Richard Evans (British author)
Encyclopedia
Richard Evans is author of Kosmonaut Zero.
He also performed throughout the UK as keyboardist for Playing At Trains on their 1987 tour supporting goth-rock act The Bolshoi.
to research the book, following an award from Arts Council England. Kosmonaut Zero is due for release in November 2011 by Dead Ink Books.
During the writing period for the book, Evans contributed two articles on Yuri Gagarin
, the first man in space to the Sky At Night Magazine and directed Gagarin50 http://gagarin50.co.uk, an art exhibition held in Manchester
in 2011, commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the first human spaceflight.
His earlier works were The Sorber & Fox Novels - Machine Nation, Robophobia and Exilium. The books are set in Boston, Massachusetts in a near-future, and centre on the plight of android characters, Kim Fox and Alex Sorber, covering themes of machine empathy and consciousness. One Word Radio described his work as 'more science-prescient than science fiction'. Book Munch commented that Evans 'draws us a convincing world of the not too distant future–recognisable, but rendered uncomfortable by changes in the familiar'. The stories take inspiration from cutting-edge android science
and deal with ethical questions around machine emotions, scientific progress, slavery and the nature of humanity. As part of the research process for his work, he has twice visited CSAIL at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, in 2003 and 2005 as well as the University of Osaka's Intelligent Robotics Lab in 2007. From October 2011, the Sorber & Fox novels became out-of-print, with the lead characters due to return in a new project called "Persona".
He has received several writing awards from Arts Council England and contributed robotics-related articles to UK publications, including T3 Magazine
and the now-defunct UFO Magazine
. The T3 Magazine
article, Robosapiens, documents Richard's 2003 trip to CSAIL.
His short story Touch Sensitive (Perverted by Language, fiction inspired by The Fall) was described by The Stool Pigeon newspaper as 'moving and delicately written - one of the anthology's clear front runners'.
The Sorber & Fox Novels
Music
From 1980 to 1997, Evans was a guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter in a number of bands, appearing on the following albums:- The Survivor - St Vitus Dancers, (Bullshit Detector 2, Crass Records - 1982)
- Are You Ready? - James, (Strip Mine, Sire Records - 1988)
He also performed throughout the UK as keyboardist for Playing At Trains on their 1987 tour supporting goth-rock act The Bolshoi.
Writing
Kosmonaut Zero is a science fiction story set in 1960s Soviet Union, drawing upon the contemporary myth of the lost cosmonaut as well as early NASA plans to create cyborg astronauts. In 2010, Evans visited Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to research the book, following an award from Arts Council England. Kosmonaut Zero is due for release in November 2011 by Dead Ink Books.
During the writing period for the book, Evans contributed two articles on Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....
, the first man in space to the Sky At Night Magazine and directed Gagarin50 http://gagarin50.co.uk, an art exhibition held in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 2011, commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the first human spaceflight.
His earlier works were The Sorber & Fox Novels - Machine Nation, Robophobia and Exilium. The books are set in Boston, Massachusetts in a near-future, and centre on the plight of android characters, Kim Fox and Alex Sorber, covering themes of machine empathy and consciousness. One Word Radio described his work as 'more science-prescient than science fiction'. Book Munch commented that Evans 'draws us a convincing world of the not too distant future–recognisable, but rendered uncomfortable by changes in the familiar'. The stories take inspiration from cutting-edge android science
Android science
Android science is an interdisciplinary framework for studying human interaction and cognition based on the premise that a very humanlike robot can elicit human-directed social responses in human beings...
and deal with ethical questions around machine emotions, scientific progress, slavery and the nature of humanity. As part of the research process for his work, he has twice visited CSAIL at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, in 2003 and 2005 as well as the University of Osaka's Intelligent Robotics Lab in 2007. From October 2011, the Sorber & Fox novels became out-of-print, with the lead characters due to return in a new project called "Persona".
