More Love for an Earlier Title

Speculative Book Review writes:

Infoquake has been compared to the classic novel Dune and the movie Wallstreet. This is a very good comparison, but I think that Infoquake stands on its own merits and allows us to envision a future that could quite possibly occur with a nudge in the right direction. The pacing and style of the novel leaves you wanting more as the book moves at break-neck speed from the corporate boardrooms to the public launch of a product. You would think that a science fiction book that focuses on the backstabbing and the planning of a new computer program would leave you yawning and sleepy, but Edelman has found a way to keep you reading way into the wee hours of the morning drinking coffee like a computer programmer behind on his product launch. A fascinating piece of literary work that is bound to be considered a classic of science fiction. One, if not THE top read of the year. A must have for any reader of science fiction. Could not recommend higher.

Get the Jump on the Future

With the release of GEOSYNCHRON, the third and final book in David Louis Edelman's landmark Jump 225 trilogy, the accolades for the series are pouring in. Look how many folks are saying this isn't just a good series, but a defining one:

The Dragon Page Cover to Cover:
“Probably some of the best sci-fi written this decade... Amazing stuff.

Grasping for the Wind:
“Edelman’s concluding novel, long in the making, is just amazing. ....If you read no other science fiction story this year, read the Jump 225 trilogy.”

Locus Magazine:
“This smart, idiosyncratic blend of cyberpunk, libertarian entrepreneurship, and social engineering will, I think, stand as a seminal work of 21st century SF.”

Fantasy Book Critic:
“Geosynchron achieves a rare feat for a trilogy-ending volume, namely it takes the series one level higher, beyond mundanity to true sense-of-wonder SF, so it finally plays on the level of the masters of modern SF like [Alistair] Reynolds and [Peter F.] Hamilton… An A+ and so far the best core-SF novel I’ve read in 2010.”

SFFWorld:
“Geosynchron is at the top of my best reads list - it has set the bar very high for anything else I’ll be reading this year. The Jump 225 trilogy is a must-read, an instant classic and a work of SF that will help define this first decade of the 21st century, and could cast a long shadow for many years to come.”

The Agony Column:
“This is what you want from science fiction. You want the vision of the writer to inform your vision of your life.”

I could go on. But really, do I need to?

David Louis Edelman: One Last Adventure Before the End

I'm still reeling under the news that one of my favorite podcasts, Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing, is closing up shop, if not forever, at least for the indefinite future. Shaun's podcast is essential listening in my book, and I think I'd say that even if I wasn't his most frequent guest (learned that recently, and now no one can take my crown away! But I'd rather they still had the opportunity to try.)

Meanwhile, I'm honored that Shaun is going out on a string of Pyr-related interviews. First he interviewed Yours Truly (jointly with Joe Mallozzi), then Chris Roberson, and now David Louis Edelman. I know he's recently recorded an interview with Kay Kenyon, so that should still be forthcoming, though I'm assuming the planned talk with James Enge didn't make the cut.

But I'm grateful for the years of support Shaun Farrell has shown us, as well as the window into the rest of the SF&F community he's provided me over the years (I don't get to read much outside my own list, so podcasts are how I stay informed). I'm going to miss this show terribly, and I hope Shaun returns in 2010 as promised. It's going to be a long wait!

I Won't Argue With this

From Pat's Fantasy Hotlist's The Hotties: 2008 Year-End Awards:

"The market is no level playing field, and yet year in and year out Pyr titles manage to stand out from the competition. Kudos to Lou Anders and his team. The guy deserves a Hugo Award and a raise!;-)"

You'll get no argument from me, Pat.

In other, non-Lou news, Pat gives Pyr his "Publisher of the Year Award," and he gives shout outs to what seems like an impressively statistically-high number of Pyr books & authors in the rest of his list:

From his SFF TOP 10 OF 2008:

4- MultiRealby David Louis Edelman
5- Last Argument of Kingsby Joe Abercrombie

And, coming in just below the fold in the runner-up category:
11- A World Too Nearby Kay Kenyon

From his MOST IMPROVED AUTHOR AWARD

David Louis Edelman

Pat writes, "Infoquakewas a smashing scifi debut, but Edelman came up with a tighter novel with its sequel, MultiReal. Can't wait to read the final volume of this trilogy!"

