SMITH, D(avid) Alexander

SMITH, D(avid) Alexander
(1953-)
   US investment banker and writer who served as Treasurer of the SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS OF AMERICA 1987-90 and has written several articles on wargame strategy (GAMES AND TOYS). He began publishing sf with Marathon (1982), \#1 in the Marathon sequence, which continues with Rendezvous (1988) and Homecoming (1990). The sequence is a First-Contacttale which depicts, with very considerable cunning, the slow process of learning and ultimate CONCEPTUAL BREAKTHROUGH attendant upon any genuine confrontation of Homo sapiens with the Other. In this case, the Cygnan ALIENS, who are rendezvousing with humans in interstellar space, areintriguingly perceived through flawed human eyes. Although DAS succumbs to some cliched presentation of sf conventions - for instance, the neurotic AI aboard the human starship - this slow, densely realized SPACE-OPERAepic deserves considerable notice.For some time, in conjunction with the Cambridge Science Fiction Writers' Workshop, DAS had been building aSHARED-WORLD portrait of Boston, Massachusetts, focusing on a period about 100 years hence when the central city has accreted into a vast defensive cube and has seceded from the USA. His own novel, In the Cube: A Novel of Future Boston (1993), focuses on this historical moment; a shared-worldanthology, Future Boston (anth 1994) ed DAS, ranges backwards and forwards around the locus of the Cube. The whole enterprise demonstrates the potency of the shared world in those cases where creators, owners and writers are the same persons.
   JC

Science Fiction and Fantasy Encyclopedia. . 2011.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Alexander Henry Haliday — Alexander Henry Haliday, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday and Alexis Heinrich Haliday (1807–1870), was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera and Thysanoptera, but Haliday worked on all insect… …   Wikipedia

  • Alexander Jannaeus — (also known as Alexander Jannai/Yannai), king of Judea from (103 BCE to 76 BCE), son of John Hyrcanus, inherited the throne from his brother Aristobulus, and appears to have married his brother s widow, Shlomtzion or Shelomit , also known as… …   Wikipedia

  • Alexander Hamilton — Infobox US Cabinet official name=Alexander Hamilton order=1st title=United States Secretary of the Treasury term start=September 11, 1789 term end=January 31, 1795 president=George Washington predecessor=(New office) successor=Oliver Wolcott, Jr …   Wikipedia

  • Alexander Smith Taylor — Infobox Person name = Alexander Smith Taylor caption = No known images available. quotation = birth date = birth date|1817|4|16|mf=y birth place = Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. death date = death date and age|1876|7|27|1817|4|16|mf=y death… …   Wikipedia

  • Jason Alexander — infobox Actor name = Jason Alexander caption = Alexander at an Independence Day celebration (2006) birthname = Jay Scott Greenspan [ [http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/462454 TheStar.com | entertainment | Jason Alexander still laughing …   Wikipedia

  • Patti Smith — For the lead singer of the band Scandal, see Patty Smyth. For other persons of the same name, see Patricia Smith (disambiguation). Patti Smith Smith performing in Copenhagen in 1976 Background inf …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Smith (ice hockey b. 1945) — For other people named Michael Smith, see Michael Smith (disambiguation). Michael A. Smith (born 1945 in Potsdam, New York) is an American hockey executive who was best known for his stints as general manager of the Winnipeg Jets and Chicago… …   Wikipedia

  • performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical.       The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains …   Universalium

  • Italy — /it l ee/, n. a republic in S Europe, comprising a peninsula S of the Alps, and Sicily, Sardinia, Elba, and other smaller islands: a kingdom 1870 1946. 57,534,088; 116,294 sq. mi. (301,200 sq. km). Cap.: Rome. Italian, Italia. * * * Italy… …   Universalium

  • Ford Hall Forum — The Ford Hall Forum is the oldest free public lecture series in the United States. Founded in 1908, it continues to host open lectures and discussions in the Greater Boston area. Some of the more well known past speakers include Maya Angelou,… …   Wikipedia

  • List of aircraft manufacturers by ICAO name — 0 9 * 3XTRIM Zaklady Lotnicze 3Xtrim Sp z oo (Poland) A Starting with A. * ROUND Round! Aerospace and Avionics. * AAC AAC Amphibiam Airplanes of Canada * AAMSA Aeronautica Agricola Mexicana SA * AASI Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures Inc *… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”