Soon and very soon

So Cliffside is on the final edit/proof stage, catching any continuity errors, tense issues, grammatical mistakes, or misplaced punctuation. With any luck, I'll be converting it over Tuesday or Wednesday. I don't think it'll be too bad, given that GDocs exports to HTML and Kindle imports from HTML, but we'll see. I've heard the conversation software is a tad finnicky.

Libertarian?

So my business partner Nick has been all up in the face of economics lately, and how freedoms work, which inevitably ends up at the Libertarian viewpoint. It's difficult to argue against market pressure and the idea of negative rights. But of course, people point out that there hasn't really been a significant pure-free-market society in the past. I have a postulate. A libertarian society extends as far as effective communication. You see, since you have no central structure, and everything works by contract and agreement, the ability to coordinate is based on the ability of people to collect and disseminate information. Not a single entity, but all people. That works pretty well when you're on the level of a village of a hundred people, and maybe even when you've got two or three villages working together. But not so much when you have entire nations who need to coordinate on large projects. (There's also the fact that since a libertarian society wouldn't have a government, it wouldn't be recognized as a coherent state by historians, but whatever) Now, though, we have really, really good communication. Look at Kickstarter, Google Maps, Twitter, email, IM...all the barriers that stop people from being able to communicate and coordinate on any arbitrary level are gone. The actual logistics of what coordination can accomplish are solved problems, so we actually have a chance to give it a try. What the hell, it's got to be better than what's going on now...

Sense of wonder

So I was thinking the other day why I don't really enjoy most of the scifi or fantasy (in book, game, or movie form) that's come out recently, and I came to the conclusion that most modern fiction is missing a sense of wonder.

Let's define that: wonder is something that makes your soul ache for what might have been, what never was, and what may yet be.

Since that's not a really useful definition, I'm going to try and elaborate. Wonder comes from the unknown, being faced with it and exploring it, and most importantly with being left with unanswered questions. It's also a positive emotion, so the unknown must awe, it must inspire, it must grant possibilities undreamt-of.

However most speculative fiction these days doesn't do that. This is the worst in movies, but much scifi is in fact horror, where whatever unknown there is, is not something to be explored but hidden from or destroyed. Fantasy falls into "gritty and realistic" (GRR Martin), Urban Fantasy (Every fantasy book published for the past five years it seems), or A Clone Of The Lord Of The Rings.

While the first one fails the wonder test on the simple merit of striving as hard as it can in the opposite direction, the latter two make an egregious error in storytelling, to my mind. They have no original setting.

Urban fantasy comes with a big asterisk saying "Like Reality Unless Otherwise Noted." And how many fantasy settings are just Generic Medieval England or bog-standard Middle-Earth, with orcs and goblins and dwarfs and elves? This is familiar, it inspires not the imagination, and it's incredibly lazy.

You can't explore the unknown if you don't give the reader an unknown to confront. And the only way you can do that is to invent your own universe. In scifi, that used to be by inventing everything outside the Earth, but these days it seems everyone has the same Generic Interstellar Government Of Earth, sometimes with a vague threat or another. There's no outside context problem to confront, no immensity of concept, it's just regular wars and politics writ slightly larger and with starships instead of tanks.

So there's one fundamental thing people need to do when they write - forget reality. Stories are not reality. Oh, you need verisimilitude of reactions for human characters, but nothing else needs to match our world. Your politics, your wars, your histories, your laws of physics. We have an infinite sandbox to play in, your starships need not be buildable, and your magics explainable. Don't write people being terrible to each other because it's realistic - stories are for inspiring, for creating the reality we want things to be, not just ruminating over the grit and nastiness that plague us.

New cover is here!

Man am I ever excited. My good friend Patrick Benjamin did it for me, and...yeah, worth it!

Where's the community in MMOs?

This is going to be an extraordinarily broad-strokes statement, but it seems pretty accurate.

Every upcoming MMO - and most current ones - seems to be a single-player RPG that more than one person can play.

