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| Friday, 13 June 2003 |
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'We must not forget that Sri Lanka is the adopted homeland of the world famous science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, and perhaps this was what inspired the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Tyronne Fernando to take up his pen and follow in his footsteps. Certainly, by submitting his fiction novel to the scrutiny of such an acknowledged expert shows courage beyond the call of duty said' Ms. Lindsay Ross, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Press Union at the ceremony held at the Commonwealth Society in the UK recently to launch the science fiction novel 'To The Edge Of Doom' authored by Mr. Tyronne Fernando Minister of Foreign Affairs. The launching ceremony organized by the publishers, Athena Press in the UK and presided over by Baroness Shreela Flather was attended by a representative gathering of prominent members of both the British and Sri Lankan community. Foreign Minister Fernando presented a copy to Baroness Flather at the commencement of the ceremony. Ms. Ross continuing said 'Anyone who knows Tyronne Fernando will know that the term 'polymath' could have been invented to describe him. Educated both in Sri Lanka, and at Oxford University and the Inns of courts in London, he is a multitalented and multi faceted man who is an academic and a highly respected lawyer and President's Counsel, a committed and dedicated politician and an extremely effective minister and in fact much of his life has been dedicated to serving the public'. 'Now, it could be said that he has turned his hand to another sort of public service, fiction writing and not just any fiction but he has chosen to write and publish a science fiction novel possibly one of the most difficult genres to penetrate successfully' she observed. Commenting on the book she said that when she received a copy of the book 'Edge Of The Doom' it struck her that although she had read quite broadly in this genre, to the best of her knowledge, she had never read a science fiction novel written by an Asian author and that this alone gave it a particular interest for her. 'The story is a complex one with many strands and characters which comes together to create a metaphor of the world in the near future. The threat of world destruction is a concept that resonates with many of us who grew up in the nuclear age and I have to say that he is extraordinarily prescient in basing the book around the rogue asteroid threat which by all accounts is a very real possibility today's she remarked. |
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