FULLER MEMORANDUM!

Wait, it was published in 2011? Weird- I bought it from Amazon on Dec 17 and got it before Xmas. Guess that not only did they get the street date wrong, they then broke it by a few weeks.

Not helped by Solaris putting "First Published 2010 by Solaris" at the top of the page listing the copyrights - which are all 2011!

Is it OK to moan about Neptune's Brood not coming out for another two years, even though I know there is nothing you could do about it?

It's been a while since I read a decent Space Opera ...

Yes, Amazon can really fuck up a publisher's sales plan when they put their mind to it.

No it is not okay to moan about it being another two years.

My summer 2011 title is "Rule 34", which took me 18 months to write.

I'm currently working on two projects, more or less in parallel, with deadlines around the middle of the year: "The Rapture of the Nerds", with Cory Doctorow, and "The Apocalypse Codex" (about 60-70% written in first draft). Hint: hitting those deadlines requires me to write the equivalent of two-thirds to an entire novel in the next 6-7 months.

Only after I've finished TAC (by September 1st) can I get my teeth into "Neptune's Brood", which is currently a one-page pitch letter rather than a fully-realized project. It's going to take me 6-12 months to write it, and then it'll be scheduled for publication in 2013 because TAC will be published in summer 2012!

Believe it or not, I've even got my work schedule for 2012/13 roughed out -- finish NB, then get my teeth into "The Lambda Functionary", aka the third book in the thematic trilogy beginning with "Halting State" and "Rule 34".

Disappointed that an expansion of Palimpsest isn't in your medium term plans.

That was such a good novella...

-- Andrew

After "Neptune's Brood" is published, any chance you could show us the 'one page pitch letter'. It'd be interesting to see your thoughts from that early stage, as well as what the publisher thought was book-worthy!

I am also eagerly storing up a good supply of giggles for the book that comes next: 'Saturn's Children,' 'Neptune's Brood,' uh, 'Uranus's Seed', er, Spawn, er, Attendants, Little Hangers On, er. . . giggle.

Or maybe that's why you went right from Saturn to Neptune in the first place, heh. (he said, sheepishly remembering the order of the planets)

If you call the next one 'Oort's Plutoids' I'll give you $50.

Given that lineup for the next 2 years I'm certainly not going to complain! In fact the only thing that keeps me from moaning about the wait for "The Apocalypse Codex" is that there are actually other writers publishing books this year¹. Also, I've just discovered that Ian McDonald wrote a sequel to "Desolation Road" that I didn't know about, and I still haven't read Iain M. Banks' latest, "Surface Detail". I'll be in the reading room if you need me.

I won't be voting because I'm not going to the convention/a member, so I don't have a dog in this fight, but I must quibble about whether "The Fuller Memorandum" is science fiction. I loved it. I read it three times in the first month after it came out. Some of the scenes will be printed on my memory for the rest of my life, but I'm not sure whether it's science fiction or not.

I'd be thrilled, BTW, if someone nominated the online comic "Freefall" as the best graphic story.

@ 10 and referring to a comment in an older thread ... Are we SURE the Culture is an Utopia, or is it about to fall ... Given that Cheradinine Zakalwe appears to still be around?

All this talk about TFM caused me to check if it is on NZ's Kobo store (I'll buy there for preference). It is, and at a price very similar to what the Kindle store would hit my credit card in NZD. That's very reasonable, especially considering that it includes our VAT at 15% (now loaded on iphone). I probably need to concentrate my reading for the next couple of months on potential Hugo nominees. Once the ballot is out I will decide if I get a Reno supporting membership (assuming there is a Voters Packet).

Alex said I must quibble about whether "The Fuller Memorandum" is science fiction..

Why would it matter if it were not?

Chris

The Fuller Memorandum does it for me. Personally I thought it was the dogs dangly bits. Hopefully the other Hugo voters will agree.

You can get supporting membership. Which entitles you to the Hugo nomination/voting process.

And that gets you an electronic voting pack which, last year at least, contained electronic copies of pretty much all the fiction items on the final ballot, once that is known. Quite a nice deal, actually - 5 each (roughly) of novels, novella, novelettes and short stories that are considered good enough for a Hugo by at least some of the Hugo voting population.

Regarding whether TFM is SF or not - see http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-faq/ for why it doesn't matter.

Question: Is there a good source for the exact publication dates (down to the day) of various publications, like the one you've given for this story? It's clear that authors and publishers track this sort of thing, but I don't know of any good clearinghouse for this information (past and present).

Certain copyright clearances rely in part on exactly when and where various editions of a work were published.

