Along with announcement for an Elon Musk appearance at the National Press Club, SpaceX revealed new conceptual images laying out their vision for the future of spaceflight.
One image gives us our first look at what is probably the ‘Grasshopper’ reusable vertical take-off and landing rocket that SpaceX sought permission from the FAA to test at their McGregor field launch facility.
Those ambitious folks at SpaceX aren’t going to let American enterprise sit out the new space race. They’ve requested permission to test out a vertical take-off and landing rocket system at their test site in McGregor, Texas.
Although building on existing systems, like their Merlin engines, this is a new area of space flight for them. Previously they’ve focused on the more traditional approach of single-use rockets.
Recently, Jeff Bezos backed Blue Origin, tried a similar test, which ended in a crash after attaining 45,000 feet of altitude.
Both programs are very similar to the McDonnell Douglas DC-X single-stage vertical take-off and landing program which was abandoned in the 1990’s.
Welcome to the big leagues Ireland. You’ve just confirmed your first ever case of spontaneous human combustion!
The pioneer went by the name Michael Faherty, he was 76.
“This fire was thoroughly investigated and I’m left with the conclusion that this fits into the category of spontaneous human combustion, for which there is no adequate explanation,” he said.
This would also represent the first confirmed spontaneous human combustion case this decade.
Simone Allyne is the Weird Things eBook reviewer focusing on readily available, affordable Science Fiction and Fantasy. If you have a book you’d like reviewed, please email WeirdThingsMail@Gmail
Imagine a world a millennia from our current time line. Humanity is still engaged in warfare, but now has it down almost to an exact science. Government-funded armies still exist, however there are also independent mercenary groups for hire ready to engage in campaigns. In this enjoyable sci-fi action and adventure, author Jed Fisher has conjured up an entire universe in such detail that the reader can easily become engrossed in it.
First Enlistment: War for Profit Part One follows a group of boys fresh from one of many military academies, as they enlist for their first taste of warfare. First Enlistment, the first book of three currently in the War for Profit series, focuses on the details of soldiering; for example weapons training, and tactics. In particular, the author focuses on a cadet’s mission inside a tank and the technical knowhow that goes along with it.
The book is very action oriented, and draws heavily on the author’s military background. As I continued reading, I found myself thinking of this book as a sci-fi inspired telling of Full Metal Jacket. The story focuses very heavily on military themes, and very little on the backgrounds of its characters. It does not delve into how or why they ended up on different planets that don’t seem to be located in our galaxy. This however is not necessarily a detriment to the story though, as readers with similar interests will feel right at home, but I would have liked some of those other elements to be more fleshed out.
I liked the author’s story line and the characters were more or less believable. I did feel that the characters were not quite developed enough. It’s hard for me to put my finger on it, but the writing seemed “light,” incomplete, not quite enough depth. This book is also a little fast paced at times, and clear time frames that might have helped with this have been left out. It holds up like any good science fiction and I think you will enjoy this book.
So if you enjoy military and or sci-fi stories I know you will not be disappointed with First Enlistment: War for Profit Part One.
A feral child in the woods of Germany lead the Gang into a rousing conversation that eventually ends with Hitler running a magical chocolate factory. Brian is tasked with stocking a new theme park with the most deadly animals on the planet, his choice for an apex predator leaves much to be desired. Justin justifies his belief in elves.
Support the show by purchasing Andrew’s new book The Chronological Man: The Monster In The Mist for only 99¢ at Amazon.com by clicking the image below!
Ghostbuster, Blues Brother, UFOlogy advocate: Dan Aykroyd.
The comedic titan has remolded himself in recent years as not only a hawker of Crystal Head vodka but a celebrity endorser of UFO research. What follows is a brief tour trough Aykroyd’s opinions on the matter including his eight-part Unplugged documentary opus.
Above we see the most recent interview with DA at a Crystal Head signing. A self-confessed spiritualist, Aykroyd’s most refined passions in the research community surrounding unexplained flying objects. In the interview (in which Aykroyd rattles off a who’s who of UFOlogists and gives props to up and coming research teams) he mentions his 2005 UFO doc Unplugged which cemented the actor’s place in the UFO community.
Simone Allyne is the Weird Things eBook reviewer focusing on readily available, affordable Science Fiction and Fantasy. If you have a book you’d like reviewed, please email WeirdThingsMail@Gmail
If you are looking for intriguing characters, antagonists with a very plausible attack on society, and fast moving plot that will leave you holding on for the next turn, then Thermals by Evan C. Currie is for you!
