Neal Stephenson Unveils His Digital Novel Platform

pickens writes "The NY Times reports that Neal Stephenson's company Subutai has released the first installment of Stephenson's new novel, Mongoliad, about the Mongol invasion of Europe, using what it calls the PULP platform for creating digital novels. The core of the experience is still a text novel, but authors can add additional material like background articles, images, music, and video and there are also social features that allow readers to create their own profiles, earn badges for activity on the site or in the application, and interact with other readers. Stephenson says the material is an extension of what many science fiction and fantasy novels already offer. 'I can remember reading Dune for the first time, and I started by reading the glossary,' Stephenson says. 'Any book that had that kind of extra stuff in it was always hugely fascinating to me.' Jeremy Bornstein says Subutai is experimenting with a new model for publishing books and says the traditional model of paying for content may not hold up when the content can 'be canned and sent around to your friends for free,' but that people will hopefully still pay for content if 'the experience is so much more rich, so much more involving.'"

Comments

No thanks

[spiffmastercow]

The price point is too high, the author's last few works have not been up to his previous standard, and leisure reading at my computer is simply not possible.

Re:No thanks

[Zed Pobre]

Leisure reading on wireless-equipped tablets is becoming popular, however. I'm doing all of my reading nowadays either on a PDA or at my computer. The number of people reading on personal electronics is increasing quite nicely.

Personally, though, I have difficulty with the notion of paying much for a book I can't pull out of my archive and re-read later, loan to a friend, fix typos in, or reorganize to my taste. This site looks like a 'read-only-while-subscribed' service. If they don't allow archiving to ePub, then it has no value to me.

Re:No thanks

[spiffmastercow]

So you're saying I should buy a $500 iPad and pay $10/year to read a website novel that I might not even like?

Re:No thanks

[emkyooess]

Buy access per item. Down with subscriptions!

Re:No thanks

[Anonymous Coward]

>10$ a year is too much? That's less than the cost of going to see one movie.

$10/year isn't bad, but that's $200 to be able to review/reread the book over the next 20 years is. I like his books, while definitely different from the pulpy Snow Crash/Diamond Age, the new novels can be challenging (Anathem was definately a slow starter). Its an interesting idea, and Neal's books more than any other really push me to explore some of the concepts (Operations of banking systems in pre-WWII Asia, birth of financial markets, role of religion in royal succession, etc),

What he's proposing is really a whole new thing, more of a book/TV show hybrid. I have reservations (I prefer paper hardcovers, can't imagine reading that much on my iPod Touch, I hate waiting for the next chapter to be released because I want to go cover to cover as fast as possible), but see some possibilities (I might be willing to spring for a Kindle/iPad for this, a ready community reminds me of the fun around Babylon 5, discussing the series & episode around the water cooler the next day). There are a bunch of unknowns (what do I get for $10/year, just this years chapters, other book projects? Is the book fully written, or are they writing chapters each week, meaning its not really edited the same as a novel which can be written out of order, revised to resolve plot holes, etc, will they edit chapters that are already written beyond fixing typos because they can?

Re:No thanks

[Lumpy]

or your $100 kindle

Re:No thanks

[Scrameustache]

It's not the setting that bugs me, it's the verbosity. The Baroque Cycle was a good read, but about 1500 pages too long.

It wouldn't be baroque if he didn't overdo it :)

The first few hundred pages of Anathem were on his website, I got to the end of that sample and went to buy the hardcover the next day. It's a brick, but it's a good brick. Like he said, he's a fan of Dune, and us Dune fans love our books big and wordy.

Re:No thanks

[Scrameustache]

For me, his best stuff was actually non-cyberpunk. Zodiac, Interface, The Cobweb, Cryptonomicon...

Zodiac is the one I use to introduce him to people. Not too big, not too weird, but 100% awesome.

Re:No thanks

[Ephemeriis]

$10/year isn't bad, except I re-read books intermittently. I'll read a book, shelve it for a few years, and re-read it when there's nothing new that peaks my interest. Under this model, I'm paying $10 essentially every time I read it. Also, Kindles can't handle rich media, and they're still overpriced (and the black on dark grey text looks horrible). Reading a web site on my iPhone is a masochistic endeavor. Call me a luddite if you must, but I prefer paper.

I guess the question is what, exactly, are you paying for?

If you just want to be able to re-read the book again, you can probably download it for future reference. It's a web page. Just grab the HTML (if there isn't an epub download offered).

If you want the whole social media/supplemental content thing... Well, yes, you'd need to pay for that again. But that content will have changed. That's the whole point - to make the novel more dynamic and involved than a pile of printed pages. If you wanted to read the latest edition of a book you'd previously purchased, you'd probably have to pay for that again as well.

No, the kindle can't handle rich media... But neither can paper. Again, what is it that you want?

If you want the whole social media/supplemental content thing - use a computer. A netbook, a laptop, a desktop, whatever. If you want a printed paper analog, use a kindle or a nook or print the thing out.

Re:No thanks

[Fred IV]

> $10/year isn't bad, but that's $200 to be able to review/reread the book over the next 20 years is.

Exactly...and what happens if the business model doesn't work out and the platform goes offline ten years from now? At that point you would be out $100 in subscription charges with nothing more to show for it than your memory of experiencing the content.

I'd rather just buy the hardback and be able to enjoy it whenever and however I choose to...something that I've done for all of Stephenson's books following Snow Crash.

Re:No thanks

[Anonymous Coward]

"not been up to his previous standard"?! Did you read Anathem??

Re:When can WE play with PULP?

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone know when the general public will be able to try our hands at creating media rich novels?

I believe that already exists, you can find it over at http://en.wikipedia.org

Not to say he's long winded or anything

[Quiet_Desperation]

Stephenson's new novel, Mongoliad, about the Mongol invasion of Europe

Mongoliad

Book 1 - General Subutai Gets Dressed For Battle
Book 2 - General Subutai Has Breakfast

Book 3 is still being planned, but will probably involve Subutai mounting his horse and riding out of camp.

Re:Stephenson just isn't a techie any more...

[hex0D]

I have a suspicion you haven't actually read The Baroque Cycle. To me it seemed all about the idea that only rational thinking and actual science (not 'alchemy') can move civilization forward. It painted a picture of the 17th/18th century as an interesting place, but not a pleasant one. Especially if you have bladder stones. *shudder*

And what's with the 'we'? Are techies now some sort of homogeneous hive mind that are all interested or not in the exact same thing?

Re:Ending?

[ScentCone]

The question is, will this new platform allow the author to add an ending to a novel?

No, the real question (other than, "have you actually read any of his recent stuff?") is: will this lame arm-chair-lit-crit-groupthink meme itself ever find an ending?