Alexis Glynn Latner

MIND MELD: Interesting Areas of Scientific Research

The latest Mind Meld is up at SFSignal. This one asks, “There is a lot of scientific research being performed across a wide array of disciplines. So much that it can be difficult to keep up with it all. What current avenue of scientific inquiry do you believe people should be paying attention to, and why?”

Answers are from Kathleen Ann Goonan, Nancy Kress, Michael S. Brotherton, Nina Munteanu, and Jennifer Ouellette, as well as our own Kay Kenyon and Alexis Glynn Latner. I am particularly struck by Kathleen Ann Goonan’s comment that, “…our system of education needs to have a scientific basis. It does not now. It is so dreadful because it was created to ready immigrant children for factory work. Be on time, follow directions, don’t talk, do what we tell you to do. One obvious negative outcome is that we do not begin to teach reading until children are far older than the optimal age for doing so.”

Also worth mentioning: Earlier on SFSignal, John DeNardo has taken it upon himself to review as many of Chris Roberson’s Celestial Empire stories as he can get his hands on.

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Is that Science there in my Fiction?

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The wonderful SF Signal is back with another Mind Meld. This one asks, “Do science fiction authors have an obligation to be scientifically accurate with their stories? Is there a minimum level of accuracy an author should adhere to?” Responses include those of Pyr authors David Louis Edelman, Alexis Glynn Latner, and Adam Roberts, though my favorite points are raised by Karl Schroeder and Elizabeth Bear.

Schroeder turns the question around, arguing that science itself progresses by looking for holes in the contemporary understanding of the universe, and thus, “If scientists are obligated to look for holes in the ‘scientifically accurate’ picture of the world, would it make sense for science fiction writers to be obligated to uphold that picture?” (Which is an excellent anti-Mundane argument.)

Bear says, “None whatsoever. With one notable exception, which is to say, when writing rigorous quote unquote hard science fiction. I do think the SF writer has an obligation to know which rules she’s breaking, and break them for a purpose, as an author writing historical fiction should alter history with intent rather than from ignorance.”

The always erudite Adam Roberts reinforces Schroeder’s point when he cites Paul Feyerabend’s Against Methodand says, “Scientific rules limit possible advances in science: the only principle that does not inhibit progress is: anything goes.”

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On the Road: Kenyon, Latner, Moorcock, and Resnick

A quick round-up of where to author appearances:

Kay Kenyon (Bright of the Sky, A World Too Near)

Feb. 15-17Radcon/Pasco, WA
Feb 29-Mar 2 ConDor/ San Diego, CA
Mar 13- 16 OmegaCon/ Birmingham, AL
July 17 – 20Readercon/ Burlington MA
October 30 – Nov 2 World Fantasy/ Calgary, AB Canada

Alexis Glynn Latner (Hurricane Moon)

Jan. 2 Bay Area Writers’ League/Clear Lake City, TX appearance as speaker
Feb. 28 Fondren Library/Houston, TX
Apr. 25-27 Nebula Awards/Austin, TX
Jun. 27-29 ApolloCon/Houston, TX
Aug. 15-17 ArmadilloCon/Austin, TX

Michael Moorcock (The Metatemporal Detective)

Dec. 8 Book People/Austin, TX 3 pm featuring Moorcock and Illustrator John Picacio

Mike Resnick (Starship: Mercenary, Starship: Mutiny; Starship: Pirate; New Dreams for Old; Ivory)

Jan. 18-20 ConFusion/Flint, MI
Jan. 25-27 CoSine/Colorado Springs, CO
Feb. 14-17 CapriCon/Chicago, IL
Mar. 14-16 OmegaCon/Birmingham, AL
May 30-Jun. 1 ConCarolinas/Charlotte, NC
Jun. 26-29 Midwestcon/Cincinnati, OH
Aug. 6-10 Worldcon/Denver, CO
Oct. 2008 ConStellation/Huntsville, AL Mike will be the Toastmaster


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Alexis Glynn Latner Comes to Alabama; John Meaney Phones it in!

I spent a delightful six and a half hours today with new Pyr author Alexis Glynn Latner, whose Hurricane Moon will be part of our Spring/Summer 2007 season. Hurricane Moon is a wonderful novel of hard science planetary colonization, a topic which I think may come back into forefront popularity in the wake of the Titan probe, new discovers of and concerning extremophiles, the recent profusion of extrasolar planets being discovered in the real universe every day, etc… It’s a fantastic novel, natch, but I’ve never met Alexis in person apart from email and phone conversations. She’s in Georgia visiting relatives and very kindly made the trip across state lines into my neck of the woods for lunch (Bottega), coffee (Starbucks), a trip to Vulcan (not the planet), and a long afternoon discussion of science, science fiction, systematic theology, post humanity, and wildlife. Here is Alexis in my library, since I sadly forgot to bring the camera with us on our trip to pay homage to the Roman god.

Meanwhile, Mu space expert, Shotokan black belt, and genius author extraordinaire John Meaney is the subject of the latest Dragon page audio interview. Evo and Michael talk to John about his Nulapeiron sequence (Paradox, Context, and Resolution), his upcoming Pyr novel, To Hold Infinity, quantum physics, martial arts, dead bones, and other projects. John is his usual enthusiastic, engaging self and the interview is well worth a listen.

Update: Alexis has the cover story in the July/August issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Set in the same universe as Hurricane Moon, you can read an excerpt of “Witherspin” online now.

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