Spider Star
The human colony on the planet Argo has long explored and exploited the technology left behind by an extinct alien race. But then an archaeology team accidentally activates a terrible weapon...
Read More.Praise for Star Dragon
"Seldom does a storytelling talent come along as potent and fully mature as Mike Brotherton. His complex characters take you on a voyage that is both fiercely credible and astonishingly imaginative. This is Science Fiction."
-- David Brin"Star Dragon is terrific fare, offering readers a fusion of hard science and grand adventure."
-- Locus Magazine"Star Dragon is steeped in cosmology, the physics of interstellar travel, exobiology, artificial intelligence, bioscience. Brotherton, author of many scientific articles in refereed journals, has written a dramatic, provocative, utterly convincing hard science sf novel that includes an ironic twist that fans will love."
-- Booklist starred review"Readers hungry for the thought-provoking extrapolation and rigorous technical detail of old-fashioned hard SF are sure to enjoy astronomer Brotherton's first novel."
-- Publishers Weekly"Mike Brotherton, himself a trained astrophysicist, combines the technical acuity and ingenuity of Robert Forward with the ironic, postmodern stance and style of M. John Harrison. In this, his debut novel, those twin talents unite to produce a work that is involving on any number of levels. It's just about all you could ask for in a hardcore SF adventure."
-- Paul di Fillippo, SCI-FI.COM
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I Don’t Want a Happy Medium
August 16th, 2012
I was fond of the over-the-top, ridiculous, and funny Priceline commercials featuring William Shatner, but they killed him off earlier this year. There have been commercials since then featuring people recalling his memory and price-saving deeds. Maybe you’ve seen this very recent one:
What I didn’t realize when I first saw this was that the medium in the spot is Theresa Caputo, a “real” medium from TLC’s tv show “Long Island Medium.” If mediums like her were real, they could prove it and make a million bucks, but they never have and, the spirits tell me, never will.
They’re charlatans, frauds, deceivers, and opportunists who seek to profit based on the superstitions and hopes of the bereaved. Caputo is just the latest in a long sequence of frauds preying on unfortunate believers to part them from their money and to give them false closure. Jonathan Edward, Syvia Browne, etc., etc., etc.
Honestly, I didn’t mind the commercial when I first saw it. I’m a fan of contemporary fantasy. But I am not a fan of agrandazing or rewarding evil liars with additional fame and fortune. It’s bad enough that she has a tv show that has recently been renewed. Ugh. When it dies, and I hope it is soon, I hope no one tries to talk to it.
What do you think of the commercial? Is her star waxing or waning? Does it make people more or less likely to believe in mediums?
On a closely realted note, some spam that got through the filter last month (twice!) for a “free medium reading:”
If you desire more luck in money matters, drive a new automobile, to finally find love or to acquire yourself a home, know that is feasible today. Even better, if there is something else you wish, anything that is possible in this life, I can make your desire become reality!
If this sounds too good to be true, let me prove you wrong! I would like to grant you my unique Secret so that the wish closest to your heart come true in less than two day – Absolutely free. It is one of the most powerful and best kept psychic Secrets of all times.
To discover all the details of this 100% free offer and take an essential step towards the life you deserve, visit here.
Please forgive me for eliminating the links in the above free offer. Caputo, Edward, and the others of their ilk, deserve prosecution like Miss Cleo. They aren’t real, but their clients and viewers are, and, unfortunately, real gulliable.
We’ve got rovers exploring Mars as we speak even while some conspiracy freaks question the Apollo moon landings, while other people are still turning on tv to watch fakers pretend to talk to the dead.
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This commercial makes her seem like a moron and a fake. Surely she should have recognized this? Maybe she doesn’t care because it bumps up her tv ratings.
Hello, just started reading your blog, it’s quite interesting!
As for psychics/mediums; I live in a family where everyone but me believes that they have real abilities, and that they simply “don’t work when money/science is involved”. Dinner table conversation sometimes gets heated.
Alex, next time it comes up, bring up the fact that there are “professional” psychics who do in fact make a living at it. Money is involved, so either that doesn’t matter, or the pros are fakers, right? Which is it?