Like the properties of fluids, they are asserting that the properties of what we perceive as space-time emerge from some more basic components – the atoms of space-time. Easy enough to say, but what does it really mean?
The Fires of Heaven Review
The fifth book in Wheel of Time starts Rand al’Thor on a leadership arc that will take many books to resolve, as he wrestles with a question that few of us will ever have to confront, but which bedevils theories of leadership, especially in other periods of history: how much can a leader allow himself or herself to care, on the individual level, about the people around her or him?
Impressions Completed!
I finished the first draft of Impressions, which is now with my writing group and other beta readers for feedback before I start my cycle of revisions, solicit more feedback, and finally begin sending it out to possible literary agents. That the whole revision process lies ahead makes the “I’m finished” a bit less satisfying.
Five and Twenty Tales of the Genie Review
The core of Five and Twenty Tales of the Genie is what it means to be a good king, conveyed through a series of parables delivered by the titular mythological figure.
Around the World in 80 Days (PBS Masterpiece) Review
Above all, Verne’s stories, to me, capture a sense of vast potential.
Charge Review
It is a pleasant change to find a nonfiction book which is heavy on nonfiction and light on narrative.
Types of Stories
Storytelling theory has potential as another tool in the writer’s toolbox, and it was with that mindset that I became intrigued by a 2016 paper purporting to identify six basic emotional arcs which all stories share.
The First Men in the Moon Review
The First Men in the Moon can barely be considered science fiction at all. It is better thought of as adventure/horror with science fiction elements. If you read it in that guise, perhaps you will enjoy it more than I did when I was seeking a classic science fiction book.
The Physicist’s Rabbit Hole
A good storyteller, like a good engineer, needs to know what assumptions to make, and be aware of the assumptions which could undermine a project.
The Shadow Rising Review
Wheel of Time, to a certain extent, works by leaning into tropes and making them more, rather than avoiding or subverting them. The advantage of a story sprawling across fourteen books is that what starts as a trope can be fully developed and made into as unique a part of the worldbuilding as the most inventive, original aspects.
