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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. -
Category Archives: Weird fiction
Bertram Mitford’s In the Whirl of the Rising
Last week I found myself in the mood for some adventure fiction, and that made me immediately think of Bertram Mitford! A contemporary and competitor of sorts of H. Rider Haggard, Bertram Mitford (1855-1914) was a prolific writer of novels set … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure fiction
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Fred Hoyle’s “The Black Cloud”
I am utterly fascinated by active scientists who also write fiction, particularly science fiction. There have been more of them than the average person realizes, including physicist Robert W. Wood, who co-wrote The Man Who Rocked the Earth (1915) and The Moon-Maker … Continue reading
Posted in Science fiction
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H.G. Wells’ stories about BUGS
Update: Added one more Wells bug story! This short post is something of a public service. Earlier today I saw some tweets from film critic Scott Weinberg referencing an urban legend related to the very silly 1977 Bert I. Gordon film Empire … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Science fiction
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Love is the Law, by Nick Mamatas
In my experience, Nick Mamatas’ novels are not pleasant to read — and I mean that in a good way. He is willing to dive wholeheartedly into ugly situations in his writing and challenge the reader with unhappy observations about the … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
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Larry Blamire’s Tales of the Callamo Mountains
One of the things I love about using Twitter is the opportunity to connect with people whose work I admire, from writers to scientists to artists to actors to musicians. Those connections can then lead you to new “discoveries” that … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Robert E. Howard
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Basil Copper’s The Black Death
Ever since reading author Basil Copper’s The Great White Space (1974) and Necropolis (1980), both of which were recently reprinted by Valancourt Books, I’ve been binge-reading the works of Basil Copper. I’ve read two of his short story collections so … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
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Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama
I must admit that I’ve never been a particularly avid reader of science fiction. I’ve read very few of the works of the classic authors such as Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein, and Bradbury*, and I have many boxes unchecked in my … Continue reading
Posted in Science fiction
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John Wyndham’s “Web”
John Wyndham (1903-1969) is one of those authors who falls into the category of “famous writer that you’ve never heard of.” A number of his novels are undeniable classics that were made, and remade, into movies and television series multiple … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Science fiction
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H.G. Wells’ zombies
These days, zombies are everywhere: from television series, to movies, to books, even to television commercials. If you were to ask people how this craze got started, most would point back to the classic 1968 film Night of the Living … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Science fiction
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Basil Copper’s “Necropolis” and “Into the Silence”
Thanks to a busy workload over the past few months, I’m way behind in my blogging on a variety of topics! I thought I’d start catching up first on my backlog of weird fiction, as I’ve been reading an immense … Continue reading
Posted in Horror, Mystery/thriller
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