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Author: Sharrukin

Photosynthesis on Red Dwarf Planets

Photosynthesis on Red Dwarf Planets

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Artist’s conception of a landscape on a planet in the nearby Gliese 667 star system (ESO/L. Calçada)

Here’s another interesting result that has a strong bearing on the Architect of Worlds project:

Super-Earths, M Dwarfs, and Photosynthetic Organisms: Habitability in the Lab

We’ve assumed for a while that the planets of red dwarf stars are poor candidates for habitability, for a couple of reasons.

The main problem is that any planet close enough to a small, cool red dwarf star to bear liquid water is going to find itself seriously sandblasted during the star’s energetic “flare star” era. Without a strong magnetic field – itself unlikely if the planet rotates slowly because it’s tide-locked – it’s going to have a hard time retaining any atmosphere. If there’s plenty of geological and volcanic activity, an atmosphere may reconstruct itself once the primary star settles down.

The more subtle problem is that red dwarf starlight is lacking in the shorter visible-light frequencies driving the kind of photosynthesis we’re familiar with. A red dwarf may produce most of its energy output in the near infrared, which doesn’t do much for green plants. If photosynthesis has a hard time taking off, you’re not likely to get a breathable atmosphere with plenty of free oxygen in it.

The current draft of Architect of Worlds addresses both of these factors, in such a way that it’s actually quite difficult to generate an Earthlike world circling any but the most massive red dwarf stars (maybe M0 V or M1 V, at most).

The paper linked above, though, seems to indicate that this is too conservative. The authors worked with certain kinds of extremophile photosynthetic bacteria found on Earth. They subjected them to simulated red dwarf sunlight . . . and found that the bacteria carried on photosynthesis quite well. Even some of the more common bacteria they tested were able to carry on some photosynthetic activity under simulated red dwarf starlight.

This may be one of those cases where we need to account for the possibility of “life not quite as we know it” being able to exploit a niche we wouldn’t expect. Assuming a planet can retain (or rebuild) its atmosphere after the primary’s flare-star era, photosynthesis that leaves it with plenty of free oxygen in the air may not be as unlikely as we thought. I think one thing I’m going to do this month is to adjust parts of the Architect of Worlds design sequence to allow for this possibility.

Review: Deathsworn, by H. K. Oby

Review: Deathsworn, by H. K. Oby

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Deathsworn by H. K. Oby

Overall Rating: *** (3 stars)

Deathsworn is the first novel in a planned series called The Mahasiddhi Chronicle, an urban fantasy drawing on the rich tapestry of Hindu legend.

Amin is a young man living on the streets of modern India. From youth, he has been forced to struggle for survival. This has driven him to become a superb thief and confidence artist, specializing in posing as a sadhu (a religious ascetic) in order to swindle valuables out of devout but gullible victims.

At the beginning of the story, Amin carries off one such scam, but before he can enjoy his gains he is double-crossed and apparently killed. At the very moment of his seeming death, he is snatched out of danger by a mysterious force called “the Pulse.” He learns that he is to serve as a “Deathsworn,” a holy warrior trained in the martial arts, pledged to defend the world against evil rakshasas (demons) who threaten it. He is sent to a school for new Deathsworn, where sages and figures out of Hindu lore will train him as a superhuman warrior with siddhis (superpowers) that will help him face the rakshasas.

Unfortunately, nothing goes as planned. Amin is rejected by his teachers and his fellow students. He fails to display any of the siddhis normally granted to all Deathsworn. Worst of all, it seems that the Hindu gods have it in for Amin, and they are doing their best to kill him before he can complete his training!

The story that follows is reminiscent of the Harry Potter or Percy Jackson novels: a modern character dropped into a fiercely demanding school that’s grounded in some flavor of the supernatural, forced to overcome obstacles that stand in the way of his success. It’s a familiar formula, but it works, and H. K. Oby applies the common tropes well.

Deathsworn is a debut novel, and it shows. Every character’s dialogue, and the author’s narrative voice, all use the same colloquial language even in moments where a different style might be more in keeping with the premise. It’s a little jarring to hear figures out of the Mahabharata using chatty, conversational English even at a point of high drama. The novel needs the attention of a copy editor as well; the basic prose mechanics (word choice, spelling, capitalization) are noticeably rough.

Despite those criticisms, I found the story worked well and kept me engaged. Amin was a charming protagonist; his supporting cast, less fully developed, were believable as his allies, friends, and rivals. The core of the story is about Amin’s growth as a person, and the discovery of honest virtue beneath his armor of cynicism. Watching his evolution through this fast-paced story kept me turning the pages.

The backdrop of Hindu myth, given a modern slant, was intriguing as well. I found myself recognizing elements from my own past reading, and l was driven to look up more details that I didn’t immediately recognize.

