Did anyone besides me see this story about scientists catching a black hole in the act of munching a star and think of “The Beast Shall Rise from the Pit,” the two-part Dr. Who episode (the first half of which just aired in Canada on Monday night)? Speaking of which, I just learned from The …
Tag: science fiction
The 50 most significant SFF Books, 1953-2002
pI’ve seen the following list of a href=”http://www.louanders.com/2006/11/50-most-significant-sff-books.html”The 50 Most Significant SF F Books/a published between 1953 and 2002, originally from the Science Fiction Book Club, then posted by a href=”http://www.louanders.com/Bio.htm”Lou Anders/a on his a href=”http://www.louanders.com/”blog/a, in various places, but hadn’t gotten around to doing anything with it until I saw it on Amy Nelson-Mile’s …
The 50 most significant SF&F Books, 1953-2002
I’ve seen the following list of The 50 Most Significant SF & F Books published between 1953 and 2002, originally from the Science Fiction Book Club, then posted by Lou Anders on his blog, in various places, but hadn’t gotten around to doing anything with it until I saw it on Amy Nelson-Mile’s Books, Words, …
Old sci-fi movies got it right!
It used to be a staple of B-movie science fiction involving travel in outer space or landing on another planet: the meteor shower, rocks flying through space and threatening our heroes with explosive decompression (see yesterday’s post!) or worse. Turns out, they may have been on to something. A recent episode of The Backyardigans (our …
How long can an unprotected human survive the vacuum of space?
It may not be a question you’ve ever asked yourself, but it’s certainly germane to any number of science fiction writers. Turns out you’ve got about 10 seconds of consciousness, and if air pressure and oxygen are restored within a minute and a half, you can be revived without serious consequences. Beyond that, what with …
An Orson Scott Card interview
The Glenn and Helen Show podcasts a long interview with Orson Scott Card, which naturally caught my eye…er, ear…since I recently wrote a biography of him. Card talks about his new book, Empire, which is about a new U.S. civil war, and about division in American politics. Warning: May raise your blood pressure if you …
Why do people not read science fiction?
Carol Pinchefsky at Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show has some thoughts. It’s an interesting article all the way through, and I think she hits on some interesting possibilities, but I found it hard to finish, having run across this little fact part of the way down the page: The reasons are varied but inarguable …
Another nice review for Lost in Translation
Dr. Robert Runte, an Aurora Award-winning Canadian SF critic and commentator and former editor, has written a glowing review of Lost in Translation for Issue 11 of Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine, and was kind enough to send it along to me. Highlights: Edward Willett has been publishing nonfiction and award-winning SF for young adults through …
All the Nebula Award winners…in haiku!
What the title says. Find it here. (Via Science Fiction Book Club.) A taste: 1966 – Flowers for AlgernonThis book is good ifYou can avoid thinking ofPinky and the Brain. P.S. Not sure what the Nebula Awards are? They’re kind of like the Academy Awards of science fiction (by that analogy, the Hugos would be …
The first (non-science column) sentence I wrote today…
On April 4, Janis performed in a reunion concert with Big Brother.3,792 words on the Janis Joplin bio today, and the end is in sight; I should be polishing it up tomorrow and submitting it Wednesday at the latest. I probably would have finished it today, except, of course, this was a science column day. …
The first sentence I wrote today…
The reinforcements from Hansen’s Harbor arrived two hours after the message went out from the grounded Sanctification. Current word count: 100,184New words this session: 4,210Percentage of novel completed: 100 Yes, that’s right. That’s the first sentence I wrote today, up above, but the last two words I wrote today on the new novel were my …
The first sentence I wrote today…
He didn’t have any problem spotting the remaining Holy Warrior. Current word count: 95,974New words this session: 4,340Percentage of novel completed: 95.9 A record number of words today, partly because I needed to make up for not writing at all on Saturday and Sunday, and partly just because I’m SO close to reaching the end …

