Is today’s physics theories more fiction than fact?

I love reading science fiction because it looks into the future, and I am a curious person and like to see around corners or ahead on the path.

And writing science fiction is fun because you get to play God and harass your protagonist even more than you would your little sister.

However, science fiction has a word in it that often leads the writer down weedy trails…and that word is science. Some writers ignore science and just wave their hands, make up words like tachyon and presto, you have a transporter that gets you to the planet without the inconvenience of shuttle craft. Other writers get so much into the science that they become little professors and leave the reader yawning. I think that is why so many physicists become science fiction writers. But that’s another soapbox for another day.

Recently, I mentioned string theory and multi universes when discussing the popular novel, “The City and the City” by Meiville. Now I am writing “Past the Event Horizon: book 4″ that includes a space journey involving dwarf stars, vortexes, space travel and all kinds of science stuff. I am trying to get the known science right and still have a story where my protagonist can travel far enough that he finds an interesting world outside his solar system. Okay, so I do some hand waving. Bradbury said that there were canals on Mars and we now know that isn’t true. Yet, his book The Martian Chronicles is a classic, and still sells.

I ran across this blog when twittering and thought I would mention it and give you a link. The reason? Because, if the science isn’t what an editor thinks it should be, you get called on the carpet. The problem is that the carpet is full of holes and even today’s scientists may have a lot of accepted theories wrong. Shock and amazement. Today’s science fact may be tomorrow’s science fiction. There are a lot of “accepted” theories in physics that have yet to be proven by more than fancy math. So if you are interested in the science of space, string theory or the Big Bang, give this link a gander.

Veronica Sicoe’s Blog “Open Your Eyes: science fact or fiction?  ow.ly/aquPr

Last week I read “Crystal Variation” by Sharon Lee because I am a Lee junkie. There must be a twelve step program somewhere. It’s maybe 1200 pages and the whole time I felt guilty thinking that I  should read something on a list somewhere…like “Among Others” which, honestly I started and put down. Jo Walton’s “Among Others” just garnered the Nebula award and I congratulate her. Except, I don’t have time while reading this really big book and taking all food intravenously. The dust and laundry are both piling up. I told my husband he needed to diet, but he complained he needed some food to eat. Nag, nag, nag.

I am finding it hard to really trust other Indie writers. They are all over the place screaming, “buy my book”, but when I read the plot summary, I run for the hills. Recently one on Amazon got 95 out of 110 five star reviews. That’s amazing. Then the plot read like a crazy story with devils, angels, end of the world, rifts in space…oh wait, that does sound familiar. A few of those things are in my new novel. But the other book doesn’t have a cool spaceship and a dying dwarf star like my story does.

My reaction to recent Indie stories is disturbing because of all people, I shouldn’t be the one running to established favorites, but rather I should be out there uncovering self-published masterpieces. The bottom-line is that, with my cranky maturity (read older) and this fast paced world we live in, I don’t want to waste my time reading what I don’t enjoy and paying for it. I want a story plot that appeals to me, a strongly recommended book, a writer I know, or a novel that’s on a list voted by people who read science fiction and love it.

How do you pick your scifi novels? And what are you loving right now?

Nebula Awards

I got a new iPad for Mother’s Day! Woot! Do I have the best daughter ever! In celebration for all moms with new iPad or Kindles, I am offering my third book Cosmic Entanglement FREE on May 13, 14, & 15. Just go to Amazon.com and put in the title or my name. You can download to either kindle or iPad. Enjoy. Load up now to read at your leisure later. Then, enjoy other adventures in the Alysian Universe if you like it. You won’t have to hustle back to a library or spend any money. The way I like things. Free or reasonably priced. Available in paperback if you need the feel of paper between your fingers.

Now…

It’s that time again when they give out the 2011 Nebula Awards.

This year the awards will be given in Arlington, Virginia during the weekend of May 17 thru 20. The Grandmaster will be Connie Willis and the toastmaster will be Walter Jon Williams. Connie won last year for her All Clear/Black Out. I read and reviewed it. I loved it. She is one of my favorites.