His MOST ACCESSIBLE AUTHOR AWARD

- Joe Abercrombie

His MOST UNDERRATED NOVEL AWARD

- A World Too Near by Kay Kenyon

His MVP AWARD: SFF AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

- Joe Abercrombie

Pat writes "For demonstrating that in this age of doorstopper fantasy series that seem endless, you can still tell a compelling story without a back story which goes back 300,000 years into the past, without hundreds of characters, without dozens of convoluted storylines. Abercrombie showed that, if you play your cards right, you can still do it with an honest-to-god trilogy. "

Thanks, Pat, for really making my Monday morning!

Best of 2008

With the year drawing to a close, the usual Best of 2008 lists are starting to appear, and it's nice to see some Pyr titles on them (some for their UK editions):

SFX: Joe Abercrombie's Last Argument of Kingsat # 8

Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: David Louis Edelman's MultiReal at # 4, Last Argument of Kings at # 5

The Wertzone: Last Argument of Kings at # 2

David Louis Edelman Reading Tonight

The Barnes & Noble in the Spectrum Center in Reston, Virginia will be hosting David Louis Edelman tonight, Wednesday, September 17 at 7:00 pm. He’ll be reading from and signing copies of MultiReal.Come on by if you are in the area! The store is at 1851 Fountain Drive, Reston, VA 20190, phone number 703-437-9490.


And check out the recent praise for MultiReal:

• io9: “I’m in it for the long haul, because it feels like Edelman is writing about real people and real issues, in a thrilling, engaging way. And that’s rarer than it should be.”
• Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist: “This is one sequel that delivers! No middle book syndrome for David Louis Edelman… The Jump 225 trilogy remains one of the very best ongoing science fiction series on the market.”
• Bookgasm: “Infoquake’s strengths have carried over to its sequel… With Infoquake and MultiReal, [Edelman]’s got new archetypes aplenty, and he doesn’t need old tropes to slow him down.”
• Chicago Center for Literature and Photography: “(Rating: 8.8 out of 10) This is a series that genre fans will definitely want to check out, and an individual chapter here that could very well garner a Hugo nomination next year.”
• Through a Glass, Darkly: “Even for a reader who loves laser battles and big explosions, MultiReal still comes across as extremely satisfying and fun.”
• Death Ray Magazine (not online): “A mix of cyberpunk and The Wall Street Journal… Where Edelman does excel, and the true focus of the book, is exploring the economics and political powers behind new technologies, their development and routes to market and the social and moral implications of such advancements.”

David Louis Edelman & the Underlying Purpose of the Human Race

David Louis Edelman is interviewed on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist. Here's a sample:

What was the spark which generated the idea that drove you to write the Jump 225 trilogy?

Working in the dot-coms, definitely. I started out writing a much more humorous novel -- a single novel, actually, that was to be called Jump 225.7. It was more lighthearted and satirical in tone, which is why I came up with all the funny acronyms like L-PRACGs and OCHREs, and silly names like SeeNaRee and the Defense and Wellness Council. I literally finished the first draft of that book on September 10, 2001. Then a few days later I put the whole thing aside and started over. I had darker things on my mind then: the future of Western society, the longevity of capitalism and democracy, the underlying purpose of the human race. So the trilogy has turned out to be a somewhat unique mixture of those two moods.

Also, there's a great review of MultiRealon Bookgasm today. I especially like Ryun Patterson's final thoughts: "People get accustomed to new ideas by leveraging the notion of things we’ve seen before, like saying this work is a cross between Wall Street and Neuromancer/Snow Crash/Blade Runner. That’s nice, I guess, but it doesn’t do justice to Edelman’s creation. With Infoquakeand MultiReal, he’s got new archetypes aplenty, and he doesn’t need old tropes to slow him down."

David Louis Edelman: At a Romantic Dead End?

The wonderful Rob H. Bedford interviews Infoquakeand MultiRealauthor David Louis Edelman for SFFWorld today.

In light of old discussions about writing for the opposite gender, I particularly appreciated this bit:

Did you find Jara’s voice more difficult to capture than Natch’s, considering, well, you are a man and Jara is a woman?

Honestly, I feel like I understand Jara better than I understand Natch. He’s somewhat difficult and remote, and he’s not really like me at all. Jara is much easier to relate to. She’s approaching middle age, she’s fed up with her career, she’s sexually unfulfilled, and she’s hit a romantic dead end. I know plenty of people, male and female, who fit those descriptions. So I didn’t worry too much about gender differences. I just tried to make her a well-rounded character.

And this bit made me laugh:

If you could take any pre-existing fictional character and plunk them into the events of the Jump 225 trilogy, who would it be?

Dr. Strange. He’s a guy who hops dimensions all the time. He ought to know how to handle MultiReal.

But you should read it all, right?

Got MultiReal?

From Rob's Blog o'Stuff: “I posted my review of MultiRealtoday, the second (wonderful) novel in David Louis Edelman’s excellent Jump 225 trilogy. I know I tend to throw around the superlatives when I like something, but I try to be genuine with what I like. David’s novels are no exception…His books really work for me on a lot of levels…Where does MultiReal stand in this year’s slew of [SF] book releases? At this point it’s right at the top with Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother."

From POD People, TCM Reviews, July 21, 2008: “Pyr is a new, up-and-coming science fiction press, and David Louis Edelman is one of their hot new stars…[MultiReal] is full of Big Ideas, in the best tradition of science fiction…Edelman is a programmer in real life, and his understanding of the process informs the book. Multireal is a deep book, full of plots and counter-plots, with a stunning vision of the future. It manages what seems to be impossible, making the act of computer programming exciting, while reflecting on the nature of government and business. This is high science fiction at its finest. RATING 10/10

'Nuff said.

MultiReal: Taking its Place Among the Classics

Man, I love this Sci Fi Weekly review of David Louis Edelman's MultiReal,which just so happens to be the 700th review of a Pyr book that I have seen/logged. This one is written by the uber-knowledgeable Paul Di Filippo, not only gives the book an A grade, but name checks a host of science fiction greats whose work, he says, Edelman fits right in alongside of.

"The notion of MultiReal as a power-leveling weapon seems rather van Vogtian to me. The amount of attention and insight paid to the workings of political and social institutions would please a Heinlein or a Brunner. There's a definite Spinradian New Wave anger at authority and also a cynicism at work here as well. And the MultiReal experience resembles Paul Atreides' precog abilities, as described by Frank Herbert."

As far as contemporary classics goes, he adds that Edelman, "brings all the intellectual firepower and verisimilitude of the digerati like Sterling, Stross and Doctorow to his text. And the ontological twists and implications of MultiReal would do honor to Greg Egan.

But he says, "The strongest overall vibe I get is that of Alfred Bester...Bester is much admired verbally, but very few authors really try to emulate him in print—he set the bar so high—and Edelman's success is commensurate with his ambitions."

The love that this book has gotten so far (including it and its author getting nominated for BOTH Campbell Awards) really, really makes me proud.

(PS - Paul just launched a group blog called Weird Universe that is sure to be worth checking out.)

Podcast: David Louis Edelman

David Louis Edelman is the latest victim in Jon Armstrong's If You're Just Joining Us podcast, the latest in his series of interviews with his fellow John W. Campbell Best New Writer award nominees. Dave describes their interview thusly:

Jon’s strategy with these podcasts is to steer away from the typical bland interview questions (”what was your inspiration for [insert book title]?”, “who were your biggest literary influences?”, etc.). So our 20-minute chat covered the coming death of the novel, the MacBook Air, the similarities between Infoquake and Grey, the pantheon of superheroes I created when I was a kid, my editor Lou Anders, how my dad taught me to always be the devil’s advocate, how 9/11 changed Infoquake, and the engineering of foreign toilets and doorknobs.

(Our conversation was actually over an hour long, and we talked about a ton of great stuff. I regret that our talk about David Lee Roth’s vocal track for “Runnin’ with the Devil” didn’t make it in.)

2008 Hugo Awards Nominations List

The 66th World Science Fiction Convention has made public the 2008 Hugo Nomination List. And I am delighted to report that, counting the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Science Fiction Writer, Pyr has no less than four people on the ballot!

In the Best Novel category - Ian McDonald's Brasyl(published by Gollancz in the UK)

In the category of Best Professional Editor, Long Form - Yours Truly

And up for the John W. Campbell, both Joe Abercrombie (who I share with Gollancz) and David Louis Edelman.

I also have to extend my congratulations to three artists who have graced Pyr covers, Bob Eggleton, Stephan Martiniere, and John Picacio. And to our author Mike Resnick, for his Hugo nomination in the short story category for "Distant Replay" (published in Asimov's April/Nay 2007 issue).

A huge congratulations to all the nominees across the board!

Edelman on Edelman

This is hysterical for a shameless plug.