This is most obvious in terms of story, where the quest lines try to make it seem that the player is The Hero, capital letters intentional. That's the tried-and-true (and logical) architecture of a single-player RPG, but in an MMO each individual is just one of many. Some people may indeed be more important than others, but they become more important in terms of community rather than the scripted storyline (...with a few exceptions I'll touch on later). Groups and guilds are formed in order to take down bosses, but for the most part there seems to be relatively little support for these sorts of communities in the framework of the game. For the lack of a better word, the aspects of multiplayerness in MMOs are out of character attributes, completely ignored by the framework of the game universe.

There are exceptions to this. EVE, for example, uses the community to drive everything and in EVE, corps are a Big Deal. The biggest corps shape the way the game plays for everyone, arguably even more than CCP. And the one that is nearest and dearest to my heart is Asheron's Call. Yes, it's still around after...what, twelve years? It competed with Everquest back in the day, and I think that if the MMO industry had taken more cues from it rather than EQ we would have been much better off.

Ignoring a completely original setting (come on, how many games need to have elves and orcs and goblins?), AC is one of the few MMOs that actually, in-game, addresses the fact that players have infinite lives, that there are thousands of them, that they can /whisper each other. It had a unique guild system that encouraged more experienced players to mentor newer ones. It had an ongoing storyline that continues to this day. Monthly updates, people. But even though it isn't as community-driven as EVE, it did a few unusual things by including the actions of players in its storyline. It's very hard to top The Defense Of Thistledown in terms of MMO awesomeness.

Let's compare this to the MMO that I've played on and off for five plus years - WoW. In WoW, the player is no longer even in the storyline. Thrall and the Dragon Aspects do all the work. People blame dungeon finder and LFR for the dissolution of "community" but there never really was one. Part of that might be sheer numbers - 10 million people is a lot. But I was there from the beginning, from the closed beta for Vanilla, and the problem started then. Blizzard made no attempt to shape that small a community, and the nucleus of seething contentiousness that was the Closed Beta testers informed the wider community as WoW was released and grew. They've also maintained a distance between themselves and players that, while it might make sense for a single player game company, only frustrates people who continually consume content.

Let's compare this to The Old Republic. Marvelous single player storyline that drives you to a certain level and then...stops. What's the point? If you're going to script the story of an individual within the world, use a single player game.

You need a different kind of storytelling for an MMO, a sort of universe-building, group-oriented storytelling. You need to acknowledge the efforts of players themselves, whether it's a company going in and changing an asset in honor of someone, or an automated way of players making a mark on the world. You also need to give them communities, and not just a guild channel. We have many, many templates for social networking, so how hard would it be to build one into an MMO's interface? It's not like people don't like being in communities, it's just that if the cost is too high (they have to go somewhere outside the game) it's just not going to happen. I think WoW has lasted as long as it has because it's frankly the most polished and best-feeling MMO to play that's out there. But I don't think it's a good model for the future. For that, you should look to the past.

Used Games

So Penny Arcade started a thing about used games and that entire industry. I figured I might as well post my thoughts.

Back when games were first introduced, the game market was like any other goods market. You make X number of units, you sell Y number of units. If Y is very close to X, that's great, and you don't care (or shouldn't care) about the secondary market. Any secondary market that exists doesn't benefit the manufacturer directly, but as a rule indirectly benefits the manufacturer. Those that buy new can sell and buy more new; those that buy used get exposed to more options than they would have otherwise and have incentive to eventually buy new.

This is how secondary markets work, for cars or appliances or games.. The games industry isn't in any way exempt from this...

...except when it is.

The difference between a game and a machine is that the game is data. It's not a CD, DVD, or a box. It can be used and sold an arbitrary number of times without degrading, which is not true of a machine. This isn't enough to condemn the secondary game industry (though their business practices may be).

