Ah, the question that has puzzled many a seeker of the truth:  IS THE LOCH NESS MONSTER REAL? This topic has captured the imaginations of people around the world, from curious tourists to seasoned researchers. Now, there's no real way to know for sure if it's real or not. Some people believe that there really is a creature living in the depths of the loch, while others think the sightings are just hoaxes or mistaken identity. But what would a philosopher have to say about this mysterious creature? Let's take one of the world's most well know philosophers Plato  THE PERFECT CHAIR Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher (around 400 BCE) thought knowledge was a mix of senses and reason. Many consider him to be the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy. His philosophy covered a wide range of topics, from metaphysics and epistemology to ethics and politics. One of the central ideas in Plato's philosophy was his theory of Forms. According to this theory,...

There are two things about this book that I really like: The first is Verner Vinge's take on the Fermi Paradox and the second are the Tines, an alien race he created for the story. [Would you rather watch the video edition of this post? - releasing soon.] I love reading Science Fiction and Fantasy stories and one of my favourite things about these books are all the different non-human races that we encounter. In Fantasy it’s normally just a handful of races like Elves and Dwarfs, but in Science Fiction there is an unlimited amount of different alien races out there… but what about in real life? In real life… Have you ever wondered where all the aliens are? Have you ever been looking at the stars and wondered ‘Are we alone in the universe ?’ If so you’re not alone. There has been a lot of discussion about this topic by people from all walks of life including philosophers, scientist and writers. In fact this discussion has a name: The Fermi Paradox. The Fermi Para...

Bibliophiles who love a good mystery, or conspiracy, should be familiar with the Voynich Manuscript. In the article that follows I’ll take you through a quick overview on this mystery and then provide you with some links for further reading. Enjoy! The mysterious Voynich Manuscript has been hanging around for almost 500 years, most of that time it was lost among a private collection but is now the focus of intense of scrutiny. It is famous for being written in an unknown language or code which, so far, has yet to been deciphered. The Voynich manuscript, or Beinecke Ms. 408, is thought to be the only medieval document on the planet in that category. This handwritten codex famous for its indecipherable language also contains drawings of strange plants, Zodiac star charts, and what looks like women bathing in green water.

Remember when science fiction was about a future you wouldn't be terrified to live in? Well, the series we're looking at in this video is a light hearted and fun science fiction series which shows such a future. So if you're after a science fiction novel that doesn't take itself seriously, but one that's not as ridiculous as hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. This could be the series for you. Watch the video review here.  

I want to share with you a simple productivity tip that can help anyone get ahead in our ever changing world. If you follow my advice, you’ll be more agile at work and in your personal life. [Would you rather watch the video edition of this post? - releasing soon.] There are plenty of articles and books about productivity and how to get ahead in the life and business. I’ve read quite a few and could probably write a book on productivity even though I’m no CEO or motivational speaker.

The winner of the 2018 Hugo Awards has been announced and it's as follows: Best Novel THE STONE SKY by N.K. Jemisin The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women. Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe. For Nassun, her mother's mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed Best Novella ALL SYSTEMS RED by Martha Wells "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure." On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid ― a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “M...

The Arthur C. Clarke Award winner was announced last month from a short-list of six. This award was originally established by a generous grant from Sir Arthur C. Clarke with the aim of promoting science fiction in Britain. The annual award is presented for the best science fiction novel of the year, and selected from a list of novels whose UK first edition was published in the previous calendar year. The winner is Dreams Before the Start of Time by author Anne Charnock

I’ve been reading a lot of ‘ how-to ’ books on writing novels recently, the majority of them talk about creating an outline even before writing the first draft. For those of us who have attempted this sort of thing it does make sense. Step 1: Create and outline of your story, know where and when everything will happen. Step 2: Write your first draft, don’t worry about spelling mistakes or typo’s just let your creative voice have free reign so you can get the story out there. As Joanna Penn says ‘ splurge on words and ideas ’ in this first draft. Step 3: Spent time editing. That is using your critical voice, correcting the spelling mistakes and typo’s, rewriting and polishing the story. The problem is that we spend a lot of time on step 1 and never seem to be able to finish.

The three  Shadow World  short stories have proven to be quite popular on this blog and I thank you for your interest. I have moved this series of short stories to my  Wattpad  profile. You can read them   HERE . I would really appreciate if you would ' vote ' on each chapter. To do this just tap or click on the star icon. Doing this will support my work by getting it out to more people. If you never heard of  Wattpad  before, don't worry you can read my stories on the same device you are currently viewing my website.   Wattpad  it is community for readers. It also helps writers to publish stories in so many different genres. It aims to create social communities around stories for both amateur and established writers. When I was younger I tried my hand at writing short stories, but gave up before turning 20. You can find a shorten version of why in this article . I thought I had lost all of this work until rece...

Welcome to the weekend, first up a question, what are you currently reading? Let me know in the comments below or on my Facebook page,  The BistroMath , I'm interested in knowing. I'm just about to finish off Legacy (First Colony Book 3) by Ken Lozito , which has been an interesting military science fiction series, I've really enjoyed it. I have a classic The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett   lined up next and am slowly working my way through another classic The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis . In the article first up this week, Nature asked six prominent sci-fi writers to reflect on what the genre has to offer at the end of an extraordinary year (2017). It's an interesting read. We also look at the possibility of getting a Star Trek replicator, or at least it's forerunner, in the near future plus some more book, movie and space related stuff. So when it's time to relax this weekend, grab your favourite beverage and have a read of the following artic...

Welcome once again, this week there are two articles on writing science fiction. Both Angus McIntyre (author of The Warrior Within ) and Richard Morgan (author of Altered Carbon ) share where they got inspiration for their stories. There's also an update on a real life space station nation in the making and some discussion about e-Readers and Amazon reviews. Some interesting sfuff if you're interested in reading. So when it's time to relax this weekend, grab your favourite beverage and have a read of the following articles.

An Old Story Set a thousand years into the future, Issac Asimov imagines an overcrowded Earth where humanity is packed like sardines into large domed mega-cities with a ridged social structures. The huge population has created a strain on Earths remaining resources and in order to allievate that we set out to colonize the galaxy but this only created a bigger problem. Humanity has now split into two factions, those who stayed behind, Earthmen, and those who ventured out into the galaxy, Spacers. Spacers have what Earthmen need, resources and Earthmen have what Spacers need, a large population needed for a work force. After utilising the positronic brain to create Robots and fulfil the need for a larger workforce, Spacers believe themselves to be far superior to the timid stay-at-home Earthmen. When Spacers return to Earth, 'take control' and release Robots into Earths workforce their already strained relations fray even further. Robots are cheap labour and are taking ...

If you heard about a movie so good that no other entertainment could compete with it, would you watch it? If you knew it would destroy your life because after watching it all you would want to do is watch it again repeatedly and if not watching it talk only about it... would you still watch it? That's the topic our first article explores, it's a difficult one to answer. Next up there are two articles, each to balance the other, they discuss opposing viewpoints of whether to be pro-library or anti-library, both have some good points of view and need to be considered. And there's more, so when you've found a quite time this weekend, grab your favourite beverage and enjoy reading more, and thinking more.

image source Several years ago when I heard Disney had acquired the Star Wars franchise and were planing on releasing a movie every year for the next 80 years (or so) I was excited. During the 70's, my formative years, there was plenty of science fiction franchises on TV which kept me going, like Blakes 7, Doctor Who, Logans Run and Battlestar Galactica but Star Wars: A New Hope was my absolute favourite movie, I couldn't get enough of it and all the merchandise. I still have my collection of figurines, minus the guns and plastic capes. It wasn't until I watched the remakequel, The Force Awakens that I realised nostalgia wasn't going to get me through the next 80 years of Disney's Star Wars. I felt a little deflated but still enjoyed the movie, even though the death of Han Solo still brings a tear to my eye. Rogue One turned up and I was expecting to be disappointed, but enjoyed the film, even though a lot of others didn't. Then came The Last Jedi...

Looking Back - The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2017 Today my children were discussing time travel and what might be needed to do so, my daughter decided all she needed was ' Some soft comfy cushions for the floor and something to snuggle in case you get scared! ' What great advice! Lets do some time travelling ourselves by taking a look back over 2017 and see what the best selling Science Fiction and Fantasy books were. I've reviewed Amazon's and Barnes and Noble's best selling list and compiled a list of the top five . Two omissions which I was surprised didn't make the list was Nineteen Eighty Four , where sales of this book rose, in January 2017, these sales were seven times more than same time last year, 2016, and also The Handmaid’s Tale which Amazon Charts listed as the Most Read book of 2017. I've only read the last book on the list, Norse Mythology , but most of these are on my list of books to read in the near future. Which on...

Are we ' improving ' ourselves to death? That's the topic our first article looks at. With the glut of self-improvement books and guru's out there today it's interesting to step back and take a look at this ' from the outside '. Check out the greatest books of all times, as voted by one hundred and twenty five authors, it's interesting to see what's in there and what's not. For the writers out there, I have two articles, one about creating a coherent fantasy language and the four elements of Epic story telling, but good reads. And in technology this week we meet the 89 year old man who is updating an old idea about moving trains from A to B. So when you have some time to relax this weekend, grab your favourite beverage and have a read through the following articles.

Agatha Christie meets George Orwell ... a fascinating and original plot Publishers Weekly Another dystopian novel, for lovers of conspiracy and thrillers. The Dying Game is set in 2037 of an alternative future, and looks to have shades of And Then There Were None (by Agatha Christie) Take a bit of alternate history, a dose of The Hunger Games, a little Handmaid’s Tale, and dash of Orwell and Dave Eggers’ The Circle, and you’d have The Dying Game. Set in a near-future dystopia where the Soviet Union never fell, the novel centers on Anna Francis, a bureaucrat assigned to observe the participants of a top secret intelligence project. Six candidates are locked in a house and told a murderer is among them – who will take control, who will crack under the pressure, and more importantly is anyone safe? If you've read it let me know what you think. A deliciously creepy novel revolving around a terrific paradigm shift: The job you think you’re doing? That’s not the jo...

Welcome to Weekend Reads, the Science Fiction and Fantasy community had some sad news this week with the passing of Ursula K. Le Guin , probably best know as the author of A Wizard of Earthsea . She has received many awards including the Hugo, Nebula and National Book Award to name a few. You can find out more about her here on goodreads . The first article this week is from one of my favourite blogs, Tor.com and takes a look at Ursula K. Le Guin writings and gives you something to really think about. Next up there is an article on how NOT to read this year but Jon Bloom . In it he argues that what you read will shape not only what you think, but how you think. Life is short so you need to be discerning in what you read this year. Some food for thought it aligns with what I try to promote here on this blog. There is also a tech and science article which may blow your mind and change how you look at the earth and driver-less technology. So when it's time to relax this...

I recommend that you lay your hands on a copy. Ann Leckie Dystopian fiction has seen a rise in popularity over the last year and if you're looking for a dystopian novel which feels like it's doing something different, this may be the novel for you. Here is a story with an intriguing premise: objects in this universe have to be constantly recognised and named otherwise they disappear. They need to be labelled for their function otherwise they cease to be useful, for example, a chair has to be label 'chair' or it turns to goo. The residents have to be constantly vigilant lest they lose important possessions. In this world where physical objects are temporary the inhabitants react to this by creating a  rigid and unchanging society.  You've got to admit that sounds pretty interesting. An instant classic. Jeff VanderMeer

Welcome, I hope your all having a good week. This week I have a collection of articles about writing. There's one about who could possibily fill J.R.R Tolkien's shoes, or at least who is almost as good. Speaking of fantasy writers I've included 15 tips of writing advice from C.S. Lewis. There's also some articles I've found interesting about generating ideas (not something I have problem with) and some tips on how to create a writing habits (something I do have a problem with). So hopefully there'll be some interesting reading for both writers and readers alike. But before starting on these articles have a read of my latest post Cryptic, Ambiguous and Hypnotic - The Gunslinger , where I come to the conclusion that this is a book more for writers or aspiring writers, than readers. Enjoy!