Author Archive: Stephen
I am an author of various fantasy, science fiction, crime and other genre books from Gollancz, Hachette and HarperCollins. Some day I hope to grow up and be an astronaut. Exploring Mars would be nice.
Paging Doctor Book.
I’ve had quite a few readers who are subscribed to my personal newsletter e-mailing or posting in to say thank you to me for mentioning in January 2020 that I was worried about a pandemic sweeping across the world and that I had taken action by selling all my unit trusts and shares in case […]
Scientists, politicians, and hairdressers (choose one).
There was a plot in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books about a colony ship being sent to the stars from an about-to-be-destroyed world, but the whole mission was a practical joke to rid the planet of such supposed unwanted ne’er-do-wells as hairdressers and estate agents. Oddly enough, I can’t remember politicians being on that list […]
Remembrance of all beauty that has been.
I missed honouring National Grandparents Day in October, so let me make up for it here by remembering my father’s dad – who I’m named after. My grandfather fought in the First World War (and was too old for service in the second). Because he worked as a cook in London restaurants before 1916, when […]
Voyage of the Void-Lost (Sliding Void #6).
As I think I mentioned before, I’ve started work on the 6th book in the Sliding Void series for you fans of old-school space opera and high adventure hijinks. It’s called ‘Voyage of the Void-Lost‘ and as I’m now 20,000 words in, I have just dropped the work-in-progress into my happy Patreons’ mitts. These novels […]
I shall watch you, now. I have spoken.
So, with the psychic weight of a second lockdown here in the UK settling upon our collective shoulders, I finally decided to liven up the family’s viewing during the monotony, and purchase a Disney+ subscription. Now I know there are lots of less than reputable viewing options to nab the Mandalorian online, but I think […]
Shaken, and stirred.
So, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for a couple of days, you have probably heard the sad news that actor Sean Connery passed away of old age at the ripe innings of ninety years. Some of these deaths of people you’ve never met hit you harder than others. The David Bowie effect. How […]
To Discovery and Beyond?
So, we are only two episodes into the new third season of Star Trek Discovery – but already it is feeling a little like a rehash of the old Andromeda TV series. On one hand, this shouldn’t be too surprising as both Trek and Andromeda were products of Gene Roddenberry’s fertile imagination. A starship thrown […]
Fire and gunpowder do not sleep well together.
It appears we’ve had a few problems for a few days over on the SFcrowsnest web site recently – and having tracked down the culprit, it seems that the rolling power cuts afflicting California are the issue. Most of our hosting is done from Europe, but there are portions of the various clusters that are […]
Life versus art versus life?
I’ve recently found another interesting series to stream on Prime – something called Utopia. It’s based on an old UK TV series from Channel Four that must have passed me by, now remade for Amazon with the big bucks (originally for HBO, but there was a falling out apparently). The premise is that a bunch […]
A Shortfall of Gravitas?
So, Elon Musk has just tweeted me (and, to be fair, about a few billion other people at the same time), that his new SpaceX droneship will be called “A Shortfall of Gravitas”. I think I can spot a fellow Iain M. Banks ‘Culture‘ SF books fan out there! It makes me wonder if I […]
