Rob lands on Planet S

Planet S is the biweekly arts-and-entertainment newspaper in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and I was on the cover of the April 9, 2009, issue, and the cover story was about me.

That story by Ashleigh Mattern, headlined, "Light Speed, Mr. Sawyer -- Engage!," is online here.

(The first word in the article refers to Wanuskewin Heritage Park, just north of Saskatoon, which honours the First Nations inhabitants of the area.)

The cover illustration by Alex Whyte shows a cyborg version of me looming over the Canadian Light Source, Canada's national synchrotron facility, at which I will be writer-in-residence for June and July 2009. (The caption on the cover says, "Fantasy Meets Fact: Sci-fi Guru Sawyer aims phasers at synchrotron!")

Says the article:

Clearly, Sawyer is a dyed-in-the-wool science geek -- but that's exactly what's made him one of Canada's most noted science fictions writers. Much of that success can be attributed to the fact that, no matter what the subject, Sawyer takes great pride in ensuring that the scientific ideas and theories in his works are grounded solidly in fact.

And, of my current novel Wake and its upcoming sequels, I'm quoted in the article as saying:

“Science fiction has too often taken a simplistic, alarmist approach to the concept of artificial intelligence. Well, I for one don’t welcome our new robot masters. This is my attempt to present a positive symbiosis -- a world where humans are no longer the smartest thing on the planet, but in which we find a way of continuing to exist without giving up our essential humanity or individuality.”

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site