Desolation Road
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Desolation Road
''Desolation Road'' is a 1988 science fiction novel written by Ian McDonald. It was McDonald's first published novel. The plot takes place on a far future Mars in a town that develops around an oasis in the terraformed Martian desert. McDonald published a sequel, ''Ares Express'', in 2001. Plot In the future, scientist Dr. Alimantando is trekking across the desert of a terraformed Mars and meets a humanoid "greenperson", who claims to have traveled through time to make sure Alimantando is in the right place at the right time to fulfill his destiny. It comes in the form of a 700-year-old sentient ROTECH environmental engineering module, or orph, which lies dying in the desert. It bequeaths itself and its resources to Dr. Alimantando, who dismantles the machine and uses its components to build his own oasis in the desert, which he names Desolation Road (instead of Destination Road) after consuming too much wine. Over time, several people find themselves at this settlement in the ...
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Ian McDonald (British Author)
Ian McDonald (born 1960) is a British science fiction novelist, living in Belfast. His themes include nanotechnology, postcyberpunk settings, and the impact of rapid social and technological change on non-Western societies. Early life Ian McDonald was born in 1960, in Manchester, to a Scottish father and Irish mother. He moved to Belfast when he was five and has lived there ever since. He lived through the whole of the 'Troubles' (1968–1999), and his sensibility has been permanently shaped by coming to understand Northern Ireland as a post-colonial society imposed on an older culture. Career McDonald sold his first story to a local Belfast magazine when he was 22, and in 1987 became a full-time writer. He has also worked in TV consultancy within Northern Ireland, contributing scripts to the Northern Irish Sesame Workshop production of '' Sesame Tree''. McDonald's debut novel was ''Desolation Road'' (1988), which takes place on a far future Mars in a town that develops around ...
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The Catherine Wheel (album)
''The Catherine Wheel'' is David Byrne's musical score commissioned by Twyla Tharp for her dance project. ''The Catherine Wheel'' premiered September 22, 1981, at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. The tracks "Big Blue Plymouth", "My Big Hands", "Big Business", and "What a Day That Was", were performed live by Talking Heads in 1982 and 1983; the latter two appear in their ''Stop Making Sense'' film, and "What a Day That Was" appears on the album. Byrne has also performed several of these tracks in his solo tours, including "What a Day That Was" which featured on his DVDs Live from Austin, TX and Live at Union Chapel. Track listing All songs written by David Byrne, except as indicated. LP track listing Cassette and CD track listing Personnel *Adrian Belew – electric guitar, steel guitar, sound effects, steel drums, beats *David Byrne – synthesizer, bass guitar, flute, guitar, piano, sound effects, vocals, clavinet, Prophet synthesizer, Oberheim synt ...
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Terraforming
Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make it habitable for humans to live on. The concept of terraforming developed from both science fiction and actual science. Carl Sagan, an astronomer, proposed the planetary engineering of Venus in 1961, which is considered one of the first accounts of the concept. The term was coined by Jack Williamson in a science-fiction short story ("Collision Orbit") published in 1942 in ''Astounding Science Fiction'', although terraforming in popular culture may predate this work. Even if the environment of a planet could be altered deliberately, the feasibility of creating an unconstrained planetary environment that mimics Earth on another planet has yet to be verified. While Venus, Earth, Mars, and even the Moon have been studied in relation to the ...
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Novels By Ian McDonald
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the histori ...
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Novels Set On Mars
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the historic ...
