Karl Schroeder, scifi/fantasy writer

Interview with science fiction/fantasy writer Karl Schroeder. We discuss his cold; his upcoming book Sun of Suns which appeared in serialized form in Analog magazine; completing the first draft of the second book in the series; Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers; Master and Commander; why he had to take a break from science fiction of writing Lady of Mazes; milestones; the plot of Ventus; Vernor Vinge’s character, Pham Nuwen; the appeal of blending of high fantasy with science fiction; why it is more difficult to develop plot lines and characters in science fiction than in fantasy; heroes and villains and competing interests; what is thalience?; the problem of redefining semantic concepts in the future; why he is no longer interested in the traditional arguments of whether artificial intelligence is possible or not; the plot of Permanence; why brown dwarfs could be the key to making interstellar civilization possible; building new worlds to express new ideas; writing The Claus Effect with David Nickle for the 3-Day Novel Contest; why he started his blog Age of Embodiment; cognitive science; evolutionary biology; physics; neural physiology; The Matrix movie; why he is optimistic that things are getting better in the world; violent conflicts; fresh water; literacy rates; democracy; the worst problems according to the UN University’s Report of the Future; AIDs; international organized crime; international terrorism; climate change; mass extinctions; Orson Scott Card; Gene Wolfe; the influence of his Mennonite background in his writing; his involvement in Foresight Studies; the future of health care in Canada; startling insights he found in Foresight Studies.

Featured song is "Holy Town" by MoJo Filta.

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