With a fascinating premise, characters that evolve, and science that has me wishing for tomorrow, Evan’s novel delivered a great read that had me waiting for the next adventure of Anselm.
When Interpol Inspector Anselm Gunnar assigned the job of tracking down one of the world’s most wanted eco terrorists, he is expecting the job to be a straightforward liaison assignment with the local police. However, the inspector is about to learn that the man everyone thinks is hiding from the law is actually planning something much worse then any thing he has in the past.
The story builds logically from the methodical actions of one agent to a frantic skirmish involving a large number of characters both good and evil. Both the villains and the heroes are well written and intelligent, lending the main characters Amir and Anselm believability.
The science behind the power generation, and detailed descriptions make the Tower an intriguing and edgy backdrop to this story of bio-terrorism. The science fiction elements are fairly light, very near-future stuff.
Thermals is a fast moving near future thriller about terrorism that will keep you turning the pages as fast as your eReader, and your eyes can. From the start it builds to a rising crescendo that will leave you winded and cheering.
Without delving into the debate on how it’s happening, most reasonable people can agree the world is getting warmer.
If we want it cooler, we are going to have to do something about it. Sure, we could all drive electric cars to our self-sustaining farm communes where we split an organic zucchini soufflé with Ed Begley, Jr. Or we can just stick a hose in the air (as if we don’t ca-re) and pump sulfates into the atmosphere, simulating a volcano eruption, cooling the planet in the process.
The latter is code named SPICE (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering) and will undergo it’s first test this next month when a hose suspended one kilometer in the air will pump water into the atmosphere. Although geoengineering strategies have been tested before, researchers believe this to be the most cost effective option should the results come back favorable.
A sudden bright spot in the night changed colors from blue to orange before streaking across the sky and disappearing has caused hysteria amongst residents in California, Arizona and beyond.
While many scientists are pegging the light show as the result of a basketball sized piece of interplanetary debris burning up through our atmosphere, we are not so quick to agree. While a spaceship seems unlikely, a secret military satellite being blown out of orbit (as posited in the beginning of Andrew Mayne’s debut novel Public Enemy Zero) and crashing down to Earth could work. From the picture posted above, we also can’t rule out that dozens of sitcom stars had simultaneous given a poignant piece of advice and the resulting streak was simply a The More You Know punctuation.
Simone Allyne is the Weird Things eBook reviewer focusing on readily available, affordable Science Fiction and Fantasy. If you have a book you’d like reviewed, please email WeirdThingsMail@Gmail
It’s not often that a book brings me to tears, but The Old Man and the Waste Land by Nick Cole did just that. Cole’s writing is so incredibly beautiful you cannot help but cry over the awe inducing descriptions of a sunset… only to realize that it’s a sunset in post apocalyptica.
The Old Man and the Waste Land is the story of the destruction of civilization where man is reduced to salvaging the ruins of a post apocalyptic world. A survivor of the Nuclear Holocaust journeys into the unknown, with the words of Hemingway’s The Old Man and Sea echoing in his head, to prove to himself that he is still somehow useful.
Even the way Cole describes the “Horde” that develops out of a now lawless society is full of awe and wonder. All of it is so exquisitely written that you cannot help but feel that you are there in that very situation experiencing it for yourself.
Cole’s story is also one of survival and endurance. The Old Man must use his wits to survive the desert wilderness and lawless inhabitants of what is left of our world to discover the truth behind Hemingway’s classic tale of man versus nature.
I cannot say enough about how beautiful Cole’s prose is! He tells a story in such a way that you become immediately emotionally connected to the main character. You find yourself holding your breath when things are not going well for The Old Man. You root and cheer for him in the hope that even though society as we know it has been destroyed, The Old Man and his village can be rebuilt and start anew.
I urge you, no I demand that you go out and buy The Old Man and the Waste Land! You will not be disappointed!
Simone Allyne is the Weird Things eBook reviewer focusing on readily available, affordable Science Fiction and Fantasy. If you have a book you’d like reviewed, please email WeirdThingsMail@Gmail
Even evil villains need help, and when they do they hire Edwin Windsor, Evil Efficiency Consultant. Edwin’s job is to help make the villains more villainous or at the very least more profitable.
Patrick E. McLean’s story, How to Succeed in Evil reads like a how-to guide on achieving evil through any means. Edwin is frustrated with the lack of good super villains as clients, and has had to settle for D list villains whom he finds incredibly frustrating and haven’t helped with the bottom line of his business.
My reason for reading this book was purely self-centered. Lately I had been feeling my plans for world domination had been lacking that…je ne sais quoi. I started reading in hopes of finding some pointers as to what I needed to do to bring my game to the next level, along the lines of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy, Carnage from Spiderman, Sinister from The X-Men or HIM from the Power Puff Girls…
… And I was not disappointed.
Edwin Windsor has no qualms telling his clientele what they are doing is wrong. He beautifully explains why world domination has not been theirs yet with an eloquence all his own. He gives great advice as to what is the most important part of being an evil villain… money! Money is what makes the world go ‘round.
Your plan to take over the world involves building a giant laser in space and then aim it at Washington D.C.? You’re going to need a lot of money to do that. But when Edwin’s current client refuses to listen to him he decides it’s time to appeal to his deeper needs.
McLean’s story is full of bigger then life characters, both literally and figuratively. Wait until you meet Topper! They just jump off the page at you while you read about their inner most desires, needs for revenge and plans for ruling all of mankind.
So if you’re like me, and feeling your plans for world domination are lacking, How to Succeed in Evil is a must read!
In the post World War II era the future seemed like a wonderful place full of atomic-powered wonders. A Future World unspoiled by pollution, radiation or flower children. Lets examine the promises and realities of that vision of the Past’s Future.
1) Flying Cars
It seems that every vision of the future had one of these ,a trend that even trancended the fifties all the way to modern sci-fi Films. An there was reason to hope. Even Ford got into the flying car designing bussiness.
The Promise:
The Reality:
Although we still have no flying cars in every garage, many pioneers and design firms are hard at work trying to make
this particular conceit of Science Fiction a reality. One of the most advanced endeavour comes from Moller International and it is called the Volantor. It is about to undergo extensive flight testing. Who knows in a few years, were we are going, we wont need “Roads.”
2) Death Rays
No futuristic vista would be complete without early vision of the Death Ray. Diorama, movies or science fiction literature the terrifying device was ubiquitous. Wielded by the good guy, or more likely, the evil alien invader. The future was going to be dominated burly men in tights toting these around.
The Promise:
The Reality:
Today lasers are in every conceivable human device. There are lasers in Blu Ray players and CD players. They are used to heal skin and even in communications. Chances are that you are watching this though an internet connection that relies on lasers as the main driver for fiber optics. And although you can take an industrial cutting laser and aim it at a person, it is far better to use it to precision cut glass or steel.
3) Killer Robots
The 40s and 50s image of The Future would not be complete without the helpful robot about to turn evil. The future would be a place where machines in the shape of men would run amok throught the coming centuries. From the epic RUR by Capek : “The product of the human brain has escaped the control of human hands.”
The Promise:
The Reality:
Robotics are one of modern societies greatest assets. Again, like the death ray (AKA laser) we have found ways to shape and use robots in all kinds of capacities from the lowly inkjet printer to the giant A380 passenger plane. They are all around us. Computer controlled mechanical devices perform all kinds of tasks mostly for the benefit of mankind. The build our cars and do our laundry and yes they even aid in the exploration of Space. Although one could argue that smartbombs and cruise missiles are indeed killer Robots, most perform quietly and wait for the right moment to strike. We’re on to you Roomba!
4) Space Travel
Perhaps the Personification of the future in the Atomic Age, space travel was everywhere. It was a promise that almost delivered. Take a look at my hero, Walt Disney, telling us what the future held back in 1952.
The Promise:
The Reality:
Although we now face an uncertain future in Space travel the past 50 years have been amazing and in many ways up to the standards of earlier generation’s expectations. Here is a reminder:
And there we have it. It seems that the world of tomorrow is indeed here. The problem is that it happened gradually. There are, of course, all manner of wonders that were never thought of by the visionaries of the Atomic Age. I only hope that we manage to escape the fears and we accomplish the aspirations of those who believed in The World of Tomorrow. Oh well, let me take my vacuum tube elevator to my garage on the roof. I have a Pan Am flight to catch to The Moon. Mustn’t Keep the Clavius Monolith waiting.
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