Another Book Done!
Posted on February 19, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 20 Comments
Well, sort of. I just delivered to Tor the revised edition of Agent to the Stars, which will have its trade paperback debut in late ’08. The revisions were mostly to update the timeframe of events; the original version of the book has timely pop culture references that are no longer timely, because the book was written eleven(!) years ago. But now it’s updated and that’s pretty much that.
In other news, damn, it’s been eleven years since I wrote Agent to the Stars. A novel I wrote is actually more than a decade old (at least, in terms of when it was written, not when it was published). The good news is, pop culture references aside, I think it stands up reasonably well. You can’t ask for much more than that.
Any word on whether or not it will have the nice cover that the Penny-Arcade guys supplied?
I doubt it will. Tor has its own art department, run by the absolutely fabulous Irene Gallo, and I’m sure they’ll come up with something groovy.
So what pop culture references didn’t stand the test of time?
Was a fun book, and props to the PA guys, who introduced me to your work way back when. Been a fan ever since.
It’s been on my “books i have to buy” list since last month (i think) when you mentioned that it’s going to be published. Pretty cool
Does this mean you’ll be taking Agent out of The Scalzi Creative Sampler? Or do you plan to leave up the original?
Being that I was starting college eleven years ago, Agent had me falling over laughing and reminiscing about a lot of the pop-culture references, kind of like watching I love the 90s (but, you know, in a “good” way). I hope it stays up, if only for posterity.
What are the odds of an auction with this version with the PA artwork? That would rock my socks.
That sucks John! You’ve sold out. How do you feel now? You feel like a big man? Like Speilberg removing the guns from ET? Like George Lucas “fixing” Star Wars?
Well let me tell you something. I like my Asimov stories with slide rulers, I like Han shooting first, and I like my out-dated pop-culture references.
BTW: what did you change?
I am currently in the middle of Agent to the Stars, reading it for my first time. One observation: the twisted mind that produced The Android’s Dream is not a recent phenomenon. For those who have not [yet] read AttS, let me describe it as a lovechild of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Mars Attacks, and Alf. And I mean that in a good way!
Oh, good; now all those years of feeling guilty for not sending you $5 after reading AttS can be taken care of by buying this.
I hope.
(I did try to catch up with you at the ABA a few years back, when you were there with the Uncle John’s folks, but you weren’t at the booth the day I attended….)
Side note: (SPOILER ALERT!!) reading AttS lead me to think of a new “law” of SF: Whenever a character suffers an injury that leaves them brain-dead but otherwise basically unharmed, there will always be someone or something else willing to move in.
Darn. I liked that cover.
Congratulations, John!
I’m also curious as to what references you changed.
Basically if it’s something or someone who has become notable since 1997, it’s what’s changed.
Hey, ten years, doesn’t that mean you’re now qualified for to be on the ballot for the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame?
It’s twenty five years. And it’s not an album.
…the original version of the book has timely pop culture references that are no longer timely, because the book was written eleven(!) years ago. But now it’s updated and that’s pretty much that.
So in 2019, it’ll be dated again?
Yeah, but by then I just won’t care.
Ya know, I just read this about a month or two ago, given the dearth of new Scalzi material for me to read in recent days (Zöe’s done w00t!), and I enjoyed it inmensely. Just thought I’d share.
It’ll be great to get a proper copy of ‘Agent’ on my bookshelf to replace the current version – 4 or 5 booklet-printed sections held together by a bulldog clip!
I just hope I have less trouble purchasing it than I did trying to get TAD from Amazon UK …