Asimov's SF, March 2008
Page 22
Barrow concludes that no scientific theory can really account for everything. Yet this philosophic recognition is not a denial of the scientific enterprise, but a recognition that the universe, at bottom, is subtler than our tools for analyzing it. A good mental workout for those inclined to wrestle with the big issues.
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LIVES OF THE PLANETS
by Richard Corfield
A Natural History of the Solar System
Basic Books, $30.00 (hc)
ISBN: 0-465-01403-3
This one's an overview of the solar system by an Oxford astronomer, with an emphasis on what robotic probes and landers have added to telescopic knowledge.
Corfield combines several different approaches here: a “pocket guide” to the planets, a history of astronomy, and a look inside the space programs of various nations. This produces some interesting juxtapositions: in the chapter on the Sun, the focus is first on Stonehenge, now considered to be a prehistoric astronomical computer; then the discussion shifts to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, used to classify stars by their luminosity and color; then to Galileo's work on sunspots; and then to the effect of sunspot cycles on terrestrial climate cycles. At each step, Corfield brings in a variety of scientific insights into the current understanding of the star that dominates our daytime sky.
Succeeding chapters follow the same unpredictable course. He's particularly good on the history of space exploration, with full due given to the achievements of the Soviets on Venus, which we now know to be a hellishly hot planet with a corrosive atmosphere rather than the near-twin to Earth that generations of astronomers thought it must be, or the swamp planet fashionable in the 1950s.
Mars, the most fully explored of the planets except for our own, gets a good-sized chapter. But as the narrative approaches the outer planets, data becomes sparser and the chapters get shorter and more speculative. The moons of Jupiter get close attention as possible abodes of life, though, and some readers may be surprised at the diversity of the bodies in our system. There are fewer family resemblances than one might expect from a group of objects that originated at much the same tine from essentially the same batch of raw material.
There are a few stumbles when Corfield makes references to fields outside astronomy, notably paleontology. But, on the whole, this is a well-done survey of a dauntingly broad body of material. Definitely recommended as a starting point for research on our current knowledge of the solar system.
Copyright (c) 2008 Peter Heck
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Department: SF CONVENTIONAL CALENDAR
by Erwin S. Strauss
A lot of the major East Coast conventions are coming up in the next two months as the winter season wraps up. Plan now for social weekends with your favorite SF authors, editors, artists, and fellow fans. For an explanation of con(vention)s, a sample of SF folksongs, and info on fanzines and clubs, send me an SASE (self-addressed, stamped #10 [business] envelope) at 10 Hill #22-L, Newark NJ 07102. The hot line is (973) 242-5999. If a machine answers (with a list of the week's cons), leave a message and I'll call back on my nickel. When writing cons, send an SASE. For free listings, tell me of your con 5 months out. Look for me at cons behind the Filthy Pierre badge, playing a musical keyboard.—Erwin S. Strauss
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FEBRUARY 2008
1-3—COSine. For info, write: c/o 1245 Allegheny Dr., Colorado Springs CO 80919. Or phone: (973) 242-5999 (10 am to 10 pm, not collect). (Web) firstfridayfandom.org. (E-mail) cosine@rialto.org. Con will be held in: Colorado Springs CO (if city omitted, same as in address) at the Best Western Academy Hotel. Guests will include: Mike Resnick.
8-10—CapriCon. capricon.org. Sheraton, Arlington Heights (near Chicago) IL.
8-10—OwlCon. owlcon.com. Held at Rice University, Houston TX. For fans of gaming, fantasy and science fiction.
8-10—IkkiCon. ikkicon.com. Austin TX. Japanese pop-culture and animation convention.
15-17—Boskone, Box 809, Framingham MA 01701. (617) 625-2311. boskone.org. Boston MA. Weber, Morrisey. SF.
15-17—Farpoint, 11708 Troy Ct., Waldorf MD 20601. farpoint.com. Marriott, Hunt Valley (Baltimore) MD. Trek, etc.
15-17—VisionCon, Box 1415, Springfield MO 65801. (417) 886-7219. visioncon.net.
15-17—KatsuCon, Box 79, Clarksville MD 21029. katsucon.org. Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington DC. Anime/manga.
22-24—SheVaCon, Box 416, Verona VA 24482. shevacon.org. Holiday Inn Tanglewood, Roanoke VA. Joe Keener.
22-24—Con DFW, 750 S. Main #14, Keller TX 76248. www.condfw.org. Dallas TX. General SF & fantasy convention.
22-24—ConNooga. connooga.com. Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, Chattanooga TN. A “multi-genre” convention.
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MARCH 2008
7-9—PortmeirCon, 871 Clover Dr., N. Wales PA 19454. portmeiricon.com. Portmeirion, UK. “The Prisoner” TV show.
14-16—LunaCon, Box 432, Bronx NY 10465. lunacon.org. Hilton, Rye NY (near NYC). Carey, Klukas, Siclari, Howlett.
