Kickstarter

Comments

1. 1. 

      Creator Kieran Masterton on September 25, 2009

      I very much enjoyed the extract and I also enjoyed: http://hugin-19.lg.grailgrid.net/ :) wonderful hidden gold coins of transmedia storytelling goodness.

   2. 

      Creator Robert Baruch on September 24, 2009

      I listened to it for about 15 seconds and then stopped, because I want to lovingly caress the final printed words with my eyes.

      That came out sounding nasty.

   3. 

      Creator Dan Levine on September 24, 2009

      @Saheli, @Howard, @Robin: I ordered "Consider Phlebas" about an hour before reading this comment thread, from a completely unrelated Good Reads recommendation. Wicked.

   4. 

      Creator Kenneth Lu on September 24, 2009

      @Howard That's brilliant! I just name my hard drives after elements. :P

      Robin, my personal favorite Banks book is _Excession_, but that's probably because it features copious amounts of hyperintelligent AIs chatting with each other... something that also drew me to Vernor Vinge's _A Fire Upon the Deep_ (another must-read).

   5. 

      Creator Euan Mclaren on September 23, 2009

      Hmm, so I found out a chickpea product was rescued, but still think there is more.

      loving your work

   6. 

      Creator Matthew Eichmann on September 23, 2009

      Robin,
      Part of me wishes you hadn't posted this. The part that's now going to be driven crazy because it can't continue to read. PLEASE HURRY AND FINISH! Just kidding. No pressure.

   7. 

      Creator Tim Carmody on September 23, 2009

      First of all, we need to build in the "open a new tab" UI into the multimedia e-book of the future. Imagine if, at a certain point in reading a book, it popped open an alternate window, while the text (and whatever other media) kept going along?

      It's too late for us to realize the aesthetic possibilities of the pop-up ad; we can't lose this chance.

      Second, if you really did open a tab when Robin started reading, you miss out; he gives a sheepish grin and then stares off into space reading his text. It's a little bit like having a conversation with someone after they've just looked at the Aleph.

   8. 

      Creator Robin Sloan on September 23, 2009

      @Saheli, @Howard: Wow. Double-whammy recommendation from two of my favorite brains. I haven't read any of the Culture books but will do so ASAP.

   9. 

      Creator Howard Weaver on September 22, 2009

      Saheli: I want to live in the Culture. It's my favorite future construct from a lifetime of sf reading. (I have started naming hard drives like those GSVs. Current iMac is "It Seemed Like A Good Idea At the Time.)

   10. 

       Creator Robin Sloan on September 22, 2009

       @Jason: Not quite at the wordsmithing phase yet -- but thanks for the suggestion!

   11. 

       Creator Jason Black on September 22, 2009

       Change "and each time, there's nothing" to "and each time, finding nothing."

       Finding is a much stronger verb. It carries with it a sense of motion, of activity, of discovery. It carries the sense of an actor (_someone_ has to do the finding), and in this context, a further dramatic sense of thwarted activity. An obstacle.

       "There is", on the other hand, is entirely static. It is a status-oriented, state-of-the-world construction. It has no life to it. It is also based around THE single most generic verb in all of English: "to be". And while Shakespeare certainly made perhaps the best possible use of "to be", for the rest of us looking for verbs that are MORE specific, rather than general, is almost invariably the way to go.

       P.S. Given any more thought to my free editing offer? :)

   12. 

       Creator Daniel on September 22, 2009

       Ooh, a sneak peek! Cool. And "amanuensis" is not a word I see often.
       I'm a Googler, so it's great fun to see what you do with us in EPIC 2014, Mr. Penumbra, and in our alternate-universe form here. We're still working on that just-a-button search... ;)

   13. 

       Creator Nick Douglas on September 22, 2009

       Oh hot damn! Nice book-beard by the way. Halfway through your Penumbra story on my subway-ride Instapaper and it feels like the good parts of C. Doctorow.

   14. 

       Creator Robin Sloan on September 22, 2009

       ;-)

   15. 

       Creator Robin Sloan on September 22, 2009

       @Peter: Parallel universe. Java doesn't exist.

   16. 

       Creator Peter on September 22, 2009

       Sweet! I wonder if Grail was ever sued by Groovy on Grails...

   17. 

       Creator Saheli on September 22, 2009

       I like listening to authors reading their work! Including you!

       Have you read any of the Culture books by Iain M. Banks?

       *ice* cold?

   18. 

       Creator Offbeatmammal on September 22, 2009

       you may hate to listen to writers read their work, but I'd really be interested in an audio book version of this... really enjoyed your delivery