World Building (Science Fiction Writing)

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Editorial reviews

Product Description
This book is designed to give science fiction writers the solid grounding they need in real science to make their fictions read like fact. World Building is a blueprint in words, calculations, tables and diagrams to help writers transport readers from one world to another.

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Amazon.com Review
Another in Ben Bova's series on Science Fiction Writing, here geologist and SF scribe Stephen Gillett helps you construct star systems and planets from the atoms up. While it may take you a little more than the proverbial seven days (well, six with rest), when you're done, your knowledge of gravity, weather patterns, cosmic mass and stellar patterns--in this universe--will be greatly enhanced.

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-06-17 rating:
Think Astronomy!
Polishing up my own work, I recently considered purchasing this book. I checked it out at my local library, who had it in stock! (Helpful tip: check out possible purchases at the library, or request your library district buy what you're looking for!)
While the information between the pages was very interesting and useful to possibly a space sci-fi writer, it wasn't what I was looking for. If you purchase this book looking for the world of a character, you'll be disappointed. If you purchase this book looking for how different geological elements and gases, orbits and the like work together, you'll be rewarded with a great peice of reference. I, for one, will not buy and stick to astronomy books from college.

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review by: date: 2008-02-26 rating:
A great if read - and reality check.
I'm finding this a facinating book to read if only in terms of looking at how the Earth actually works and all the little details which seem to need to be just right in order to have a stable biosphere.

While tackling some very technical issues, and being packed with enormous amounts of information, the book remains very readable.

The only thing infuriating about this book (and it's not the books fault) is that it will force me to rethink the a world I was planning as it clearly appears to be implausible.

Some would argue that this is evidence that it is a barrier to creativity but I beg to differ, a reallity check will force me to be more creative to get the story effects which I want. Even then at the end of the day just because I know the theories about how world work doesn't mean that I can't ignore them if so doing suits my purpose. The only difference will be that I'll know I'm ignoring them. In the end it is better to break the rules on purpose then to do so accidentally.

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review by: Moe date: 2008-02-13 rating:
enjoyable read
Picked this book up as a reference for beginning my own SF book. Enjoyed it. Has some good info presented in a understandable manner.

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review by: date: 2007-12-18 rating:
I will be able to use a lot of this information in my next book
As both a author and reader of fiction I enjoyed World Building even though I was not able to use any of it in my first book. I was looking for something to help me build heaven. However in my next book a lot of what I have learned from reading this book will be use to help me build believable worlds
Tommy Taylor



review by: Friend of Fantasy Creatures date: 2007-08-31 rating:
Useful Book
This book explores and details assorted aspects of world-building, some that I hadn't considered previously. Going through it's questionnaire helped me flesh out and enliven my fantasy planets. Well done!

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