Darwin's Orphans: Speculative Fiction Commentary

Recommending Stross

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Writer Charles Stross has really come on strong this past decade with scintillating works of speculative fiction. All of his published novels have been released this decade. So, for readers wanting to find that "current writer" to follow, I highly recommend Stross for those not already on the bandwagon.

For me, it all started with Halting State. Stross had already been recommended to me but had stayed on "the reading list." A glowing review of this recent work persuaded me to make it priority...so, I ordered the hard cover shortly after release and found it a page-turner.

The novel is a near future piece that points out the growing threats inherent in cyber-technologies. Spying, hacking, all the usual privacy and control issues are brought to bare. However, in typical Stross fashion, it's the clever storytelling and personal relationships in it that make it such a joy to read.

After being so pleasantly surprised by the book, I ordered Accelerando. The time span of this book is vast. Unlike the comfortable near future that most of us can imagine to a degree, Stross pushes it far in Accelerando. The story is very well anchored through the characters. The patriarch, Manfred Macx, the women in his life, his child and grandchild provide the common threads that weave through expanses of time and space. It's a fascinating tale with loads of scientific aspects addressed from the singularity to world colonization. But it's not all a geekfest. The personal issues addressed are profound and the story is captivating.

Touted as a sort of sequel, Glasshouse loosely takes off in the same singularity-based universal state as Accelerando. Although there is a backdrop common among both novels, there is no continuation of characters. So, Glasshouse can easily be read without any primer required. The time frames in this book span two eras: a troubling yet murky period of the protagonist's past and the core storyline era which takes place in an archaeologically experimental bio-dome of sorts. The time setting for the experiment runs from late last century through current day. So, it's very interesting to see how future people laugh at our seemingly ludicrous lifestyles.

Common in Glasshouse, Accelerando and Halting State are insights into the human condition. Stross never forgets that common literary goal: help people understand life. He takes all of the technology and future conditions and casts them in a very personal way. It is this deft ability that makes him such a pleasure to read.

Asian speculative fiction insights

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:56:00 +0000

Two posts were mentioned in news alerts today regarding Asian speculative fiction:

The first is a collection of stories. They're all in English...so no need to rummage around to find your Tagalog dictionary.

I've read through only a couple of them; selected haphazardly using a spontaneous clicking technique. One of note: The God Equation packs a bunch of metaphysical concepts into a short read sprinkled with some action and an international flair. You get to learn one Tagalog expression (again, no dictionary needed...it's explained) and it ends with Italian to leave you with that Papal feeling.

The second post, from Yusuf Martin's blog, is an academic commentary. If you're a speculative fiction enthusiast, it's very insightful stuff and highly recommended. Martin has done a deep dive into Malaysian English language works and breaks them down quite nicely including a chronology of the genre's development.

The message of the day: if you're looking for fresh speculative fiction, look to Asia.

Getting herstory right in speculative fiction

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 13:56:00 +0000

Cultural writer Lucy Portsmouth has done an excellent job breaking down the feminist perspective here in the online magazine Seven. In addition to parsing out the writers that have avoided the stereotypes, she also breaks down trends by feminist era.

As a child of the Seventies and Eighties, the message sank in...and I personally strive to avoid the pitfalls Portsmouth mentions in my own writing. Three of these stereotypes are the:

evil villainess
hapless victim
attractive, often scantily clad, in need of redemption and validation by a heroic man

Settling onto the couch doing a bit of self-analysis: I avoided 2 out of 3 in my recent novel Darwin's Orphans. There is a phalanx of evil-doers in my book all perpetuating unrest with violence. And there is an evil villain character -- not the leader -- she's the smart one that clearly dominates in the end...she's obviously the most resourceful of the lot. In this case, she's not a stereotypical, evil villainess. What about hapless victim? Most of the victims are male and the female pulled into the snare turns out to be very clever: again, I passed the test. The scantily clad one in need of redemption, I confess, is included in one chapter. In spicing things up, I committed a feminist misstep.

Overall though, I've got strong female characters and feel good about realistic and positive representations in the book. But, I wonder, how do your favorite authors faire in this regard?

