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
What’s wrong with giant bugs? Or human bodies exploding in the vacuum of space? Or the answers to any of a bunch of other questions science fiction writers need to know to craft their story? I’ve written blog posts about some of these in the past, but started noticing videos with similar explanations and thought […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments »>This is passed on from a friend of a friend, who is a Spanish teacher using a science fiction novel (I don’t know which one) in her class, and had this question: I’m working on a sci fi novel to use in class and there is a reference to (translated): the reflection point of the […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »>I have enjoyed the last decade of plentiful, quality superhero movies very much, and the few winners from earlier than that. After watching The Avengers and The Amazing Spider-Man recently, both of which I enjoyed, I was reminded of some things I see too often in such movies that is starting to annoy me whenever […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »>Encyclopedia Brown is a fictional boy detective in a series of stories by Donald J. Sobol, and one of my heroes, who uses facts and logic to solve mysteries. The stories about him always ended with him telling you the solution to the mystery, with a note to turn to the back of the book […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>I think about communicating science to a wide variety of audiences, both as a professor who does research and teaches, but also as a science fiction author. Knowing your audience is key, and knowing how to reach them better helps tremendously. A lot of what I say will apply to both non-fiction and fiction, speaking […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »>Academia and writing are two systems where mentors are still common, something like the old system of Apprentice/Journeyman/Master. I think in nearly every field of individual excellence that requires serious expertise, you’ll find mentors. Tiger Wood’s had his dad teaching him golf. The Polgar sisters had rigorous chess coaching. Every scientist these days has or […]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>Scientists and writers take on a burden few others do (although a few other professions have it as bad or worse). They accept that in order to have success in their careers, or just to maintain a longterm career, they will experience intense and frequent criticism. That criticism, when done professionally and with insight, can […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »>A friend sent me a link to an article at Physics Today about The Big Bang Theory. The premise of the article was to ask if the comedy could do more than make people laugh, and to propose it could educate them at the same time. Here is the lead: Could scientists help the cause […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments »>I wrote this entry as a guest post for the SFWA blog, and it is now available there. I’ll include it here as well below. For long-time and regular readers, you’ll see elements of previous posts. I’ve culled together ten things that I think are helpful resources (a few of these “things” actually include multiple […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>Apparently Margaret Atwood, the author of the Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake, doesn’t believe that men walked on the moon. Maybe it’s worse than that — she’s trying to hedge her bets because she’s a “smart” person who knows being skeptical about this is idiotic and doesn’t want to admit to herself that she’s […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 24 Comments »>When I was in Manila last month, I was happy to be able to meet fellow speculative fiction writer and blogger Charles Tan. Something he said resonated with thoughts I’d had over the years. Basically it’s this idea: if writers are paid a certain amount per book that depends on the market and their audience […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments »>By “expert” I mean world-class, whether or not you’re super smart or super talented. I’m starting to lose my faith in innate “talent” after some recent reading. Two of the books are Talent is Overrated and Outliers. I’ve got another book on this topic coming, too, more on the inspirational side of things. Some of […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »>