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I’m Number Six!*
It's not exactly earth-shattering, but I was still tickled today to discover (thanks to an automated Google ego-search) that my main website, edwardwillett.com, is ranked sixth by Alexa in Arts>Literature>World Literature>Canadian>Authors.I'm just behind playwright Norm Foster (whom I got to see performing in one of his own plays in Kincardine, Ontario, the summer before last), and just ahead of a Lucy Maud Montgomery site.I'd love to think it's because I'm such a popular author, but actually it's because there are almost 20 years worth of science columns at the site. You can hardly search for anything science-related without finding one of my columns somewhere in the mix!Oh, and if you're ...Hasenpfeffer immortalized in song
You might think it's hard to work Hasenpfeffer into a song lyric (except, of course, for the theme song to Laverne and Shirley), but John Anealio at Sci-Fi Songs has managed it, as one line in a tribute song about the recent The SF/F/H Book Reviewers Linkup Meme started by John Ottinger at Grasping for the Wind (which I posted about here).Take a listen and check out the lyrics at Grasping for the Wind (The Linkup Meme Song).I'm thrilled to be included!(And actually, as you'll see, Hasenpfeffer was hardly the hardest thing he had to work in to his lyrics...)A new review of Lost in Translation…
...has popped up at the blog Bibliophagic. Brazilian blogger Adiel Mittman gives it four stars out of five (and says it reminded him of Asimov's Foundation series!) but he does have some thoughtful caveats.A few highlights:This book is a good read. The author’s idea of translators is an interesting one...If translating between human languages is not easy, what can be said about translating between languages from different species?...When reading this book, more than once Asimov’s Foundation series came to mind. Asimov created the Mule, a man who had thought-projecting abilities, in order to insert an unpredictable element to stand in the way of the Foundation’s plans, and also described the people from the ...My latest posts on Futurismic, from robot milkmaids to unversal ‘flu vaccines
After a bit of a hiatus, I've been posting fairly regularly over on Futurismic recently (which is why there are fewer science posts on here than there used to be). Here are my recent Futurismic posts to check out if you're interested: "I, for one, welcome our new robot milkmaids…" "Sex, fish, extinction and the end of the world" Dark matter, dark energy…and now, dark flow Evangelicals more rational than non-evangelicals? Computers react before humans have a clue Brain scans: an end to lying? Universal ‘flu vaccine enters clinical trialsAn new interview avec moi
Shaun Duke has just posted a lengthy online interview with me over at his blog, The World in the Satin Bag. Check it out!It includes comments on religion, Marseguro, the upcoming Terra Insegura, and the differences between Canadian and American science fiction, among other things.Just because I haven’t done it before…
...here's my name via Erik Kastner's "Spell with flickr" app: ..."Critical Times for Critical Thinking"
Here's a rather depressing essay that ties in with my post about high school debate ruining my blogging career. As Elizabeth Scalia asks:"How can significant issues be tackled when a culture of cynicism and relativism has destroyed appreciation for the truth?""Critical Times for Critical Thinking"
Here's a rather depressing essay that ties in with my post about high school debate ruining my blogging career. As Elizabeth Scalia asks:"How can significant issues be tackled when a culture of cynicism and relativism has destroyed appreciation for the truth?"How high school debate ruined my blogging career
Occasionally I'm tempted to make some strong political statement on this blog, but I usually avoid it for one simple reason: I was a high school debater, and a pretty good, one, too. (I placed high enough in the Open category in provincials my Grade 12 year to advance to nationals, except that provincials were only my third actual tournament and you had to be in more than that to qualify.)Why does that keep me from making political pronouncements?Simply this: in formal debate, you have to argue both sides of a resolution. (Our provincial debate tournament resolution, back in 1976, as I recall it: "Be it resolved that future leaders of major political parties in Saskatchewan ...The fifth sentence of page 123 meme
This one has been around for awhile, and this is the second time I've been tagged (the first time The Walrus Said tagged me, but I was too busy to get around to it), so what the heck.Ken McConnell did the tagging this time. Here's how it works: you take the closest book at hand (preferably a fiction book), turn to page 123, and copy the fifth sentence thereof.I reached out to my bookshelf, where the closest book proved to be the (as-yet-unread) science fiction novel Cauldron, by Jack McDevitt. The fifth sentence:They would be, she said, part of the show.You're next supposed to tag other people to do the ...
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
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