I'm reading one of my favorite current authors now: Charles Stross. Catching up on his older books, I'm in the middle of Glasshouse and it's got hot women that Ms. Portsmouth may not respect. However, they are intelligent and full of guile...doesn't that earn Stross a few pointers? In the book before it, Accelerando, Stross also features complex, very smart women as major characters. Yet there is that hottie factor thrown in...but why is that?

My take on it: people are seeking both fantasy as well as future visions from speculative fiction. They want both intellectual stimulation as well as entertainment from their books. So, at least for the male audience, spicing the women up makes it more entertaining. That's not fair to real women, though. So, do you counter this by making the smartest, most capable characters women? Seems like a fair balance. After all, seeking balance is what the feminist movement pursues.

This writer pledges to seek that balance in female characters. As a child growing up when Gloria Steinem was in her heyday, I got the message loud and clear...and I agree with it. Hopefully, this same message will imbue the decisions that other male writers make in creating their female characters. Assuredly, Ursula K. LeGuin and other current female authors have already got this mastered.

On the western edge of spec-fic

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 02:34:00 +0000

Seattle is back on track...the rare snowy conditions and white-knuckle-gripped driving are a thing of the past. So, back to writing and meeting about speculative fiction. The RustyCon suffered. Everything was thrown out of whack.

However, this writer plans to contribute to the '09 rebirth. It's true, this once consistent source of speculative fiction insights has been negligent. Posts have been sparse. I've let you down. There is, however, a reason for this...

"The blog is dead" they said. I took this seriously. Oversaturation and too many contributors not maintaining proper research behind their statements were the common themes. So, I was pulled into a state of despair. "Why do I bother?" I thought.

Truth is I've missed commenting on what's happening with both the science behind and the writing trends of my genre. It's fascinating stuff and deserves commentary. Even if it's now routinely brushed aside as pap.

So, please return. You will find more insights here in 2009. When I spoke on January 10th at the annual RustyCon, I was devastated: it was sparsely attended, people seemed lethargic, the light was dimming. But that doesn't mean that it's extinguished, right?

So, once more into the breech dear friends. Speculative fiction lives...and so do its brethren.

Scatology in speculative fiction?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:06:00 +0000

It was quite a surprise to read the intro blurb to this article on Enigma of the Second Coming. Specifically, the first paragraph ends with the term "scatology" which is the study of feces.

I'm not sure what's so mystical or beautiful about scatology...but inhousepress seems to find it so.

Hopefully, they're actually talking about eschatology. That would be far more fitting.

This is one situation where self-publishing press releases and/or lack of an editor make for some very funny copy. It's not all crap...just the one term is full of it. If Stan I.S. Law wrote the PR himself, I'm sure he's thinking twice about running without an editor next time around.

Honestly, I'm not poo-poo'ing Law's effort here...just recommending a second set of eyes.

More from LeGuin

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:46:00 +0000

There were some attention-grabbing quotes from Ursula LeGuin that were highlighted here in my last post. Our friends at i09.com provided these comments.

There is more commentary from LeGuin featured in today's i09 Books section as well. This time George R.R. Martin is also featured -- the comments are quotations taken from an NPR discussion.

The focal point of this article is tearing down the divide between genres. Both LeGuin and Martin make some insightful points. It's a worthy read for any speculative fiction enthusiast.

Some fresh looks at speculative fiction

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:50:00 +0000

Our friends at io9.com have published a noteworthy piece assembling thoughts on near future and distant fiction in Six Writers Speculate on Science Fiction's Future.

A thought-provoking piece, it got me thinking about my recent book, Darwin's Orphans, and my newest opus which chronologically occurs shortly after it. Regardless of the concerns and warnings I just read in the io9.com article, I'm sticking to my storyline.

The most compelling argument I read to continue down the near future path came from Ursula LeGuin: "Now that science and technology move ever faster, much science fiction is really fantasy in a space suit: wishful thinking about galactic empires and cybersex - often a bit reactionary. Things are livelier over on the social and political side, where human nature, which doesn't revise itself every few years, can be relied on to provide good solid novel stuff."

LeGuin has been in my personal pantheon since I read her Dangerous Visions contribution back in the 70's. Anyone who gets respect from a crotchety, old genius like Harlan Ellison has their proverbial act together. So, when I realized that my brand of social and political storytelling in near future fiction holds water by LeGuin, I decided to stay on track.

