3 book recommendations from Eliot Peper
It's hard to believe that we're only a few weeks away from the release of my forthcoming novel, Borderless. I'm growing more excited and nervous by the day. Borderless is a lush and philosophical speculative thriller starring a quirky, sarcastic, and hyper-competent spy navigating the headlong collision of tech platforms and nation states even as she tries to reconcile sins of the past with dreams of the future. I'm super proud of how the story came together and can't wait to get it into your hands. You can preorder Borderless right here to receive it when it comes out on October 30th.
And now, books I love that you might too:
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett is a thought-provoking epic fantasy starring a scrappy thief-cum-spy set in a world where items can be "scrived" to think for themselves and bend natural laws. Packed with intrigue and adventure, one thing in particular really resonated with me: The role scriving plays in this alternate reality is an elegant analogy to how software defines so many aspects of our own lives, and the four merchant houses that dominate this fictional society map closely to the tech monopolies that are accruing more and more power every day. I was lucky enough to participate on a panel with Bennett about politics in speculative fiction at New York Comic Con last week.
The Control of Nature by John McPhee is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction that brings to life people battling the Mississippi, Icelandic volcanoes, and the San Gabriel Mountains in order to protect and expand their cities and settlements. Filled with fascinating natural history, well-drawn characters, and heartbreakingly precise metaphors, McPhee reveals the creativity and hubris that lie at the heart of our ceaseless grappling with Mother Nature.
Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer is a goofy, sarcastic adventure about a bored/disgruntled computer geek who stumbles on a hidden file that can edit reality itself. Let's just say that things don't go as planned. This lighthearted and ironic tale is peppered with fun thought experiments and totally ridiculous scenarios that succeed precisely because they're so over-the-top.
Bonus recommendation: In my latest column for Scout, I talk to science journalist and science fiction author Annalee Newitz about the life and death implications of IP law, the roles that journalism and science fiction play in society, and who will own the future. I previously recommended Newitz's debut novel, Autonomous, in of the newsletter and we were also on a panel together at New York Comic Con that explored how science fiction tackles climate change.
In other news, author Bernard Jan penned a very kind review of Borderless and Brian Krespan and The Geekiverse included it in their most-anticipated lists here and here respectively. I'm currently working through copyedits on a new novel (coming 2019, working title: Breach). Sarah E. Brown, a longtime subscriber to this humble newsletter, has a new book out next week that dispenses loads of practical advice about how to build a career in tech, and it's already earned praise from luminaries like Brad Feld and Nir Eyal. Oh, and next week I'm heading to Chicago to run a political simulation game I helped design that wound up at the center of a brief internet firestorm involving the infamous billionaire Mercer family and got written up in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Buzzfeed, etc. Max Temkin and NPR's Peter Sagal are kindly hosting us at Cards Against Humanity headquarters along with a crew of activists, technologists, artists, journalists, and public officials. It's a long story, which I'll have to tell you in full sometime. :)
If you enjoy this newsletter and want to support it, forward this email to a friend. I love sharing amazing stories that explore the intersection of technology and culture. The goal of this newsletter is to recommend books, both fiction and nonfiction, that crackle and fizz with big ideas, keep us turning pages deep into the night, challenge our assumptions, help us find meaning in a changing world, and make us think, feel, and ask hard questions. In an age of digital abundance, quality is the new scarcity. The right book at the right time can change your life.
I also pull back the curtain on my creative process. When I'm not reading books, I'm writing them. If you're interested, you can find my books right here. They've been praised by the New York Times, Businessweek, Popular Science, Boing Boing, TechCrunch, io9, and Ars Technica. I'd love to hear what you think if you give them a read.
Cheers, Eliot
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