The End of (Future) History

Over on the group blog Deep Genre, Infoquake author David Louis Edelman posts "The End of Science Fiction," in which he ponders if the lack of science fiction entertainment in the imagined worlds of science fiction novels doesn't indicate an assumption that SF will have served its purpose when the future arrives. I.e., the people on Star Trek seem to prefer historical dramas and mysteries in their holodeck games, given that they are out there exploring new worlds and civilizations as a day job. Or, as Dave puts it, "There’s no need to look off to some far-off feat of scientific progress because there are feats of scientific progress all around them." He references the iPod, which is undoubtedly the most SFnal gadjet this blogger's ever owned, and concludes by asking, "Perhaps the universe will one day become predictable enough — perhaps scientific change and progress will be so much a part of us — that looking into the future will just be an exercise of more-of-the-same."

Dave's question dovetails nicely with an article in the Houston Chronicle by Amy Biancolli which takes the occasion of the Transformers movie to wonder if there is a future for serious science fiction. In "The Future of Futurism," Amy asks, "Is science fiction thriving amid the pyrotechnics, or is it dying a slow and hideous death, suffocated by publishing-industry group-think and unimaginative movie execs drunk on sequels?" She then takes a survey of opinions that includes those of Monster Island author David Wellington - "It's much more respectable than it used to be," animator Craig Elliot - "There's too much bling on the screen," and artist Dave Dorman - "There's no better time in the history of films for science fiction...On the other hand, I think the writing of science-fiction films is not up to what it was..."

Of all the opinions, A Fate Worse than Dragons author John Moore's offers the most useful thought. "Science fiction is the present. We live in a science-fiction society, and I don't just mean the gadgetization of society... projecting into the future, once the province of the science-fiction writer, has become our dominant way of thought." Or, as Amy concludes, "In an age defined by the Internet, designed by software technicians and dominated by fan-driven campaigns in the blogosphere, science fiction and its fanatics have at last nestled into the mainstream."

Looking at the wealth of SF she cites, on screen and in print, good and bad, excellent and ridiculous, it looks to me that when "scientific change and progress" truly become a part of us, as Dave speculates, the result isn't the end of SF but a renaissance of it.

Or, as James T. Kirk said all those years ago (and in the future!) at the close of The Undiscovered Country, "Some people think the future means the end of history. Well, we haven’t run out of history just yet."

Infoquake Nominated for John W. Campbell Award

I cannot begin to express how thrilled I am with this news: David Louis Edelman's debut novel Infoquake has been nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best Novel!

And remember, this follows Infoquake being chosen as the # 1 book in the Barnes & Noble Editor's Choice: Top Ten SF&F Novels of 2006. Pyr books (and its editor) have picked up nominations now for the Hugo, World Fantasy, Philip K. Dick and Independent Publisher awards as well. Plus, while a lot of our authors already have a history of nominations and wins for prior work, this is David's first major award nomination, so we are just tickled pink for him.

For those who haven't read Dave's masterpiece yet, check out the website, where he has uploaded around 30,000 words of content from the book. Along with a timeline, a glossary, and host of background articles on the world of Infoquake, you can read the first seven chapters online there, or listen to the first four chapters on audio.

The award will be presented during the Campbell Conference Awards Banquet at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. Congratulations to David and to all the nominees.

David Louis Edelman on NPR this Sunday

David Louis Edelman, author of Infoquake, which, did I mention, B&N.com just picked as the # 1 SF novel of the year in their Editor's Choice: Top Ten SF&F Novels of 2006 - is scheduled to be on NPR's Weekend Edition this Sunday, in a feature report from the Agony Column's Rick Kleffel which also includes such notables as TC Boyle, Jeff VanderMeer, Charlie Stross, Amir D. Aczel...and John Carpenter's THEY LIVE.

As Rick says, "Not Your Usual NPR Lineup. Not anyone's usual lineup for that matter." Reportedly, the chances are that the piece will air in the second hour of Weekend Edition.

Update: The piece, entitled "Writers Find New Fiction Source in Economic Genre" is now online at NPR.org, where it is available in both RealAudio and Windows Media formats.

Update 2: Rick Kleffel emailed to say that the piece was in the top twenty-five of NPR's "Most Emailed" list until today (1/10/07) and that this is "quite a long time" for a piece to stay on the list. Hopefully this will lead to more SFnal reports on NPR. Thanks to everyone who helped spread the news! Meanwhile, Rick has uploaded a DRM-free MP3 version of the piece to his website, the Agony Column. BoingBoing also gave the piece a mention. We're the "and others."