Spider Star
The human colony on the planet Argo has long explored and exploited the technology left behind by an extinct alien race. But then an archaeology team accidentally activates a terrible weapon...
Read More.Praise for Star Dragon
"Seldom does a storytelling talent come along as potent and fully mature as Mike Brotherton. His complex characters take you on a voyage that is both fiercely credible and astonishingly imaginative. This is Science Fiction."
-- David Brin"Star Dragon is terrific fare, offering readers a fusion of hard science and grand adventure."
-- Locus Magazine"Star Dragon is steeped in cosmology, the physics of interstellar travel, exobiology, artificial intelligence, bioscience. Brotherton, author of many scientific articles in refereed journals, has written a dramatic, provocative, utterly convincing hard science sf novel that includes an ironic twist that fans will love."
-- Booklist starred review"Readers hungry for the thought-provoking extrapolation and rigorous technical detail of old-fashioned hard SF are sure to enjoy astronomer Brotherton's first novel."
-- Publishers Weekly"Mike Brotherton, himself a trained astrophysicist, combines the technical acuity and ingenuity of Robert Forward with the ironic, postmodern stance and style of M. John Harrison. In this, his debut novel, those twin talents unite to produce a work that is involving on any number of levels. It's just about all you could ask for in a hardcore SF adventure."
-- Paul di Fillippo, SCI-FI.COM
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Science and Science Fiction: Jumper
February 17th, 2008
I blogged about an article a few weeks ago I considered somewhat bogus, misrepresenting a tenuous connection to real science. Interestingly, a publicist for the movie, involved in setting up a promotional event for the movie at MIT with some physicists, did a drive by post that was pretty funny. He assumed I wasn’t a physicist and his experiences listening to some seminars on science made him better qualified than me on the topic. I wonder what his Physics GRE was? But I digress…he also amusingly quoted Einstein about how imagination was more important than knowledge, apparently unaware that Einstein didn’t believe in quantum teleportation and wrote an oft-cited paper outlining his objections (incorrect in the end, as experiments show).
Here, for future reference, is a much more scientifically accurate pop-sci article about the movie and quantum teleportation (which isn’t the same thing as teleportation at all, but that’s a nuanced position, apparently, in opposition to the simple interpretation of the popular misnomer).
I intended to go see Jumper this weekend, but caught a cold and didn’t make it. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, that gave me time to check out the reviews. Even though Jumper was the number one movie this weekend with something like $33 million at the box office, it’s only getting about about a 15% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and an average 4 out of 10 from reviewers there. That really sucks.
I’m flying down to New Orleans this coming weekend to run a marathon, and chances are I won’t see this stinker before it vanishes from theaters (a 2 week run is typically here in Laramie for a film).
If you saw it and care to comment on it or the science, please be encouraged. From what I’ve gathered, the connection to science is very tenuous if it even exists at all. It could still be a fun film, but that’s not the scoop.
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The filming style of Jumper made me feel like i myself was jumping around, which was cool. Also Christensen’s lines were as short as possible, which was ideal for the movie’s overall quality.
Well, those two points sound promising! I’ll likely end up watching it on cable at this point.