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Debut Science Fiction Novels
Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The Debut'' (1977 film), or ''Het debuut'' by Nouchka van Brakel * ''The Debut'' (2000 film), a Filipino–American drama film * ''Debut'' (film), a 2017 Belarusian documentary film * "The Debut" (''The O.C.'' episode), 2003 Music * Debut Records, an American jazz record label * ''Debut'' (Björk album), 1993 * ''Debut'' (Zoë album), 2015 * ''The Debut'' (album), a 2019 album by Jackie Evancho * ''Debut Album'' (Sayuri Ishikawa album), 1973 * ''Debut'', a 1987 album by The Real Group * ''Debut'', a 2004 album by Carol Kidd * ''Debut'', a 2007 album by Brandi Disterheft * ''Debut'', a 1991 album by Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band * ''Debut'', a 1992 album by Sarah Chang, 1992 * ''Debut: The Clef/Mercury Duo Recordings 1949-1951'', a 2 ...
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British Science Fiction Novels
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *'' Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also * Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Briton ( ...
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1988 Science Fiction Novels
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicentennial on January 26; The 1988 Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea; Soviet troops begin their withdrawal from Afghanistan, which is completed the next year; The 1988 Armenian earthquake kills between 25,000-50,000 people; The 8888 Uprising in Myanmar, led by students, protests the Burma Socialist Programme Party; A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 103, causing the plane to crash down on the town of Lockerbie, Scotland- the event kills 270 people., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Piper Alpha rect 200 0 400 200 Iran Air Flight 655 rect 400 0 600 200 Australian Bicentenary rect 0 200 300 400 Pan Am Flight 103 rect 300 200 600 400 1988 Summer Olympics rect 0 400 200 600 8888 Uprising rect 200 400 400 600 1988 Armenian earthquake rect 40 ...
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1988 British Novels
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian Bicentenary, Bicentennial on January 26; The 1988 Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea; Soviet Union, Soviet troops begin their Soviet-Afghan War, withdrawal from Afghanistan, which is completed the 1989, next year; The 1988 Armenian earthquake kills between 25,000-50,000 people; The 8888 Uprising in Myanmar, led by students, protests the Burma Socialist Programme Party; A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 103, causing the plane to crash down on the town of Lockerbie, Scotland- the event kills 270 people., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Piper Alpha rect 200 0 400 200 Iran Air Flight 655 rect 400 0 600 200 Australian Bicentenary rect 0 200 300 400 Pan Am Flight 103 rect 300 200 600 400 1988 Summer Olympics rect 0 400 200 600 8888 ...
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Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance (August 28, 1916 – May 26, 2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. Though most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance, he also wrote several mystery novels under pen names. Vance won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1984, and he was a Guest of Honor at the 1992 World Science Fiction Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 15th SFWA Grand Master, Grand Master in 1997, and the EMP Museum#Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in 2001, its sixth class of two deceased and two living writers. His most notable awards included Hugo Awards in 1963 for ''The Dragon Masters'', in 1967 for ''The Last Castle (novella), The Last Castle'', and in 2010 for his memoir ''This Is Me, Jack Vance!''; the Nebula Award in 1966, also for ''The Last Castle''; the Jupiter Award (science fiction award), Jupiter Award in 1975 and the ...
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Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fiction, mystery, and Literary fiction, realistic fiction. Bradbury wrote many works and is widely known by the general public for his novel ''Fahrenheit 451'' (1953) and his short-story collections ''The Martian Chronicles'' (1950) and ''The Illustrated Man'' (1951). Most of his best known work is speculative fiction, but he also worked in other genres, such as the coming of age novel ''Dandelion Wine'' (1957) and the fictionalized memoir ''Green Shadows, White Whale'' (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including ''Moby Dick (1956 film), Moby Dick'' and ''It Came from Outer Space''. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. ''The New York Times'' called B ...
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David Byrne
David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has released solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography, opera, fiction, and non-fiction. He has received an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, and he is an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Talking Heads. Early life David Byrne was born on 14 May 1952 in Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, the elder of two children born to Tom (from Lambhill, Glasgow) and Emma Byrne. Byrne's father was Catholic and his mother Presbyterian. Two years after his birth, the family moved to Canada, settling in Hamilton, Ontario. The family left Scotland in part because there were few jobs requiring his father's engi ...
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