All in all, Deathsworn is a flawed first effort, but I found it a quick and enjoyable read. If you have any interest in a “school for heroes” story, set amid the complexities of Hindu myth, this novel and its sequels are worth watching.

Status Report (31 August 2021)

Status Report (31 August 2021)

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Quick update this evening, since this is the last day of the month and I’m still hanging fire on a couple of tasks.

Most of the delay is that I just acquired a new desktop computer a week or so ago, and I’ve slowly been adjusting my work-flows and creative routine to fit. The new machine is much more powerful than the laptop I’ve been using for the last few years. It’s probably going to become my primary machine for graphic design, art, and cartography (as well as my main gaming machine). Meanwhile, my laptop will probably continue to be my primary writing platform. Transferring files and tasks over, and adjusting to the split between the two devices, has been taking up more time than I expected.

I did manage to polish up a novella and release that to my patrons earlier this month. At the moment I’m working on a book review and putting together a new incremental release for the Human Destiny setting bible and sourcebook. Unfortunately those two items are close-but-not-quite-finished and I don’t think I’ll have either of them out before midnight tonight.

I’ll post a more extensive planning message for September later this week, but the immediate plan is to get that indie novel read and reviewed ASAP, after which the Human Destiny update will come as soon as I can put all the pieces of that in some semblance of order. Possibly this weekend for that. Then I’ll be able to get started on new tasks for September.

Progress on the “Human Destiny” Setting

Progress on the “Human Destiny” Setting

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It looks as if the project on which I am least blocked this month is the Human Destiny setting, my more-or-less-hard-SF universe, in which humans are living as a (very minor and subordinate) part of a vast and sophisticated interstellar civilization.

I started out this month just planning to add a few thousand words to the Human Destiny setting bible and Cortex Prime sourcebook, while I spent most of my time working on other items. Still, the more I went digging into my reserve files, the more Human Destiny material I realized I already had. This weekend, I’ve been collecting content from about a dozen separate documents, all generated over the past six years or so. All it needs is some organization and polishing.

The last partial draft of the setting bible that I released to my patrons (version 0.2, in January) was about 18,000 words. As of today I’m up to about 25,000 words, and I suspect I’ll end up with quite a bit more by the end of the month. The result will remain nowhere near finished, but that’s still a fair chunk of new material.

Meanwhile, I’ve resurrected a Human Destiny novella that I originally wrote back in 2015, and I’m polishing that up for release. Depending on how the edit goes, that should be something like 20,000 to 22,000 words of new fiction that my patrons haven’t seen before. The title of that story is In the House of War, and it’s the tale of my heroine Aminata Ndoye’s first deep-space assignment.

Looks as if this is going to be the release plan for August: version 0.3 of the Human Destiny setting bible as a free update for my patrons, and In the House of War as a charged release. Probably close to 30,000 words of new material in all. I’m thinking I may then prepare the novella for self-publication, using some of the new processes I’ve been researching, so my patrons at the $2 level and above will get that for free once it’s released. Most likely next month.

I really need to get some more work done on other projects, but this is what seems to be moving at the moment, so I’m going to run with it.

Planning for August 2021

Planning for August 2021

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Okay, July was something of a wash.

I didn’t completely fail to meet my objectives. I did get a book review published, I got the first few chapters of Second Dawn posted to Kindle Vella before that platform went live, and I did get started writing more chapters for that. I got a little bit of work done on other projects as well. Still, the month was conspicuously short on major milestones. I was distracted by a couple of minor bouts of illness, and my day job soaked up more of my attention and energy than usual. At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Even so, the goal for August is to pick up the pace a bit, and have more material for my patrons and readers, both free updates and enough new work for a charged release. I’m also thinking about a shift in emphasis among my second-tier projects – I’m feeling a bit more inspiration for the Human Destiny setting at the moment, so I think I may do some new work on that.

Here’s the priority list for August.

  • Top Priority (“this is how I’ll judge whether the month has been successful”):
    • Architect of Worlds: Return to improvement and polishing of the Introduction and Design Sequence document, leading to a new minor-version release.
    • Human Destiny: Write a few thousand more words of the Cortex Prime sourcebook and setting bible.
    • Krava’s Legend: Write a few new chapters of The Sunlit Lands.
    • Scorpius Reach: Write, edit, and publish a few new chapters of Second Dawn.
  • Second Priority (“work on this as time permits”):
    • Architect of Worlds: Start work on a section describing the structure of the galaxy and of interstellar space, and providing guidelines on how to make maps for interstellar settings.
    • Architect of Worlds: Start work on a section of special cases and additional worldbuilding material that doesn’t fit into the design sequence.
    • Human Destiny: Write a new short story for eventual collection and publication.
    • Krava’s Legend: More research toward improvements to my release-and-marketing workflow.
  • Back Burner (“work on this only if everything else gets blocked”):
    • Krava’s Legend: Write the second short story for the “reader magnet” collection.
    • Scorpius Reach: Start work on a third edition of the Game of Empire rules for Traveller.