14-16—StellarCon, Box F-4, EUC, c/o UNCG, Greensboro NC 27413. stellarcon.org. Radisson, High Point NC.
14-16—MillenniCon, 5818 Wilm. Pike #122, Centerville OH 45459. (513) 659-2558. millennicon.org. Cincinnati OH.
14-16—OmegaCon. omegacon.com. Birmingham AL. Ben Bova, Alan Dean Foster, David Drake, Stephen Brust.
14-16—RevelCon, c/o Box 130602, Houston TX 77219. severalunlimited.com/revelcon/. Adult media fanzines.
20-23—NorwesCon, Box 68547, Seattle WA 98168. (206) 270-7850. norwescon.org. Seattle WA. D. Simmons, Ciruelo.
21-23—MiniCon, Box 8297, Minneapolis MN 55408. mnstf.org. Minneapolis MN area. Reynolds, Barlowe, S. McCarthy.
21-23—Anime Boston, Box 1843, New York NY 10150. animeboston.com. Hynes Convention Center, Boston MA. Huge.
21-24—UK Nat'l. Con, c/o Scarlett, 8 Windmill Close, Epsom Surrey KT17 3AL, UK. orbital2008.org. Near London.
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APRIL 2008
4-6—ICon, Box 550, Stony Brook NY 11790. iconsf.org. State U. of NY, Stony Brook NY. Harlan Ellison, B. Malzberg.
4-6—OdysseyCon, Box 7114, Madison WI 53707. (608) 260-9924. oddcon.com. Radisson. P. David, G.R.R. Martin.
4-6—FILKONtario, 145 Rice Ave. #98, Hamilton ON L9C 6R3. (905) 574-6212. filkontario.ca. SF/fantasy folksinging.
25-27—RavenCon, 9623 Hollyburgh Terr., Charlotte NC 28215. ravencon.com. Richmond VA. Hickman, Strauss (me!).
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AUGUST 2008
6-10—Denvention 3, Box 1349, Denver CO 80201. denvention3.org. Bujold, Sternbach, Whitmore. WorldCon. $175.
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AUGUST 2009
6-10—Anticipation, CP 105, Montreal QE H4A 3P4. anticipationsf.ca. Gaiman, Hartwell, Doherty. WorldCon. US$150+.
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Department: NEXT ISSUE
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APRIL/MAY DOUBLE ISSUE
Our October/November issue is the one that seems to get the most attention and, frankly, the April/May issue is tired of being overlooked. We don't play favorites with our issues, but we sympathized with April/May's plight and have obliged it by loading it full of excellent SF stories sure to grab your attention from the very first pages. To this end, the ever-popular Kristine Kathryn Rusch returns to the futuristic milieu of her story �
�Diving into the Wreck” in a new novella—this time, a mysterious zone affected by alien technology must be plumbed by a crack team of professional “divers” who may well find that no training could ever have prepared them for ... “The Room of Lost Souls."
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ALSO IN APRIL/MAY
This is, as you must already suspect, not all. We take great pleasure in offering, after too long an absence, the latest story by S.P. Somtow, a haunting, lyrical tale of a troubled cleric investigating “An Alien Heresy.” Barry B. Longyear also returns with his clever rumination on the inevitable affects of aging upon the writer with “The Advocate"; Neal Barrett, Jr. offers a witty, wise, and, most importantly, weird tale about the end of the world in “Slidin’”; Kathleen Ann Goonan explores the consequences of a man's transformation into a “Memory Dog"; Merrie Haskell, making her Asimov's debut, posits that life might not be so easy under the employ of benevolent interstellar rulers in “An Almanac for Alien Invaders"; Catherine Wells' latest, “Ghost Town,” presents the troublesome effects of time upon a recently returned space explorer; Robert Reed skulks around the neighborhood trying to get a subtle peek into the windows of “The House Left Empty"; one of science fiction's greatest, Kate Wilhelm, returns with a bittersweet story of young lovers destined to always be “Strangers When We Meet” the morning after; Nick Wolven makes his Asimov's debut with a moving tale examining the emotional difficulties faced in a completely customizable world in “An Art, like Everything Else"; and up-and-coming talent Matthew Johnson returns with an alternate history in which the tired, poor, huddled masses of the past must emigrate through time and adjust to a confusing new life in “Another Country."
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OUR EXCITING FEATURES
In his “Reflections” column, Robert Silverberg continues his explorations of classic SF by “Rereading Stapledon"; Norman Spinrad brings you “The Multiverse” in “On Books"; plus an array of pleasant poetry by many of your favorite poets. Look for our giant April/May issue at your newsstand on March 4, 2008. Or you can subscribe to Asimov's—by mail or online, in varying formats, including downloadable forms, by going to our website, (www.asimovs.com)—and make sure that you don't miss any of the great stuff we have coming up!
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