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...
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"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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It’s too late now, but it was possible, so let me explain how. Before I do that, let me note that some people loved Prometheus, like Roger Ebert, even though he takes issue with Creationist commenters who think the movie is pro Intelligent Design. There are some who are willing to ignore the bad science, […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 73 Comments »>Real life. We’re already living in a science fiction future, but we’ve still got too many things that suck. I spent three hours waiting for tires today. I spent four hours on this task a few weeks ago. I don’t mind waiting as long as I have something constructive to do — some work, reading, […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »>I’ve seen this on facebook recently, and another friend just emailed it to me, so let me post it here to launch a couple of points for discussion: So how about if I knew all that already? And could even make some minor corrections? Do I get to be certain? A quick google fails […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>My perfect SF novel, the kind I love to read, and that I’ll probably always be struggling to write, contains: -One or more heroes who use, primarily, their intelligence to reach toward their goals. -Spaceships in space. -Aliens, usually to serve as a mirror for ourselves. -Big stakes, at least life and death, and some […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments »>In light of yesterday’s positive post about “I can” and shedding limitting beliefs, let me propose that we can go back to the moon, on to Mars, the asteroids, and any other destinations in space that we want to. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it’s expensive. But also yes, we can be the first species to […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>Jake Kerr’s Lightspeed story, “The Old Equations,” has been nominated for the Nebula Award for best novelette. It’s thematically related to Tom Godwin’s famous story “The Cold Equations” which I’ve written about at Lightspeed and on this blog. I basically got the gig to write a non-fiction article about “The Cold Equations” because the editor […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>Yesterday I watched the animated Batman movie, Gotham Knight: It’s a collection of interrelated short pieces by different creative teams, which isn’t bad, but the different styles is a little jarring. I mean, Bruce Wayne looks different in different sequences and it was a little hard to follow. I can recommend the movie, but […]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>I think about communicating science to a wide variety of audiences, both as a professor who does research and teaches, but also as a science fiction author. Knowing your audience is key, and knowing how to reach them better helps tremendously. A lot of what I say will apply to both non-fiction and fiction, speaking […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments »>When I was about six or so, I realized that what separated humans from other animals was our intelligence rather than our physical capabilities. Sure, there are other differences, such as the degree of tool use, or the social aspects of our species and how we employ culture and altruism to lead to ever increasing […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »>I have an essay titled “The Cold Legacies” that just went up over at Lightspeed Magazine. This is based in part on an old blog post and lesson plan for my “Science in Science Fiction” course I’ve taught at the University of Wyoming. Anyway, it’s about Tom Godwin’s story “The Cold Equations,” some controversy concerning […]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>I wanted to point out two great articles standing up for things I think are wonderful and positive. First, John DeNardo of sfsignal.com writes a thoughtful and balanced positive plea to literary types to read science fiction, in particular knocking down a number of misconceptions that might make some pass. This is the kind of […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »>Apparently it’s me: Call Michael Brotherton the Roger Ebert of science fiction movies. Known for his work relating to the study of supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies, he also diligently pursues another passion: checking if the science is right in movies. An associate professor of astronomy at the University of Wyoming, Brotherton […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »>