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...
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"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
I recently finished reading Joe Haldeman’s short novel The Accidental Time Machine and wanted to share some thoughts about it while my memory is fresh. First, there is a quality to this book I adored that makes me want to recommend it here. The main character, Matt, is a physics graduate student struggling a bit […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »>Does it bother anyone else that essentially all of Harry Potter’s education at Hogwarts was about rote memorization of spell casting and totally divorced from “muggle” education? I mean, the wizarding world need not worry about all the same things that the muggle world worries about, but come on. You’ve still got money, so math, […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments »>I’ve been involved in a few discussions recently where some instances of really dumb things in science fiction movies came up. I’m not talking science here so much (my usual issue to harp on) as just things that are so astoundingly dumb you got to wonder what people were thinking, or if they were thinking […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments »>My parents set up my first science fiction experience. They called me into the living room when I was about six (1974 give or take) and told me that they had a surprise for me. They then turned on the TV and there was Star Trek. Little did my parents, or myself, realize what happened […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »>No, Seth Shostak is not a Predator, although that would be a cool book… Seth is a radio astronomer who works for the SETI Institute hunting for alien signals from space, and he has a book out called Confessions of an Alien Hunter which is about SETI and his personal experiences with the project. You […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »>Above and beyond the basic skills these areas require, some of which like writing and editing are in common, there is a key creative difference. When you’re learning to be a scientist, you get trained to say “no” to ideas. Most ideas are probably not original and wrong, and even the popular ideas are usually […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »>One of the reasons I love science fiction is that, frankly, I am easily bored and depressed by normal everyday life. I mean, TV commercials, ick! Pumping gas. Going to the bathroom. Showering. Shaving. Driving. Cleaning. Grocery shopping. Hours every day filled with so many things of little intrinsic interest, pretty much destined to never […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 16 Comments »>I went looking online for lists of science movies. I found one from a chemist at about.com: 1. Weird Science 2. Dr. Strangelove 3. Real Genius 4. The Atomic Cafe 5. The Absent-Minded Professor 6. The Andromeda Strain 7. Love Potion #9 8. Prince of Darkness 9. Project X 10. Manhattan Project Now, a few of these are good choices and I will keep them, […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »>I feel bad I didn’t put any of these into the top ten classic science fiction scenes. At least two of them should arguably be there. Big spoilers in these as they are toward the end, so don’t watch if you haven’t seen the movies and don’t want to spoil them. Enjoy! Astronaut Charleton Heston […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>More movie scenes today. The ten that I consider the most famous and iconic for science fiction. While some of these are iconic, some are revelations and can be considered spoilers if you haven’t seen the movie. So, be careful. Otherwise, enjoy reliving these with me. 10. I’ll start off with one from the top […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments »>There are a number of Hollywood stars who seem to consistently make science fiction movies. I don’t know if it is that they prefer this sort of script in general, or if they keep getting approached following success with an initial film. Anyway, let’s proceed with the list! 10. Let’s start old school with Charleton […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments »>I had meant to link to physicist Sean Carroll’s excellent Rules for Time Travelers that he posted a couple of weeks ago. Sean is a world expert on time and knows his stuff. Awesome post. I made a very similar post last year called Science and Science Fiction: Time Travel. A lot of the basic […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »>