Exciting News! And just in time for Christmas. I used to do a full recommendation of sciency type gifts, including the galactic chocolates, cosmological music selections, and of course my favorite NERD product of all time... knee Spocks!
Har har. I'll show myself out... but not before I let everyone know about the newest book release by Matthew Williams of Castrum Press. If you are interested in accurate hard science in your #SciFi reading selections, I cannot recommend this trilogy enough.
The author, whom you may follow on Twitter at @StoryByWill, is a science teacher who conducted absolutely bonkers amounts of research into our planets and satellites (those most likely to support life once we have a serious leap forward in propulsion technology).
I reviewed the first and second books, The Cronian Incident and The Jovian Manifesto, which both received high stars on Amazon and Goodreads. I'm flattered to say I was contacted by the author, whereupon we had some delightful conversations about his very accurate depictions of space science throughout our Solar System. I got a sneak preview of his newest novel, and conclusion of the series, The Frost Line Fracture.
Of particular interest is the theme of pioneering -- a favorite among exploration enthusiasts -- and hypotheses of what sorts of cultures would arise on our inner planets versus the outer worlds.
From bio-implants to solar system stations to the particular engineering environments in each system, this is a well-developed story with believable settings and characters. The author has a firm grasp of exobiology and extremophiles that will please scientists who enjoy 'realism' in their reading, but enough possible future tech that will also please the space-opera crowd.
Don't be afraid of methanogenic hydrocarbons -- the hard science is never overwhelming, but neither does Williams assume is audience is dumb by over-explaining anything. A nice balance is struck, here. The novel assumes you know the basics of aerospace, but even if you don't, you'll follow the heroes because you want to, as his reluctance transforms into purpose.
The standout in terms of detail is the uniquely, culturally distinct factions, which could only be created with competent research on each environment, and projecting the imagination into the framework of what it would truly take to colonize places like Mercury, Titan, or Callisto.
Join the Interplanetary Accord! Or bless the astronomer in your life with one book or all three.
Merry Christmas everyone!
And may 2021 suck just a little bit less...
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