I took a break to work on a different novel. No, that’s not a joke, but it is an accident.
The Invisible Man Review
A useful metaphor it might provide, but that doesn’t absolve the author of the need for plausible impossibility.
Character Distinctiveness
I’ve dug into writing Rogue Planet in earnest…which meant realizing that I needed to take a step back and figure out a better way to manage the extensive cast.
Around the World in 80 Days (PBS Masterpiece) Review
Above all, Verne’s stories, to me, capture a sense of vast potential.
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.
Languages in Fiction
Language is a funny thing, and for all authors should be preoccupied with it, we sometimes seem to forget to reflect linguistic variety in our fiction.
Plot Timing
If you want to tell the story of, say, the rise and fall of a civilization, or even an institution, in a way to fully capture it, you are often left to tell the story of a snapshot of that institution and use it as a lens by which to examine the rest.
The Brick Moon Review
In 1869, a century before the moon landing, eighty-eight years before Sputnik 1, and one hundred nine years before the first navigational satellite, Edward Everett Hale used a science fiction story to propose launching an artificial satellite into polar orbit to enable anyone, anywhere, to determine their longitude by measuring the satellite’s elevation from the horizon.
Diagrams in Storytelling
I want to consider what the best way, from a storytelling perspective, is to convey this information to my readers. A diagram or solar system map might work, but it isn’t all that elegant.
Three-Body Problem Review
This is one of those rare hard science fiction books that contrives to both invoke rigorous scientific concepts and offer interesting plot and characters. If some of the more advanced technology revealed at the book’s conclusion seems a bit like magic, well, that’s probably rather the point.
IGC Publishing 