Archives
Unreal science
My wife and I spent the weekend at ConVersion, Calgary’s annual science fiction convention. Featured this year were David Weber as Guest of Honor, Larry Niven as Special Guest of Honor, and R. Scott Bakker as Canadian Guest of Honor and Jeremy Bulloch, who played Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy, as Media Guest of Honor. What was lacking was the usual Science Guest of Honor. But the lack of real science just got me thinking more about unreal science. David Weber’s Honor Harrington novels take place in a far future in which hundreds of worlds have been colonized and formed into “star nations.” Since his novels are Horatio Hornblower-like stories set in outer space, there’s a lot of combat involving ...TorCon3: The 2003 World Science Fiction Convention
See my photos of TorCon3 here. I was sitting at a table at the front of an ordinary room in the Toronto Convention Centre a few days ago, along with three other writers of children's books. We had just begun a panel discussion on "Writing For Children" when in strolled a massive troll, gray as granite, with shoulders so wide he almost had to turn sideways to fit through the door. He made his way to the front of the room and sat down at the edge of the dais, facing the audience, where he remained while the literary discussion continued. That's the sort of ...ConJose: The 2002 World Science Fiction Convention
Every Labour Day weekend, somewhere in the world, thousands of peopld gather for the World Science Fiction Convention. This year they gathered in San Jose, California, for the 60th WorldCon, as fans call it, and I was there. WorldCon covers the whole world of science fiction and fantasy, with particular emphasis, not on TV and movies, but on literary science fiction. One highlight is the Hugo Awards for best science fiction and fantasy, and while there is a Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo (won by "The Fellowship of the Ring"), the most prestigious award is the Best Novel award (won by Neil Gaiman's "American Gods"). The emphasis on literature means that WorldCon draws the top writers and editors in the field, who ...Invading Mars
One of the prototypical science fiction novels is H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds, in which invaders from the Red Planet successfully conquer the Earth, only to succumb in the end, not to humanity's feeble efforts, but to the attacks of Earth's microbes, against which they have no defense. Wells may have been the first SF writer to write about Mars, but he certainly wasn't the last; Mars has held a special face in SF writing ever since, with authors as diverse as Robert Heinlein, Ben Bova and Kim Stanley Robinson setting novels (and in some cases, whole trilogies) there. One of the most recent SF novels set on Mars is Geoffrey A. Landis's Mars Crossing. ...Con-Version XVIII
I spent the past weekend deeply involved in discussions ranging from whether the Harry Potter books teach witchcraft to children to whether technology can save the world. In between, I participated in the improvisational writing of a short story, sang songs by J. R. R. Tolkein, and photographed Dirk Benedict, former star of Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team. Such an eclectic weekend is what I've come to expect from ConVersion, the annual science fiction and fantasy convention held in Calgary. People interested in science fiction are also often interested in science, which is why ConVersion brings in a science guest of honor each year. This year it was Dr. Bill Brooks of Saskatoon, the Executive Director of the Western ...ChiCon: The 2000 World Science Fiction Convention
As I mentioned last week, 6,000 people recently gathered in Chicago for the 58th annual World Science Fiction Convention, myself among them. Mention "science fiction convention" to most people and they immediately think of a Star Trek convention. However, science fiction fans have been getting together long before Star Trek penetrated the public consciousness. At WorldCon, the focus is on written science fiction far more than the TV and movie version. (While most fans of written SF, myself included, enjoy SF TV shows and movies, we consider them inferior to the literary form.) WorldCon began as a few fans, who knew each other through the letters columns of the pulp SF magazines of the 1930s and ...Con-Version XVI
[caption id="attachment_3535" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The ConVersion XVI Guests of Honor. From left to right, Gregory Bennett, Tanya Huff, L. E. Modesitt Jr. & Ben Bova."][/caption] A couple of weeks ago my wife and I had the pleasure of once again attending ConVersion, the annual science fiction convention held in Calgary. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're picturing a bunch of oddballs in Star Trek and Star Wars costumes, sitting in the dark watching videos and yelling out the dialog in time with the actors. But you couldn't be ...Con-Version XV
I just returned from a conference where the topics discussed ranged from the discovery of feathered dinosaurs to the Mars Sojourner mission to artificial intelligence. Presenters included Dr. Philip Currie of the Royal Tyrrell Museum, Bridget Landry of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a micropaleontologist from the University of Saskatchewan, a medical doctor, a linguist and an engineer. Was this conference put together by some high-powered think-tank? Nope. What drew these presenters, and those who gathered to hear them, together was a common love for science fiction. The occasion was ConVersion, an annual science fiction convention held in Calgary. Other presenters included Joe Haldeman, one of the world's best SF writers, Robert J. Sawyer, Canada's only full-time ...Science fiction prophecies
I wrote last week about attending the World Science Fiction Convention in Winnipeg. You didn't seriously think I was going to limit myself to just one column, did you? All those science topics I talked about last week were included in the convention because science fiction concerns itself with "the shape of things to come," which got me thinking about some of the predictions SF writers have made, both successfully and unsuccessfully, over the years. The Shape of Things to Come was the actual title of a book by H. G. Wells, one of two famous SF writers (though the term "science fiction" had yet to be invented) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...ConAdian: The 1994 World Science Fiction Convention
On Friday evening I attended a fascinating lecture by Dr. Jack Cohen, one of the world's leading reproductive biologists. On Sunday, I attended an equally fascinating lecture by Dr. William Sarjeant, a geologist at the University of Saskatchewan. I wasn't at a scientific conference or a university lecture series: I was at ConAdian--the 52nd World Science Fiction Convention, held over the Labour Day weekend in Winnipeg. Dr. Cohen's talk, you see, was on "Designing Credible Aliens," and Dr. Sarjeant was detailing the geological forces that shaped, not the Earth, but Middle Earth, the realm of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic fantasy, The Lord of the Rings. No other branch of literature has anything even remotely ...
Edward Willett is a Subscribe to my weekly science column for free!
Advertisement
Donate
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.
Facebook
Flickr
GoodReads
RSS
Twitter
Email