I'd love to see Charlie win a Hugo, and the Fuller memorandum definitely deserves all the praise and awards anyone can bestow upon it, including by all means a Hugo.

When I ask if it's science fiction, I'm just quibbling, because I'm not sure it qualifies as such - it seems to sit in a rather odd territory right on the border of espionage, science fiction, thriller and horror story - but it's a wonderful story however it gets labeled. Personally I saw the horror and espionage elements as taking first place.

I would also add that the book's solid position between three or four genres puts it solidly into best-seller territory, and I hope the next one gets well-positioned by the booksellers with careful attention to this potential.

Ahem: I've already got two. (Well, one; the other is awaiting customs clearance at Heathrow, according to Parcelfarce's tracking website.)

Indeed. And in case anyone thinks you've been ordering them from Hugos'R'Us, I bear witness that the second was properly awarded on stage back last September.

(That you came so very close to winning two at the same time is something we don't mention.)

Hi Charlie,

Tracking how many Hugos you have seems a little "obsessed fannish" for me. It's bad enough that I've read two of your books so many times they've had to be replaced, so I absolutely refuse to be nerdier about Stross than that - I've got kids to raise and I'd just as soon not be seen as that much a doofus.

I've got to go now. We home school and it's time for our monthly reading of "A Colder War." We build up a big fire, then we listen to Krzysztof Penderecki's "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima" just to get into the mood, and while we read we drink Ensure out of used Wild Turkey bottles so we'll feel properly post-apocalyptic. It's a big event around our house. (Joking aside, I've also read "A Colder War" more times than I care to admit in public.)

Congrats on your Hugos and many happy returns. (The terrible thing is that the first version of that sentence read "our Hugos." ~Sighs~ I think my Freudian slip is showing.)

Anyway, if you show up in Southern California I'll buy you a latte. (We do have beer, but we don't admit it in public.)

For our collective's sake (and your sanity), I hope this time no one tries to steal the plot of "The Lambda Functionary".

blastr.com is listing Rule 34 (along with Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation) as one of the novels they are looking forward to in 2011. Who can disagree?

Presumably the cover art is for the US edition, not sure I like it.

http://blastr.com/2011/01/11-sci-fifantasy-novels-w.php

Please note that, if you consider purchasing a supporting membership in this year's Worldcon, then you must do it by January 31 in order to be able to nominate, even though the nomination period extends to March 26.

Dang Charlie you pretty busy. How do you get time to blog? And what are your dates for NYC in Feb?

I'll be in NYC on Feb 15-18. But don't get your hopes up -- I'm there on business (meeting with my agent and at least one, possibly two, editors), and am flying out on the 18th.

Kewl I'll be around during that time. I'll keep my ears open.

Hey, Charlie. Nothing you can probably do anything about, but it seems that for the past several months, your books just aren't showing up on B&N shelves on the US side of the pond. If anything, the books that had been there are being bought up, but nothing seems to be replacing them - authors near your name are sidling up to what had been at least 7 books or so bearing your name. Can't seem to find the Fuller Memorandum anywhere. Guess maybe it's time to just order OL...

Rule 34 cover: looks reasonably stylish compared to a lot of US SF covers I've seen. The Scalzi Fuzzy cover has a look'n'feel which is instantly recognisable...

Talking of Little Fuzzy: I finally took the plunge and got an eReader for Christmas (having pretty much run out of shelfspace). It's a Kindle 3 - good price, and I'm not bothered about Amazon tie-in especially since I found Calibre. I also spent a fair amount of time over the hols reading this blog on it - works a treat.

One of the first things I went in search of was the Fuzzy trilogy, and grabbed the rest of H. Beam Piper's works at the same time. I read Little Fuzzy as an early teen, and I have to say I enjoyed rereading it just as much as the first time round.

And I was fascinated by the factoid on Piper's Wiki page - about the Paratime stories influencing Merchant Princes - in fact, searching for 'paratime piper stross' led me to a fascinating discussion on The Well from '03 regarding this. Guess I know what to read next...

A belated Happy New Year to all, and I look forward to parting with cash for anything OGH cares to write next - I'll put up some new shelves...

I was just re-reading Iron Sunrise and it seems to me that you should have gotten some sort of award for the phase: "the brightly-colored sporks of revolution".

Wherefore I beknight you as the Knight Manager of the Order of the Purple Spork, -1st class*.

*(-1st is 2 better than 1st, and you get a thing on your chain that looks like a glitter-covered coke spork, but is actually your Spork of Office, encrusted in extra-sparkly tanzanite).

I prefer not to see any connection between Little Fuzzy and Rule 34. My retinas and I would thank you for not providing any pictorial evidence of any such connection.