METZGER, Robert A(lan) 1956-

PERSONAL:

Born May 21, 1956, in Los Angeles, CA. Education: University of California, Los Angeles, B.S., 1980, M.S., 1980, Ph.D. (electrical engineering), 1983.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Ace, Putnam Berkley Group, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Engineer, journalist, and novelist. Hughes Research Laboratories, Malibu, CA, research scientist and electrical engineer, c. 1980s; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, research scientist and electrical engineer, beginning 1990s. Compound Semiconductor magazine, cofounder.

MEMBER:

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, National Association of Science Writers, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Nebula Award nominee for best novel, 2002, for Picoverse.

WRITINGS:

Quad World, Roc (New York, NY), 1991.

Picoverse, Ace (New York, NY), 2002.

Author of columns, "What If?" for Aboriginal SF and "State of the Art" for Science Fiction Writers of America Bulletin. Contributor of short stories to periodicals, including Aboriginal SF, Amazing, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Science Fiction Age, Weird Tales, and Wired.

SIDELIGHTS:

Robert A. Metzger, a scientist and a columnist for the Science Fiction Writers of America Bulletin, is also the author of the 2002 Nebula Award-nominated Picoverse. As Metzger stated on his Web site, "I'm an engineer of the electrical variety (not to be confused with a physicist), a writer of science fiction, and a reporter of technology. In reality I wear only one hat—these three areas have so merged that there is no separating them."

Picoverse, according to SciFi.com reviewer Bob Koester, is a "rewarding yarn with some new spins on the idea of alternate universes." In the work, a team of physicists headed by Professor Horst Wittkowski develops the Sonomak, a fusion power project with almost limitless potential. After a disastrous experiment, the project is taken over by the mysterious Alexandra Mitchell, who uses the Sonomak to create a picoverse—a new, miniature universe—which she enters. Her actions set off "a chain of events that whirls the characters … through multiple picoverses and time periods," wrote Booklist critic Bryan Baldus. SFSite Online contributor Lisa DuMond stated that Picoverse "races through a plot far more complex than the simple twist of knot pictured on the cover," adding that "With realities shifting from one universe to the next, the motives and loyalties of the characters shift rapidly, leaving readers unable to completely trust anyone in the book until their intentions are proven." A Publishers Weekly reviewer remarked that "This fast-paced romp through multiple manmade universes from Metzger will appeal to hard SF fans who like their science served straight up."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Analog, March, 2002, Tom Easton, review of Picoverse, pp. 132-137.

Booklist, March 1, 2002, Bryan Baldus, review of Picoverse, p. 1099.

Library Journal, November 15, 1991, Jackie Cassada, review of Quad World, p. 111; March 15, 2002, Jackie Cassada, review of Picoverse, p. 111.

Locus, December, 1991, Charles N. Brown and Scott Winnett, review of Quad World, p. 54.

Publishers Weekly, February 11, 2002, review of Picoverse, pp. 166-167.

ONLINE

Deep Outside Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror,http://www.clocktowerfiction.com/ (April 19, 2004), A. L. Sirois, "Outside in Review."

Robert A. Metzger Home Page,http://www.rametzger.com (April 19, 2004).

SciFi.com,http://www.scifi.com/ (April 19, 2004), Bob Koester, "Off the Shelf."

SF Site Online,http://www.sfsite.com/ (April 19, 2004), Lisa DuMond, review of Picoverse. *