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
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Reacting to People as Art

July 6th, 2009

As a writer and artist, I’ve always put premise first. That is, when I invent a story or an idea for a painting, I always think about the basic situation. It’s a science fiction story about discovering a new kind of alien life form in a novel astronomical setting, or a painting of wolves surrounding a woman in the woods.

Some people work very differently from this, starting with character, mood, style, something else, of course.

No one element makes a great story, painting, or movie. I can like horror movies in general, but dislike individual movies for being too slow, too confusing, badly acted, whatever.

And just as a man has his preferred type, or a woman is looking for “tall, dark, and handsome,” give them what they want and they’re still not happy most of the time. Because that ideal type only has the right premise. The execution is in the character, mood, style. In writing, it’s how the book turns on the page, whether or not it’s engaging or satisfying.

I’ve met some attractive women I was initially very interested in, but lost that feeling as I got to see them beyond their “premise,” if you will. And I’m sure plenty of woman have discovered that the tall, handsome guy is as dumb and boring as a brick.

By the same token, I don’t like country-western songs. Give the greatest one ever to listen to, one that millions of people love, and I’ll probably tolerate it but won’t love it. Give me the blondest, dumbest, giggliest, gorgeous Playboy pin-up with D-cup bolt-ons, and I won’t love her, not in a meaningful way, and probably won’t find her that attractive.

There’s the objective to art and people, and then there’s the subjective experience, and usually both are necessary to be fully satisfied.

I guess in a way this relates back to my post about how stories can be seen as seduction. I think it’s interesting to find metaphors between social interaction and art. I guess that’s one reason I like to write fiction, and it’s sometimes a fascinating way of seeing relationships.

Don Henley once wrote in the song Drivin’ with your eyes closed, that “women are the only works of art.” I submit that we all are, in the eyes of each other, and we can open our eyes and see that — literally and metaphorically.

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