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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
Beneath the Rising, by Premee Mohamed
Still catching up on all the reading I’ve not been able to focus on for ages, and I finally got to read a book by one of my Twitter friends, Premee Mohamed, Beneath the Rising (2020)! Part thriller, part horror, … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction, Horror, Mystery/thriller
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Help Laird Barron cover medical costs!
Just a short note here to help bring attention to a GoFundMe for brilliant horror and thriller author Laird Barron, who has been hospitalized with a severe illness. I’ve talked about Barron’s work quite often on this blog, and have … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Horror, Personal
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My favorite unusual games of 2022!
I’ve been rather quiet the past week as I’ve been enjoying — and enduring — the holidays with my family. But the end of the year is approaching, and I thought I should do some sort of year-end wrap up. … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, video games
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Optics, rain, and car headlights
One of the fun things about being a physicist is that occasionally you end up pondering some sort of everyday phenomenon that you’ve never thought about before and realize that you can explain it with some elementary physics! Some time … Continue reading
Posted in Optics, Physics
2 Comments
“Invisibility” recognized in Publishers Weekly!
Just a short note: my editor pointed out to me that my book made the “top ten” list of Spring 2023 science books at Publishers Weekly! Saving the relevant part of the page for my own personal record: This is … Continue reading
Posted in Invisibility, Personal
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The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper
Have you ever remembered a book that you read as a child that you were curious to read again but you can’t remember the name of the book or the author or even enough detail to track it down? That … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction
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Consider the Platypus, by Maggie Ryan Sandford
As I’ve said a number of times, the pandemic really destroyed my ability to read, and now that I’ve achieved some sense of mental stability again I’m working to catch up on a bunch of the books that I just … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, General science
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Skulls in the Stars 