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December 24, 2022
Season's Greetings - and a free book!
Scroll to the end for the gift!
Hello again, Reader. Or welcome, if you're new!
I've just managed to sneak this letter in before Christmas Day -- so Merry Christmas if you celebrate it, and Happy Holidays if you observe one of the other seasonal festivals.
As much as I like the cold, crisp days that we've had lately, we've now transitioned into wet and foggy ones here. So I'm glad to see the days starting to get longer again, which alleviates some of the gloom that seems to be clinging around the top of the hill.
Of course there are advantages to living high up -- you can sometimes see the clouds flowing through the valley like a river -- but at this time of year we often find we can't see the neighbours. These images were taken the same day, just two hours apart!
Space News
Tsunamis carried boulders across an ancient Martian ocean
This week the InSight lander on Mars sent what might well be its last message. After four years on the surface it's provided information about hundreds of quakes and at least one asteroid impact. Nothing lasts forever, and the Martian environment is very harsh. Fortunately the science it's enabled will continue long after the robot itself has shut down.
And the same is true of the Viking landers sent up in the 1970s! About six years ago, scientists explained the appearance of scattered boulders far away from any evidence of flowing water -- tsunamis on Mars. And recently they identified the impact sites of the asteroids that triggered them!
This is yet more evidence that not only was there water on Mars, but that it was in sufficient quantity to form massive liquid oceans, large enough to sustain tsunamis travelling thousands of kilometers!
This color picture of Mars, taken July 21, 1976, shows a flat region strewn with boulders -- and no signs of flowing water.
Source: skyandtelescope.org
Other Books To Check Out
I've gathered a few great books from independent authors like me, I hope you'll check them out.
And let me know if you have any books to recommend! I'm particularly interested in indie authors, but anything you've read and loved would be awesome.
Rebel Magic
Universal Book Link
It was supposed to be a one-night stand.
There were supposed to be no strings attached.
When Clink agrees to use his power of astral projection to help a team that already consists of super speed, super strength, and empathy rob the most secure building in Crimson, he figures the payout will be worth it.
Cover of 'Rebel Magic' - a fire-wielding magician in a dimly-lit alley.
In the Shadow of the Rings
Free
An empire has fallen. Hokkaido is alone. New paths are forged.
The Collectorate has collapsed. Forty worlds once bound to its might are on their own. Some flourish, others implode ... and a few seek to fill the vacuum.
Cover of 'In the Shadow of the Rings' - a couple in front of an asteroid field.
A Space Pirate Christmas
Free
Space Pirate Roberts meets Santa Claus.
For mature audiences only. A Space Pirate Christmas is a mashup sci-fi thriller with space pirate action blended with a Christmas story. Elaunae learns of the Earth custom, and wants to celebrate it with Nathaniel. She wants his first Christmas to be special. Doc Roberts, her husband, agrees. He loves her, and will do anything for her, even celebrating a foolish holiday.
Cover of 'A Space Pirate Christmas' - a spaceship hangs as a bauble on a Christmas tree.
SFF Book Bonanza!
A selection of the finest speculative fiction, free for a limited time.
A Science Fiction and Fantasy giveaway, literally dozens of free books which means there's something here for everyone. It's neatly categorised too, so it's never been easier to find your ideal read!
Pick up a couple today, and then drop the author a line, telling them what you think! Believe me, it really makes a writer's day when they get an email like that.
Strange News
Did our brains evolve because of parasites?
There are some truly terrifying diseases out there, but some of the most unusual come in the form of parasites. Cats carry a toxoplasma organism that infects rats, making them more likely to take risks and get caught by the cats. Eating them completes the parasite's life cycle, and benefits the cats too. Or there's the fungus that infects ants, replacing their brains and forcing them to climb stalks of grass to be eaten by birds, spreading the fungus wider. That last one was the inspiration for the cordyceps infection in 'The Last of Us'.
But we have immune systems, which learn about threats and can adapt to counter them. This article argues that it's more complex than just sending white blood cells out, that resisting these parasites has actually changed our bodies over time, and in particular our brains.
And this is having effects in medicine today. Ever wonder why some people get a huge benefit from certain anti-depressants, while others react badly? As the title of the article suggests: "Maybe Your Zoloft Stopped Working Because A Liver Fluke Tried To Turn Your Nth-Great-Grandmother Into A Zombie".
The article links to a scientific paper which explains it in mind-boggling detail, so this isn't just some idle speculation. And along the way you might learn that the cravings you experience over the festive period are coming from an unexpected source...
Cordyceps fungus in a variety of insect hosts.
Source: Slate Star Codex
Miscellany
WOW signal being investigated
The 'WOW' signal from 1977 is the best candidate for an extra-terrestrial signal, a possible message from the stars. But we've no evidence that it was in fact a deliberate signal, and despite keeping a close eye on that corner of the sky, nothing else has been seen. Now two telescopes are being trained there to look for any hints of technology.
Source: IFLScience
"WhaleFall" for alien life hunt
There's no light at the bottom of the ocean, no useful resources for life -- it's utterly inhospitable. But when a whale dies, and its body sinks to the bottom, it triggers an explosion of life as they take advantage of the opportunity. Now scientists have suggested we could do the same on Mars or Titan, and drop some 'food' to see if any microbes show up to snack.
Source: Big Think
I was wrong about Dracula (maybe)
I said 'we all know Dracula was inspired by Vlad the Impaler' -- but this article makes a very good case for the true origin being a mistranslation of a Hindu trickster spirit called a 'vetala'.
Source: Atlas Obscura
And Finally
In honour of the holidays, I've made my book 'Return of the Martians' totally free!
From now until the 27th December, you can download it from Amazon for absolutely nothing. Read it on that brand new Kindle you got for Christmas, or your phone, or your computer...
Download Return of the Martians
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