I am showing the list from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Website. The SFFWA decides on the winners. So here are the nominees:

2011 Nebula Awards Nominees Announced

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America is proud to announce the nominees for the 2011 Nebula Awards (presented 2012), the nominees for the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and the nominees for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book.

Novel

• Among Others, Jo Walton (Tor)
• Embassytown, China Miéville (Macmillan UK; Del Rey; Subterranean Press)
• Firebird, Jack McDevitt (Ace Books)
• God’s War, Kameron Hurley (Night Shade Books)
• Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti, Genevieve Valentine (Prime Books)
• The Kingdom of Gods, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

Novella

• “Kiss Me Twice,” Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s Science Fiction, June 2011)
• “Silently and Very Fast,” Catherynne M. Valente (WSFA Press;Clarkesworld Magazine, October 2011)
• “The Ice Owl,” Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy andScience Fiction, November/December 2011)
• “The Man Who Bridged the Mist,” Kij Johnson (Asimov’s Science Fiction, October/November 2011)
• “The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary,” Ken Liu (PanverseThree, Panverse Publishing)
• “With Unclean Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Analog Science Fiction andFact, November 2011)

Novelette

• “Fields of Gold,” Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse 4, Night Shade Books)
• “Ray of Light,” Brad R. Torgersen (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December 2011)
• “Sauerkraut Station,” Ferrett Steinmetz (Giganotosaurus, November 2011)
• “Six Months, Three Days,” Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com, June 2011)
• “The Migratory Pattern of Dancers,” Katherine Sparrow (Giganotosaurus, July 2011)
• “The Old Equations,” Jake Kerr (Lightspeed Magazine, July 2011)
• “What We Found,” Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy and ScienceFiction, September/October 2011)

Short Story

• “Her Husband’s Hands,” Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed Magazine, October 2011)
• “Mama, We are Zhenya, Your Son,” Tom Crosshill (Lightspeed Magazine, April 2011)
• “Movement,” Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s Science Fiction, March 2011)
• “Shipbirth,” Aliette de Bodard (Asimov’s Science Fiction, February 2011)
• “The Axiom of Choice,” David W. Goldman (New Haven Review, Winter 2011)
• “The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees,” E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld Magazine, April 2011)
• “The Paper Menagerie,” Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and ScienceFiction, March/April 2011)

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

• Attack the Block, Joe Cornish (writer/director) (Optimum Releasing; Screen Gems)
• Captain America: The First Avenger, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely (writers), Joe Johnston (director) (Paramount)
• Doctor Who: “The Doctor’s Wife,” Neil Gaiman (writer), Richard Clark (director) (BBC Wales)
• Hugo, John Logan (writer), Martin Scorsese (director) (Paramount)
• Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen (writer/director) (Sony)
• Source Code, Ben Ripley (writer), Duncan Jones (director) (Summit)
• The Adjustment Bureau, George Nolfi (writer/director) (Universal)

 Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and FantasyBook

• Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor (Viking Juvenile)
• Chime, Franny Billingsley (Dial Books; Bloomsbury)
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Hodder & Stoughton)
• Everybody Sees the Ants, A.S. King (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• The Boy at the End of the World, Greg van Eekhout (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
• The Freedom Maze, Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House)
• The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson (Greenwillow Books)
• Ultraviolet, R.J. Anderson (Orchard Books; Carolrhoda Lab)

I have started reading Jo Walton’s “Among Others” and N.K. Jemisin’s “The Kingdom of Gods” While many have liked these books, I found I couldn’t get through them. Other opinions are welcome. I only review what I can finish.

So, I am on the prowl for a good science fiction ebook. I am currently reading “Back from Chaos.” This is an Indie ebook that I mentioned several blogs ago. I actually interviewed Yvonne and am finding her book quite enjoyable.

Catching Fire

Science fiction comes in many flavors. One of these can be a dystopia Earth with a social message attached.  A recent runaway trilogy of this type is the Hunger Games and like the title, Catching Fire, the second book in the series, is “catching fire” with readers all over.