The comparison breaks down beyond all hope when you consider downloadable content and/or online capabilities. When a company sells a game with an online feature, they are alloting a tenth of a cent (or whatever) of their profits from each game they sell to host and moderate the online presence of that account. When games are resold (and a new account made, etc), the company has either the choice to essentially lose money, or cut off multiple transactions.

For many modern games, it's much closer to a subscription or service lease than owning a physical copy and all rights thereto - but intuitively, if you own the box of a game, you should get everything it entails. This isn't an issue with digital distribution games - intuitively, you don't feel you should be able to sell bits of your Steam account. It's also not an issue with MMOs - they're subscription add-ons, not physical goods.

So the problem is a couple conflicting things. The old brick-and-mortar, games-as-goods model, and the new, digital, games-as-subscriptions model. Most games are sold via the former, but work via the latter, and the difference between how it should work intuitively and how it needs to work economically creates an issue.

In truth, I think that old-style brick-and-mortar is a problem to begin with. All games are priced at $50 or $60 with few exceptions. Not so on digital distribution, where you can find a range (especially if you include indie games), and where prices can be discounted at any time under (in theory) the control of the content creators. Additionally, without the costs of physical boxes and distribution, the prices should be lower.

Because here's another angle on new vs. used games: in general, people will pay what they think is a fair price, but no more. For many people, in buying a game, they feel overcharged, especially if they finish the game in a few hours and are unsatisfied. So they resell it to recoup their perceived losses, and it goes on the secondary market. A game may really be only a $40 game. Or a $20 game. But you can really only sell at one price point in brick-and-mortar stores if you're a new release.

If developers had the freedom (as they to with digital distribution, though how many take advantage of it?) to say, "yes, this is really a $35 game, so we'll price it there," how many more primary buyers would they get (and thus, how much more money would they make) over an overpriced $50 game getting resold eternally?

Books and books and more books.

So recently I was asked for book recommendations.

The list got long.

I was asked to post it.

I apologize in advance for the terrible formatting. I started out linking to the amazon entries, but then I realized the sheer number of books was overwhelming and started copy-and-pasting from wikipedia's entries wholesale. So here it is, consisting of way too many books. I've excluded the obvious classics and didn't include some enjoyable books that aren't quite as good as these.

Scifi

Vorkosigan Series by Lois McMaster Bujold

Cordelia's Honor

Young Miles

Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem

Miles Errant

Memory

Miles in Love

Miles, Mutants, and Microbes

The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks

Excession

Consider Phlebas

Player of Games

Use of Weapons

Look to Windward

Matter

Other books by Iain M. Banks

Feersum Endjinn

The Algebraist

The State of the Art

The Time of the Seventh Sun by Thomas Harlan

Wasteland of Flint

House of Reeds

Land of the Dead

Safehold Series by David Weber

Off Armageddon Reef

By Schism Rent Asunder

By Heresies Distressed

A Mighty Fortress

The Golden Age by John C. Wright.

The Golden Age

The Phoenix Exultant

The Golden Trancendance

Foreigner Series by CJ Cherryh

Trilogy arc 1
Foreigner
Invader
Inheritor
Trilogy arc 2
Precursor
Defender
Explorer
Trilogy arc 3
Destroyer
Pretender
Deliverer
Trilogy arc 4
Conspirator
Deceiver

Honor Harrington Series by David Weber

1. On Basilisk Station (April 1992) ISBN 0-671-57793-X
2. The Honor of the Queen (June 1993) ISBN 0-671-57864-2
3. The Short Victorious War (April 1994) ISBN 0-671-87596-5
4. Field of Dishonor (December 1994) ISBN 0-671-57820-0
5. Flag in Exile (September 1995) ISBN 0-671-31980-9
6. Honor Among Enemies (February 1996) ISBN 0-671-87723-2
7. In Enemy Hands (July 1997) ISBN 0-671-57770-0
8. Echoes of Honor (October 1998) ISBN 0-671-57833-2
9. Ashes of Victory (March 2000) ISBN 0-671-57854-5
10. War of Honor (October 2002) ISBN 0-7434-3545-1
11. At All Costs (November 2005) ISBN 1-4165-0911-9
12. Mission of Honor (June 2010) ISBN 1-4391-3361-1

