SciFi | M Thomas Apple Author Page

How Star Trek helped NASA make better shuttle names

August 8, 2025
MThomas

Gorog summarised in the memo:

This group comprises millions of individuals who are deeply interested in our space programme

The name “Enterprise” is tied in with the system on which the Nation’s economic structure is built.

Use of the name would provide a substantial human interest appeal to the rollout ceremonies scheduled for this month in California, where the aeronautical industry is of vital importance.

It is really too bad that the shuttle looked nothing at all like the Enterprise (Constitution class).

And an odd coincidence that the original name chosen by NASA was…

…Constitution…

ChatGPT is frighteningly good at writing literary analysis…

August 5, 2025
MThomas

🧾 Conclusion

Adam’s Stepsons takes the core questions of Blade Runner and distills them into a tight, character-driven drama. It lacks the sweeping visuals of Villeneuve or the noir cityscape of Scott — but it delivers something arguably more intimate:

A quiet horror — and quiet triumph — in the collapse of identity, where the artificial doesn’t just mimic life…

It replaces it.

Over the weekend (my first with no student work to grade — finally! — since April), I decided to ask our “old” friend ChatGPT if it could analyze my sci-fi novella Adam’s Stepsons. Really, I was just curious what it would say.

It said…a LOT.

It correctly interpreted the title (something that many readers apparently didn’t get). It correctly identified the main themes as part of a “post-humanism” sub-genre of science fiction. And once I gave it three short excerpts (from the near the end of the story), it gave a frighteningly accurate thematic and symbolic analysis of the entire novella…just from three short excerpts of a total of about six pages.

I won’t copy all it gave me (you all can go try on your own and see what it says!). But let me share what the program thought were key themes:

Sorry for the long absence…

September 2, 2024
MThomas

Haven’t posted anything in about five or six weeks. Sorry!

I was going to initially post something about the Boeing crew that got stranded on the ISS, but NASA kept delaying their decision to use SpaceX. It was a given that they’d have no choice.

Boeing, quite obviously, cannot be trusted to spend millions of taxpayer’s dollars and make a proper spacecraft.

Anyway, I’ll start posting something more interesting soon.

In the meantime, here’s a Star Trek TOS selfie by Catwoman. I mean Lee Meriwether. (S3:14, That Which Survives)

Short story short listed!

May 6, 2024
MThomas

One of my SciFi short stories has been shortlisted for an award (newly created category).

More details when they are available!

(FWIW I referenced the short story in the beginning of Bringer of Light, when Overseer Martin Velasquez asks about the results of a “Marshall” game. Worldbuilding…)

What is the next “unfilmable” scifi book to hit the big screen?

April 1, 2024
MThomas

The story of the last 20 years of pop culture is, in many ways, the Victory Of The Nerd: Comic book films, gaming adaptations, the general adoption of deeply nerdy genre trappings like time loop stories, superheroes, and more, all making billions of dollars at the box office as geek obsessions infiltrate the body mainstream.
https://www.avclub.com/dune-other-great-unfilmable-sci-fi-novels-1851370740

AV Club suggests these five:

God Emperor of Dune (book 4)

The Caves of Steel (Isaac Asimov)

The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula LeGuin)

The Sirens of Titan (Kurt Vonnegut)

The Player of Games (Iain Banks)

One of the main problems that some “classic SciFi” doesn’t get made into movies is that their plots are, frankly, often ridiculous or cheesy.

What would you want to see on the big screen finally?

Check out my author interview at Literary Titan!

April 1, 2024
MThomas

Trust and Friendship

New reviews for Bringer of Light!

April 1, 2024
MThomas

Bringer of Light holds appeal for its imaginative setting and thought-provoking themes. Readers who appreciate a blend of speculative technology and introspective musings on the universe will find this book a stimulating read…For fans of science fiction, M. Thomas Apple’s novel offers a glimpse into a future filled with wonder and complexity.
— 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Literary Titan

Bringer of Light is a highly recommended read for fans of gripping sci-fi with a deeper, more resonant meaning at its core.
— 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟K. C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite

Today’s quote

March 27, 2024
MThomas

You don’t write for success. That takes part of your attention away from the writing. If you’re really doing it, that’s all you’re doing: writing.
Frank Herbert, “When I Was Writing Dune”

Now available! Bringer of Light

March 27, 2024
MThomas

For more ordering details: https://mthomasapple.com/science-fiction/children-of-pella-series/

Trolling trolls rarely works

March 21, 2024
MThomas

On March 13th, someone on Goodreads shelved Bringer of Light, and on March 14th gave it a one-star rating, the lowest possible.

On March 15th, Bringer of Light was finally published online.

I flagged the “review” as violating Goodreads policy, and received an email saying the company would deal with it appropriately.

Six days later, the one-star “review” still stands.

It’s been very tempting to post a comment. But for the moment, I have resisted.

If you don’t like my work, that’s fine. But it is simply mean-spirited to try to judge it without even bothering to read it.

There are lots of trolls out there. They must be starving for attention.

Poor buggers. You’ll have to find food elsewhere.

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