Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 104

Another Formula

So former publishing person Jodie Archer and analyst Matthew L. Jockers have developed an algorithm to isolate features common in bestsellers, and will reveal their new formula in their soon-to-be- published work,The Bestseller Code. What does the algorithm (and the public) like? Young, strong heroines who are also misfits (the type found inThe Girl on the Train, Gone Girl,andThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). No sex, just “human closeness.” Frequent use of the verb “need.” Lots of contraction...

BoA Physics

Friend of the blog Michael Wester tells me that noted science foundation Bank of America has issued a report to its clients that there is a 20-50% chance we are living in a Matrix-style simulation. (Where are my cool shades and shiny leather coat?) The report cites Elon Musk, Neil de Grasse Tyson, philosopher Nick Bostrom, and others. You may well wonder why the Bank of America takes such an interest in the question. Perhaps they want to assure their clients that any money lost by BoA never r...

Beware the Black Spot!

Arya Stark puts her sword Needle to good use, here skewing every beauty product ad ever made.

Long Weekend

I’m up at the Ski Valley this weekend, soaking in that peaceful autumn high-mountain vibe. My usual venue is closed, so I’m staying in a mountain chalet so retro that it has no wi-fi. (Yeah! I was surprised, too!) So unless I drive down to Arroyo Seco’s coffee house (as I just did), it’s unlikely I’ll be posting much this weekend, or responding to email. If you need me urgently, you’ll just need to phone and talk to me in person, just like we did in the Stone Age.

Impersonations: The Excerpt

There’s a lengthy excerpt of my new Praxis novelImpersonations available at Tor.com. Please feel free to drop everything you’re doing and read it.

Watch List

As you might have been able to tell from my last couple of posts, I’m getting a little grumpy about my entertainment options. Just look at TV. We are really in television’s golden age, with dozens of channels programming 24 hours per day, and an unprecedented number of high-quality series on networks or available for streaming. Unfortunately I don’t have an unprecedented number of hours in which to watch all these series, so maybe a little culling is in order. I’ve got a number of series just...

Kings and Kings

Went off to “the historic” El Rey theater last night to see the Gipsy Kings. (I won’t claim to have actuallyheard them.) I’m aware of the claim that rumba-flamenca is merely flamenco-lite, and I don’t care. I like me that Afro-Peruvian-Aragonese-Andalucian-Havana-Provençal sound, so sue me. So I went to The King (El Rey) to hear a band composed mainly of the Reyes (King) family, called the Kings. If I were better able at the moment to access the more mischievous parts of my gray matter, I wo...

Reviews in the Nick of Time: Stranger Things

Netflix’s Stranger Thingshas been widely appreciated for its deft appropriation of 1980s film and music (much of which is actually Seventies film and music, but nevermind), and one acquaintance of mine called it “the movie that Stephen King and Steven Spielberg never made.” I understand that people might enjoy a series that sort of name-checks all the stuff they loved when young, but the Eighties weren’tmy youth, dammit, and I’m wanting more than a pastiche, however expert, of something of wh...

Free Books!

I have some advanced reading copies ofImpersonations, my new novel, and I’m happy to give them away to eager readers. So I’ll be running a contest, but the contest will be available only to readers of my newsletter. So if you want the books, you should sign up. And even if you lose the contest, you still get a free ebook. Since the novel is set in the Praxis universe, and I want the books to go to readers who will appreciate it, the contest will involve knowledge of the Praxis universe. Which...

Days of Romping About

I’ll be spending this weekend romping about Bubonicon 48, New Mexico’s plague-friendly science fiction convention, which means I’m unlikely to be posting here. You, however, are welcome to join me at the convention, which is scheduled to be awesome. In the meantime, please remember that my 99-cent sale onAmbassador of Progress still has a few more days to run, after which it will beover. You can find the novel on the following online retailers: Amazon,Google,iBooks,Smashwords,Barnes & Noble,...