For my patrons, this month’s free releases will probably include a new minor-version release of the Human Destiny sourcebook, and possible a minor-version release of the Architect of Worlds design sequence. This month’s charged release, if there is one, will most likely be composed of new charters from Second Dawn and The Sunlit Lands. As always, I’ll want to complete one or two book reviews for self-published or indie fiction this month.

Watch this space for status reports, and if any of the above interests you, please consider signing up as a patron using the link in the sidebar.

Status Report (28 July 2021)

Status Report (28 July 2021)

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Well, June was really productive, but July is turning out . . . otherwise. Between a couple of bouts of minor illness, and a need to focus hard on some projects for my day job, I just haven’t had the spoons to crank out new creative content at the rate I hoped for. Today’s the fourth day from the end of the month, and it’s looking like I’m not going to hit any of my major objectives for July.

The month hasn’t been a total wash. I got a book review posted early, I successfully got Second Dawn posted to Kindle Vella before that service went live, I’ve gotten a couple of new chapters written for Second Dawn, and I’ve done some small-scale work on Architect of Worlds. Unfortunately, none of it is adding up to something that would justify a major release for my patrons.

So I’m stating now that there will be no charged release for my patrons for July. I might manage a free update for one or two documents before the end of the month, but even that’s not certain. Here’s hoping August will see a bit more progress.

Second Dawn is Live!

Second Dawn is Live!

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Kindle Vella apparently went live earlier today, even earlier than I expected. Which means the first episodes of Second Dawn, my space-opera serialized novel, are available for reading through the Kindle app.

The book’s blurb: “Katerina was an innocent archaeologist, happily at work on a colony world, when pirates attacked her work site. Only the timely intervention of a merchant ship’s crew enabled her to escape. Now she’s fallen into a world of diplomats, mercenaries, and spies, working to solve interstellar mysteries with the fate of empires at stake. Will she be a pawn in the game, or will she become one of the players?”

Here’s a link to the live book: https://www.amazon.com/Second-Dawn/dp/B0995FPP1Y

Which, of course, means it’s even more important for me to get more chapters written ASAP. In the meantime, reads and reviews are welcome.

A Change in Plans

A Change in Plans

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I went to set up the first few chapters of Second Dawn in the Kindle Vella platform last night – successfully, as you can see from the image above. However, in the process I also discovered that Amazon is very close to taking Vella live. I’m seeing hints that it may be up and running for the general audience as early as this week, almost certainly by the end of July.

Well. When I started writing Second Dawn, it was under the assumption that it would be a couple of months before I needed to work on the next section. Apparently that isn’t the case. When Vella does go live, I want to not only have those first six chapters in place, I want to have a few more chapters ready for weekly release.

All of which means that I’m changing the plan for July a bit. My main fiction-writing effort, in what’s left of this month, is going to involve building a backlog of chapters for Second Dawn. Ideally, I’ll have six more chapters ready to go within a couple of weeks.

How that interacts with my other plans for the month, I’m not sure yet. I’m probably not going to be working on Krava’s Legend quite as much as I’d planned on. I do still want to get some work done on Architect of Worlds so I can at least send out a free update of that material for my patrons. I’ll probably also produce a free update of the Scorpius Reach setting bible along the way. We’ll see how the next few days go.

Review: Saint Dorian and the Witch, by Michael Raship

Review: Saint Dorian and the Witch, by Michael Raship

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Saint Dorian and the Witch by Michael Raship

Overall Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Saint Dorian and the Witch is a splendid piece of fantasy, a personal journey and a love story set in a world torn apart by quarreling gods and religious fanaticism.

Bartholomew is a young monk, living in a monastery on the outer edge of an Empire that seems to take a great deal of inspiration from the landscapes and cultures of South Asia. The Empire is a very orderly place, ruled by an emperor and subordinate local kings, all supported by the powerful monastic order in which Bartholomew has been raised. Everyone reveres the great god Ael, the Lord of Destiny who maintains the rigid order of the world. Sometimes Ael sends a special servant, a “saint,” into the world to carry out some holy mission. The history of the Empire is full of tales of these saints, their special powers, and their epic struggles against chaos.

Bartholomew is a young man, but he has a special talent: he is a Librarian, someone who can not only read all of the sacred texts, but who can recite them from memory. Unfortunately, the more he studies the sacred texts, the less he believes in them, and the more he feels that there is something missing in the world under Ael’s dominion.

