Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Writers Digest Books (1996), Hardcover, 226 pages
Description
Teaches writers how to use real scientific knowledge of our universe to create more convincing extraterrestrial life forms in their science fiction or fantasy novel.
User reviews
LibraryThing member slothman
A good survey of the matters one must keep in mind when building alien beings and alien societies. It's more of a collection of starting points rather than a treasure trove of ideas. Schmidt gives good advice on exposition as well as worldbuilding.
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
This is from the Science Fiction Writing Series, and is geared towards those interested in writing science fiction, although I actually think this would be of interest to the general science fiction reader. According to the biography in the back, Stanley Schmidt was the editor of Analogue Science
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Fiction & Fact, has a Ph.D. in physics and has taught both physics and science fiction at the college level. So he's definitely well qualified to write this book--one on plausible world-building that illuminates the issues you'd have to take into account in creating well-thought out aliens. I love the suggested reading in the back--"A Xenologist's Bookshelf" made up of both non-fiction and fiction. Although both the reading and the science presented might be a little dated since this book was published in 1995. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1995
Physical description
226 p.; 9.33 inches
ISBN
0898797063 / 9780898797060