I reviewed the first book of the series in a previous blog. In the second book, the reader becomes reacquainted with Katniss, our heroine, who now lives in the village with luxuries. However, her troubles aren’t over and a tricky political maneuver sends her and Peeta back into the games…this time with all the previous victors. It’s the jungle and the sea as an arena. However, Katniss realizes that her true enemies aren’t the other combatants, but the government and Director Snow.

I truly didn’t want to go back onto the killing grounds, but Susan Collins handles this development rather well, providing emotional appeal and non stop action once again. Four stars. I recommend it.

Another thing I want to recommend is the science fiction website http://www.SFSignal.com. Often Patrick Hester narrates various interesting podcasts and one recent one was an interview with Phil Hornshaw and Nick Hurwitch who wrote, So You Created a Wormhole?

This is a time traveler’s handbook. And if you’ll notice to the right, a number of my published books deal with time travel. So this caught my attention. Hilariously funny, it discusses the merits of various time traveling vehicles from Deloreans to H.G. Well’s bicycle contraption. What do you say to a Viking if you’ve just arrived? Consult this book. Or how do you deal with a dinosaur if you’ve gone that far back? It’s all in there.

While searching for this podcast, my eye was caught by a podcast that Patrick Hester did with David D. Levine. Now, David is in my Portland Writer’s Group and is an interesting fellow. He has been on the TV. series “Grimm” (filmed in Portland) as an extra three times so far. Check out this series if you haven’t had the chance.

He has written over forty short stories after retiring from a career of technical software writing for the likes of Intel and Tektronix. He has numerous honors and accolades, including Nebula and Hugo awards, and was a recent presenter at the Hugo Awards for the short story winner. One of his characters has been accepted into the Wild Cards Universe of George R. R. Martin…whom he has met personally. Yowza.

He was also on a panel at Orycon (our scifi convention) that discussed enclosed small groups. For two weeks, he was confined with others that simulated living on Mars. I used his comments to help the human interaction on a starship in my upcoming book Past the Event Horizon. Comes out in late June.

You see why I call him interesting? So I recently got a tweet from him saying he was in Trebon after leaving Vienna, Austria. I don’t even know where Trebon is.

Meanwhile check out a new anthology called Armored where he has a short story. Came to him in Australia at Worldcon there. It’s about armor, battles and soldiers for those of you who like military scifi.

Whether it’s teenaged girls battling an oppressive government, soldiers battling in armor, or travelers sliding up and down the timelines, you gotta admit, science fiction can be a fun read.

p.s. Don’t forget Cosmic Entanglement is being offered free only on Mother’s Day May 13 and May 14, 15 also. If you are a Prime member with a kindle, it’s also offered free once per person through the KDP Select Program.

String Theory Influences Science Fiction

String Theory is an attempt to unite the General Theory of Relativity with Quantum Mechanics to form an overarching theory that explains “everything.” To unite the big of the universe with the small of particle theory. (see link for further explanation)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/imagining-other-dimensions.html

To do this, String Theory math requires at least ten other dimensions exist. String Theory was proposed in the nineties and is still being hotly debated as to its validity. Yet, the idea of other dimensions is showing up in science fiction novels and shows. It’s a fairly new direction and an intriguing one. The popular T.V. series “Fringe” deals with the concept of parallel universes.

My recent read of China Meiville’s The City and the City addresses the idea of overlapping dimensions. Think of The City and the City as a bit of Philip K. Dick, Raymond Chandler and 1984 all mixed together.

It concerns two contemporary cities somewhere at the edge of Europe that dimensionally overlap each other. A woman is murdered in the decaying and impoverished city of Beszal and Inspector Tyador Berlu gets the case. While inhabitants of both cities can see each other, they are taught from birth not to look directly at anything, or anyone from the other city, or they will be charged with an act of “Breach” and be whisked away, never to be seen again. This makes for a strange set of behaviors. People are constantly trying to avoid running into what they are forbidden to look at. Certain styles of dress and definitive movements provide clues as to which city an inhabitant is from. Still, the pressure of not looking at, or touching the hazy image that is often right in front of you, permeates the story.

