Publisher: Springer Nature
Language: English
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978–3‑030–91604‑6
eBook ISBN: 978–3‑030–91605‑3
Just Like Being There is my first collection of short fiction, featuring fifteen of my hard SF and alternate history stories including the Aurora Award winning “Crimson Sky” and the new novelette “A Sky and a Heaven”. Story topics include space exploration, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, cryptography, quantum computing, online privacy, mathematics (statistics), neuroscience, psychology, space medicine, extraterrestrial intelligence, undersea exploration, commercial aviation, and the history of science. Each story is followed by an afterword that explains the underlying engineering or science.
Available in trade paperback (Amazon, !ndigo, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones) and ebook (Amazon, Barnes & Noble).
Download the brochure, read the preface, or check out my author Q&A on the Edelweiss blog or my interviews in Space.com and OverDrive: In the Know.
“The fifteen stories comprising Eric Choi’s Just Like Being There take readers on a
fun and fictional romp through space and time, from alternate histories to daring
future missions. Some of the narratives are sobering revisits of past events on
Earth while others launch us on adventures in deep space. All are imaginative and
captivating.” — Robert Thirsk, Former CSA Astronaut
“Eric Choi’s story collection takes us on an epic literary road trip across the red
sands of Mars, down the mysterious tunnels of an asteroid, into our ocean’s inky
depths, and even plunges into the remote crevasses of our brain. His narratives are
a perfect fusion of meticulous scientific research and imagination, a classic hard SF
approach that ponders territories just beyond our reach. While Choi’s alternative
histories and fictional tales cover a wide range of topics, each one is an invitation
to see the world anew. He challenges us to let go of stereotypes and assumptions,
and he does so with great subtlety and charm. The afterwords following each story
provide fascinating background information that contextualizes the narratives and
provide intriguing insights into politics, science, and history. Clear your agenda.
This book is impossible to put down.” — Bettina Forget, Director of the Artist-in-Residence Program at the SETI Institute
“Eric Choi has created an intellectually engaging collection of stories with afterwords
discussing the meticulously researched science of each. A real tour de force.” — Michael Brotherton, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Wyoming, Editor of Science Fiction by Scientists
“When an award-winning writer and editor is also an aerospace engineer you get
some of the best hard SF stories around. In Just Like Being There, Eric Choi writes
with clarity, grace, and imagination as he leads us through an astonishing breadth of
topics and themes from near-future stories of astronauts doing dangerous work to
alternate history tales on Captain Nemo. The fifteen stories in this book are entertaining,
exciting, and thoughtful by turn. This collection deserves a huge audience.
Very highly recommended.” — Rick Wilber, Author and Visiting Professor of Genre Fiction at Western Colorado University, Administrator of the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing
“Enjoyable and thought provoking. This collection of short stories is a must read for
those who have an interest in aviation, space, and scientific innovation. Choi’s blend
of futuristic settings and historical what-ifs challenged a number of my assumptions
about the science fiction genre and made me look at our history — and some of the
treasures in our collection — in a completely different light.” — Christopher Kitzan, Director General of the Canada Aviation and Space Museum
“There are many forms of science fiction, all equally worthwhile, but Eric is a master of the hard science approach. This is classic science fiction at its best. Highly, highly recommended.” — R. Graeme Cameron, AmazingStories.com
Table of Contents
Preface
“Dedication”
“Raise the Nautilus”
“The Son of Heaven”
“From a Stone”
“The Coming Age of the Jet”
“Crimson Sky”
“Most Valuable Player”
“A Man’s Place”
“Plot Device”
“Just Like Being There”
“She Just Looks That Way”
“Divisions”
“Fixer Upper”
“Decrypted”
“A Sky and a Heaven”
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