Greg Spry's Blog - Posts Tagged "science-fiction"
The Cool Tech of Beyond Cloud Nine: Gravgel
Hello, everyone! I'm excited to begin a series of posts about a variety of interesting topics.
First up, I thought I'd talk about one piece of cool technology found in my science fiction novel Beyond Cloud Nine. One of the things I love about smart science fiction is tech that's realistically attainable in the future. I've tried my best to create things in BC9 that could really happen because real possibilities are more exciting to me than pure wishful thinking.
In BC9, our heroine, Brooke Davis, is a star fighter pilot who engages in orbital combat. As a member of UN Aerospace Defense, she gets into plenty of intense dogfights. The star fighter craft of the hypothetical twenty-third century setting are capable of much greater speeds and acceleration than 21st century fighter planes. Greater acceleration means a pilot is subjected to greater g-force on the order of hundreds of gees. Such extreme force would crush a human being without some type of advanced protection that hasn't yet been invented.
The solution I came up with is gravity gel, referred to as gravgel for short. Gravgel is based on the real, experimentally-verified notion that liquids provide cushioning against acceleration. I got the idea from the SyFy Channel show Sci-Fi Science a few years ago (I've looked everywhere for clips but I can't find one). In the show, physicist Michio Kaku, the host, visits a lab where scientists place a piece of fruit in a spinning chamber to impart g-force. In air, without any protection, the fruit explodes when subjected to a handful of gees. When placed in a container filled with water, however, the fruit can withstand an order of magnitude more acceleration force.
In the book, gravgel is a clear, viscous, lightweight, and non-stick substance that protects future fighter pilots from the force of extreme acceleration. In the 20th and 21st centuries, filling aircraft or spacecraft with water proved impractical because of weight/mass limitations. In the late 22nd century, however, a scientist invented a gelatinous substance that provided more than ten times the protection of water but with a fraction of the mass. This substance became known as gravgel. Cool, huh?
First up, I thought I'd talk about one piece of cool technology found in my science fiction novel Beyond Cloud Nine. One of the things I love about smart science fiction is tech that's realistically attainable in the future. I've tried my best to create things in BC9 that could really happen because real possibilities are more exciting to me than pure wishful thinking.
In BC9, our heroine, Brooke Davis, is a star fighter pilot who engages in orbital combat. As a member of UN Aerospace Defense, she gets into plenty of intense dogfights. The star fighter craft of the hypothetical twenty-third century setting are capable of much greater speeds and acceleration than 21st century fighter planes. Greater acceleration means a pilot is subjected to greater g-force on the order of hundreds of gees. Such extreme force would crush a human being without some type of advanced protection that hasn't yet been invented.
The solution I came up with is gravity gel, referred to as gravgel for short. Gravgel is based on the real, experimentally-verified notion that liquids provide cushioning against acceleration. I got the idea from the SyFy Channel show Sci-Fi Science a few years ago (I've looked everywhere for clips but I can't find one). In the show, physicist Michio Kaku, the host, visits a lab where scientists place a piece of fruit in a spinning chamber to impart g-force. In air, without any protection, the fruit explodes when subjected to a handful of gees. When placed in a container filled with water, however, the fruit can withstand an order of magnitude more acceleration force.
In the book, gravgel is a clear, viscous, lightweight, and non-stick substance that protects future fighter pilots from the force of extreme acceleration. In the 20th and 21st centuries, filling aircraft or spacecraft with water proved impractical because of weight/mass limitations. In the late 22nd century, however, a scientist invented a gelatinous substance that provided more than ten times the protection of water but with a fraction of the mass. This substance became known as gravgel. Cool, huh?
The World of BC9
This article continues my blog series about the technology, world, plot, characters, and other aspects of Beyond Cloud Nine. This time around, I'll be covering the world/setting of the novel. A number of readers have both praised and questioned the setting of Beyond Cloud Nine, so I thought I'd spend a little time talking about why I created the world the way I did. BC9 begins in the year 2247 AD...Continue reading this post on the Beyond Cloud Nine Blog or Greg Spry's Blog.
BC9 On Sale, Book 2, Mailing List, and More
The digital edition of Beyond Cloud Nine is now on sale for US $0.99 for a limited time. Head to Amazon to pick up your copy before the price goes back up to US $4.99.To be the first to learn about the release of book two, be sure to subscribe to my New Releases and Deals Mailing List for the latest updates on Beyond the Horizon. I also post updates to my Twitter account @GregSpryAuthor on a regular basis. My tentative plan is to publish BTH in early 2016.
Finally, visit the Beyond Cloud Nine Blog and Greg Spry's Blog for the latest posts. I don't always post every article on Goodreads that I post on my blogs.
Happy reading!
The Importance of Reviews
Authors understand the importance of book reviews. Obviously, we want as many positive reviews as possible because they help us sell the next book. Much has been written, researched, and debated about why book reviews are important. For the purpose of this article, I'm going to take their extreme value as a given, so that's not what I want to talk about. Rather, I don't think readers truly get how important their reviews are to everyone else, so consider this an impassioned plea to review each and every book you read, especially self-published/indie books. So much work goes into...
Continue reading The Importance of Reviews on Greg Spry's Blog or The Importance of Reviews on the Beyond Cloud Nine Blog.
The Theme of BC9
This article continues my blog series about the technology, world, plot, characters, and other aspects of Beyond Cloud Nine. This time around, I'll be covering the thematic aspects of the plot. Most readers have told me that the conspiracy in BC9 is plausible and thought-provoking, and the the "alien invasion with a twist" strikes them as something positively different. I aimed to leave these impressions, so I'm thrilled to have other people vindicate my efforts. On the other hand, a small handful of naysayers have questioned or even rolled the eyes at certain aspects.
