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A recommendation from Robert J. Sawyer
Robert J. Sawyer, Canada's best-known science fiction writer, has written a series of blog posts discussing people and things he believes are deserving of nominations for the Aurora and Hugo Awards, which will be presented at the World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal this August. In the last of the series, he recommends work by his writing students...one of whom is me!It was in Rob's class in writing science fiction, part of the Writing With Style program at the Banff Centre, that Marseguro was born, on September morning in 2005.Besides Marseguro, he also recommends Tony Pi, one of his students at the University of Toronto in 2001, who has stories ...Robert J. Sawyer to be writer-in-residence at the Canadian Light Source
I'm tickled pink with the announcement that Robert J. Sawyer, a friend of mine and Canada's most acclaimed science fiction writer, will be writer-in-residence at the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon this June and July.If you're an aspiring writer, book a time to talk to Rob. I twice took part in his classes on writing science fiction at the Banff Centre (part of the Writing With Style program) and he's an excellent teacher, critiquer and mentor. (And as I've recounted before, Marseguro was born from a writing exercise one morning in one of his classes, which is why Sawyer's Point is a prominent landmark in a key scene in that novel, and the name ...First lines
Io9 had an interesting post on great first lines in SF*, which prompted Scott Westerfeld to post the first lines of some of his novels, which...Well, you know where I'm going with this, don't you?Here are the first lines of my novels. Are they great? Hard for me to judge. But they each got the story going:SoulwormThe lights of the car slashed through the deluge, twin spears of illumination impaling falling raindrops that glittered silver against the blackness of the wet pavement, the wet sky, the wet world.The Dark UnicornThe actors on the rickety wooden stage had almost finished their bawdy skit.Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star...Roboethics
Download the audio version.Get my science column weekly as a podcast.***A couple of weeks ago I wrote about research aimed at making robot-human interactions more comfortable for humans. With more and more robots finding more and more uses in society, that kind of research is important. But there’s something else we’re going to have to consider as robots become ubiquitous: ethics. How do we insure that robots don’t pose a threat to the much frailer humans they interact with (especially with robot caregivers being developed for use in places like Japan, where the elderly already make up 20 percent of the population and are swelling in number)?The risk to humans from robots isn’t just hypothetical, especially with ...All Sawyers look alike
Reports the San Francisco Sentinel:Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger pledges a quick replacement for California green czar Robert Sawyer whom the governor fired this week.The photo accompanying the story? A picture of Robert J. Sawyer, noted Canadian science fiction writer.Oops!John Scalzi interviews Robert J. Sawyer…
...and you can read it here.Robert J. Sawyer honored by Toronto Public Library
Robert J. Sawyer, a friend and someone whose Writing With Style sessions on writing science fiction I've twice attended at the Banff Centre, has received the Toronto Public Library Celebrates Reading Award.Established in 2001, this is one of Canada's top book-related honours. The award, which includes a cash prize of $2,500 and a crystal sculpture, was presented in front of a sold-out audience of 640 at the second annual Book Lover's Ball, a gala, $350-a-plate black-tie event held at Toronto's Liberty Grand on Thursday.Toronto Mayor David Miller was on hand, as were authors Allan Fotheringham and Peter C. Newman, and the emcee was Seamus O'Regan, co-host of Canada AM.Margaret Atwood ...Robert J. Sawyer calculates God
The notion that the universe has a designer, that it didn't occur entirely as the result of blind cosmic forces, is not one that gets a lot of attention from the media. Many people assume that all reputable scientists dismiss the notion out of hand. Many reputable scientists do--but not all. There are actually strong scientific arguments to be made that the universe in which we live does show evidence of a guiding intelligence. In fact, one can make the argument that it is intellectually far easier and satisfying to believe in a designed universe than in one that occurred by chance. During my recent visit to Chicon 2000, 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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