Clues from the murder case impel Inspector Tyador Berlu into a strange border crossing from the city of Beszal into the overlapping dimension of the rich and thriving city of Ul Quoma where he joins up with his Ul Quoma counterpart, Inspector Quissim Dhatt. Of course the two men can’t stand each other, but they must work together in order to solve the case. So a bit of tension there.

The murdered girl is discovered to be an archeology student involved in a dig in Ul Quoma that is looking for artifacts from the Precursor Age. (before the dimensional split) Soon radical unificationalists, a rich foreign tycoon, local politicians, a controversial author, a young female sidekick, shadowy Breach enforcers and hysterical parents become involved.

Things get very confusing. A controversial author makes a case for a third shadowy city containing powerful beings and then loudly refutes his work. The murdered girl’s best friend disappears because she is terrified that her life is in danger. From whom exactly, is not made clear.

While the book contains the intriguing idea of multi dimensions wrapped in the structure of a murder mystery, I found the whole thing rather confusing. A lot of things kept being hinted at while not actually being said. People would look at things and then have to “unsee” them. I wasn’t sure whether there ever were aliens involved. The whole idea of the inhabitants of two cities having to step around and not look at each other or risk being taken away to Breach, is hard to believe. Everyone is terrified of “Breach” and yet throughout the book incidents of breach happen without punishment. The reader feels like he is being distracted from one red herring to another. And indeed he is.

It’s an odd book…and for that reason, interesting

If you like hard-boiled mystery novels with a science fiction slant, then this one’s worth trying.

L.E. Modesitt also has several novels with a similar flavor in his Octagonal Raven, Flash,  Archform Beauty and others. Check those out too.

 

FREE! FREE! FREE! For a limited time only May 13, 14, 15. A Mother’s Day Special. I am offering free through the Kindle Select Program my latest book “Cosmic Entanglement.”

Building a List of ebook Science Fiction

Often writing doesn’t proceed at an even pace. It has a component of push and pull; stop and start. Last week’s blog of words sat poised like a rubber band ready to snap into place, but this week’s words felt the pull of a special visitor in town. Time stretched while words waited in the wings not ready to rush onto the page, not given time to develop and mature into ripe thought. Ideas danced like fireflies unwilling to light and make themselves known. Wonderful distraction trumped responsibility.

Sallie was in town.

Beautiful weather, a wine tasting tour, Cirque du Soleil tricks and cards riffling through fast fingers came center stage while reading and all things science fiction were moved to the back burner. The obligation of the writer evaporated under the duties of the hostess

And yet, I did read The Intruder by C. J. Cherryh, falling into the trap of the familiar while browsing a library shelf. I found myself eager to try her latest in the series and continue the intriguing adventure of the human, Bren Cameron, struggling to understand the intricacies of an alien world as its human ambassador. This book in the series has a different very even tempo. The action is a steady diet of alien politics. Alien politics permeate the story. Like Cajeiri, the young restless heir who is confined to the royal apartments, the reader chafes for action. Unlike the young heir, the reader knows it will come because Cherryh rarely disappoints.

However, this time the crescendo arrives not through overcoming an assassination attempt or the arrival of an alien ship in the sky, but through the emotions of a young son for his family and a wayward pet. Cherryh explores the subtle entanglement of family emotions. A father-in-law’s ruthless ambition, a powerful father trying to parent an precocious son, a son jealous of a coming baby and a wife struggling with losing her son to a dominating mother in-law and human, all weave a tapestry of volatile family emotions.

Once again Cherryh delivers a totally satisfying read.

Next week I am working on The City and the City by China Meiville.

When I read the best-read lists from TOR, of course it contains all TOR novels and a lot of the other science fiction lists, except Amazon, contain publishing house books.

