By: Franca Driessen,
on 2/9/2016
The Earth we live on was formed from a cloud of dust and ice, heated by a massive ball of compressed hydrogen that was the early Sun. Somewhere along the four billion year journey to where we are today, our planet acquired life, and some of that became us. Our modern brains ask how it all came together and progressed, and what shaped the pathways it followed.
The post Blue planet blues appeared first on OUPblog.
I have never read Kim Stanley Robinson before even though I have heard good things about him. Now that I have read Aurora, I know I’ll be reading more.
This is a science fiction story that is often heavy on the science. I don’t mind though because I do enjoy thinking about the consequences of long distance space travel. Even though Aurora takes place several centuries in the future, it is not one of those science fiction stories in which the science is more like magic and solves all our problems. The book is about a generation ship, a ship consisting of ecological biomes and about 2,000 people who were sent out to settle the stars. Humans at the time the ship was sent out had begun having success settling the solar system and believed they were ready to expand further.
After 170 years of traveling to the distant Tau Ceti system, the ship has finally arrived. Of course those arriving were not the ones who volunteered for the trip and a good many on the ship are pissed off that their predecessors chose their lives for them. They have been in what has begun to feel like a prison for a very long time and are ready to leave and settle this supposedly dead moon that has still managed to have water and oxygen.
There is a lot they have to figure out. The days and nights are not equal to Earth days and nights but are much longer. How do they adapt the plants they brought with them to such a day/night cycle? The moon they are to colonize also has a constant wind blowing, not a gentle breeze, but often hard enough to knock people over. They are also beginning to suffer the effects of having such a small genetic pool. Not to mention the systems in the ship itself are showing larger and larger metabolic rifts. But these humans are determined to make a go of it for no other reason than they can’t bear to live on the ship any longer.
But it turns out the planet is not dead after all. One of the landing crew is infected with something after she sinks in some mud and cuts her leg. Soon all of the people who had been on the surface setting up the foundations of the new settlement are sick and dying. The virus is completely alien and no one knows how to stop it. Within a week all 70 of the people who were on the moon are dead. Those on the ship have a decision to make. There are those who want to stay in the Tau Ceti system and try again on another moon. The other half of the population wants to go back to Earth because this colonizing the stars things is a bunch of baloney. In the end half stay and half return to Earth. It is the group that decides to return to Earth that the book follows from here.
It took me a while to warm up to the book but I am glad I stuck with it. The reason it was hard is because the main narrator is the ship’s AI which came into “consciousness” because of one of the crew members. As the ship learns to tell the story of its humans there is much musing over language and how inadequate it is, about metaphors and how imprecise they are, that kind of thing. AIs trying to figure out human language is not all that interesting to me and it felt sometimes like it was just an opportunity for Robinson to do his own musing through the mouthpiece of the ship.
But then something clicked and I can’t say what. And Ship began to grow on me until Ship becomes a full character in its own right. The ship trying to figure things out doesn’t stop. Eventually the ship starts to wonder about what it means to be conscious and of course, by extension, what it means to be human.
There is also a lot in the book about ecosystems and balance, the needs of the many versus the needs of the few, about choices and who gets to make them and what the consequences of choices are and who has to face them. It is also really interesting that a book about settling the stars kind of ends up being against it. Not against exploration per se, but there is the suggestion that because humans evolved on Earth that is the place they are suited to live and no other. Sure, we may eventually create colonies on other planets in our solar system, but in the book even the people living on the colonies have to return to Earth every ten years or so for their mental and physical health. It is a pleasantly subtle and different way to emphasize that Earth is our home and we need to take care of it for all our sakes.
A good and thought-provoking book. Well written and completely plausible. I recommend it to anyone who likes think-y science fiction with actual science in it.
