William H. DeSmedt is an American author of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

. His

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''Singularity'' (2004), explores the 1908

Tunguska event The Tunguska event (occasionally also called the Tunguska incident) was an approximately 12- megaton explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate (now Krasnoyarsk Krai), Russia, on the morning of June 3 ...

and the speculative hypothesis that it was caused by a submicroscopic,

primordial black hole Primordial black holes (also abbreviated as PBH) are hypothetical black holes that formed soon after the Big Bang. Due to the extreme environment of the newly born universe, extremely dense pockets of sub-atomic matter had been tightly packed t ...

. Although ''Singularity'' is a work of

, in the tradition of Michael Crichton, its premise is anchored in real-world science. In penning ''Singularity'', Bill also drew on a deep knowledge of the Russian language, politics and culture, first acquired during eighteen months at the

Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...

in Monterey, California, and added to while a US–USSR exchange student at Moscow State University. He also holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Soviet Area Studies, and a Master of Science (M.S.) in Computer Science.

Fiction

Awards

* Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Awards: Winner – Gold Medal for Science Fiction, 2005 (''Singularity'') * Independent Publishers Association: Winner – Ippy prize for Best Fantasy/Science Fiction novel, 2004 (''Singularity'') * Publishers Marketing Association: Finalist – Ben Franklin “Best New Voice” Award, 2005 (''Singularity'')

Scientific concepts

In his

, ''Singularity'' (2004), discusses the long-disparaged hypothesis that the devastation of the

Tunguska basin The Tunguska Basin is a sedimentary basin, in Siberia. Geography Much of the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province is inside. The area is of about in Krasnoyarsk Territory and Sakha Republic, between the Yenisei and Lena rivers. It contains ...

in 1908 was caused by a submicroscopic,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Desmedt, Bill 21st-century American novelists American science fiction writers American thriller writers Techno-thriller writers Living people Defense Language Institute alumni American male novelists 21st-century American male writers Year of birth missing (living people)