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
Sneak attack from North Korea, because Norad will not fire because it could be Santa. Anyone coming down the chimney in winter because many homes don’t have chimneys, chimneys are often very small (especially for a fat man with a belly like a bow full of jelly), and it’s freaking winter and there ought to [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>No one owns holidays. Once they’re big enough to spill into larger culture, they morph into whatever. The Christians appropriated pagan holidays and incorporated them into their own traditions. Now the secular/commercial world has done the same with theirs. Christmas is about Santa as much as Jesus, more so to many. The Easter Bunny is [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>This is going to be a list of stuff I have and like already, or want, from several categories…I’m at least semi-representative. In addition to geeks, it should work to inspire gift ideas for nerds, dorks, Fans, and other smart, fun people. Books My top recommendation is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, at least [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>I’ll probably have a supplemental list of links later this week, too, splitting up a long list. It continued to be super busy this week. I should have realized the headaches associated with doing the paperwork for an international marriage wouldn’t have been any easier than the visa paperwork, but I didn’t anticipate wasted time [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>OK, pretty late Sunday. I’ve been enjoying the holiday vacation a little too much and sleeping in. A bit late too on Christmas-related posts, but let’s do some and follow-up with some semi-related religion/atheist stuff before moving on. The many science fiction explanations for Santa Claus (from io9). Star Wars holiday special and gift ideas. [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>OK, one flaw, and one issue that is my personal probelm. First, if you want to give people kindle ebooks for Christmas, what do you do? As far as I can tell a gift card is the only way to go and that’s a little less personal than I like. But that’s what I’ve asked [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »>Woke up to an accumulation of several inches of snow on the ground here. Ouch! It is the last official day of summer after all, so we’re due. And just at the end of last week I suggested it was time to shop for Halloween already, so maybe Christmas now, too… And in honor of [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>It’s hot and humid here in Brazil. I just got a new fan yesterday for the office (I only have one small AC in the bedroom that does a poor job of cooling the whole apartment), so things are cooler for me now. But it makes Christmas kind of a weird experience. On the way [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>There isn’t a “war on Christmas” the way Bill O’Reily yaps about, but there should be. Personally, I actually kind of like Christmas. I’m no curmudgeon about it the way my father is, though. He’d prefer it vanished altogether because he thinks giving gifts is dumb in general; chances are gifts are going to be [...]
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