For the readers and writers of whatever form of SF (speculative or science fiction) you relate to, check out the io9 article. It'll get the wheels turning.

Reflecting on Crichton

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:14:00 +0000

Michael Crichton just passed away and he deserves mention here. He wrote some attention-grabbing speculative fiction like Jurassic Park, yes, but in this blog it was his controversial views that resulted in commentary.

To wit:

Itzkoff rails against Crichton in "Genetic Park" - January 8, 2007
Follow up on Crichton - January 17, 2007

These are not glowing praises of Crichton by any stretch. His foray into global warming criticism got the kind of attention that I'm sure pleased the Bush administration and the oil industry. But there was a nasty side effect. Serious futurists would have been doing their own research...just like I did. Crichton's findings were typically found limited in scope with gaping holes regarding the breadth of his analytical factors. So, from a research perspective, I went from thinking Crichton was a genius to a kid doing bad science experiments.

Crichton may have missed the alarming trends of hydrates sublimating on the ocean floor and other indicators making our spike an anomaly. Humans are clearly influencing the rate at which the temperature is rising. That's always been the argument. No one denies natural trends in temperature increases but this one is clearly not natural. And Crichton contributed to the body of misinformation in his last years. It's a shame.

Closing on a lighter note, the man entertained. No doubt about it. And he had an inventive mind that was also capable of grasping scientific concepts and plugging them into wild tales. I appreciated his work and happily contributed to his fortune. He will be missed not for his scientific analysis but for his keen story telling.

Rustycon 26 -- save the date

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:16:00 +0000

Whether you're in or near Seattle or looking for a winter getaway after the holidays, consider going to Rustycon at the Seattle Airport Marriott. It takes place January 9-11 and I'm personally looking forward to it.

Featured author this year is Jay Lake. For easy access to his body of work here's his link. He's warming up his speaking skills next at Orycon, then after Rustycon he's the toastmaster at Radcon in February. With such a roster of conventions lined up, we should all be in for a rousing time hearing Chef Lake cook up the tales.

Round up a group to go...the tickets drop 10 bucks each if you round up a gang of 10. What a clever mathematical mnemonic device, eh?

For future reference

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:13:00 +0000

Speculative fiction writers technically don't need references...just keen observations, a knack for understanding social and scientific implications, plus a vivid imagination. However, when comparing ideas to what's emerging as truth in the current world, references can come in handy.

This month's edition of Discover magazine speaks to a lot of hot speculative fiction subjects. Some examples: pills for immortality, artificial meat and future cities.

In comparison to fiction you may have read featuring these topics, the reality isn't likely quite as wild. But these developments are real.

For example, stem cells have cranked out artificial tissues in petri dishes. The basic technology exists now for meat production although there are a number of processes and efficiencies still in development. Once these hurdles are jumped, however, we will definitely have artificial meat -- and soon: one fictional subject will go from speculation to how it actually happened.

Another interesting concept: longevity pills. We're not talking about the kind that makes everyone a centenarian but one that could extend lives for many folks. The key this time are polyphenols -- chemical compounds like those found in red wine. Ahh, yes, the red wine theory rears its head again. This development is actually not earth-shattering, just another scientific development that a writer could use to explain why folks are around longer in a fictional future setting. "Waiter, more wine, I want to live to 120."

Finally, there's an article about future city designs. Some are real developments, others designs. I guess if you really want a glimpse of what's next, look at what they're building lately in Dubai and the sky is the limit...literally.

Thanks to our friends at Discover for stoking the flames of prognostication.

Stephenson makes Seattle proud

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:58:00 +0000

It's good to have a neighbor like Neal Stephenson. He doesn't live that close to me by Seattle standards...he's on Capitol Hill and I'm in Belltown. Still, it's good to know that a mind like his is a few minutes away by cab.

Stephenson just released his latest opus Anathem. Love the title...one thing about his books that routinely catch my attention.

In the linked Matthew Bey article, the book critique starts with a bothersome point like: Arbre is a transparent metaphor for America's Wal-Mart culture.

Personally, I like the confidence an author like Stephenson has to plainly point out the culture flaws of today. No need to mix it up so much that it's completely up to conjecture. So, to me, this isn't really a critique as much as a characteristic of Stephenson's style.

