Monday, February 9, 2009

The Certainty Principle,” a new short story by Colin P. Davies, stimulates solid discussion

The Certainty Principle,” a new short story by British author Colin P. Davies published in the February 2009 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine, has stimulated some solid discussion in a reader’s forum on Asimov’s website (beware of spoilers). The story is about a space naval officer who checks into the Red Planet Low-Gravity Retreat on Earth after being dishonorably discharged because of a fatal incident on Mars. I read “The Certainty Principle” back in early January and highly recommend it.

If you don't have a subscription to the print version of Asimov's, you can purchase the February 2009 issue in electronic format through Fictionwise for a mere $3.99.

Colin P. Davies is the author of two other short stories about Mars: “A Touch of Earth” (1995) and “The Girl with the Four-Dimensional Head” (2004), both of which were published in his collection Tall Tales on the Iron Horse (2008).

4 comments:

Colin P. Davies said...

Thanks Paul

It's immensely gratifying to watch one of your characters get torn to shreds by readers. It's great to stimulate that level of involvement. I knew the subject matter could cause strong feelings, but that's what made it worth writing about. And I have to admit I'm particularly fascinated by the cultural, ethical and practical problems that will arrive with the development of artifical people. This theme turns up again and again in my stories, sometimes to my own surprise.

Colin

Paul said...

Colin,

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'll re-read your story again, but I think she still loves him!

Paul

Colin P said...

An excellent audio version of "The Certainty Principle" was presented for the 200th edition of the podcast science fiction/fact show Beam Me Up. It can be heard here http://beameup.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2010-03-13T15_58_20-08_00

Colin

Paul said...

Colin, thanks for the tip!