Hello, everybody! I have returned after my long hiatus. I do tend to go on a lot of hiatuses, and for that I apologize. To kick things off again I will be sharing another one of my old stories. This one is titled "The Return," and unlike most of my fiction it is fantasy, though... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Patrol Craft Zero Two Two, Reporting!
As much as I love indie books, they're a minefield. You never know what you're going to get in terms of quality. I've had some books that started promising, then turned into total slogs; I've had others that were actually pretty solid. The novel I'm reviewing today definitely falls into the latter category---in fact, it... Continue Reading →
The Southern Frontier: Opportunities and Challenges in Antarctica
The poles aren't as inaccessible as they used to be. Climate change has made Arctic shipping routes more navigable than ever before, while record temperatures are making swaths of Siberia and northern Canada amenable to human settlement. As rising sea levels, desertification, and heat waves force people out of hitherto livable regions, we will witness... Continue Reading →
Space History: Interkosmos
Today we take international cooperation pretty much for granted when it comes to spaceflight---last year an Israeli moon probe hitched a ride aboard an American SpaceX rocket, to name just one example, and of course the ISS continues to fly with the participation of eighteen different countries. This is the obvious way of doing things.... Continue Reading →
Sci-Fi Film Review: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
Hello, everyone! You might have noticed that there have been a lot of film reviews lately. That's because, going by traffic and likes, they are by far the most popular content on this site---so why not make more? Besides, it's a lot of fun putting them together, especially when I'm talking about my favorite movies.... Continue Reading →
Sci-Fi Film Review: Interstellar (2014)
Now here's a movie I look back on fondly. I was in tenth grade when Christopher Nolan's Interstellar came out, and in the months leading up to its release I excitedly reposted the trailers to Google+ (anyone else remember Google+? May it rest in peace). Five of my friends went with me to see it in... Continue Reading →
Short Story: The Devil in the Archives
I have spoken about my fiction writing on this blog, but I have posted exactly none of it so far. This changes today! If you're into tense, atmospheric sci-fi, with creative concepts and grisly twists, I present to you my first self-published short story, "The Devil in the Archives". An excerpt is below, and I... Continue Reading →
Guest Post: Orbital Momentum as a Commodity
Hello, everyone! Today I have a guest post by my friend Eamon K. Minges, author of the upcoming novel Paradigm's End from Kindle Direct Press. He'll be examining various energy-efficient methods of orbital launch, comparing their merits, and discussing their possible applications. With no further ado: Part 1: Tsiolkovsky's Tyranny For over sixty years, humans... Continue Reading →
Sci-Fi Film Review: Starship Troopers (1997)
Hello again, all! Sorry for the unannounced hiatus, these last few months have been godawful. I'm finally back on my feet again, though, and ready to resume blogging---so here's that review of Starship Troopers I promised. Fair warning, this is one of my favorite movies. Expect some gushing. Starship Troopers was directed by Paul Verhoeven, and... Continue Reading →
Sci-Fi Film Review: Event Horizon (1997)
It's almost Halloween, everyone, and I'm sure you can guess what that means: it's time to take a look at the spookiest space film out there, Event Horizon. Like Ad Astra, it is about an expedition to a doomed ship around Neptune; unlike Ad Astra, it's actually good. Some spoilers (but no gore) ahead: What a beautiful... Continue Reading →