The Science of Avatar by Stephen Baxter

[Stanley_9875]

Anything to learn about Pandora, something new related to Avatar... yes please! I would love to hear a review first before purchase (im a bit broke at the moment from buying that music making equipment in the first place )

[Loverofnature]

well, i dont know about this one.... i am not a man of science so i dont know ....

[Dreaming Of Pandora]

Originally Posted by Woodsprite

As much as I don't really care for Stephen Baxter (on the edge of disliking him, but not quite), this looks like quite the read.

...Although, I don't see how this'd be much different from the Survival Guide... ? Is any of his examination based on what Cameron actually wrote, or just lots of speculation? If it's firmly grounded in what Cameron intended, and has more information than the survival guide (particularly on the Eywa concept), then I'm absolutely buying this.

That's exactly what I think what the book will entail. It may also give more info about Pandora, as in it's seasons, weather systems, how unobtanium even got on Pandora. Also I want to know more about the evolutionary trees of the Na'vi and animals on Pandora, like why the Na'vi are hairless (mostly) and why all land creatures have 6 legs. Stuff like that.

[Human No More]

The last 2 are relatively simple, it's just the way things went evolutionarily... the same was as blue skin, or bioluminescence for every plant and animal.

[Woodsprite]

But I'm just wondering whether it's actually based on what Cameron wrote, or just a whole lot of assumptions, conjecture, and unfounded theory just from viewing the film and reading the survival guide.

[ISV Venture Star]

I'm a huge fan of Stephen Baxter (although I can see why others might not be). There's no way I'm not buying this book. When people say he's the heir to Arthur C Clarke, they're not joking.

As for why he's writing it- one of the themes you can find in Baxter's books (particularly the near future hard sf ones like Titan) is a sense of despair that younger generations seem to be becoming progressively less interested in exploration and the great frontier.

If he manages to engage and excite even a fraction of the millions of young people out there who enjoyed Avatar with the idea of humanity having a future beyond earth, a future that they can build, it can only be a good thing.

[Dreaming Of Pandora]

Just out of curiosity, what exactly has Stephen Baxter done/wrote to make some people here dislike him? Just wondering.

[Woodsprite]

Originally Posted by Dreaming Of Pandora

Just out of curiosity, what exactly has Stephen Baxter done/wrote to make some people here dislike him? Just wondering.

I don't dislike him... I just don't care for his work. I'm sort of on the fence about him. For me it's really just the worldviews he holds...

...and partially because I really don't like how he wrote "The Time Ships", where (IMO) he kind of defeated the purpose of what Wells meant for "The Time Machine", since it's supposed to be a sequel, like what happened after he left again. It's very well-written, and has some intriguing concepts, but I felt like he seriously took away from the mysterious nature of Wells's novel by adding so much more technical information, and tried to redeem some of the traveler's losses that were so apparently grounded in the first that it seemed pointless to bring them up again, like saving Weena, or some of the moments that were strikingly similar to "Back to the Future".

I can see where a lot of the ideas came from for the writing the remake of "The Time Machine" film for 2002, though.

[ISV Venture Star]

I think his stuff can be a bit too downbeat for some people. Characters die unmourned, humanity fails, the universe winds down.

[electrosphere11]

Do we know when its coming out?

[Human No More]

Originally Posted by ISV Venture Star

I think his stuff can be a bit too downbeat for some people. Characters die unmourned, humanity fails, the universe winds down.

It's realistic. I like it. Titan is one of my favourite books...

[ISV Venture Star]

Originally Posted by Human No More

It's realistic. I like it. Titan is one of my favourite books...

I'd recommend his short story 'In the MSOB' from the 'Traces' collection. Sort of a precursor to a similar scene in Titan.

[ISV Venture Star]

Publication date listed as September 2012 on Amazon.

[Dreaming Of Pandora]

... what? The Survival Guide came out within a week of the movie's release. I wonder what's going to take this one so long.

[Woodsprite]

Perhaps he's going to do more than just "examine" the film. Perhaps he'll consult Cameron directly...?