Edward M. Lerner's Blog: SF and Nonsense, page 30

Starstruck

A roundup of recent interesting astronomy news ...

NASA's mantra in the search for extraterrestrial life has been "follow the water." That puts Enceladus -- one of the few worlds in the Solar System known to have a liquid-water ocean -- high among the most intriguing destinations for near-future (robotic) space exploration. The Cassini probe orbiting Saturn has already detected organic compounds in the geyser sprays shot from Enceladus. (That probe isn't equipped to test for life.)

It all goes...

An unexpected pleasure

Analog's recent review of InterstellarNet Enigma (see Grinning from ear to ear) was, of course, delightfully welcome -- but it didn't come as a total surprise. That is: my SF at every length appears regularly in Analog. The Reference Library there often recommends books similar to the stories that brings people to the zine.

But it's been years since my last appearance in Asimov's Science Fiction.

Until, that is, Asimov's current (February 2016 issue). This morning I came upon, in the current is...

Grinning from ear to ear

My March(!) issue of Analog arrived in today's mail, and with it a review of InterstellarNet: Enigma. 

Together with kind words for the InterstellarNet series as a whole, I was tickled to read this: "... you have waiting for you a unique interstellar society of humans and some really cool aliens; an answer to the Fermi Paradox; philosophical questions of identity, power, and the place of humanity in the universe; and now some temporal travel thrown into the mix." 

Made my day, this di...

2016 is off to a fine start

For those of you who follow my non-blog writing, I'm happy to report that the new year is shaping up nicely. Here's, um, the story so far:

Sci Phi Journal , even as I type, is running my short story "Catch a Falling Star" as the inaugural work of SF they hope will lure you behind their (new business model) paywall. I'm honored that SPJ chose my story for that purpose. The tale's opening (free) is here.

Meanwhile, Analog continues my nonfiction series about genre tropes, collectively "The Science...

Using Medicine in Science Fiction

Most of you, polling has demonstrated, come to this blog to read about science and SF. How not, then, to review here (from the Springer Books "Science and Fiction" series) the recently published Using Medicine in Science Fiction: The SF Writer's Guide to Human Biology, by H. G. Stratmann?(*)

(*) How recent? Available since September 2015, despite the 2016 copyright date. Of course, we SF aficionados are more open than most to the possibility of time travel :-) And to further muddy the temporal...

Thunderbird

My final reading for 2015 was Jack McDevitt's latest novel, Thunderbird. It will be my pleasure to review it -- spoiler-free.
Thunderbird is the sequel to McDevitt's 1996 novel Ancient Shores (that I haven't read, and that was absolutely no problem). In the first book, an ancient portal to other -- and unidentified -- worlds was unearthed on territory within North Dakota administered by a Sioux tribe. Confrontation between the federal government and the Sioux has left the portal under the cont...

2015 (almost) gone already? Whoa! Whiplash!

Year's end is, traditionally, a time for reflection, for looking both forward and back. I'll do the same here -- trying not to compile the kind of things you'll find on other sites. No blah-dy blah blah blah "Best of" or "Worst of" lists here!

Cool stuff ;-)So what will you find? As in the image at left, cool stuff!
Chances are, we (the Universe, not any of us individually) have a long future ahead. To that end (sorry!), we'd all kinda like to know that the subatomic particles of which planets...

Tis the season ...

... to be Really Busy.

I get the math. I do. We're all adding end-of-the-year deadlines, end-of-the-year festivities, and (the worthwhile subset, anyway, of) last New Year's unfulfilled resolutions to our daily routines, commitments, and aspirations. (I am still making headway on the new novel in progress. Thank you for asking.) Still, even more than usual, I can't help but wonder: where does the time go?

All of which is to fess up that I'm more pressed than usual to feed my blogging habit. Man...

Life (if not the universe and everything)

 Is life what it used to be? Maybe not.

Beware VR?To begin, virtual reality is new, and at least some VR implementations have the potential to trickle over -- nastily -- into real reality. That overlap may involve interaction with human biology.

Samsung, maker of the Gear VR headset cautions:

... that people should stop using the Gear VR immediately if they experience seizures, loss of awareness, eye strain, nausea or "any symptoms similar to motion sickness." In addition, the device is not...

Typing fast and furious ...

... but on the emerging novel that's getting Extra Super Interesting, not a new post.

Most of you who visit here (my last survey demonstrated) also read my fiction. I hope -- and trust -- you'll indulge me for a few days while I concentrate on the book. There'll be a payoff, I assure you, once it's finished :-)

A burst of creativity?Still, I wouldn't ever want your dropping by SF and Nonsense to be a disappointment. I think you'll enjoy the following Seriously Cool Things:
 Weird New Type o...