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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...
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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
2009 Launch Pad Attendees
April 6th, 2009
I was waiting for a few minutes free and to make sure everyone officially accepted before announcing. In no particular order, here are the attendees for this summer’s Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop for Writers:
Julie V. Jones
Gord Sellar
Marc Laidlaw
Owl Goingback
Scott Sigler
Tara Fredette
Brian Malow
Pat Cadigan
Carolyn Clink
Robert Sawyer
Andy Duncan
Ed Lerner
N. K. Jemisin
Guest instructors: Joe Haldeman and Phil Plait
You may not recognize all the names. They’re not all well known science fiction/fantasy writers, although many are. We have writers/performers for science-based comedy, video game writers, a poet, a couple of best sellers, and a couple of up and comers who promise to be much better known in a few years. It’s very difficult making these choices, and I understand the college entrance boards better now. I always try to have a balanced workshop with a variety of writers reaching different audiences, and I think I succeed, but I’ve had to turn down some excellent writers. There are at least 6-7 this year I will be writing personal notes to, because it really pains me I didn’t take them. Nothing wrong with them. The program has just gotten to be very competitive and I’m struggling to make tough choices. Nothing wrong with the vast majority of applicants (nearly 60 in all), just not very many slots.
I’ll also be having someone making video of portions of this year’s workshop in an effort to provide some aspects of this experience vicariously. We’ll see how that goes. We’ll also have Launch Pad at least one more time based on current funding, and perhaps beyond that if we can secure future funding. It’s been fun and popular beyond my expectations, but it is also exhausting and time consuming.
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April 7th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Mike,
Thanks for this awesome opportunity! Sounds like it’s going to be all kinds of fun. Can’t wait to meet everyone - you, especially!
Brian
April 8th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
[...] just trying to get tickets booked — it’s harder than I thought! — but since Mike Brotherton has announced the list of attendees for this year’s Launch Pad Workshop, and since I’m one of them, I figured it would be [...]
April 11th, 2009 at 6:13 am
Ah, so it goes! I didn’t make the cut this year. But I am so excited this exists! I will be applying again and again until I get in. Have fun, everyone!
April 12th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
[...] the line-up, from Mike Brotherton’s [...]