science fiction

For my "interview a genre author in Ireland" series I got Michael Carroll to answer my questions.

I've read a fair few of Michael's books over the years, most recently the Pelicos Trilogy, starting with the Last Starship and I've been enjoying it, however my husband has been loving it.  Michael has two websites, one concentrating on his Quantum Prophecy series and the other a more general website.  He's also written some Adult fiction as Jaye Carroll (I've read at least one, The Sweetest Feeling). Read more »

Question. What does Asteroid 9766, a crater on the moon and the site of the landing of Curiosity, the Mars Rover have in common?

Answer. They are all named after Ray Bradbury.  

• Asteroid Bradbury 9766, discovered on the 24th February, 1992 and named after the acclaimed author.
• The Dandelion Crater on the moon (from Bradbury’s  novel ‘Dandelion Wine’).
• Bradbury Landing, where Curiosity landed on 22nd August 2012 – Bradbury’s birthdate.

As we launch Science Week in Dublin City Public Libraries with a full programme of events, workshops and talks for children and adults, it is fitting to consider the links between the fact and the fiction of science. Read more »

Over the 13th and 14th of October I attended Octocon.  While there I asked some of the authors if they would be willing to answer some questions I had.  I supplied a list of 25 and asked if they would be willing to answer at least five.  Peadar was the first to respond with his answers so this is the inaugural post in what I hope will become a series of interviews with some of Ireland's Genre writers.

Peadar Ó Guilín on Dublin City Public Libraries Catalogue

Peadar spent his youth in Donegal and now lives in Dublin.

1. So what kind of fiction do you write? Read more »

British novelist Jane Rogers has won the UK's top science fiction prize, the Arthur C Clarke Award, for her novel 'The Testament of Jessie Lamb'. Rogers has been a prize winner before, but this is her first venture into science fiction. The book was also on the longlist for the Man Booker Prize last year.

'The Testament of Jessie Lamb' is the story of a 16-year old girl who wants to save humanity after an act of biological terrorism releases a deadly virus which only affects pregnant women. It would seem that the book is  somewhat of a surprise but popular winner.

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Last night I read that Anne McCaffrey died.  It has been confirmed by several sources, including the Guardian so I can't stay in denial any more.  She was getting older, 85 at her last birthday, so I knew it was going to happen, I just didn't want it to happen now, or ever.

As I've related before, she was one of the first real SF authors I read.  Her books stayed with me throughout my teenage years and into my 20s (and I really need to dust them off and give them a re-read).  They were groundbreaking at the time, female heroes who did things rather than waiting for things to happen.  Menoly from Dragonsong, played music, like me, and kept me sane through the experience of being bullied in school, my own copy is in bits.

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Science Fiction is 'Literary Marmite' for most readers. Either you love it or you hate it - although, curiously, any scepticism about the genre disappears once it is dressed up as 'literary fiction', e.g.   1984, A Clockwork Orange, Never Let Me Go, Cloud Atlas, The Road, anything by the great J.G. Ballard. Read more »