Bey does go on to praise the book. He reassures us readers that Stephenson has done another good job. So, as a local writer, I'm proud to be part of the Seattle brethren. Another fine job according to Bey...now to get my hands on the book.

Doctorow's Someone Comes to Town...

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:09:00 +0000

Lots of speculative fiction fans have heard of Cory Doctorow. How do I know this? His name has appeared in so many magazines and on so many Web sites merely by chance that it must be true...considering my penchant for reading and writing about speculative fiction

If you're a similar enthusiast, you may go searching for interesting authors via reading lists or blogs. However, may I suggest my "recurrence method." It's not a documented approach...I'm musing right now. Rather, it's the way to find new authors to read by their frequency of appearance. That's truly why I just read Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town. A book of his first published in 2006.

It's not Doctorow's first book or his most recent one. I actually selected it when intentionally searching for any book bearing his name at a bookstore. There was an autographed copy of the novel so I bought it. No critical recommendations. No word-of-mouth from a friend. Just trusted my instincts.

Not your typical speculative fiction. This isn't Huxley or Asimov style future-musing material. Doctorow has written a wild fantasy in this novel.

There is one critique in the intro pages that perfectly captures my feelings about it...can't remember exactly how it goes but the essence is this: after being a bit bothered earlier on, I was pleasantly surprised how I was pulled in and enjoyed it.

If you like books adhering to formulas or writers who play by the rules, you'll hate this book to be sure. However, I remember thinking that Stephen King was a wild man the way he wrote The Shining. Creating the different thought patterns, he stretched style rules to the limit.

Doctorow does very similar things in Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town and he does it in his own fresh way. He may not write your typical speculative fiction but he's an author I'd recommend reading.

Tasty paper in your future?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:09:00 +0000

Speculative fiction can steal many pages out of the green movement. When imagining "what might be" as a context for stories, writers don't have to look much further than scientific finds on the environmental frontier. Especially for near-future fiction.

This thought is based on recommendations like this one: make your paper out of wheat. Yes, we may be able to truly save a tree by taking that surplus wheat and creating paper with it.

Although this is an interesting concept, the timing seems rather goofy. We are, after all, moving toward a paperless society.

Regardless of impact, handy references like WorldChanging.com can give some suggestive hints to the fiction scribes among us. If you're writing about the future -- or just like pondering it -- there's a plethora of handy references waiting for you in cyberspace.

Chabon and Gaiman

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:09:00 +0000

I recently picked up a couple of books that were on my reading list:

Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union
and
Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

Chabon deserves all the praises he received for his novel...it's an extremely good read. As I'm always a bit behind the critics, I can only add my own personal views...the sense of place was stark. Ask me to drive around this fictional Sitka and I'll be your well-versed cabbie. There wasn't laborious detail on the subject...just plenty of indicators and creative texture of place that made me feel like I knew this environment. It goes beyond Sitka in the book...hinterlands, outskirts, etc.

True confession: there is a passage that details travels in my book Darwin's Orphans that's familiar to what I'm describing. Only in my case, I rattled off the furtive travel moves of the antagonists in rapid succession. Chabon takes his time and layers on the details in proper doses. I learned much from his technique.

So, onto the next book. Before I began to read, I picked it up and scanned the cover and leading pages...praises from Michael Chabon for Neil Gaiman's novel. How serendipitous. "With Chabon's recommendation, this should be a good book," I thought. The outcome: it is a solid read. Even though Gaiman got my attention through Hollywood endeavors like Stardust.

Gaiman doesn't have personal nuances and relationship development down like Chabon does...but he tells a fun story. He creates a world of magical personas that makes you want to read more about his characters. I can see him creating a Hollywood franchise one day.

Check both of these books out if you haven't already...my reading list references remain good advisors.

Cool reference: opening lines in fiction

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:59:00 +0000

Whether you're a writer or not, a great opening line is always appreciated. In the case of this post the focus is on science fiction.

No matter, the lines are cool whether you like your stories to include space suits or leather chaps. A few that made an impression on me are:

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." — William Gibson, Neuromancer.
"The five small craft passed from shadow, emerging with the suddenness of coins thrown into sunlight." — Scott Westerfield, The Risen Empire.
"Today is the two-hundredth anniversary of the final extinction of my One True Love, as close as I can date it." — Saturn's Children, Charles Stross.

