Well, I was re-reading a cool book - one that I remember from my early 20s called "Nature's End" by James Kunetka and Whitley Strieber, lo and behold I discover that one of the authors, Streiber, has revealed the greatest unknown fear from his life with a book published back in 1988 called Communion: A True Story.

I didn't know this, but it was on the New York Times bestseller list for seven months after publication.

It is the implausible story of his having been in contact with (to quote the dustjacket copy) "intelligent nonhuman beings in his isolated cabin in upstate New York." Encounters with "visitors" which, Strieber alleges, have been occurring throughout his lifetime.

Since the book was published, the subject of abductions by alien or "nonhuman" beings has brought forth a flurry of new books on the subject - thanks X-Files! - but Strieber's best-selling volume has faded from discussion.

Thisstory gets weirder, though, according to Wikipedia he refers to the beings as "the visitors," a name chosen to be as neutral as possible, and leaves open the possibility that they are not extraterrestrials and even that they exist only in his mind.

Since the book was published, he has repeatedly expressed his frustration with what he feels are fantastic claims incorrectly attributed to him.

Strieber went on to write three more books about his experiences with the visitors, Transformation (1988), Breakthrough (1995), and The Secret School (1996). Each was commercially less successful than the last, and all three are now out of print. I haven't read any of them, but am trying to track down some copies.

Interesingly, moreso - according to Wikipedia - Strieber co-authored The Coming Global Superstorm (1999), a book about the possibility of rapid and destructive climate change, with Art Bell. He has said that it was based largely on things the Master of the Key had told him about the environment. The book served as the inspiration for the disaster film The Day After Tomorrow (2004), and Strieber later wrote a novelization of that movie.

 This is the best sci-fi related news I've read all day! Sci-fi Writers Pournelle and Niven have more imagination and brainpower in their fingernails than the Department of Defense!

Pournelle especially. The man's resume' and collaborations are a "who's who" of modern strategic warfare. Google "Project Thor" or "A Step Farther Out" to see an example of how these people think about real-world problems. Or just go to Pournelle's web blog (started in 1999) and you'll see that asking people like these their opinions is a step in the right direction. http://www.jerrypournelle.com/:

Oh, and they also happen to be excellent writers. Gotta pay the bills...

USA Today has reported in "Sci-fi writersjoin war on terror" that a small group of science fiction writers have been contacted by the U.S. government to advise on new and innovative ways that security could be improved. The group, called Sigma, was formed about 15 years ago by writer Arlan Andrews and was specifically intended to advise the government on advanced technology issues.

Their motto seems ominous in context of recent-history political trends and frighteningly nationalistic: "Science Fiction in the National Interest". I think their involvement is a bit horrifying, misguided, and more than a bit egotistically self-grandiose. Read on for more details.

Six writers - nicknamed the "Sigma Six", after "Six Sigma" (a set of practices for reducing defects through process improvements - see related Dilbert cartoon), met with the Homeland Security group with members of the government's High Impact Technology Solutions ("HITS") program leaders to speculate on innovative ways that technology could improve the government's ability to monitor individuals, identify and assess threats. The six writers involved were Greg Bear, Sage Walker, and Arlan Andrews, Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, and Yoji Kondo "Eric Kotani" (USA Today apparently failed to mention Kondo's involvement).

And if this doesn't work, they're going to try using romance novel writers to battle terrorism!

Got a recommendation for you folks , really something different. It's from Australian comedy science fiction writer Ian Taylor, author of the popular Spindle series, has just won the 2007 Indie Excellence Award for Science Fiction.  Spindle, the 2005 comedy science fiction novel by Ian Taylor, has won the 2007 Indie Excellence Award in the Science Fiction category.

Spindle tells the story of Peter Turner, a 22nd-century Earth guy who joins the Space Force, expecting an exciting and fun new career enforcing justice around the galaxy. But the Space Force is a bureaucracy like any large company, and right away they get Peter's name wrong, assign him to a dilapidated ship—he Spindle—and partner him with a violent misanthrope with a serious dislike for authority.

In his first week, Peter is shot at, maimed, beaten up and endures several cruel remarks about his hair. Also, there's a monster that eats planets. Peter must use all of his cunning, experience, his Master's degree in trivia and more than a bit of ingenuity just to survive his first week in the Space Force.

This hilarious satire manages to mock all the sacred cows of modern science fiction while maintaining a compelling futuristic narrative.

 A good read—thoroughly recommended

Scifi and fantasy are my greatest loves when it comes to what I read, admittedly, however, there is a hell of a lot of science fiction and and fantasy that I simply don't understand.

A lot of it seems to center aroung the technology or science and the characters play second fiddle-that's just not the way it's supposed to work. I prefer a story that take seriously character development, while the genre-specific elements of the story serve as backdrop.

Some mistake the setting with the crux or message of the story, a scifi 'setting' will often result in poor character development, plot lines, etc.

This rant is a product of my strufggling to read Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. In my opinion, it is an uneven (and unwieldy) book-not only that, but I am disappointed with the ending. Bah!