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As a science writer, I get a lot of press releases. I mean, a lot. So when I find one that has an intriguing angle, it's more likely to catch my attention -- say, a press release from the European Space Agency about the "comet chaser," Rosetta, likening its scheduled rendezvous with the asteroid Lutetia to a "blind date."
It worked. I wrote an entire post riffing on the idea, and had a lot of fun with it.
Eventually I found out that the scribe behind that amusing press release was Stuart Clark, a well-known UK astronomy journalist and author of several popular science books, who is also senior editor for space science at the ESA. Oh, and he's totally in a rock band, because these days, that's what British scientists do. And now he's branching out into fiction, publishing the first novel -- in the UK for now, with a US publisher still being sought -- in a historical science trilogy called The Sky's Dark Labyrinth.
As a science history buff, this is right up my alley. Each book explores a pivotal turning point in man's understanding of the cosmos, focusing on fictional portrayals of giants in astronomy. Book I focuses on Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei; Book II on Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley; and Book III on Albert Einstein and Edwin Hubble. Clark was kind enough to answer some of my questions about this exciting new venture.
Q: What inspired you to write the trilogy, and why did you choose the historical periods and personages that you chose to feature?
A: I’ve been researching the stories of Kepler and Galileo, Newton and his contemporaries, and Einstein, Hubble and Lema?tre for years, looking for a way to bring these extraordinary tales of achievement to the largest audience possible. The more I read about these people, their times and their work the more astonished I became at their achievements. They lived through wars, religious schisms, royal intrigues and sexual scandals -- the stories had everything and astronomy on top of it all. Eventually, the penny dropped: the stories are so dramatic why not write them as historical fiction? I figured that if I stuck close to the truth, they could become the ultimate geek thrillers.
I chose the stories I did because they represent fundamental watersheds in the way we think about the Universe. The first book is about Kepler and Galileo. Kepler was the first person in human history to distill a natural phenomenon into mathematics with his laws of planetary motion, and I couldn’t help but be fascinated by what that must have felt like. I also think that he’s not as well remembered as he should be.
In the second book I move on to Newton. His theory of gravity was thought to be a theory of everything at the time, explaining all motion on Earth and in space. He himself saw it as a new gospel with which to usher in a new kind of religion, one based on reason and evidence. Then of course there was Einstein, working in the cauldron of Berlin, in the long shadow of the First World War.
These are dynamite stories. So, prime fodder for compelling fiction.
Q: What kind of research did you do for the period details? And how did you strike the all-important balance between telling a good fictional story and being sufficiently accurate in terms of the history and science?
A: I’m becoming more and more interested in history, especially the history of science. It adds so much to my understanding of how the astronomy I know and love, came about. In my previous (nonfiction) book, The Sun Kings, I tried to show how personal motives, rivalries, mistakes and coincidences shaped the study of the Sun and the beginnings of astrophysics. The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth is even more explicit in its depiction of the human side of science –- it’s where most of the drama comes from.
For my research I visited museums to see artifacts, and locations that my novel is set in to absorb the atmosphere of the places. I looked through replicas of Galileo’s telescopes to understand what could and couldn’t be seen. I read the original books and letters of my characters to build up a picture of them as people. And I also read many papers and books by historians to see whether I agreed with their interpretations. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t.
My purpose was to remain essentially true to the facts and then fill in the blanks. As for making the book feel story-like, that was all down to choosing where to start and end the story, and how to place the emphasis on events. I’ve always been fascinated by storytelling and story structure, three-act and five-act plays. Christopher Vogler’s book The Writer’s Journey had a big influence on me when I first read that.
Q: You're a successful author of nonfiction popular science books, most focusing on astronomy topics. Why did you opt to move into fiction?
Every time I begin a new project, I ask myself what would be the most effective way of communicating it. And the idea of writing this as fiction came about in discussions with an editor. And writing fiction has always been an ambition of mine.
I’m aware that turning to fiction is a risk because of my non-fiction pedigree. In fact, number of publishers in the UK passed on Labyrinth because they didn’t want my readers to be confused. Well, judging by the individuals I’ve met, they’re an intelligent bunch who can tell the difference between fiction and non-fiction. And thankfully Waterstones, the UK’s largest book chain, became enthusiastic by the approach too. They asked the publishers to put the words ‘a novel’ on the front of the book, and then they were happy.
Q: How did you first become interested in science, and astronomy in particular?
I simply can’t remember a time when I wasn’t fascinated by the night sky and space. I was a science fiction fan from a very early age, too. I completely immersed myself in Star Trek and the original Star Wars films, and read voraciously. For most of my teenage years I was convinced I was going to be a science fiction author. I wrote a Star Trek novel before I left school and submitted it to Pocket Books, who sensibly declined.
At college I got completely caught up in astronomy and began writing about it for astronomy magazines. I was also writing about science fiction for film and TV magazines as well. Then I funded my PhD by writing the sleeve notes for Star Trek videos, and I eased into book writing.
Gradually I wrote more about astronomy and less about science fiction. So it’s great to have come back to fiction writing now.
Q: Queen's Brian May, Brian Cox, and now you, Stuart Clark -- what is it with British scientists and rock 'n roll bands?
I’m so pleased to live in the age of the electric guitar! It’s like the music of the spheres to me. I’m currently playing in a Rush covers band and having the time of my life. The drummer is Nik Szymanek, one of the world finest astrophotographers. I’ve recently bought a Gibson EDS1275 double neck because way back in 1980 I watched Alex Lifeson play "Xanadu" on one of those and I promised myself that one day I would own one –- and know how to play it. That time arrived last summer, 30 years later.
A couple of years ago I wrote a song called "Neutron Stars" (because they’re heavier than metal) and that led to headlining the London Geekpop festival (video below). It was a lot of fun but the biggest show I’ve ever played was to audiences of 800 every night when I was performing lead guitar duties for a production of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds at the cliff face Minack Theatre in Cornwall.
Of course, any time either Brian would like to jam, well, I’d be up for that!
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