Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bill DeSmedt


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was redirect‎__EXPECTED_UNCONNECTED_PAGE__ to Singularity (DeSmedt novel).  Arbitrarily0  ( talk ) 09:46, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

Bill DeSmedt

 * – ( View AfD View log | edits since nomination)

Appears to be non-notable. Unable to find WP:SIGCOV or any indication that he passes WP:NCREATIVE. Thebiguglyalien ( talk ) 00:32, 5 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Authors, Science fiction and fantasy,  and United States of America.  Thebiguglyalien  ( talk ) 00:32, 5 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Delete Fails WP:GNG and WP:NCREATIVE. JML1148 (Talk &#124; Contribs) 07:33, 5 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Weak keep. He has an entry in SFE which I've now added to the article. Weak, b/c it's just one source, and SFE seems very inclusive towards English-speaking authors (whereas, for example, most major Polish sf authors don't even get a page... but that's not relevant to the argument here, forgive me for venting about systemic bias). --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here  02:11, 7 May 2023 (UTC)

Keep or refocus to be about his book Singularity per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.  The entry notes: "US computer programmer and author, whose Near Future Archon Sequence, comprising Singularity (2004) and Dualism (2014), dramatizes the Jackson-Ryan Hypothesis that the 1908 Tunguska explosion in Siberia was caused by a microscopic Black Hole, which remains at the Earth's core and threatens the End of the World." Singularity book reviews:  The review notes: ""Singularity" is Bill DeSmedt's first novel. It's also Seattle publisher Per Aspera's first book. By basing their infant reputation on the debut of this unknown Pennsylvania author, this new local press has made a big gamble — perhaps a smart one. DeSmedt's clear descriptions of everything from the core of a typical star to the sinister device an assassin uses to mimic a wolf's bite make it easy to follow his swiftly swooping story line."  The review notes: "For his first effort, Bill DeSmedt chose as his topic the Tunguska event of 1908, when a meteorite was believed to have smashed into the Siberian wilderness, leveling trees for miles. DeSmedt has his own explanation: a submicroscopic black hole. ... The dialogue would be another matter; it's very scientific. But De-Smedt has managed a neat trick: Conversations are lively even though they're peppered with accurate physicist's jargon. The thriller aspect of the book helps."  The review notes: "Bill DeSmedt has a stylish technothriller, "Singularity" (Per Aspera, 502 pages, $25.95) -- the publisher's first hardcover and the author's first novel, not that it seems so. The SF portion starts off with the Tunguska Event, the 1908 phenomenon in Siberia that made a big noise and flattened a lot of trees, radially. Something ... strange ... happened. DeSmedt makes a case for a primordial black hole, which is still orbiting inside the Earth. Verifying the conjecture is an early part of the story. What a villain could do with such a thing, and why, is the thriller part." <li> The review notes: "Singularity  by Bill DeSmedt. It's my favorite science fiction thriller. It's got everything - great characters, suspense, action, romance, and you just might learn something about black holes along the way. I stayed up till 3 a.m. every night for a week reading it, and it left me wanting more!"</li> <li> The review notes: "Singularity also revolves around the Tunguska event, only this time it was not a meteor or a experiment gone wrong that caused the disaster, but the appearance of a microscopic black hole.  Worse, the black hole is still trapped in the Earth's crust, and conspirators are working to capture it to use it for their own ends. Marianna Bonaventure, a U.S. agent working to track down weapons of mass destruction, and Jonathan Knox, a brilliant analyst, must team up to save the world. A science fiction thriller, Singularity will appeal to readers who enjoy Michael Crichton."</li> <li> The review notes: "Singularity by Bill DeSmedt (Per Aspera Press, $25.95) is a slam-bang first novel where the science is as important as the fiction. ... "Singularity" takes this bizarre possibility, adds a cast of exotic characters, whips in a blitzkrieg plot and bakes it all into a hugely entertaining near-future thriller. James Bond would have loved to star in a story such as this."</li> <li> The review notes: " "Singularity" by Bill DeSmedt "What if the cataclysmic Tunguska explosion of 1908 was caused, not by a meteor or a comet, but by a microscopic black hole?"... The book has received awards in- cluding: Winner of the Gold Medal for Science Fiction in Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year Awards. Winner of the Independent Publishers Association's Ippy prize for Best Fantasy/Science Fiction novel of 2004."</li> <li> The review notes: "Another first book from a new press, this sf thriller makes the way-out assumption that a 1908 explosion in Siberia called the Tunguska Event resulted from Earth's very close encounter with a tiny black hole. The book grabbed the #5 position on Barnes & Noble's top ten list in sf and fantasy and the #7 position on Mysterious Galaxy's best sellers list."</li> <li> The review notes: "DeSmedt's debut SF thriller, a brisk Michael Crichton clone, vividly depicts the Tunguska event that leveled a big patch of Siberia in 1908, then shifts to the near-future, where warrior woman Marianna Bonaventure is working for CROM (Critical Resources Oversight Mandate), the U.S. Department of Energy's branch for dealing with loose WMD talent. ... The sexual chemistry between Marianna and Jonathan adds spice. Exotic hardware, lifestyles of the rich and notorious, double- and triple-crosses and a slightly rushed and facile conclusion all make a respectable if not outstanding first effort."</li> <li></li> </ol></li> </ol> Cunard (talk) 09:03, 7 May 2023 (UTC) </li></ul> Relisting comment: I acknowledge the list of reviews above for the book... so looking for focused attention on whether the BLP should exist. Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Courcelles (talk) 14:40, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
 * <p class="xfd_relist" style="margin:0 0 0 -1em;border-top: 1px solid #AAA; border-bottom: 1px solid #AAA; padding: 0px 2em;"> Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.


 * Delete. With only SFE as a suitable source, I don't really see a reason to keep the article (at that point, might as well just redirect the page to his entry in SFE). All the other links listed above are either promotional or trivial mentions. The book Singularity might deserve an article, but the author does not appear to be notable. Tutwakhamoe (talk) 20:04, 13 May 2023 (UTC)


 * Comment: I oppose deletion. Most of the Wikipedia article is about his work on the book Singularity (as are the sources), so this article should be merged to Singularity (DeSmedt novel) (which was blanked and redirected to Bill DeSmedt in 2019) per Deletion policy. Cunard (talk) 08:25, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I've restored Singularity (DeSmedt novel) using the sources I listed here. Cunard (talk) 09:16, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Redirect to Singularity (DeSmedt novel): Author fails GNG and should be redirected to his notable novel per WP:ATD-R. There is potential of author reaching GNG in future. Justanothersgwikieditor (talk) 03:49, 16 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Redirect to Singularity (DeSmedt novel) after Delete. The source eval above shows that the subject of the article does not have sourcing for notability independent of the novel (WP:NOTINHERITED). WP:BLP states "Be very firm about the use of high-quality sources"'; BLPs need IS RS with SIGCOV addressing the subject directly and indepth for both content and notability per well known core policy (WP:V and WP:BLP) and guidelines (WP:BIO and WP:IS, WP:RS, WP:SIGCOV). There is substantial unsourced BLP content in the article so it should be deleted before redirect.  // Timothy :: talk  04:41, 20 May 2023 (UTC)


 * Comment: The article's older revisions contained more sources such as this article from SciFiDimensions that verifies the article's content. Material in Bill DeSmedt that is supported by sources like SciFiDimensions can be merged to Singularity (DeSmedt novel), so I oppose deletion. Cunard (talk) 10:00, 21 May 2023 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. <b style="color:red">Please do not modify it.</b> Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.