The question that encompasses the overall theme of the novel is...
Continue reading The Theme of BC9 on Greg Spry's Blog or The Theme of BC9 on the Beyond Cloud Nine Blog.
Space Battles & Star Fighters: Part 1
This article continues my blog series about the technology, world, plot, characters, and other aspects of Beyond Cloud Nine. In this post (part one of two), I'll be covering the realities of real space flight and how fictional space battles should take these factors into account. In the second part (to be posted later), I'll discuss the technology behind the star fighter planes and how that tech helps the fighters cope with these realities. According to the unofficial bylaws of hard science fiction, any discussion of orbital conflict has to begin by recognizing that most popular sci-fi gets it wrong. As much as I loved Star Trek: Into Darkness, I rolled my eyes when the Enterprise fell out of lunar orbit toward the Earth, and you should understand why after reading this article.
The laws of orbital mechanics, otherwise known as astrodynamics, govern motion in space, and various fundamental properties of space lead to orbital results we Earth dwellers might not expect. Let's take a look at the major differences between air travel and space travel. Stick around! It'll be fun, and you might learn something along the way.
Continue reading the rest of this article on Greg Spry's Blog or the Beyond Cloud Nine Blog.
The Cool Tech of BC9: Starthroats
This article continues my blog series about the technology, world, plot, characters, and other aspects of Beyond Cloud Nine. This is the second installment of a two-part post. In this article, I'll be discussing the technology behind the Starthroats (star fighter craft) in the novel and how they cope with the realities of orbital conflict outlined in my previous post on the realities of orbital conflict.I'll be the first to admit that the Starthroats and space battles in BC9 aren't perfect. I allowed myself to embellish a little in the name of excitement as long as I didn't do anything impossible, and I think I did a reasonably good job of creating believable spacecraft and orbital conflict. I have yet to hear one person say the fighter craft are unrealistic or the battles would never happen as portrayed...so far (knock on futuristic smart wood).
One thing that's kind of ironic is the design of the Starthroat on the cover of the novel. I worked with a talented designer on it, and he came up with something very cool. If I were to get nit-picky and technical, though, I'd point out that the cover design is too close to a modern fighter jet, isn't all that space-worthy, and doesn't match my exact description from the novel. Nevertheless, cool is the way to go when you're trying to sell a work of action-packed fiction, so I have no real complaints.
Continue reading the rest of this article on Greg Spry's Blog or the Beyond Cloud Nine Blog.
Beyond Cloud Nine Awards
Congrats to Beyond Cloud Nine, which won the silver medal (second place) in the 2015 Readers' Favorite Awards and placed as a finalist in the 2015 IAN Book of the Year Awards, both in the Science Fiction category. I'm proud to say my book is now an award winner!
Anatomy of a Cover
Hey, folks. I've written a new blog post about the creation process I follow that has led to the snazzy covers for my books, Beyond Cloud Nine and
Beyond the Horizon.
It's been a while since I wrote a blog post, so this one is long overdue. I don't do many posts or spend much time on social media because I'd rather put the little free time I have into the next book.
We're still over three months out from the official publication of Beyond the Horizon in May 2016, yet people have already lavished me with praise regarding the cover. Thanks for that! As a result, I've received a number of questions about what it takes as a self-published author to come up with such an eye-popping design that, in my humble opinion, beats out a lot of traditionally-published covers. Below I'll discuss the process I follow.
As a software developer by daytime trade, I have experience coordinating web design and other software implementation projects. I've worked with graphic designers on creating web sites, and so I approach the cover design process in a similar manner.
In my view, the vision is the most important starting point. Before I could tell a designer what I wanted...
Continue reading the rest of this article on Greg Spry's Blog or the Beyond the Horizon Blog.
Beyond the Horizon.
It's been a while since I wrote a blog post, so this one is long overdue. I don't do many posts or spend much time on social media because I'd rather put the little free time I have into the next book. We're still over three months out from the official publication of Beyond the Horizon in May 2016, yet people have already lavished me with praise regarding the cover. Thanks for that! As a result, I've received a number of questions about what it takes as a self-published author to come up with such an eye-popping design that, in my humble opinion, beats out a lot of traditionally-published covers. Below I'll discuss the process I follow.
As a software developer by daytime trade, I have experience coordinating web design and other software implementation projects. I've worked with graphic designers on creating web sites, and so I approach the cover design process in a similar manner. In my view, the vision is the most important starting point. Before I could tell a designer what I wanted...
Continue reading the rest of this article on Greg Spry's Blog or the Beyond the Horizon Blog.
Press Release: Beyond the Horizon (Beyond Saga Book 2)
We're a little more than two weeks away from the exciting publication of Beyond the Horizon (Beyond Saga Book 2). As is customary for new book releases, I've written a press release to announce the event. Here it is in all its glory:FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Greg Spry, Beyond Innovation Books
AUTHOR OF AWARD-WINNING SCI-FI NOVEL LAUNCHES HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED SEQUEL
"Would you rather be happy living a lie or be miserable knowing the truth?"
Madison, WI, May 1, 2016—Portraying action-packed space combat set in exotic locations throughout the solar system, science fiction author Greg Spry's debut space opera, BEYOND CLOUD NINE, gets the blood pumping while exploring a vexing ethical dilemma. With the release of his second book, BEYOND THE HORIZON, Spry takes the exploration of space and mind to new heights.
In book one, when ace star fighter pilot Brooke Davis gets sucked into a conspiracy she wants no part of...
Read the rest of the press release on any of the following websites:
Greg Spry: Press Release
Beyond the Horizon: Press Release
Beyond Cloud Nine: Press Release
Beyond Saga: Press Release
