Bengaluru: Science fiction is almost like time travel. Mundane human logic usually takes a backseat and free-flowing imagination takes over. Tim Poston’s latest read is a similar experience.
Called ‘The Living Labyrinth’, it takes the reader on a journey with six trainees belonging to the Starfolk community, who have been shipwrecked on a strange land on their first training mission.
An extended voyage out in space where all they can damage is themselves and in a very expensive Da Silva starship, they find themselves desperate to get back home, explains Poston. “They’re very green and bright and they find themselves stranded dealing with the complexities of the new and strange planet. They need to survive it in order to become inter galactic citizens.”
And that’s not all, he adds. “Along the way, the reader meets a fanatic high priest and his subtle chaplain, a circus performer; a gang of female slaves, an acquisitive queen and some naive rebels, two opposing generals; the mysterious Cavern Dwellers and some very surprised people back home.”
Previously called the ‘Vegetable Connection’, Poston has been working on this novel for almost four decades along with co-author Ian Stewart, who is a mathematician and author as well. “We have been writing this novel for forty years and have greatly improved in the last three! ” he says excitedly.
Tim’s roots in writing go deep. A schoolboy of eight, flabbergasted with his assignment that demanded he write a serious story, Tim decided to just go with his gut and write a story along the lines of a comic book that he had read. To his surprise, he ended up with a pretty good story that not only got him through the assignment but also instilled in him a confidence to write more.
He’s been writing ever since. Mathematician, scientist and author, the now 71-year-old Poston has not looked back since. With an aura of a magician, he is best known for his book on catastrophe theory, called ‘Catastrophe Theory and its Applications’, published in 1978, which is still in print after a third of a century.
If you’re one of those that have heated arguments with an author (in your minds), this book is a must-read for you, he said. “For someone who never argues in their head with an author, this book will probably bore them, but for someone who likes to reason on scientific and engineering issues in an adventurous setting, it will be exciting.”
He is currently working on the sequel to ‘The Living Labyrinth’, called the ‘Rockstar’ which is set to hit the stands soon. It provides a background to the story, elaborating more about the planet that technology came from and the effect of reconnecting with the rest of humanity. Science fiction fans can grab a copy and have a chat with the author at the launch of his current book on October 15 at 6:30pm at The Bookworm on Church Street.
