That’s the tantalizing possibility of something called the Photonic Laser Thruster, which was first demonstrated back in February. I don’t understand the science well enough to tell if it’s a load of hooey or not, but wow, I hope not. Because that kind of propulsion system might finally give us the solar system of Golden …
Tag: science fiction
The book to win all the awards in science fiction…
…has been conceived by Teresa Nielsen Hayden and colleagues: The book has to be a graphic novel which is the first novel published by the author, a person of color who is an active and well-liked member of SFWA. It must be initially published in Canada, in French, as a paperback original, with simultaneous British …
Faster-than-light communication a la Star Trek?
Maybe. Can’t be used for faster-than-light space travel, alas. On the other hand, the fact it involves “braneworld” scenarios makes me feel good about having my fictional FTL drive in my upcoming novel Marseguro operate in “branespace.” Speaking of which, I’ll probably post the opening chapter or two of Marseguro online in December or January, …
Aurora Award finalists announced
The finalists for this years Aurora Awards, Canada’s national awards for science fiction and fantasy, have been announced: Best Long-Form Work in EnglishMeilleur livre en anglais Regeneration : Species Imperative 3, Julie E. Czerneda (DAW Books)Children of Chaos, Dave Duncan (Tor Books)Smoke and Ashes, Tanya Huff (DAW Books)Sun of Suns : Book One of Virga, …
I’m back!
I’ve been away on vacation, hence the paucity of posting here, but I’m back now. And to ease back into blogging, here are the Hugo Award winners for 2007, announced Nippon 2007, the World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama, Japan: Best Novel: Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge (Tor, 2006) Best Novella: “A Billion Eves” by …
Why do I read science fiction?
It comes down to both nature and nurture, says Carol Pinchefsky in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show: Paul Allen, a reader of science fiction and a practicing clinical psychotherapist for 22 years, says my temperament predisposes me to a love of science fiction. Each of us has a temperament, that is, a part of …
If this were a science fiction thriller…
…this would be bad news: An 8-million-year-old bacterium that was extracted from the oldest known ice on Earth is now growing in a laboratory, claim researchers. If confirmed, this means ancient bacteria and viruses will come back to life as ice melts due to global warming. This is nothing to worry about, say experts, because …
Scientists achieve levitation
And, no, they’re not members of Canada’s old Natural Law Party (the one that advocated research into something called “yogic flying”). They say they can reverse the Casimir force: The Casimir force is a consequence of quantum mechanics, the theory that describes the world of atoms and subatomic particles that is not only the most …
Science fiction writers heading to Mars!
Well, sort of. Actually, it’s their words that are heading to Mars, as part of a DVD compiled by The Planetary Society and launched with the Phoenix lander, due to touch down next May.
Robots with guns…
…the first armed robots in history…have now been deployed in Iraq. No, they don’t look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Me, singing Star Trek
I’m not going to make it to ConVersion, Calgary’s science fiction convention, this summer: the timing just didn’t work out. But I’ll still be present when the Imaginiative Fiction Writers’ Association (a.k.a. “IFWits”) perform their becoming-a-tradition musical (this year: The Phantom of the Space Opera). At their behest, I have recorded a rather frightening version …
Another look at Robert A. Heinlein’s legacy…
…this time from the Wall Street Journal.
My latest live walk and vlog
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