A brutal scene at the start of the 1980 TV series “Shōgun”, which was based on James Clavell’s novel of the same name, left a story brewing in me for something like 30 years. Full disclosure – I never managed to finish the book, it was just too slow for me! In that scene, aContinue reading ““Wilting Flowers” – a new short story…”
Author Archives: Lee J. Russell
Oct ’26 – Book review: “Kolymsky Heights”, Lionel Davidson…
I have a confession to make – I wanted very much to like ‘Kolymsky Heights’ by Lionel Davidson. I love thrillers, especially those set in cold places, and particularly where they feature espionage in Russia. This book seemed to promise it all, from an enigmatic cover, an intriguing place-name title, a back cover blurb talkingContinue reading “Oct ’26 – Book review: “Kolymsky Heights”, Lionel Davidson…”
Human Colonies in Space…
I listened to two talks in September that blurred together and definitely inspired me to think more about human colonisation of space, and in particular whether space stations or the surface of planets/moons would be better locations. Colonisation is an old science fiction theme, almost to the point of having become hackneyed without careful thoughtContinue reading “Human Colonies in Space…”
New Deep Sky sketch of NGC 6934…
I just added a scan of my sketch from last night of the field of globular cluster NGC 6934 in Delphinus to my astronomy images page… A globular cluster is a spherical grouping of stars, which formed in the same region of a cool and dense molecular cloud, bound together by gravity, with a higherContinue reading “New Deep Sky sketch of NGC 6934…”
An interesting cluster of sunspots on 8/10/26…
These images show an interesting cluster of sunspots that were visible in white light on 8th October: One of my friends asked, “What does that mean though?” That’s a fair question… and sometimes I forget that people don’t generally know these kinds of things! Here’s my answer to that excellent question: “The Sun is aContinue reading “An interesting cluster of sunspots on 8/10/26…”
The New World On Mars – What We Can Create on the Red Planet – Robert Zubrin…
In the ‘New World On Mars’, Robert Zubrin lays out what is obviously a thought out programme for how Mars might be colonised by human beings. The book considers both the physical demands for how to travel to Mars and then develop a stable colony utilising in situ materials as much as possible, and theContinue reading “The New World On Mars – What We Can Create on the Red Planet – Robert Zubrin…”
Sunspots images with the Acuter Solarus 80 ‘scope…
Having made a first pass of my partial solar eclipse images from 12/8/26, I thought I’d take a look at how much detail in the visible sunspots had been captured using the Acuter Solarus 80 ‘scope and a digital phone camera – and I was impressed! I’ve desaturated the colour, slightly boosted the contrast andContinue reading “Sunspots images with the Acuter Solarus 80 ‘scope…”
Partial Solar Eclipse – 12/8/26…
The UK enjoyed a partial solar eclipse on 12/8/26. About 92% of the Sun was covered by the Moon, and it seemed liked 92% of all people had gone out to see it! I chose to view the eclipse from the cliff tops at Minnis Bay, on the Isle of Thanet. This location has anContinue reading “Partial Solar Eclipse – 12/8/26…”
The Use of AI / LLMs in Creative Writing…
OK, I admit it… I got lazy. I wanted to quickly finish some non-fiction work, so I could move on to new, more exciting projects… … I’d already discovered the efficiency of asking ChatGPT research questions, rather than searching in the traditional way and then wading through pages for the information I now wanted. ItContinue reading “The Use of AI / LLMs in Creative Writing…”
The “Fractured Europe” series by Dave Hutchinson…
Between 2014 to 2016, Dave Hutchinson published 3 books in his “Fractured Europe” series of science fiction novels. A fourth book was later published in 2018, and then a fifth in 2022. Europe in Autumn (2014)Europe at Midnight (2015)Europe in Winter (Nov 2016)Europe at Dawn (Nov 2018)Cold Water (2022) I have only read “Europe inContinue reading “The “Fractured Europe” series by Dave Hutchinson…”
