Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Science Fact: Keith Cooper ****

There's something appealing (for a reader like me) about a book that brings together science fiction and science fact. I had assumed that the 'Amazing Worlds' part of the title suggested a general overview of the interaction between the two, but Keith Cooper is being literal. This is an examination of exoplanets (planets that orbit a different star to the Sun) as pictured in science fiction and in our best current science, bearing in mind this is a field that is still in the early phases of development.

It becomes obvious early on that Cooper, who is a science journalist in his day job, knows his stuff on the fiction side as well as the current science. Of course he brings in the well-known TV and movie tropes (we get a huge amount on Star Trek), not to mention the likes of Dune, but his coverage of written science fiction goes into much wider picture. He also has consulted some well-known contemporary SF writers such as Alastair Reynolds and Paul McAuley, not just scientists working on exoplanets.

After some general material, Cooper gets down to a series of types of exoplanet - Earth-like, desert, ocean, partially or wholly winter dominated (including references to Game of Thrones, which isn't exactly science fiction), planets with no rotation (or no star), planets in multiple star systems (very popular in movies since Star Wars), the moons of exoplanets, oddities, and planets which have been taken over by a single city like Trantor in the Foundation series. Cooper gets across a lot of exoplanet science, with more than a touch of astrobiology, at an accessible level. As an SF fan, I would have liked a bit more of the science fiction in the balance - we get many quick references, but I would have liked a bit more depth. Admittedly, if you aren't into SF, this would grate, but I would imagine most purchasers of this book would be happy with a good dose of science fiction.

Although Cooper does mention the planets of the solar system quite regularly, one trick I think he missed is pointing out how much our attitudes to our backyard, notably the Moon, Mars and Venus, has changed in fiction. This would the prefigure his description of how science fiction's exoplanets have become less like Earth as the real science has increasingly shown that Earth-like planets are rare. In the first half of the twentieth century much fiction assumed our solar system neighbours might be habitable by higher lifeforms, but we've seen each pushed off its perch, and, of course, modern science fiction very much echoes this - what has happened with exoplanets is a direct parallel, though arriving later as it has only been since the 1990s we have been able to detect them.

That's a small moan, though - it's a good exploration of the field, with neat SF references.

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Review by Brian Clegg - See all Brian's online articles or subscribe to a weekly email free here