Science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson will read from his latest book, "Antarctica," and sign copies on Tuesday, July 21, 1998 at Bogey's Books in downtown Davis. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. Bogey's is located at 223 E St.

Robinson's science fiction novel, "Antarctica," was published published in '97. His fascination with Antarctica reflects some of the same interests he wrote about in the Mars trilogy including the formation of an international utopia and conflict over territory. "Antarctica.". In the fall of 1996, he became the first science fiction writer to win a National Science Foundation grant for a five-week trip to the icy continent. "I was there in November and December...late spring down there," he said. "It was 30 degrees below zero at night." It's hard to believe that anyone could love that kind of life, but Robinson did. "I spent a week in a glacier area with a team doing field research...and spent some time in McMurdo, the main American base camp."

His fascination with Antarctica is environmental and political. People from America, France, the former Soviet Union, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile have camps there, but those who signed the Antarctica Treaty do not own territory. He describes life there as a utopian effort where the stakes are low because no population has yet become permanent. That will likely change.

"There's a lot of oil there and in the next century things will get interesting," he predicts. It's that conflict over territory that he's writing about in "Antarctica."

Robinson, a Davis resident, has been praised by critics for not only writing a gripping epic, but for combining high adventure with state-of-the-art science and timely observations on politics, governments and war.

Robinson, a former lecturer at UC Davis, lives in Village Homes with his wife and two children. He earned his Ph.D. in English and American literature from UC San Diego in 1982. He is the author of several other works of science fiction including "The Wild Shore," "The Gold Coast," and "Pacific Edge." His latest published work is the novel, "Antarctica."

For more information about the July 21 event, phone Mark Nemmers at (916) 757-6127.

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