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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I’ve discussed some world building before, and this has traditionally been an important topic in science fiction and fantasy. I want to get a little more specific where it comes to space-based interstellar science fiction. These days I think it’s becoming necessary to be very specific in any human-based, Earth-oriented future to use real astronomy […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments »>Here’s the letter below asking for input (until March 19th). I am particularly thrilled about NASA’s questions and especially the only about video game development (question six). This is a potentially very powerful way of getting at the younger generation before college level. I wish I’d seen this sooner and had more time to participate. […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »>In physics, the two-body problem, two objects moving under mutual gravitational attraction, is solved analytically and completely. No uncertainties. Simple. Undergraduates in upper-level mechanics do it all the time. In pursuing a career in academia, and going on my experiences in astronomy, the two-body problem that is much more challenging is having a relationship or […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »>There’s an article about artificial limbs with a picture of an attractive woman, a double-amputee, running along the beach. The premise of the article is that some artificial limbs are starting to outperform original limbs, in at least some ways. This trend will continue into the future, no doubt, until we have the capability to […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments »>I missed our astronomy journal club today, so I thought I could take some of that time I “saved” and invest it here in talking about what is journal club. In the sciences, you generally finish classes in your second year of graduate school, and are not likely to take more. Teach more yes, but […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »>I was just thinking of, or trying to think of, video games with good science that teach a little science. As usual, I tend to think of physics and astronomy, and the things that occur to me first are usually down this line of thinking. I know that I’ve missed a lot of PC games […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments »>All of writing hinges on knowing your audience. This is true of fiction and non fiction, and applies not only to writing, but communication of all kinds from entertainment to education. I’ve been thinking about this a lot after reading Randy Olson’s very interesting and worthwhile book Don’t Be Such a Scientist, which is about […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »>Now, I don’t expect everyone to love everything that I love, but I do know that everyone loves the results of science even if they don’t readily acknowledge it. I mean, people love using the internet, driving cars, being warm in the winter, getting medicine when they are sick, all that good stuff. But even […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 54 Comments »>I am such a nerd. There is no reasonable answer to my question, except for the obvious “he’s an alien, that’s why” or “shut up and stop being such a nerd!” (Why Superman should look like a human at all is another question I won’t ask for now, as is why doesn’t anyone see through […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments »>New Scientist has an interesting article about novel methods for interstellar travel, which includes links to recent scientific articles: In August, physicist Jia Liu at New York University outlined his design for a spacecraft powered by dark matter (arxiv.org/abs/0908.1429v1). Soon afterward, mathematicians Louis Crane and Shawn Westmoreland at Kansas State University in Manhattan proposed plans […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »>My friend and fellow astronomer/science fiction writer Valentin Ivanov pointed me at these abstracts saying they reminded him of Star Dragon (which has creatures living in an accretion disk): Title: Accretion disk civilization 1: Habitable zone around accretion disks at galactic nuclei. Authors: Fukue, J. Publication: Astron. Her., Vol. 88, No. 5, p. 199 – 205 […]
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »>This is just going to be a short post tonight on a topic I have discussed before and will likely continue to discuss. Politics in the United States has become so polarized that few politicians cross party lines. It is one team vs. the other, rather than real issues with real solutions that are not […]
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »>