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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
A Night in the Lonesome October, by Roger Zelazny
So, just before October began, I declared my plan to read Roger Zelazny’s A Night in the Lonesome October (1993) in the way that a lot of dedicated fans do: one chapter per day. This post is a summary of … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Lovecraft
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Gallery of classic horror illustrations!
I’ve been in a very Halloween mood this year, and with the holiday almost upon us, I thought I would share one more post about classic horror. This time, I want to focus on the classic illustrations that accompanied a … Continue reading
Old School Dungeons & Dragons: Part 11
Well, I’ve finally done enough old school Dungeons & Dragons posts on twitter to fill a blog post again! So here’s an update to my long-running series of classic D&D. Earthshaker! (1985), by David “Zeb” Cook. The exclamation point is … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Fantasy fiction
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Halloween Treats 2019
Time to continue what has been the longest-running tradition on this blog: posting a collection of classic (freely available) horror stories for folks to read during the creepy season! The list of past posts is getting too long to share … Continue reading
Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics, available now!!!
Unexpectedly, it turns out that my new popular science book, Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics, has been released earlier than expected! Folks are already getting their copies in the mail! So if you’ve been waiting to order it until it … Continue reading
Haunted Houses from Valancourt Books!
It’s that spooky time of year, when I hunt down classic ghost and horror stories freely available on the internet and post them for your reading enjoyment! Currently working on that post, but I thought in the meantime I would … Continue reading
Posted in Horror
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Old School Dungeons & Dragons: Part 10
Okay, this post will catch me up with all my old school D&D posts that I’ve been doing on twitter! I’ll still be doing them, but will do them less frequently, only after I’ve got a handful from twitter to … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Fantasy fiction
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October reading: A Night in the Lonesome October
So I semi-regularly blog about books on this site, and my usual strategy is to read the book and then write a blog post about it. For October, I’m going to be a little different! Over the month, I’m going … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Personal
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What a Scientific Englishman thinks of Scientific Americans (1874)
Things are a little crazy here in the United States right now, so as a pick-me-up of sorts, I thought I would share this charming article that appeared in the January 30, 1874 issue of Scientific American: “What a Scientific … Continue reading
Posted in History of science, Women in science
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Old School Dungeons & Dragons: Part 9
I have almost caught up with all the old school Dungeons & Dragons posts I’ve been doing on twitter! So, without further ado, here’s part 9! Die, Vecna, Die! (2000), by Bruce R. Cordell and Steve Miller. This module has … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Fantasy fiction
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Skulls in the Stars 