A Thorough and Entertaining Reference That Should Be on Every Sci-Fi & Fantasy Writer's Shelf

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Although aimed at writers of science fiction and fantasy, this handy anthology of essays into how to accurately portray STEM fields and their array of characters will fascinate and inform anyone with an interest in how science works. The book is chock full of easily grasped explanations of a variety of scientific, psychological, medical, and technological principles that will help writers build believable worlds, convincing characters, and spellbinding plots. And each section is carefully categorized for fast referencing.

Writers Digest Books excels at publishing very useful how-to books on specific writing topics, and this book is no exception. Putting the Science in Science Fiction expands blog posts into 60 articles from science-related experts, each with a short biography included preceding the book’s index. Here’s a sampling of topics: How the Ocean Will Kill You; Writing Mental Health in Fiction (ex: bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, personality quirks); The Many Faces of Death (and really bad ways to die!); The Zombie Apocalypse (i.e., how to depict authentic-sounding causes); Habitable Atmospheres; What’s Possible with Cyborgs and Cybernetics; Misconceptions About Space; Cryopreservation; The Science of Toxins and Poisons; Tentacles: From Octopus to Alien; and dozens more.

As readers will note, these topics in and of themselves are utterly fascinating, and even non-writers will be entertained and enlightened by the explanations offered here. The book is like a college survey course in general science, but more focused and efficient. For writers, the information forms a starting point, with the editor aiming to “teach you how to get started, and how to ask questions, and how to seek out even more information on the topic at hand.” So while actual writing advice is limited, the facts behind the writing—the bedrock of these genres—abound. A true one-of-a-kind writers' resource!

This review is based on an advance copy provided by the publisher.