David Brin

Anyone who wants simple, pat stories should buy another author's product. The real universe ain't that way, and neither are my fictive ones. 

But honestly, if you do a rigorous survey of my work, I'll bet you'll find that biology is a theme far more often than physical science. 

But it is a delightful challenge to try to depict interesting aliens. 

Change is the principal feature of our age and literature should explore how people deal with it. The best science fiction does that, head-on. 

Fortunately, human beings are remarkably diverse models to work from. 

I find humans tremendously interesting. 

I like to be surprised. Fresh implications and plot twists erupt as a story unfolds. Characters develop backgrounds, adding depth and feeling. Writing feels like exploring. 

I would normally never set out to write a trilogy. 

In the book, America had already been weakened by bio terror plagues before waves of selfish violence took down the rest. But the real enemy was the kind of male human being who nurses fantasies of violent glory at the expense of his fellow citizens. 

My education and background thoroughly inform my writing. 

My first duty to write a gripping yarn. Second is to convey credible characters who make you feel what they feel. Only third comes the idea. 

One of the rules I try to follow is that normal people are going to be involved even in heroic events. 

Only a knowledgeable, empowered and vocal citizenry can perform well in democracy. 

Predicting has a spotty record in science fiction. I've had some failures. On the other hand, I also predicted the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of fundamentalist Islam... and I'm not happy to be right in all of those cases. 

The worst mistake of first contact, made throughout history by individuals on both sides of every new encounter, has been the unfortunate habit of making assumptions. It often proved fatal.