"A must-have for every science-fiction writer. Edward M. Lerner has produced the best-ever guide to putting the science in science fiction, and he's done it with clarity, wit, and panache. A terrific book--I'm recommending it to all my colleagues, and to all those who hope someday to be professional SF writers."--Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Quantum Night
The essential resource for anyone who reads, writes, watches, or studies science fiction.
Men have walked on the Moon. Siri and Alexa manage--at least often enough to be helpful--to make sense of the things we say. Biologists have decoded DNA, and doctors have begun to tailor treatments to suit our individual genetic make-ups. In short: science and tech happen.
But faster-than-light travel? Time travel? Telepathy? A six million dollar--as adjusted, of course, for inflation--man? Starfaring aliens? Super-intelligent computers? Those, surely, are mere fodder for storytelling. Or wild extrapolations. Just so many "sci fi" tropes.
Sometimes, yes. But not necessarily.
In Trope-ing the Light Fantastic, physicist, computer engineer, science popularizer, and award-winning science-fiction author Edward M. Lerner entertainingly examines these and many other SF tropes. The science behind the fiction.
Each chapter, along with its eminently accessible scientific discussion, surveys science fiction--foundational and modern, in short and long written form, on TV and the big screen--that illustrates a particular trope. The good, the bad, and occasionally the cringe-worthy. All imparted with wit .
So forget what the Wizard of Oz advised. Let's pull back the curtain...
"I am entertained and enlightened."--Larry Niven, author of Ringworld
"This is a book which covers a huge number of topics well and provides great scientific and science fictional stimulation."--Tangent Online
"A great source book for SF writers."--Bud Sparhawk, author of Distant Seas
Pages
366
Format
Kindle Edition
Release
April 30, 2018
Trope-ing the Light Fantastic: The Science Behind the Fiction
"A must-have for every science-fiction writer. Edward M. Lerner has produced the best-ever guide to putting the science in science fiction, and he's done it with clarity, wit, and panache. A terrific book--I'm recommending it to all my colleagues, and to all those who hope someday to be professional SF writers."--Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Quantum Night
The essential resource for anyone who reads, writes, watches, or studies science fiction.
Men have walked on the Moon. Siri and Alexa manage--at least often enough to be helpful--to make sense of the things we say. Biologists have decoded DNA, and doctors have begun to tailor treatments to suit our individual genetic make-ups. In short: science and tech happen.
But faster-than-light travel? Time travel? Telepathy? A six million dollar--as adjusted, of course, for inflation--man? Starfaring aliens? Super-intelligent computers? Those, surely, are mere fodder for storytelling. Or wild extrapolations. Just so many "sci fi" tropes.
Sometimes, yes. But not necessarily.
In Trope-ing the Light Fantastic, physicist, computer engineer, science popularizer, and award-winning science-fiction author Edward M. Lerner entertainingly examines these and many other SF tropes. The science behind the fiction.
Each chapter, along with its eminently accessible scientific discussion, surveys science fiction--foundational and modern, in short and long written form, on TV and the big screen--that illustrates a particular trope. The good, the bad, and occasionally the cringe-worthy. All imparted with wit .
So forget what the Wizard of Oz advised. Let's pull back the curtain...
"I am entertained and enlightened."--Larry Niven, author of Ringworld
"This is a book which covers a huge number of topics well and provides great scientific and science fictional stimulation."--Tangent Online
"A great source book for SF writers."--Bud Sparhawk, author of Distant Seas