New Release — Firestorm of Dragons edited by Michele Acker and Kirk Dougal, The Hounds of Ash by Greg Keyes, Operation: Save the Innocent by Tony Ruggiero
Feature — Time Travel for Fun and Profit by K. A. Bedford
FEATURE —
Time Travel for Fun and Profit by K. A. Bedford
I've always loved time travel stories, and I've always wanted to write one, but they present major problems. For one thing, how is time travel going to work in a given story? Is it strictly one way only? Is it possible to carry things with you as you move through time? What happens if you meet your earlier self? What happens—and Robert Heinlein, I'm looking at you—if you meet your mother, and she falls in love with you, not realising that you're her son? Then again, say you go back in time but it turns out you can only change things in such a way that the past you remember is the one that happens? Or, say, you go back in time to the age of the dinosaurs, and you—as in the famous Bradbury story—step on a bug. Does that tiny action deep in the past wind up having vast consequences back in your present—or does nothing much happen at all because it was, after all, just one tiny bug? Who can say?
The more serious problem arising out of the possibility of time travel is one of human responsibility: if you could go back and prevent your earlier self making some serious mistake, a mistake that has lasting, and unfortunate, consequences, would you be right to make that change? Even if nothing else bad happened as a consequence of fixing that mistake in the past, and in fact things wound up working out well for you, would it be the right thing to do? Every person in the world has to live with the mistakes they've made. You could even argue that these mistakes we make in turn make us, in some ways, better people, because we gain an understanding that all of our choices in life have consequences. The very fact that we can't change these things, that we're stuck with their often unfortunate outcomes, is one of the defining aspects of being human. If we could travel in time, and change the decisions and choices of not only our earlier selves, but those of historical figures, would our humanity suffer? Would we become less than fully human?
But what if you could change these mistakes? What if you could go back and tell your earlier self to be more careful, or more thoughtful, or more suspicious, about a given situation—and your younger self actually listened to you, did not think you were a crazy person, and went and made the “correct” decision? I'm inclined to think that even if you did manage to pull this off successfully, somehow it would all wind up going wrong anyway. There are always other people involved, and you can't know what everyone is doing and thinking at all times. Then again, there's every possibility that your younger self would fail to believe you, and go on to make the same mistake, the same crucial decision, you made in the first place—only now, of course, it turns out it was at least partly your own fault.
Time travel, then, presents major problems if you want to write a time travel story. Quite apart from the morality of it, the philosophical issues of responsibility and agency involved, there's also the physics of it: how does time travel work? It turns out that time travel, in the real world, is actually possible. Einstein's equations have a tiny loop-hole that permits it. However, the loop-hole is indeed tiny. Time travel only works in one direction: backwards. And you can only travel back to the point where your time machine was first activated, and no further. Worse still, the would-be time traveller needs truly God-like amounts of energy to make it work, possibly more than exists in the entire universe, depending on various factors. It's not something that's going to become available any time soon, at least as we currently understand physics. This might be a good thing.
Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait
August 2008
320 Pages, $17.95
FEATURE —
Time Travel for Fun and Profit by K. A. Bedford
A few months ago, EDGE put out a call for a volunteer to help out with the Podcasts and interviews. Marie Bilodeau answered that call and has been doing interviews for us ever since.
To date, there have been five interviews. Listen to them below:
JEMMA7729 has been reviewed on netico: " This near future, οne persοn against the system, stοry, might seem a little basic, but the authοr dοes a fine jοb with it. It’s interesting, plausible and it’s well wοrth reading." — plappen, netico
"Well-written and thoughtful, the novel describes a brutal world we would today consider gone slightly-mad." — Ronald Hore, CM Magazine
"One major strength of the book is the balance struck between keeping the plot moving, and providing enough detail for each of the crucial incidents in her life to adequately illustrate both character development and the evils of the society she ultimately works to over-throw. Wray does an excellent job of knowing exactly when to say, "and so it went for the next six months", and when to slow down for the nitty-gritty details. So another excellent title from Edge books, well worth picking up." — Robert Runte, NeoOpsis
"I am glad to see that Jemma7729 is being reviewed as a young adult book. Every girl should get to know Jemma — curious, inventive, smart, tough and very human. Jemma is a good friend. This is the kind of SF book that got me interested in the genre when I was a kid." — Grace O'Malley, Amazon.com
"Wray's world is so dystopian that one might dismiss it as a feminist nightmare, but this extreme makes her main character a hero and her book a good jumping point for discussions of gender roles, democracy, class and justice. It would be a good selection for a book talk or class unit on such structured societies." — Beth Karpas, VOYA
"If you like the S&S genre at all, just trust me on this and buy the book. Sword Masters is recommended to fans of the genre. There is enough swordplay to satisfy the most demanding fan of swashbuckling adventure." — Robert Runte, NeoOpsis
The Hounds of Ash and Other Tales of Fool Wolf has been selected by the Fantasy Book Critic as one of their spotlight books for June.
"As much as I love Greg Keyes’The Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone, I have to say that I loved “The Hounds of Ash and Other Tales of Fool Wolf” even more and fervently hope that the adventures of Fool Wolf will continue…" — Robert, Fantasy Book Critic [Read the full review]
"Not only is Greg experienced with all his other series etc, but what really intrigues me is that Greg Keyes has a background in anthropology, and a lot of knowledge of shamanism etc, which he really weaves into this book. The cover is absolutely stunning — but what is inside is even better!" — Janessa, Reader
"An interesting concept, peopled by good characters and action, the book is definitely worth the read, by an author you will want to watch." — Pam Allan, ConNotations
"The Longevity Thesis tells of intrigue, science bent for personal gain, and the struggle to overcome prejudice." — Ronald Hore, CM Magazine
"The Longevity Thesis is a debut novel published by Dragon Moon Press that manages to weave a rather intriguing, dark, and sinister story." — Fantasy & Sci-fi Lovin' Book Review
"The Longevity Thesis is at turns darkly primeval and disconcertingly modern, grimly macabre and life-afirming: compounded together, these ingredients create a powerful and unsettling tale. The Temlochti State University is the centre of scholarship in an underground land, where the inhabitants have so long avoided the desert above them that many now regard the stories of its magic as mere superstition. Antronos, who has been touched by that magic, knows better. But even he does not suspect what ancient and unnatural beings are at work within the University itself, until his desire to study longevity places him in their power. Jennifer Rahn is a daring new voice in dark fantasy, and I hope that she will give readers a chance to explore this world further." — J. Y. T. Kennedy, Author of Dominion
"The Longevity Thesis is a curious tale, told in smoothly flowing prose. Often moody, sometimes touched with affectionate tolerance, Ms. Rahn's prose shifts easily between poetic expression and down-to-earth characterization." — Jeanette Cottrell, Reader & Author
"There are thought provoking and informative views from featured authors already mentioned above, and Milena Benini, Orson Scott Card, Carol Hightshoe, and also editors Dave A. Law and Darin Park - plus more. This is a reference book, which I know will be invaluable to all SF writers and I happily recommend it to all who will listen to me babble on about what a good book this is, and why all SF writers need it on their bookshelf!" — Sassy Brit, Alternative-Read.com
"This book should be on your required reading list for genre-related non-fiction. If you write science fiction, get this book because it will help you in so many different ways, especially if you're just starting out in the SF field. This book covers everything from the early history of SF to sub-genres, creating believable aliens to getting your science right, writing to editing, and submitting to the life of a published author." — Fantasy & Sci-fi Lovin' Book Reviews
Want to know the latest downloads available from EDGE? Check out our downloads section on our main page!
The Green Spirit Project (Exertus, Spiritus, Viridis)
For EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing and Dragon Moon Press, our "carbon footprint" is significantly higher than the average person's. Simply put, EDGE prints books and this process uses up trees; this is what most people know. What some people don't know is what EDGE plans to do about our "carbon footprint".
Over the next year, EDGE is doing our share in rebuilding the forests that are cut down each year. For every tree EDGE uses for our books, we are donating a percentage of our sales to plant (a) new tree(s) to help relieve our "carbon footprint" so that the next generation can breathe clean air, and get the proper medication needed.
EDGE and Dragon Moon will be printing all of our new Spring 2008 titles with an eco friendly reminder on the first page. This is to show that EDGE and Dragon Moon truly care about our environment. The more EDGE and Dragon Moon books you purchase, the more you help us to save our precious rainforests, forests, and environment.
The "Paper or Plastic Debate" over whether it is better to use paper bags or plastic bags has been in discussion for a long time. Environmentalists have often debated over the correct answer to the "Paper or Plastic Debate", which turns out to be NEITHER! To help the environment, reusable canvas bags are the best solution. They will never have to use energy to be recycled or take up space in a landfill. The next time you buy a book (or two or three) from EDGE at a convention and you bring your own bag to carry your books in, we will give you $1.00 off your purchase!
Author Appearances
Phoebe Wray
JuneTBA
Reading, talk
Ayer Arts Council, Town Hall
Ayer, MA
July 17-20, 2008
Readercon
Burlington Marriott, Burlington, Massachusetts Website
July 25-27, 2008
Confluence
Pittsburgh, PA
Lynda Williams
June 17, 2008
Awards Ceremony at Barclay Manor appearing as
Judge of West End Writers 19th Annual Writing Contest
July 1-3, 2008 Mansfield College, Oxford, England
Contests
There are no contests at this time.
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
| Justyn Perry, Marketing Manager
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