This last quote is by Charles Stross and he's gotten lots of attention already on this blog. It makes sense that his work stuck out yet again...he's a personal favorite of currently producing speculative fiction writers.

Thanks to Charlie Jane Anders and again to I09.com for another insightful fiction article. They've provided a few meaningful references over the past year for Darwins Orphans.

Serious Wall-E

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:13:00 +0000

Ever think about Pixar features as much more than family films imbued with morals? Although I've been impressed by most of the movies, I've never rolled them onto my "greatest films ever" roster. They've always just been the very best cartoons you could find in long form to me.

Now, bring on Wall-E. According to this article, you can now tack Wall-E onto your list of the most meaningful films ever.

Admittedly, I haven't seen the flick yet. Once I do, I'll weigh back in on this opinion. However, it seems like comparing the movie to Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey might be a push. If you've seen the film and been blown away (or not) like Reed Johnson -- the article's author -- has been, post a comment here.

It's a very curious commentary. I'm trying to figure out if it was just one big gag or if I'm truly missing a heavy cinematic experience. More to come on this...check back soon.

Life on Mars? We may know soon

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:26:00 +0000

The time may come sooner than you think. Life on other planets may be found in the next day or two...seriously.

Check out the scouring that's going on right now on Mars. This AP article here spells it out for you.

Most life forms are bacteria or some barely multi-cellular forms. That's the nature of the most recent biological findings on the sea-floor and other exotic places here on earth.

So, as NASA analyzes the icy polar region on Mars, they could find life...not bi-peds walking out of spaceships like on Close Encounters of the Third Kind but living organisms not likely to answer S.E.T.I.'s extra-terrestrial life call.

Ice has that one thing life seems to invariably need: water. There are speculations about methane-based life forms on Europa but we'll learn soon enough on that one. For now, where water lives life could breed.

Keep a close eye on the Phoenix mission. Life on other planets may be a reality in your lifetime soon enough...maybe even tomorrow.

Author's note: this didn't have much to do with speculative fiction...but every writer of the sort is keeping watch.

What is speculative fiction?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:16:00 +0000

The people at Books Worth Reading answered this question recently. Since I continue to encounter this same question while discussing my genre of fiction, it's a good subject to occasionally revisit on this blog.

A couple of the names you read about in my blog: Vonnegut and McCarthy, also show up prominently in their list of authors in the right page gutter.

Their article sets up the big mainstream categories first but then drills down into the other powerful areas of fiction that you can't neatly categorize...and they contain great books. To add to your reading list, take a few of their suggestions to heart.

Cinema icon for spec-fic: Christian Bale

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Fri, 23 May 2008 04:21:00 +0000

Checking out this post in the Guardian, it hit me: Christian Bale is the speculative fiction fan's actor. Whoa! you say...what about Harrison Ford in Blade Runner and Star Wars or Peter Weller in Robocop and Naked Lunch?

It's true...there is quite a list. But when it comes down to performers, you want one that becomes the character. Christian Bale is that actor. For a reference (using a Western for a different view), see 3:10 to Yuma in which Bale is the magnet that draws you into the drama... sure Crowe has his larger-than-life persona running full steam but it's Bale that creates the drama...his family concerns become real and make you care about the outcome.

The same goes for Batman Begins. Michael Keaton was cool when the cinematic versions of the caped crusader came alive. Even Jack Nicholson was an amusing distraction. But true fans know that Christian Bale has captured the real spirit of the source publications: the DC comic series. It's far darker than Adam West ever portrayed...and Bale captures the training, intensity and selflessness that is the real Batman.

Cut to today and plans for John Connor in the next Terminators. It's a smart choice to cast Bale. If there are any doubts in the casting meetings or in negotiations, drop them. He IS the clear choice for the role. Speculative fiction fans that buy the tickets will line up if he's becomes John Connor.

Desiccation in your fiction

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:02:00 +0000

This interesting article in Wired magazine makes a point that could well play into speculative fiction. When we think about global warming and consider how it would be part of a future setting, people typically come up with more of a Waterworld scenario. After all, don't melting glaciers imply rising sea levels and more water everywhere?

