Battlestar Grammactica

Middle School Learning System 2007 for grades 6-8 features 85 titles with in-depth coverage of 24 core middle school subjects, 47 hours of interactive multimedia lessons and video presentations, top-rated reference materials, over 37 hours of audio books and eBooks – now compatible with your iPod for learning on the go! All core subjects including English, math, science, U.S. history, world history, and geography are brought to life with interactive multimedia presentations and lessons. Printable tests make is easy to monitor student comprehension and progress. World-renowned reference materials such as Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Barron’s Concise Encyclopedia bring a complete and superior study environment that encourages research. Examine themes, characters, and plot synopses of 101 classics with 101 Barron’s Book Notes. Subject details: Math: fractions, decimals, numbers review, pre-algebra, algebra I, geometry, Rapid Calculation Method – a step-by-ste (more…)

Amazon.com Review

Another in Ben Bova’s series on Science Fiction Writing, here geologist and SF scribe Stephen Gillett helps you construct star systems and planets from the atoms up. While it may take you a little more than the proverbial seven days (well, six with rest), when you’re done, your knowledge of gravity, weather patterns, cosmic mass and stellar patterns–in this universe–will be greatly enhanced.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This book is designed to give science fiction writers the solid grounding they need in real science to make their fictions read like fact. World Building is a blueprint in words, calculations, tables and diagrams to help writers transport readers from one world to another.

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Review

“In short, if you were going to look up ‘experts’ to talk to about some aspect of the world you are building, these are the people you’d ask.” –Moira Allen “All aspiring and newly established science fiction writers should read The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction before sending out their manuscripts.” –Leslie Halpern, My Shelf Book Review

The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction: Volume One is a comprehensive writer’s guide for the amateur to semi-pro writer on the genre of science fiction. The book begins with a warning for new science fiction writers about the pitfalls and clich?s that often plague a first science fiction story. It finishes with practical information on how to present, sell and promote a finished novel and what to prepare for once the writer has achieved success. Topics range from alien creation to world building, fan fiction and space travel. EPPIE 2007: Finalist (non-fiction category) Contrib (more…)

From Library Journal

This how-to book is divided into four parts: “Storytelling,” “Ideas and Foundations,” and two sections on mechanics, markets, and dealing with editors. Issac Asimov wades in rather superficially on “Plotting,” “Dialog,” and “Revisions,” but Poul Anderson’s almost technical essay on preparing a scientifically valid world couldn’t be better, and Hal Clement’s piece on peopling such a world is just as good. Norman Spinrad uses the techniques of futurists to model how space colonization could occur and provides graphs for the beginner. The tilt here is toward “hard” science fiction, but Jane Yolen’s meditation on fantasy, “Turtles All the Way Down,” is lyrical and even moving in its reverence for the past. Connie Willis writes about comedy and Stanley Schmidt, amusingly, about cliches. The market listings are exhaustive, including little magazines you won’t find elsewhere. Valuable both for the beginner and the pro.- John Mort, Kansas City P.L., Mo.Copy (more…)

Review

“The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy is a broad compendium of advice and resource material developed and compiled by writers who understand the struggle involved in mastering the craft.” ~Jacqueline Carey, Author Kushiel’s Legacy trilogy”In short, if you were going to look up ‘experts’ to talk to about some aspect of the world you are building, these are the people you’d ask.” ~Moira Allen”The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy is a broad compendium of advice and resource material developed and compiled by writers who understand the struggle involved in mastering the craft.” ~Jacqueline Carey, Author Kushiel’s Legacy trilogy”In short, if you were going to look up ‘experts’ to talk to about some aspect of the world you are building, these are the people you’d ask.” ~Moira Allen –Jacqueline Carey, Bestselling AuthorAll aspiring and newly established science fiction writers should read The Complete Guide to Writing Science Fiction before sending out their manuscri (more…)