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
My personal feeling is that religion is incompatible with science, but there have certainly been religious scientists capable of doing good science. People compartmentalize and turn off their critical brains when it comes to certain topics. I don’t see the difference between being critical about astrology and being critical about any supernatural claims. Still, a […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »>OK, I’ve already written two posts on this, an initial one with a lot of links and a follow-up after I’d gathered more information for myself. I’ve continued to read some documents, in particular several hundred pages of depositions. Maybe only several hundred…there are thousands there, and depositions are boring mostly. My opinions have evolved […]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>I’ve had some time to read more about what is going on and think I’m getting a clearer picture. Let me restate the basic issue with greater understanding than I did before. Martin Gaskell is an astronomer in my subfield, and a pretty good one, and someone I consider a friend. He’s also pretty religious […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments »>I was going to write about something else today, but saw this story about Martin Gaskell, a friend of mine. There’s also a blurb at the Chronicle of Higher Education with a few really interesting comments. Atheist blogger PZ Meyers has a post about the story, most of which I agree with, frankly, but I […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »>We’re going to treat astronomers as a subset of physicists here. Sure, some do. A lot don’t. One time I went camping with a group of guys I didn’t know too well. They came from a wide range of backgrounds, and a lot of them were Christians of various fundamentalist stripes. One of these guys […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »>I try not to use this blog as a platform only to rant, but I do rant from time to time. Things do get me upset, and strong emotions (good are bad) are good starting places for meaningful writing. I have a strong sense of justice and fairness, so I never have a lack of […]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>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 […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments »>Does Captain Kirk follow the Prime Directive — not to interfere with a developing alien species, or does he choose to do the right thing as he sees it? Does the team on Stargate: SG1 let the people on an alien world follow their own laws, or try to impose their own moral sensibilities upon […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>