I’m so besmiggled about this news, that I’ve just gone ahead and invented the word “besmiggled” to describe my feelings about it.
Paul Goat Allen of Barnes & Noble Explorations has just announced that Infoquake is Barnes & Noble’s Top Science Fiction/Fantasy Novel for 2006. Says Paul: “David Louis Edelman’s debut novel — the first installment of his Jump 225 Trilogy — is equal parts corporate thriller, technophilic cautionary tale, and breathtakingly visionary science fiction adventure.” You can find the full list here.
If you’re interested, you can also read Paul’s review of Infoquake and the interview he conducted with me this summer. Money quote from the review: “Brilliantly blending the cutthroat intrigues of the high-tech business world with revolutionary world building, Edelman could quite possibly be the love child of Donald Trump and Vernor Vinge. Infoquake is one of the most impressive science fiction debuts to come along in years — highly recommended.”
But this isn’t just good news for me. Including Infoquake, three Pyr titles made B&N’s top ten — the other two being John Meaney’s Resolution at #6 and Sean Williams’ The Crooked Letter at #4. (I’ll chalk up Mr. Allen’s omission of Ian McDonald’s River of Gods from this list to the fact that he either considered it a 2005 book, or he suffered a temporary spell of dementia. Come to think of it, that might explain his choosing Infoquake as well, so let’s not go down that road.)
The list is also good news for a number of other authors whom I respect and admire, including Rudy Rucker, John Scalzi, and Jeff VanderMeer. I’m honored to be mentioned in the same paragraph as these folks, much less singled out for something like this. So thanks, Paul Goat Allen and B&N.
I’m just… besmiggled. Yeah, that’s it. Besmiggled.