Accelerando by Charles Stross

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny

Anathem by Neil Stephenson

Fantasy

The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss

Day One: The Name of the Wind

Day Two: The Wise Man's Fear

The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett

1	The Colour of Magic	1983	Rincewind	Came 93rd in the Big Read.
2	The Light Fantastic	1986	Rincewind
3	Equal Rites	1987	The Witches, The Wizards
4	Mort	1987	Death	Came 65th in the Big Read
5	Sourcery	1988	Rincewind, The Wizards
6	Wyrd Sisters	1988	The Witches	Came 135th in the Big Read
7	Pyramids	1989	Miscellaneous (Djelibeybi)	British Science Fiction Award winner, 1989[5]
8	Guards! Guards!	1989	The City Watch	Came 69th in the Big Read
9	Faust Eric	1990	Rincewind
10	Moving Pictures	1990	Miscellaneous (Holy Wood), The Wizards
11	Reaper Man	1991	Death, The Wizards	Came 126th in the Big Read
12	Witches Abroad	1991	The Witches	Came 197th in the Big Read
13	Small Gods	1992	Miscellaneous (Omnia), The History Monks	Came 102nd in the Big Read
14	Lords and Ladies	1992	The Witches, The Wizards
15	Men at Arms	1993	The City Watch	Came 148th in the Big Read
16	Soul Music	1994	Death, Susan Sto Helit, The Wizards	Came 151st in the Big Read
17	Interesting Times	1994	Rincewind, The Wizards
18	Maskerade	1995	The Witches
19	Feet of Clay	1996	The City Watch
20	Hogfather	1996	Death, Susan Sto Helit, The Wizards	Came 137th in the Big Read; British Fantasy Award nominee, 1997[6]
21	Jingo	1997	The City Watch
22	The Last Continent	1998	Rincewind, The Wizards
23	Carpe Jugulum	1998	The Witches
24	The Fifth Elephant	1999	The City Watch	Came 153rd in the Big Read; Locus Fantasy Award nominee, 2000[7]
25	The Truth	2000	The Ankh-Morpork Times, The City Watch	Came 193rd in the Big Read
26	Thief of Time	2001	Death, Susan Sto Helit, The History Monks	Came 152nd in the Big Read; Locus Award nominee, 2002[8]
27	The Last Hero	2001	Rincewind, The Wizards, The City Watch	Published in a larger format and fully illustrated by Paul Kidby
28	The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents	2001	Miscellaneous (Überwald)	A YA (young adult or children's) Discworld book; winner of the 2001 Carnegie Medal
29	Night Watch	2002	The City Watch, The History Monks	Received the Prometheus Award in 2003; came 73rd in the Big Read; Locus Award nominee, 2003[9]
30	The Wee Free Men	2003	Tiffany Aching	The second YA Discworld book
31	Monstrous Regiment	2003	Miscellaneous (Borogravia), The City Watch, The Ankh-Morpork Times	The title is a reference to The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women[10]
32	A Hat Full of Sky	2004	Tiffany Aching, The Witches	The third YA Discworld book
33	Going Postal	2004	Moist von Lipwig	Locus and Nebula Awards nominee, 2005[11]
34	Thud!	2005	The City Watch	Locus Award nominee, 2006[12]
35	Wintersmith	2006	Tiffany Aching, The Witches	The fourth YA book.
36	Making Money	2007	Moist von Lipwig	Locus Award winner, Nebula nominee, 2008[13]
37	Unseen Academicals	2009[14]	The Wizards, Miscellaneous (Nutt)
38	I Shall Wear Midnight[15]	2010	Tiffany Aching	Fifth YA book

No seriously, everything but the YA stuff.

Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

1	Storm Front	2007 November 6	0-4514-6197-5	2000 April 1	0-4514-5781-1	2002 July	0-9657-2550-2	0-9657-2556-1
2	Fool Moon	2008 July 1	0-4514-6202-5	2001 January 1	0-4514-5812-5	2003 April 30	0-9657-2552-9	0-9657-2558-8
3	Grave Peril	2008 November 4	0-4514-6234-3	2001 September 1	0-4514-5844-3	2005 July 30	0-9657-2555-3	0-9657-2559-6
4	Summer Knight	2009 July 7	0-4514-6275-0	2002 September 3	0-4514-5892-3	2007 March 31	0-9790-7492-4	0-9790-7493-2
5	Death Masks	2009 November 3	0-4514-6294-7	2003 August 5	0-4514-5940-7	2009 October 29	0-1431-4519-3	—
6	Blood Rites	2010 July 5	0-4514-6335-8	2004 August 2	0-4514-5987-3	2010 April 15	0-1424-2806-X	—
7	Dead Beat	2005 May 3	0-4514-6027-8	2006 May 2	0-4514-6091-X	2010 April 15	0-1424-2807-8	—
8	Proven Guilty	2006 May 2	0-4514-6085-5	2007 February 6	0-4514-6103-7	2009 April 30	0-1431-4473-1	—
9	White Night	2007 April 3	0-4514-614-01	2008 February 5	0-4514-6155-X	2009 April 30	0-1431-4474-X	—
10	Small Favor	2008 April 1	0-4514-6189-4	2009 May 3	0-4514-6200-9	2008 April 1	0-1431-4339-5	—
11	Turn Coat	2009 April 7	0-4514-6256-4	2010 March 3	0-4514-6281-5	2009 April 30	0-1431-4472-3	—
12	Changes	2010 April 6	0-4514-6317-3	—	—	2010 April 15	0-1431-4534-7	—

Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs

Moon Called

Iron Kissed

Blood Bound

Bone Crossed

Silver Borne

The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny

Nine Princes in Amber

The Guns of Avalon

Sign of the Unicorn

The Hand of Oberon

The Courts of Chaos

The Trumps of Doom

Blood of Amber

Sign of Chaos

Knight of Shadows

Prince of Chaos

The Black Company by Glen Cook

The Books of the North

1. The Black Company - May 1984
2. Shadows Linger - October 1984
3. The White Rose - April 1985

[edit]The Books of the South

1. Shadow Games - June 1989
2. Dreams of Steel - April 1990

[edit]The Books of the Glittering Stone

1. Bleak Seasons - April 1996
2. She Is the Darkness - September 1997
3. Water Sleeps - March 1999
4. Soldiers Live - July 2000

The Vlad Taltos Novels by Stephen Brust

The Vlad Taltos novels (19 are planned in this series)

1. Jhereg (1983)
2. Yendi (1984)
3. Teckla (1987)
4. Taltos (1988)
5. Phoenix (1990)
6. Athyra (1993)
7. Orca (1996)
8. Dragon (1998)
9. Issola (2001)
10. Dzur (2006)
11. Jhegaala (2008)
12. Iorich (2010)
13. Tiassa (forthcoming^[4])

The Kencyrath Cycle by PC Hodgell

1. God Stalk, 1982 (ISBN 978-0425060797)
2. Dark of the Moon, 1985 (ISBN 978-0689311710)
3. Seeker's Mask, 1994 (ISBN 978-0739418871)
4. To Ride a Rathorn, August 2006 (ISBN 978-1592221028)
5. Bound In Blood, March 2010 (ISBN 978-1439133408)

The Gentleman Bastard Sequence

1. The Lies of Locke Lamora (June 2006)
2. Red Seas Under Red Skies (July 2007)
3. The Republic of Thieves (forthcoming)

Obsidian and Blood by Aliette de Bodard.

• Servant of the Underworld
• Harbinger of the Storm

Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

The City & The City by China Meiville

Other

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman