In the forward to Encounter With Tiber, Arthur C. Clarke laments Aldrin's incursion into the science fiction realm. "It doesn't seem fair," Clarke writes. "There was a time when we science fiction writers had Space all to ourselves and could do just what we liked with it. Not anymore... people like Buzz have been there, and can tell us exactly where we went wrong. And now, to add insult to injury, they're writing science fiction themselves. Even worse--it's damned good science fiction."
High praise indeed coming from a multiple Hugo award winning novelist. But then, Buzz Aldrin had quite a few dramatic experiences to draw on when writing his first fiction novel, which tells the story of humanity's 10,000 year quest to explore the stars.
Aldrin also had considerable help when writing Encounter With Tiber, which was published in 1996, from acclaimed science fiction writer John Barnes. In addition to collaborating with Aldrin on Encounter With Tiber, Barnes has written Mother of Storms, A Million Open Doors and Orbital Resonance.
Nevertheless, Encounter With Tiber unmistakably benefitted from Aldrin's expertise. Instead of just describing both real and fiction spacecraft, for example, the book contains numerous diagrams, a sign that the authors wanted to make sure the reader could get as clear a picture as possible of the technology presented in the novel.
Encounter With Tiber is available from both barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com on the Web.
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