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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Starlinks for Monday, Some Extra Commentary

July 21st, 2008

First off, The Dark Knight set a record for an opening weekend, with a $155 million domestic box office (previous record holder, for the record: the less deserving Spider-man 3 with $151 million). I was part of that $155 million, finally seeing the movie last night. We got our tickets before going out to dinner, which was smart, because it sold out. The 8pm show in Laramie, WY on a Sunday night sold out. So, I liked the movie, very much. It was darker and more realistic with most superhero movies, keeping in line with the elements that have made Batman popular in recent years. I won’t go into any details that will be spoilers for the three of you who didn’t see the movie yet. Despite the movie being being two and a half hours long, I think they needed another fifteen minutes or so to clean up some missing bits that made some parts mildly unsatisfying. Director’s cut should be good.

The firehose is wide open on tor.com now. Lots of good blog posts by all sorts including John Scalzi, Beth Meacham (my editor), and others.

io9 chronicles five ways that reality went sci-fi so far this century.

And here we have a six-figure book deal for an autobiography of a woman who sees angels. Ridiculous crap. Why is business compelled to give people want they want? And why do so many want it? People like Lorna Byrne, the author, are probably honest and believe what they say (and there are many others who are just lying con artists), but few of them are ever subjected to scientific tests, and of those that are, none have ever passed.

Larry King talks about allegations that UFOs have caused missile misfires (video link).

The American Physical Society’s Forum on Physics and Society calls for papers and commentary on the science behind anthropogenic global climate change. I’m uncomfortable with this from several perspectives. I wouldn’t be wild about groups of climatologists debating the science behind solar nucleosynthesis, which was somewhat controversial in the context of the solar neutrino problem. I’d also be concerned about us physicists debating the science of evolution, which some scientists also don’t agree with. Moreover, there is the fallacy of false balance in evidence here. Two sides, with two responses. Sure looks like the physicists are split 50/50 on this issue, at least to outsiders. Anyway, I’m disappointed with the APS as the public perception cannot set a good example of science in action.

Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy discusses whether or not you can see more stars from space.

Science Not Fiction provides a list of the ten best science fiction movie endings. Nice post to bookend my own list of the ten worst science fiction movie endings.

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