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By: Carl,
on 5/6/2009
Life can't stop while waiting for our copies of The Last Olympian to arrive. Our fellow guybrarian, blog follower, and sith lord Devin has sent us a really good nonfiction review:
The Pluto Files chronicles Pluto in two ways- first, as a planet and how it is discovered. And then second, in terms of modern science and trying to answer the question of how Pluto fits into our solar system.
By: Carl,
on 1/15/2009
Commander CARLMAN here, guys. Ever since telling you about that wonderful book, Space Cadet by Robert Heinlein (click here to see the review), I wanted to brush up on my knowledge of the Solar System so that I wouldn't get lost between Mars and Neptune. I've been fascinated with space and the Solar System ever since I was a CARLBOY, so I looked to find some the latest info and, man, did I ever find some good ones!
The first is Stars and Planets by Dr. Mike Goldsmith. It has a lot of good basic information on all all the planets plus fascinating stuff like Space Clouds, the Big Bang and the Big Rip, space pioneers. designs of future space exploration ships, and buildiong space stations. PLUS, every section gives a link to a website realted to that subject!! For instance, the section on Mars takes you to
author, wrote a whole series of books on John Carter and his adventures on Mars. If this idea has ever interested you, then you ought to read Mars and the Search for Life by Elaine Scott. 
The author gives a lot of interesting background on the discovery and early study of Mars, especially the "canals", and goes on to tell the story of sending space probes to explore, analyze, and photograph the Red Planet. Then she goes on to tell about possible manned trips to mars and how some people are practiciing NOW to go there! Really intersting!! And the chapters on landing probes on Mars had me turning page after page, dying to find out what would happen next! Go get this one, guys!!
The best part of Space Cadet took place when the main characters crash-landed on Venus. A lot of people speculated what might be under that unbroken cloud cover.some said there was an enormous planet-wide ocean, like C. S. Lewis did in Perelandra. Others, like Robert Heinlein, thought there a lot of marshes. The truth comes out in Venus by Ron Miller. Find out what Venus is really like and why space probes get destroyed in 15 minutes whenever they land on the surface! This one kept me turning pages too. 
By: Jennifer Armstrong,
on 8/4/2008
By: Loreen Leedy,
on 2/20/2008
In a decade or two people may set foot on Mars, though there are many technical obstacles to solve first. Actually the title is a trick question, because humans have already been to the Red Planet many times with the help of orbiters, landers, and robotic rovers. My husband Andrew Schuerger and I were inspired to create Messages From Mars by the many scientific discoveries and fantastic photographs taken in the past few years. We sent an international group of kids and a hoverbot on their way… to make their trip quicker and easier, the book is set a hundred years in the future. To see a live preview of the entire book, click on the cover below:
To see a larger version, click on the orange eyeballs.
Note to authors: For info about how to embed book previews in a blog or web site, please see the end of this post.
There was so much great information we wanted to include that the book kept getting longer and more detailed. After a few debates with the publisher, we finally came to a compromise—instead of the usual 32 pages in most picture books, it has 40 pages. For reviews, Mars trivia, and activities, please see my web site.
The lucky students who have won a trip to Mars learn many amazing facts about the planet on the way. For example, it has the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. They touch down to visit the historic sites of the Viking, Pathfinder, and the Spirit/Opportunity missions. Along the way they send emails home to share what they’re seeing. Readers who are familiar with my Postcards From Pluto: A Tour of the Solar System may recall its similar approach.
As you can see, the artwork consists of real photographs taken on the surface of Mars, with the characters drawn on top. Andy searched through many NASA, JPL, and ESA (European Space Agency) web sites to find great images to use as settings. There's a list of those web sites at the end of the book. One site that is not listed in the book gives updates about the still-working Spirit and Opportunity rovers. Another fun one is Rock Around the World, which invites kids to mail in rocks to be analyzed using a tool similar to one on the rovers. How cool is that?
By the way, the photographs we used have already been paid for by all of us (the tax-payers, that is) and are generally free for use with proper credit, as detailed in the NASA/JPL image use policy.