So what I want to do is to offer an Indie science fiction list. No fantasy, sorry. Also, you cannot be the author. I don’t want the author to be touting his or her own book. I’ll be flooded then. The suggestion has to be a science fiction ebook that you have read and consider outstanding. I want to pass the word on really good scifi ebooks. Sometimes I will suggest the book and at other times I will actually review a story that looks like something I would like. No shorts stories, only novels.

So let’s see what happens.

Distrust this Particular Read

I am a big fan of William Gibson. Starting with Neuromancer on through Pattern Recognition, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Spook Country, Zero History and others. So it was with excitement and ignorance that I settled in with Distrust that Particular Flavor, his newest offer ….and should have–distrusted, that is. It’s a series of bits and pieces of speeches and essays from different times in his life. For that, an occasional insight into the thoughts of a famous iconic writer, but not the edgy, cyber punk story that I was looking forward to.

I feel bad…seeing that we’re twitter buddies and all…but I was very disappointed as I wanted a cyber chunky story.

On the other hand, looking for a good read, I picked up Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Ghost Ship and was enthralled. I have mentioned their Liadan series universe before and this is the most recent Theo Waitley adventure. Read Fledgling, Mouse and Dragon, Saltation before you read this one, and then enjoy.

Miller and Lee provide rich character portrayals along with interesting science. This time they introduce Independent Artificial Intelligence in a starship. AI is a recent theme I have been reading about and unlike in The Ashes of Candesce, this AI isn’t the enemy, but is a ship that haunts space waiting for its captain to take charge.

Theo Waitley is a newly graduated starship pilot who takes her first courier job from “Uncle.” Her university scholar father, who seemed normal during most of her childhood, disappears suddenly. Finding him, Theo discovers a whole family line that is being hunted and killed by Central Administration. Theo gets put on their list. Also hunting her is an aware A1starship that has decided she is it’s captain because of a key given to her by a dying ex lover.

Great adventure and a fun read. 4 stars****

In the interesting science posts category, I found this new discovery:

http://www.astronautical.org/sites/default/files/spacetimes/spacetimes_48-6.pdf

A proposal to use the quantum vacuum as a propellant. If it can be done, there’s no lack of vacuum in space, and hence might solve the propulsion problem for star travel. Science fiction writers are always looking for valid science to enable their characters to traverse space. Otherwise, we make up something and the science is squishy. You do realize the warp drive is a fictional creation by the writers of Star Trek, and not real?

Here’s one more question:

If you believe in the big bang, where in a micro billionth of a second the universe went from nothing to filling the universe…what does that say about the speed limit of light? Maybe light didn’t exist then. I just think of the word bang and I see exploding light. So the big bang happened in the dark?

p.s. Just watched “Universe: Top ten greatest explosions.”  The comment concerning the “Big Bang” and traveling past light speed was that the universe itself can expand faster than the speed of light, but no particle traveling in the universe can go faster than the speed of light. Squish, squish, huh?

Hungry for More: The Hunger Games

Soooo..Now I understand what the excitement is all about. I must admit that when I heard the premise for Hunger Games, my thought was, “It’s been done already.” But not recently…and not in a genre that would capture the attention of the young teenage/adult set. Men hunting men ( a famous science fiction short story)…yes.  A whole nation divided into interesting regions watching twelve to eighteen year old kids kill each other off until only one is left alive…not until now.

Hence the appeal to the demographics of the movie going set. We maturer folks eat dinner, and then put up tired feet to watch t.v. or relax at home. We may read a book or three. Young singles out dating and hanging with friends frequent the movies, and this story is perfect for them. Word of mouth and the “buzz” of the movie has drawn out all ages to see what the excitement is about. Our 300 seated movie auditorium was packed when I went. Anyway, I was looking for a good excuse to get out and do something fun with my  young adult daughter. This filled the bill.

