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...
Read More.
"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
There was a really great documentary on the History Channel tonight called Star Trek: Secrets of the Universe. I’m sure it’ll be on another half dozen times this week. There’s a lot of my friends, acquaintances, and colleagues on the show (e.g. David Brin, Alex Filippenko, Geoff Marcy, and others). Now, it covers a lot [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »>Alan Alda wants scientists to cut out the jargon. It’s hard, I know, because the jargon expresses the ideas succinctly and accurately, which every day language fails to do simultaneously. But if it’s an issue of being understood by the general public, we have to try. There appears to be more than 20,000 people who [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »>First, let me say we have too many “National Days of…” and “International Days of…” whatever. I find this kind of thing a mostly useless stunt most of the time. Months and years, too, of course. At least the longer time periods allow serious efforts to celebrate or promote something. I’m sure on the internet [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>This has been a rough week for me on the funding front, getting two NSF grant proposals turned down. I expected it at some level, since the odds have gotten so bad (about 10-12% in astronomy, last time I saw hard numbers). So you have to have a great proposal, or at least one that [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »>Over at Amazing Stories, I wrote about ten science fiction movies that are really fantasy. Also there, Steve Davidson rants a bit, appropriately in my opinion, about the proliferation of non-science fiction science fiction. Centauri Dreams on robotic replicators. Following up on yesterday’s Joe Barton quote, here’s more of his deep thoughts. Another follow-up. Michael [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »>I just became aware of this crazy stupid quote from congressman Joe Barton (R-Texas) from 2010: Wind is God’s way of balancing heat. Wind is the way you shift heat from areas where it’s hotter to areas where it’s cooler. That’s what wind is. Wouldn’t it be ironic if in the interest of global warming [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 27 Comments »>Or not… I can’t resist. Suck it, Trebek! Share/Bookmark
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>In this corner, the defending champion, the International Astronomical Union, or IAU, who last KOed Pluto in 2006, reducing it from planet to dwarf planet. And in the other corner, upstart Uwingu, a new company looking for alternative ways to fund science and science education. Disclaimer: I am a member of the IAU and have [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »>The talented Todd Vandemark is in town this week helping our department make some videos to help advertise / humanize our department to prospective physics and astronomy students, so I have videos on the mind. I’ve been thinking about them, researching, and seeing what’s out there and finding some cool stuff. You may or may [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>Enjoy! I did. Here’s the link to watch on youtube. Apparently there’s a bunch of these from a meeting, both with individual speakers (Lawrence Krauss, Brian Greene, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Richard Dawkins, Tracy Day, and Neal Stephenson) and more general debate. This is the one I’ve gotten to watch so far, but I bet [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>I have some thoughts on Alien Parameter Space over at Amazing Stories. A nice, clear summary about arguments why you may never upload your mind into a computer. Some are not big obstacles in my opinion, although others might be. Where no search engine has gone before. Google aims for Star Trek. Phil Plait’s take [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments »>I’ve been saving up a bunch of links about science, scientists, and the culture/practice of science. Here they are. First, a bit of breaking news: Kepler finds a superearth solidly in the habitable zone of its star. How Baye’s Rule can make you a Better Thinker. It can! My most recent personal experience was thinking [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>