raymund

I'm a speculative fiction author whose middle American upbringing is a launchpad for journeys to the ends of the universe. My most popular works are military science fiction series The Confederated Worlds (novels Take the Shilling, Operation Iago, and A Bodyguard of Lies) and the Stone Chalmers series of science fiction espionage adventures (novels The Progress of Mankind, The Greater Glory of God, To All High Emprise Consecrated, and In Public Convocation Assembled). I have over ten other published book-length works and more than forty published short stories. My short fiction has appeared in Analog, Odyssey, Boundary Shock Quarterly, and the anthology Surviving Tomorrow, and has earned honorable mentions and a semi-finalist award in the Writers of the Future contest. My works are available worldwide in ebook, trade paperback, and audiobook editions. After circling the world by age five, I grew up in the Ozark Mountains of southwest Missouri. I earned a B.A. and a Ph.D., both in biochemistry, from Rice University. Though I've been out of the lab for decades, hundreds of papers cite my graduate research. In addition to my writing career, I've worked in patent law, won a national quiz bowl championship, am a husband and father, and agree with Robert Heinlein that specialization is for insects. I live in Houston with his wife, son, and daughter. In case you're wondering, my last name has one syllable and is pronounced “eye-sh.”

A Holiday Request

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For all the festivities and good cheer of the Christmas season, this time of year can get stressful. To do lists are packed with shopping, gift wrapping, Christmas cards, party prep, menu planning. It’s okay to feel frustrated and annoyed. It’s okay to feel guilty about feeling frustrated and annoyed (“It’s the holidays, why aren’t

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Saturn V Rocket Booster

NASA Postpones Crewed Artemis Mission To Moon: A Science Fiction Writer’s Perspective

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You might’ve lost this news item in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, but NASA recently announced the postponement of the Artemis III crewed mission to the moon. The new target date for the landing is “mid-2027 at the earliest.” As a science fiction writer, I have a mix of thoughts Part of

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Science Fiction Short Story Smorgasbord – Till December 15

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Some of science fiction’s most memorable works have been short stories. Isaac Asimov‘s “Nightfall” and Arthur C. Clarke‘s “The Star” have been read and remembered for decades. At longer lengths, Flowers for Algernon and Fahrenheit 451 are still read in American high schools decades after their initial publication. Both novels were expanded from the original

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Was The Great Filter Beer?

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The Fermi Paradox is a recurring topic here, and for good reason. It addresses one of the most interesting questions in science fiction: are we alone in the galaxy? What other minds are out there? And today it asks another important question: was the Great Filter beer? Hanay, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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