One day Bartholomew begins to dream of a new saint, one not yet recognized by the Empire and the monastic order. This new saint seems to promise the serenity that Bartholomew’s status as a monk and Librarian can no longer provide. Caught up in his new devotion, he leaves his monastery on a quest to join Saint Dorian in the heartland of the Empire. Along the way he meets Ruth, a young witch with her own special talent for spell-casting and magic.

What follows is a gorgeous tale woven around multiple themes: quests for spiritual fulfillment, the perils of religious fanaticism, the clash between order and chaos, the value of love and compassion, and the abiding power of stories. I found myself constantly surprised by the tale, constantly turning the page to see what might happen next.

Mechanically, the novel is very well put together. The prose style is impeccably clean, with a minimum of distractions and no copy-editing errors that I could catch. One thing that may throw some readers is that, for all the excellence of the world-building, the story is largely driven by the logic of myth. Things happen in the story because they’re dramatically appropriate, not always because they make coldly rational sense . . . but then, that appears to be part of the point.

I loved Saint Dorian and the Witch, quite a bit more than I expected when I began it. I came to the end of this book wishing for more. Very strongly recommended.

Planning for July 2021

Planning for July 2021

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Well, I said I was going to spend the month of June focusing on writing new fiction. Apparently I wasn’t kidding. I produced about 22,500 words of new early-draft fiction in June, for an average of about 750 words per day all month. Pretty good work rate for me.

The new material included the first six chapters of Second Dawn, which is mostly likely going to be the first serialized novel in a series, all published on the Kindle Vella platform. Second Dawn is placed in my new Scorpius Reach space-opera setting, and I’m quite happy with how it’s turning out so far.

I also wrote “Derga’s Tale,” a roughly 10,000-word novelette set in the Iron Age setting of Krava’s Legend. “Derga’s Tale” is the story of how Krava’s parents met. It’s the first short piece in what’s eventually going to be a collection of 5-6 stories, all prequels to The Curse of Steel. Once I’ve written all of those stories, I plan to edit them into a book-length collection, which I’ll then use to practice the new publication and marketing methods I’ve been researching. In particular, the collection will serve as a “reader magnet” that I can use for promotion of the series.

Finally, I also released a minor-version update to the Scorpius Reach setting bible, and published one book review. Not a bad month in all, even if the month didn’t quite go as I’d planned it. Planning is essential, even if you don’t always stick to the plan.

Incidentally, June was also surprisingly successful on the social-media front. I appear to have lost a patron at the beginning of the month, but since then I’ve seen three or four new patrons come in. Welcome to all the newcomers! Surprising number of new Facebook contacts as well, given that I’m not taking any specific action to promote this site. I’m not going to question good fortune.

Now that I’ve gotten some fiction written, I think this month will be spent focusing on pushing Architect of Worlds a few steps forward. Here’s the priority list for July 2021.

  • Top Priority (“this is how I’ll judge whether the month has been successful”):
    • Architect of Worlds: Return to improvement and polishing of the Introduction and Design Sequence document, leading to a new minor-version release.
    • Architect of Worlds: Start work on a section describing the structure of the galaxy and of interstellar space, and providing guidelines on how to make maps for interstellar settings.
    • Krava’s Legend: Write a few more chapters of The Sunlit Lands.
    • Scorpius Reach: Finish final editing of the first six chapters of Second Dawn, and post the novel to Kindle Vella so it’s available to readers when the platform goes live.
  • Second Priority (“work on this as time permits”):
    • Architect of Worlds: Start work on a section of special cases and additional worldbuilding material that doesn’t fit into the design sequence.
    • Krava’s Legend: Write the second short story for the “reader magnet” collection.
    • Krava’s Legend: More research toward improvements to my release-and-marketing workflow.
    • Scorpius Reach: Start work on a third edition of the Game of Empire rules for Traveller.
  • Back Burner (“work on this only if everything else gets blocked”):
    • Human Destiny: Write a new short story for eventual collection and publication.
    • Human Destiny: Write a few thousand more words of the Cortex Prime sourcebook and setting bible.

For my patrons, this month’s free releases will probably include a new minor-version release of the Architect of Worlds design sequence. This month’s charged release, if there is one, will probably be a block of new material for Architect of Worlds, and possibly another short story from Krava’s Legend or a few new chapters of The Sunlit Lands.

As always, I’ll want to complete one or two book reviews for self-published or indie fiction this month. I’m in the middle of a very good candidate right now, so two reviews this month seems possible.

Watch this space for status reports, and if any of the above interests you, please consider signing up as a patron using the link in the sidebar.