Not so according to the central theme of the Wired article. As climate change marches on, we're actually seeing less freshwater in many parts of the world...even England. Personally, I never thought of England as a drought-stricken place. Most envision it as typically rainy and floating in spare water. However, this is not the case...quite the opposite.

So, if you're considering a bit of speculative fiction where our water condition is part of your setting, think twice. You may need to have seawater rise AND decrease your levels of freshwater at the same time.

More on Halting State

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 03:43:00 +0000

In late March, I posted this entry on Charles Stross' Halting State and I wasn't sure at the time what the title meant -- I was still awaiting my copy. Now that I've read the book, I get the clever play on words. It is only one of hundreds of clever twists and turns in the Halting State ride.

Stross' books are new to me. Unlike the speculative fiction superstars on the dust cover -- William Gibson, Vernor Vinge -- I hadn't checked out Stross' work before. Now that I finished his latest opus, more of his books are now on my reading list.

Although I enjoyed Stross' latest book, I should impart a few cautions:

If you don't enjoy techie slang, he may not be for you. There is a good amount of computer geek content in Halting State so if it's not your bag I'd avoid it
Points of view shift around and tracking on the storyline can be challenging. So, if you're after a low-attention-span novel, this won't fit
Stross is a Scotsman and he uses the sassy, crass vernacular for some characters. Those seeking "clean" language in their books can't recommend this to their students or groups

My next Stross read will be Glasshouse and I'm expecting the same fun yet intellectually challenging story from it. From all accounts, that should be the case.

Earth Day reading

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:50:00 +0000

Our friends at the New York Times keep us abreast of interesting books. When I saw the term Ecotopia in a recent post, my earth week eyebrows crowned.

Ernest Callenbach doesn't get much press in the article but interesting reads fitting this week's theme do. The article mainly reflects on The Maple Sugar Book from years ago. It's an interesting reflection.

Taking Jennifer Schuessler's advice, we should all seek a solid earthbound tome this week. Feel free to comment here with your favorites.

Antonio Hopson's blog and World Changing

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:29:00 +0000

I've got this post linked up to Antonio Hopson's blog for a good reason. He's a local guy in the Seattle area that has an enjoyable take on speculative fiction. Check out his blog...the man knows how to entertain with the written word.

I've also got World Changing mentioned here. They've also recently been added to my blogroll. Alex Steffen is sending new wake up calls every week on sustainability. Is that a big deal, you may ask? This IS earth week...which, incidentally, happens to be my birthday week. So, due to feelings of connectivity, I pay loads of attention to the latest needs mother earth may have. Alex articulates her needs quite well.

So, whether you want to plug into earth day or week...or read some creative stream-of-consciousness from Mr. Hopson, check out the latest additions to the blogroll.

How real is your fiction?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:38:00 +0000

An article in Illinois State's student newspaper has some interesting quotes from physicist Michio Kaku. You may wonder how far fetched speculative fiction concepts really are at times. Kaku puts them into tidy categories for you.

The technologies he considers are lumped into:
1) within the next century
2) within the next millenia
or
3) never

To dig really deeply, you'll have to buy Kaku's book The Physics of the Impossible. For a few quick insights though, read the Daily Vidette article. One interesting assessment from Kaku is that teleportation is possible in the next century. This was indeed a surprise.

Beam me up Scotty!

An interesting chat with Chris Carlsson

noreply@blogger.com (Mark Salow) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:31:00 +0000

Check out this San Francisco Bay Guardian post from their Pixel Vision blog. Author Chris Carlsson has a new book coming out on May 1 called Nowtopia. Continuing in Carlsson's body of alternative lifestyle lit, this newest opus should expand the way we look at the world around us.

Yet another "topia" book, I plan to check it out and report opinions here. I revisited Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach this past year, so now it's time for Nowtopia.

Check out the Pixel Vision exchange. It should trigger a drive to read the book...although all indications are that it's social commentary and not speculative fiction like his After the Deluge. If you like to stick to speculative fiction, I can't blame you...it's my book of choice as well. However, Carlsson's got me intrigued.

I spent a few years in San Francisco...the swirling vortex that is Carlsson's world. Back in the 80's I used to read The Guardian before there was an online version of anything. So, I guess history as well as interest is driving me to check it out. If you visit me again in a month or so, I'll let you know what I learn.