee vending machine and after a while of patting himself down Gabe offers him "change for the machines". Mark immediately latches on to that phrase and has a private epiphany about the nature of humanity as it relates to immersive technology. The reader is privy to the slow unfolding of this epiphany.

More Durham Challenge Cup success followed with Synthonia winning the trophy in 2008-09, a 1-0 win over Northern Premier League side Durham City with a Magowan goal. The following 2009-10 season they retained the trophy in a 2-0 win over Ryton; Danny Earl & Danny Newby the goal-scorers.

Billingham Synthonia - History

If you don't believe you can be in two places at once, you've forgotten everything you've learned." This is one of the main attributes of cyberpunk – not only to pull the reader into a high-tech, near-future world, but also into cyberspace where reality exists in the interface between humanity and machines. And the best of this genre takes you there, immersing you into an altered landscape, where memes and symbols take on different meanings that the reader completely accepts. Resurrecting the Mummy: The Making of the Movie (Ebury Press June 1999; book on the making of the movie The Mummy) We have certainly not been immune to the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, but we are passionate about helping our community whenever and wherever we can. In many ways this book simply reinforced my opinion that I don't really like "cyberpunk". Apparently another of the leading beacons of the sub-genre and another that I have broadly not liked.What if the tech revolution, instead of being made by start-up and college geeks, was driven by MTV-era creatives? That's essentially Cadigan's premise in this cyberpunk classic. It's impossible, obviously, not to read this 1991 novel with 2014 eyes, but I suspect that simply enriched the experience (particularly as I find cyberpunk mostly irritating as a rule). It's why a lot of this review will focus on the future-vision of Cadigan. Lost in Space: Promised Land (HarperEntertainment April 1999/Thorndike Press July 1999; original novel/sequel to the movie Lost in Space) The last week has been torture for Dolan and the club's volunteers and supporters, with the prospect of extinction a real reality - until Queensway called. In SYNNERS the line between technology and humanity is hopelessly slim; the human mind and the external landscape have fused to the point where any encounter with reality is incidental. Safe to say it was a good job I was sat down. I don't mind admitting I did have a tear in my eye when I put the phone down. The sense of relief was overwhelming."