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.
"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’m not dead yet! It’s just been busy week after busy week. Two weeks ago was Launch Pad. Last week was a Herschel Space Observatory proposal. Then this week it was trying to finish an old project with a visiting collaborator (she leaves tomorrow) — almost done with a draft of the paper but I [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »>Genevieve Valentine wrote a couple of cool posts for tor.com: four fun things about the universe, and Science! about some other stuff Launch Pad associated. Also see her recent blog entry about how we are all made of stars. That last post sounds like Launch Pad had its desired effect, and I predict Genevieve’s rekindled [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »>I was busy last week from Launch Pad, then busy recovering from Launch Pad, then busy with a telescope proposal (Herschel, if you’re interested, due 5AM yesterday morning, silly Europeans…). So catching again, eternally it seems, with the things I want to get done. I decided this year that blogging was important to me, but [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>A few years ago I compiled a list of online astronomy resources for writers following that year’s Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop for Writers. Every year there are new links we pass around and discuss, so I wanted to do an addendum, if you will, adding more links to the ones I’ve previously posted (and which [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »>Launch Pad’s 4th annual workshop has concluded, and it was super again this year. The usual slew of minor problems of one sort or another, and again someone went to the ER (altitude sickness), WIRO had technical problems, etc., so I’m still working on the perfect workshop. The attendees were great, guest Kevin R. Grazier [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>Rachel Swirsky is liveblogging (or close to it) about the experience.
Cecilia Tan is also blogging about Launch Pad.
Guest Instructor Kevin R. Grazier has written a blog post at Discover Magazine’s Science Not Fiction, including a nice picture of this year’s group.
And I’m hanging in here…the week is always a lot of fun, but also a [...]
Everyone is safely in Laramie and we start another session in the morning. I really like every very much so far, even the people I had already met before, so that’s a good sign.
I believe there will be some attendees blogging, and I’ll see if I can link to them as the week [...]
I went out with a buddy last night to see Predators, produced by Robert Rodriguez.
If you’re like most people, including me, Predator 2 was ok but not terrific, and the Aliens vs. Predator films weren’t even quite ok (although I kind of like ancient alien pyramids under the ice).
Well, some good news. The new movie [...]
Shelly Li is about the most talented teen I’ve ever known in my life, and I’m proud to call her a friend. She’s 17 and just sold her first novel and has been regularly selling science fiction to high-profile professional markets like the Futures section of Nature.
I want to do two things here with this [...]
I saw a review of The Last Airbender on TV the other day. The reviewers didn’t like the movie, and I decided not to see it. They also pointed out that the heroes all had lighter shades of skin than the villains (and the director, for that matter). The reviewers were white males, but we’re [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>In past centuries, religion inspired art, especially when the churches were paying for it.
Now we have science inspiring great art.
This video is totally amazing. I’m in awe.
(Thanks for the link, Angus!)
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>This is a true story. It’s kind of funny, kind of stupid, but it’s true and that’s the important thing.
I was a smart kid growing up, usually at the top of my class, always fiddling with one project or another. I was into the stars, dinosaurs, chemistry, science fiction, making movies, writing stories, chess, D&D. [...]