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The author of Skulls in the Stars is a professor of physics, specializing in optical science, at UNC Charlotte. The blog covers topics in physics and optics, the history of science, classic pulp fantasy and horror fiction, and the surprising intersections between these areas. -
Author Archives: skullsinthestars
Choose Your Own Adventure Cryptid Chronicles: Mothman, by Cristin Bishara
Book 8 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! Still running a little behind but not catastrophically. As usual, my link to the book is through my bookshop.org affiliate account, which means I may earn a small commission if … Continue reading
Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Book 7 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! Running a little behind but should be able to make it up pretty easily. As usual, my link to the book is through my bookshop.org affiliate account, which means I … Continue reading
Coulomb’s remarkable experiment in electricity (1785)
Though people have studied and been fascinated by electricity and magnetism, including such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin, we can really trace the beginning of modern electromagnetic theory to one specific experiment in 1785, in which the French physicist Charles-Augustin de … Continue reading
Talking falling feline physics in the NYT!
It so happens that the falling felines research that came out recently, and that I blogged about last week, has been getting a lot of news attention! A journalist at the New York Times contacted me for comments about the … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Personal, Physics
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Incarnate, by Ramsey Campbell
Book 6 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! Running a little behind but should be able to make it up pretty easily. As usual, my link to the book is through my bookshop.org affiliate account, which means … Continue reading
New falling cat paper just dropped!
So I’m now known as the falling cat physics guy, thanks to writing a popular science book on the history of scientists studying how cats land on their feet (“cat turning”) that you may or may not have heard of! … Continue reading
Conan the Barbarian: A Nest of Serpents, by Jim Zub
Book 5 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! As usual, my link to the book is through my bookshop.org affiliate account. My blogging is at the happy point where I occasionally get copies of books to … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction, Robert E. Howard
Tagged books, comics, fantasy, reviews, writing
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Hothouse, by Brian Aldiss
Book 4 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! Could only find this book available on Amazon this time. Been digging through my collection of unread books looking for something different to read and recently the book … Continue reading
Posted in Science fiction
Tagged book review, book-reviews, books, Fiction, science fiction
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The Berserker Throne, by Fred Saberhagen
Book 3 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! Today, I can oddly only link to the audiobook on Bookshop.org, since it is an old book and largely out of print. I’ve been slowly reading the Berserker … Continue reading
On Whetsday, by Mark Sumner
Book 2 for my 2026 goal of 36 books for the year! As is now default for me, my link to the book is through my bookshop dot org affiliate account. One joy of being active on social media — in the midst … Continue reading
Posted in Science fiction
Tagged book review, book-reviews, books, Fiction, science fiction
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Skulls in the Stars 