SciFi/Fantasy novels

"Space explorers have yet to get their hands on the replicator of "Star Trek" to create anything they might require. But NASA has developed a technology that could enable lunar colonists to carry out on-site manufacturing on the moon, or allow future astronauts to create critical spare parts during the long trip to Mars. The method, called electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3), uses an electron beam to melt metals and build objects layer by layer. Such an approach already promises to cut manufacturing costs for the aerospace industry, and could pioneer development of new materials. It has also thrilled astronauts on the International Space Station by dangling the possibility of designing new tools or objects, researchers said." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

exclusive opportunity for bsg fans... - mike "glemak" dunn from Bookmarklet

I need to send this to Susan Getgood - John Cass

Not sure where Young Adult begins since I read Orson Scott Card in a college class but Isaac Asimov "End of Eternity" still resonates with me as incredible premonition of the internet, also by Asimov "The Naked Sun" as well as Orson Scott Card "Speaker for the Dead" - Matt Terenzio

yeah good point - we are discussing young adult scifi books that'll wet their appetite towards the genre (ya normally being 13-20 y/o - but some argue for younger which depends on the kid really)... - mike "glemak" dunn

That is a good one, I've never thought about that. - C Luther

That's def true. *Science* fiction has gone south since the death of the Star Trek series, replaced mostly by fantasy. I've noticed it even in novels. It's increasingly difficult to find anything scientifically sensible that's also well-written and fun - LANjackal

good job by jordan :) - mike "glemak" dunn from Bookmarklet

"In Pandorum, actors, Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster join Cam Gigandet , Cung Le, newcomer Antje Traue and director Christian Alvart (Antibodies) to tell the terrifying story of two crew members stranded on a spacecraft who quickly realize they are not alone. Two astronauts awaken in a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a seemingly abandoned spacecraft. It’s pitch black, they are disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the spacecraft. They can’t remember anything – who are they, what is their mission? The only way out of the chamber is a dark and narrow airshaft. Corporal Bower (Foster), the younger of the two, crawls inside, while the other, Lt. Payton (Quaid), stays behind for guidance on a radio transmitter. As Bower ventures deeper and deeper into the ship, he begins to uncover a terrifying reality. Slowly the spacecraft’s shocking and deadly secrets come unraveled, and the astronauts realize that the survival of mankind hinges on their actions." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

yea but i like that cheesy stuff so i will watch... :) - Jay Martinez

"Not only will it allow users to read and manage their comics from their desktops and mobile devices, but it will also come with access to an online store so that readers can purchase their books directly. Starting at $0.99 per issue, the LongBox store will have one major factor that differentiate it from the iTunes model, says Hoseley. "Along with buying an incentivized 12-issue subscription for $10, publishers can and will provide discount coupons for print versions if [the reader] subscribes to the LongBox version."" - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

I'm looking for a suggested book that will give her a very positive introduction to the Genre so that she will return for more. So throw out your best advice. - Bill Rawlinson

Thanks Lon and Elizabeth - Bill Rawlinson

Go see this movie! If Philip K. Dick is your kind of sci-fi, go see this movie. If you loved Blade Runner, go see this movie. Sam Rockwell is terrific. - Kevin Pedraja from Bookmarklet

Bump, because, really, I'm not kidding. It's great. - Kevin Pedraja

"I generally find that building the world my characters are going to run around in takes me a heck of a lot more effort than simply coming up with an idea for what they’re supposed to be doing in the process. Fitting all those elements together, filing off rough edges to establish a smooth fit, structuring things to provide a believable whole for the reader, and then remembering how it all goes together and honoring the restrictions I’ve built in takes a lot of work. In the long run, though, I think it pays off big time. When you write from a firm platform, one that you’ve taken the time to develop, it provides a consistency and a sense of cohesion—one the reader may not even consciously notice, but one of which, believe me, the reader’s enjoyment is well aware." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

This is an excellent article that illustrates one of the often overlooked, major challenges of writing sci-fi: creating an internally consistent universe - LANjackal

I really enjoyed that book. Had a nice twist to it. - Bill Rawlinson

Does anyone know what this book is about? Thanks. - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

"The novel tells the story of what happens when Mars is colonized by a corporation that then goes bankrupt. “Such things have happened before—busted corporations stranded a lot of 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century colonists in remote parts of the world,” Baker said. “The colonists on Mars are stuck up there with no money to come home, and their situation is not exactly desperate but certainly squalid. One woman makes ends meet by keeping a bar and bartering for goods" - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

No, not necessarily, unless it depends on time travel at some point (like the Cross Time Engineer series). Most alternate history books are just historical fiction. Like the books where the south won the civil war in the US. - Alex Scoble

What it is, though, is "speculative fiction" which integrates magical realism, science fiction etc. (although to me all fiction is speculative, really...) - Joelle Nebbe (iphigenie)

"Newsgroups like comp.graphics.animation and rec.arts.animation have long been home to discussions of the technical aspects and technique of computer animation by industry insiders and fans alike. Where rec.arts.comics covers the superhero realm and an abundance of discussion of hero specific movies." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

"To participate, you just have to log in with Google, Yahoo!, Facebook or OpenID, then find a story and write a prequel or a sequel in 1024 characters. Your piece doesn't have to stand alone, it could just flesh out a character or place, or start a new scene for someone else to finish. I'm looking forward to reading some of the stuff coming out of Ficly, and speculating that maybe the evolution of print-on-demand services will play well with it. It would be too cool to have a long story you helped write shipped to your door in book form." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

"Normally in science fiction, faster than light has a speed that has nothing to do with Einstein and everything to do with self-referentiality and the way other science fiction has done it—faster than light ships go at the speed of sailing ships, taking months to go between stars. They are wormholes or Jump or something letting them go faster than light, but it takes months of the crew’s real time. And when they get there, they can’t land on planets, any more than sailing ships can (outside of Dunsany) sail on land, they need space stations to be their ports, and they need dedicated career sailors and officers." - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

In the new Scribd store, authors or publishers will be able to set their own price for their work and keep 80 percent of the revenue. They can also decide whether to encode their documents with security software that will prevent their texts from being downloaded or freely copied. - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

Interesting. I missed this until now; will have to read the article. - Elizabeth

Netflix. - LANjackal

Okay, first of all, the future can pretty much be summed up in three basic concepts: constant yelling punctuated by frequent explosions, killer robots, and then more yelling, punctuated by the occasional guffaw-inducing cliché. - LANjackal from Bookmarklet

Me too. Love em. Great for those times when you just want to disengage the brain and escape. - Kevin Riggins

No shame. Not all, but most of them are very well crafted. A rich scifi universe. - John Samuelson from BuddyFeed

I'm interested in Moon & District 9 for the human elements and Transformers & G.I. Joe for the action and eye candy :) - LANjackal

I really liked the trailer for District 9. For the rest, I don't know yet. - Brome

Was not a huge fan of The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, myself. It was "okay". I just finished Asaro's The Charmed Sphere -- interesting world, bland characters, iffy plot. Still plan on trying the rest of the series, though. - Alix Whitmire

How was Dust? I liked the Casey novels and Bear's short stories, but not her fantasy novels. - Rantalica Rant