Not incidentally, Andy is a scientist who does quite a bit of Mars-related research in his Mars simulation chamber. The chamber is like having a little piece of the Red Planet right inside his lab, which is located at the Kennedy Space Center. In creating this book, it naturally helped tremendously that he is so familiar with the material and knows what he is looking at in the photographs. We ran across several mislabeled images in other books, such as a photograph of Venus mistakenly included in a book about Mars.
An obvious yet often overlooked point is that the facts in nonfiction books should be carefully checked and double-checked. Mistakes can happen in a number of ways… photographs can be difficult to interpret… it’s easy to assume too much… and writers often introduce subtle (or big) mistakes when rewording something. Beware of relying too heavily only on other published books or the Internet. Some sites are very reliable, of course, such as NASA’s. Unless one is very well-informed about a topic, it’s a good idea to enlist an expert to look the project over, if at all possible. Many specialists are happy to help because they want accurate info in circulation about their favorite subject. We showed Messages From Mars to two space scientists to ensure no glitches had crept in.
Speaking of the 4th rock from the sun, did you know another lander is on its way to Mars right now? The Phoenix is scheduled to land in about three months from now, on May 25, 2008. Its mission is to study the soil and ice near the north polar ice cap to find out if the area was ever hospitable to life. While not a rover, it has a built-in camera and weather station as well as microscopes, a gas analyzer and a digging arm to go down as far as one meter. For the latest news on its progress, check here.
Photo credit: Andrew Schuerger
Andy played a part in making the Phoenix photographs as accurate as possible. When it lands, Phoenix will take a picture of special colored “targets” that were photographed on Earth prior to launch. This will allow scientists to match the targets and thus get accurate colors in the Martian landscape images. But the targets need a special treatment to artificially age them before they go to Mars, because its harsh UV environment would change their color. So Andy placed the targets in his simulation chamber and zapped them to stabilize their color. Soon, the targets will be on the surface of Mars! If only we could go, too…
Note to authors: How to embed a “minibook”
Any picture book available on the Lookybook site may be put on a web site or blog by anyone, not just its author and/or illustrator. Assuming a book is available (if not, ask your publisher about it), search by title or author and go to the book’s page. There will be a row of buttons under it, including Embed this Book. Doubleclick on the button, copy the code, then in Blogger’s Posting window click on Edit Html and paste the code into your post. That's it! (You have to go to Preview mode to actually see anything, it won't show in Compose mode.) A similar process should work with the various web site and blog programs. What will appear on your blog or web site is a minibook—the larger version can be viewed on the Lookybook site. I have no association with them, just love the idea that readers can see my backlist titles, even if a bookstore doesn't have a copy available for them to page through.
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 1/23/2008
read from Flamingos on a Roof.
By: Betsy Bird,
on 4/9/2007
As I assume that all of you already are aware of the 7-Imp interviews, I don't like to point out one over another for fear of people thinking that I'm choosing my favorite people. So let's just makes something perfectly clear, children: I love each and everyone of you equally. Except for you, Alvina. I like you a whole heckuva lot more, so I'm highlighting the 7-Imp interview with you that's up right now.
And if you find yourself pouting over my fickle heart, do so while checking out this great interview with Calef Brown which I found via Children's Illustration. Those of you intending to polish up your interview skills would do well to perform a compare/contrast on these two different styles of the form.
By: Julie Fortenberry,
on 4/7/2007
Could they use snotties as bioremediation tools to clean up Superfund sites? My research for one book often leads me to a subject for another book. And once I came out of a cave with an idea for a story. Ah, research -- endless fun!
Excellent, nature never ceases to amaze. I think that‘s a typo on the slimy string-things... My husband does astrobiology research and according to one of his cave-dwelling colleagues, they are “snotites,” as in stalactites. We‘re planning to join her for some lavatube exploration this fall... yay!!