The Raw Shark Texts
Thanks so, so much for all the kind words about Foundry—books thrive on word-of-mouth, and you’re the best readers any writer could hope for.
And now, a book I love that you might too:
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall is a hyper-intellectual thriller that twists not just plot, but the nature of reality. As soon as you believe you’ve got this story figured out, it reframes itself, making you think even as it makes you want to find out what happens next. Remember that moment in The Matrix when Neo discovers he’s living in a simulation? Now, imagine a series of such transformative beats building toward an existential climax—that’s what reading this book feels like.
Things worth sharing:
I did a fun YouTube interview about inventing fictional futures, how side projects can hijack your career—in the best possible way!—and making things you’re proud of for people you care about.
Philip Pullman on what defines a good quest: “As far as storytelling is concerned, it seems to me that there are three rules that any successful quest story obeys. The first is that the quest must be hard to undertake. The second is that it must be easy to understand. The third is that a great deal must hang on the outcome.”
I love articles like this that open windows into the many worlds that constitute our planet.
Maria Popova on how we don’t see the world as it is, but as we are: “The mind is a camera obscura constantly trying to render an image of reality on the back wall of consciousness through the pinhole of awareness, its aperture narrowed by our selective attention, honed on our hopes and fears. In consequence, the projection we see inside the dark chamber is not raw reality but our hopes and fears magnified—a rendering not of the world as it is but as we are: frightened, confused, hopeful creatures trying to make sense of the mystery that enfolds us, the mystery that we are.”
This strange fact never ceases to amaze me: if you write just few paragraphs a day for a year, you’ve written a book. Great work often doesn’t require heroic feats so much as seemingly insignificant contributions made with unreasonable consistency.
I was today years old when I realized that fabrics are big, flat knots.
My advice to any writer struggling with format constraints is to optimize for interestingness, not length.
When you use experience as a guide, remember that your guide is unfamiliar with 99%+ of reality. In the words of Haruki Murakami: “What we see before us is just one tiny part of the world. We get into the habit of thinking, this is the world, but that's not true at all. The real world is a much darker and deeper place than this, and much of it is occupied by jellyfish and things.”
Everything you need to know about story structure in a 10 second video.
Steven Hall with the only relationship advice you’ll ever need: “Life's much too uncertain to leave important things unsaid.”
Thanks for reading. We all find our next favorite book because someone we trust recommends it. So when you fall in love with a story, tell your friends. Culture is a collective project in which we all have a stake and a voice.
Best, Eliot
Eliot Peper is the author of Foundry, Reap3r, Veil, Breach, Borderless, Bandwidth, Neon Fever Dream, Cumulus, Exit Strategy, Power Play, and Version 1.0. He also consults on special projects.
“Peper's genius? Making the unbelievable feel like it's just around the corner. If you weren't a fan already, you will be after this read. Dive in, but don't expect to come up for air anytime soon.”
-Ozan Varol, author of Awaken Your Genius, on Foundry