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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
City of Darkness, by Ben Bova
I’ve recently been in a mood to shop used bookstores as well as read obscure science fiction. This dangerous combination has resulted in me purchasing a number of books by well-known authors that have been forgotten, probably for the best. … Continue reading
Larry Blamire’s More Tales of the Callamo Mountains
Larry Blamire is a very good writer. That is the first thought that came to mind when I sat down to blog about his recently published collection, More Tales of the Callamo Mountains (2017). As the name suggests, this collection … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction, Horror
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Connecting a PS2 to an HDMI TV
This past week I had an incredible urge to play the original Katamari Damacy videogame on my old Playstation 2. Unfortunately, the PS2 does not play well with modern HD TVs, as the allowable video modes for the PS2 are … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment
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RIP Fluff, 2011-2018
Losing a beloved animal friend is always hard, but it is even harder when they are taken from you too soon. Last night, unexpectedly, our beloved kitty Fluff passed away at the age of 6. He apparently passed very quickly, … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, Personal
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Fred Saberhagen’s Swords Trilogy
At the end of 2017, we were treated to the news that Amazon was planning a new series based on Tolkien’s classic Lord of the Rings series. The response on the internet seemed to be a bit of a collective … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy fiction
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Non-Stop, by Brian Aldiss
I often come across classic books to read through unexpected, even surprising, avenues. An example of this is Non-Stop (1958), by Brian Aldiss, which I just finished reading the other day and enjoyed immensely. I only learned about Non-Stop because … Continue reading
Posted in Science fiction
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Fred Saberhagen’s Berserker
They are intelligent machines the size of a small moon, packed with enough weaponry to cauterize the surface of countless planets and destroy any defenders. They bear the scars of countless battles, which they have always won. They were built … Continue reading
Posted in Science fiction
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Spoiler-filled The Last Jedi thoughts and open discussion thread (updated)
When I saw The Force Awakens two years ago, I needed a place to share my thoughts without sharing Star Wars spoilers all over the internet, and my blog turned out to be the perfect place to do it. The … Continue reading
Posted in Entertainment, Personal, Science fiction
31 Comments
1965: Rabbits versus relativity
One of a number of posts that I’ll be sharing based on things discovered during research into my book on cat physics, coming next year! The previous post on the Chandler wobble is another post in this series. The ability … Continue reading
Posted in ... the Hell?, Animals, History of science, Physics
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Skulls in the Stars 