As you know, I have been writing contemporary fiction, Engineering Stories that are based on recent experiences in my career, but because I love to ‘do’ engineering, I love to solve technical problems, very challenging technical situations, I have been looking beyond contemporary. Well, I’ve discovered that the great author, Arthur C. Clarke apparently loved to do the same. I saw “2001, A Space Odyssey” many years ago, but I never read the book (I still haven’t read the book), but I recently read the 1979 novel, “The Fountains of Paradise” which encouraged my soul for hard science fiction, predictive science and engineering which has turned me into a searcher of good predictive hard science fiction. I’m not big on fantasy (although I confess to be a ‘Trekkie’ where hard science fiction is often mixed with some fantasy), but I love a good technical challenge placed in the foreseeable future, the next 100 to 200 years (Okay, I realize that predicting 100 years from now is nearly impossible, but it stirs the imagination).

Arthur C. Clarke invented the idea of Geostationary Satellite Communications and in, “The Fountains of Paradise” he creates a story around the building and operating of a space elevator from the surface of the earth up to and beyond a geostationary platform. It has adventure, culture, characters, materials science and engineering. Here is what Wikipedia has on the book. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountains_of_Paradise

If you like Engineering, I recommend “The Fountains of Paradise” where Dr Vannevar Morgan tackles the science of building the greatest structure ever built (or to be built). It was while reading this and other stories that set me on my current writing journey for another phenomenal space habitat, “Polaris Station.” Stay tuned for more on this great adventure placed about 50 years in our future.