He has received several writing awards from Arts Council England and contributed robotics-related articles to UK publications, including T3 Magazine
T3 magazine
T3 magazine is a UK-based technology magazine, which specialises in gadgets, gizmos, and other technology.Originally, T3 stood for Tomorrow's Technology Today, but this isn't used anywhere in the magazine or on the website anymore. It's exclusively referred to as T3 or T3.com. The magazine is...
and the now-defunct UFO Magazine
UFO Magazine (UK)
UFO Magazine was a British magazine devoted to the subject of unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrial life. It was founded in 1981 by brothers Graham and Mark Birdsall of Leeds, Yorkshire. The magazine was one of the success stories of ufology, with an international reputation for quality...
. The T3 Magazine
T3 magazine
T3 magazine is a UK-based technology magazine, which specialises in gadgets, gizmos, and other technology.Originally, T3 stood for Tomorrow's Technology Today, but this isn't used anywhere in the magazine or on the website anymore. It's exclusively referred to as T3 or T3.com. The magazine is...
article, Robosapiens, documents Richard's 2003 trip to CSAIL.
His short story Touch Sensitive (Perverted by Language, fiction inspired by The Fall) was described by The Stool Pigeon newspaper as 'moving and delicately written - one of the anthology's clear front runners'.
Novels
- Kosmonaut Zero (Dead Ink Books)
The Sorber & Fox Novels
- Exilium (Figo Books, 2008, ISBN 0-9547521-2-0)
- Robophobia (Figo Books, 2004, ISBN 0-9547521-1-2)
- Machine Nation (Figo Books, 2002, ISBN 0-9547521-0-4)
Short fiction
- WLTM... The Dice ManThe Dice ManThe Dice Man is a novel published in 1971 by George Cockcroft under the pen name Luke Rhinehart and tells the story of a psychiatrist who begins making life decisions based on the casting of dice. Cockcroft wrote the book based on his own experiences of using dice to make decisions while studying...
(City LifeCity Life (Magazine)City Life was a Manchester-based listings magazine that was published between December 1983 and December 2005. It was a distinctive blend of radical politics and coverage of the increasingly exciting Manchester youth culture scene of the early 1980s, coinciding with the rise of Factory Records and...
, April 2003) - Half Life (The Flash, published by Social Disease, 2007, ISBN 0955282934)
- Touch Sensitive (Perverted by Language, Fiction Inspired by The Fall, published by Serpent's TailSerpent's TailSerpent's Tail is a British independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Pete Ayrton. It is notable for its translated works, particularly European crime fiction, and is the British publisher of Elfriede Jelinek and Lionel Shriver...
, 2007, ISBN 1852429291) - Girl, Absorbed (in Litro, issue 82, available free online at the Litro website)
- Half Life, Touch Sensitive, Girl Absorbed, Trick Machine & Freak of Nature [Cabala], published by Dog Horn http://www.doghorn.com, 2011, ISBN 978-1-907133-16-9
- WLTM... The Dice Man is viewable online at Evans' official site
Magazine articles
- The Cyborg Mystery UFO MagazineUFO Magazine (UK)UFO Magazine was a British magazine devoted to the subject of unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrial life. It was founded in 1981 by brothers Graham and Mark Birdsall of Leeds, Yorkshire. The magazine was one of the success stories of ufology, with an international reputation for quality...
, Nov-Dec 1998 - Robosapiens T3 MagazineT3 magazineT3 magazine is a UK-based technology magazine, which specialises in gadgets, gizmos, and other technology.Originally, T3 stood for Tomorrow's Technology Today, but this isn't used anywhere in the magazine or on the website anymore. It's exclusively referred to as T3 or T3.com. The magazine is...
, May 2003
- Robosapiens is viewable online at Evans' official site
- Gagarin in Britain and Tales of Star City Sky At Night Magazine http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/issue/april-2011, April 2011
- Gagarin50, essay in exhibition booklet, April 2011