I enjoyed the movie. Four star. Best thing about the movie is that it stayed true to the book. Also a four star. And the book had nonstop, well-paced action with interesting twists and turns. The story also has compelling characters, clearly delineated. Lucky for our protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, her killing ground is the forest where she is comfortable and competent. Coming from the poorest district and as the main support for her family, she has had to hunt for food most of her young life, both plant and animal and is handy with a bow and arrow. Also she gets points for being a brave and smart gal. She doesn’t shrink from doing what is needed. So, when it comes time for “The Game” she has an advantage. Even so, those from the top districts have been training all their lives for the Game and present formidable opposition for her. However, neither book nor movie keeps us on the edge of our seat over this. We know she is going to survive, and the killing isn’t gruesome or bloody.

In the book, Suzanne Collins uses the first person narrative. This point of view enables us to get into the main character’s head. Her distrust of Peeta Mellark’s (her love interest) intentions contrast interestingly with his actions. Early on, at the cost of a whipping, Peeta burns some bread at his family’s bakery so that he could discard it to a starving, desperate Katniss. He basically saves her life. The action is one of kindness and love, but inside her head, Katniss refuses to acknowledge that he cares that much. This sets up an interesting dynamic as the reader sees that he does care for her, and yet, she refuses to believe it. Then, as a ploy to get the affections of the district’s audience, and their gifts to help her survive, she acts like she loves him. And he thinks she does for a while, but we are not so sure. This complex interaction makes all interesting.

Another interesting dynamic is the juxtaposition of cunning versus brute force for survival. Among the twenty-four tributes at the start, it becomes readily apparent that cleverness is just as important as being a strong and capable fighter. Collins does this by giving each contender distinctly different abilities. Some are small and weak, but clever, while others are strong capable fighters, but not so smart. Each has a special talent. Katniss shoots the bow and arrow. Thresh wields a scythe and other use knives, swords or explosives.

What abilities are necessary for survival? In the Game, knowing the territory and how to use it to advantage enabled Katniss to survive. When treed by a group of tributes out for her blood, she cuts down and drops on their heads a hive of dangerous wasps, killing several and driving off the rest. Being able to forage successfully and find water also keeps her alive. Partnering with the clever, younger girl, Rue, aides her. She saves Peeta’s life and shows that alliances are important.

So what abilities are necessary for survival? In the Game, cunning and knowing your territory and how to use it to advantage, enabled Katniss to survive. Also, knowing what her strengths were and using those were key. So, today in our current environment, how does a young person survive? I think this underlying question of survival is one of the strong attractions of both the book and the movie. Make no mistake that a lot of young adults are trying to learn how to survive in our current world. It’s a frightening time of life when you don’t know what you should do, who you are going to do it with and what kind of life you are going to carve out for yourself. It’s survival and often it feels like life and death.

It makes a compelling and relevant story.

Two more to go in the Hunger Games series. I hope that they also stay interesting and relevant.

If you have a series such as the Hunger Games, a good marketing ploy is to tout the next books in that series. After reading The Hunger Games, I am more inclined to check out Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

Along that line, consider this a HEADS UP for books coming out in the near future for some of my all time favorite series. The first is in the Liadan Series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. The book Dragon Ship continues the story of Theo Waitley. (Fledgling, Mouse and Dragon, Saltation, Ghost Ship) I just finished Ghost Ship that introduces an  artificially intelligent ship. Theo gets the captain’s key and the ship haunts her, thinking that she is its captain. Lots more to the story, but an interesting slant to independent artificial intelligence. The next in the series, Dragon Ship continues this unusual relationship as Theo takes on a courier’s job and encounters love and adventure along the way. It comes out in September, but Amazon is encouraging pre-ordering. Clever marketing.

The second book is Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois Bujold from the Barayer Series. This story follows Mile’s charming cousin, Ivan, who finds trouble and possibly romance in an action packed adventure. Comes out in November.

The third is Past the Event Horizon. This story follows the now Captain Braden Steele through a dangerous star gate as he and his crew search for the makers of the alien  device that crash landed on Alysia. Did you guess this one was mine? Clever you. I’m scheduled to publish in June, so stay tuned for a rollicking space adventure and interesting aliens to show up.

p.s. I look forward to your comments.