A couple of AGA members have recently told us about references to games with stones in science fiction novels. Could these folks be playing Go?
Peter Freedman points out that in the science fiction trilogy Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne by Brian Staveley, the warriors play "a game of stones" with black and white stones. Unfortunately, we have no more information about this.
Meanwhile, Mike Goerss points out that in Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee, another science fiction trilogy, the characters play a game called "pattern stones" that seems like it could possibly be Go. Few details about this game are provided, but there is a reference to a three-stone handicap, and also the line, "Brezan placed a black stone – naturally he was the weaker player." (These references appear on pages 152-154 of Raven Stratagem, the second book in the series.)
If you find more clues about what game these characters are playing, or if you spot references to Go in other popular literature, please let us know by dropping us a line at journal@usgo.org.