New Short Story at Tor.Com — Now Live!
Posted on July 20, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 25 Comments
Tor.Com is finally live, and as noted in various news organizations, the site combines “original fiction, a group blog, lightweight social networking features and an extensive art gallery.” Plus it’s just generally cool.
Am I involved with Tor.Com? I am, in two ways. First, I signed on there to be their roving Science blogger, occasionally posting there about interesting things going on in the world of science. Because, as it happens, I do write about science from time to time on a professional basis, and now Tor.Com gives me a fun, regular outlet to do that. Awesome. I’ve already posted some entries there and will be posting more as time goes on.
Second, the site is debuting with a short story by me, set in the Old Man’s War universe, called “After the Coup.” Fans of the series may be delighted to know that after supporting appearances in Old Man’s War and The Ghost Brigades, the character Harry Wilson steps forward for his first starring role in this tale of diplomacy, biology and beating the crap out aliens with sticks and fists. The artwork above, by John Harris, accompanies the short story. I think you should have a ball with it.
(But wait, there’s more! There’s also a fabulous new story by Charlie Stross, set in the world of his “Laundry” stories, called “Down on the Farm.” Tor didn’t waste any time lining up good stuff for you to read, folks.)
I’m very excited about the Tor.Com site — The folks at Tor put a lot of thought and planning into the site, and it’s paid off. I think it has a chance to be a cornerstone of the science fiction blogosphere. Go check it out, sign up to comment and participate, and have a ball with it. I have so far.
WHOOOOA!
Awesome!
*goes there now*
Anybody else notice how the amount of content here has just nosedived since Scalzi declared his summer vacation?
John, I apologize for bothering you here as I know you’re not the tech manager of the Tor site, but the glitch is that I can’t leave comments there so was wondering if you can pass it on…. Each time I try to leave a comment, whether signed in or not, the comment disappears when I click “preview comment.”
Also, the story itself will not download in PDF — I get the “this file cannot be opened” message whether I’m trying to save or open. I also tried it both logged in and not logged in.
Anyhow, congrats on the site and the story.
Oooh, ooh, ooh – let me at it (from over the water).
Oh, bum – all I get is
“Fatal error: Call to undefined method JDocumentHTML::getDBO() in /www/sites/www.tor.com/files/html/templates/tor/layouts/foot.php on line 3”
Not your responsibility, I know, John, but a Tor “keenie”, I though you might want to know our geekasm is being delayed (and also lessens the enjoyment of your site, with our inability to enjoy your story on the Tor site).
:-)
Typical
Now working – so sorry for wasting your bandwidth.
Unfortunately, it would appear that the Tor.com site is momentarily borked, perhaps under the crushing load of Scalzi fans rushing to get at that latest short story.
I’m seeing it just fine.
But now you know why they opened to the public on a Sunday.
Tor.com should be stabilizing now. We had some ups and downs while trying to fix things on the fly.
The site is very nice. I was surprised how much they fixed in what was a surprisingly short beta period. On the plus side, I think their primary audience are just the kind of people that make great testers. Very detail oriented, not at all shy about pointing out issues, etc.
I’m looking forward to seeing what else they build in the way of functionality down the road. Also hoping I win the eee pc they are giving away, especially now that I’ve seen the artwork.
Between all the free e-books, art and the new site, Tor has really earned some good karma in my book.
Whoot! Reading to do at work on Sunday! Goodbye, tech support calls. Hello, Scalzi and Stross!
Thanks for the link over.
Making my day, as we speak
I have to say that, after all the buildup, to me this was kind of a yawner. Oh, I’ll add the group blog to my RSS list for sure, but I was really expecting something more Web 2.0ish. And with the ebooks given away, I was expecting something to do with ebooks as well.
Oh well…
I read the story that you had posted, and I loved it. I’ve always thought that Harry had one of the best examples of gallows humor that I’ve ever read. He comes across as a laid back guy who is really good at getting people to underestimate his intelligence.
Thanks for the story.
Randallphobia
I haven’t jumped over yet but I’m on my way. What a great present on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
time to go talk to Harry,just a high school physics teacher, Wilson.
OK, I’m back, that was a fun trip. Lots of diversions over there. Nice to see Harry again too.
It was my first exposure to the Laundry universe. Looks like I’ll be scouring the library and book stores for more stories by Charlie Stross.
That makes the forth or fifth author talked about here that I hadn’t read before and now have added to my author reading list. At this rate, I’m going to have to head back to IKEA for more bookshelves. Like soon, Like by next weekend…
Thanks for the introductions John, even though my budget for shelves is over the top for the year.
Fun read. I forget if the answer has already been given: Is there any interest among Tor/Other Authors for doing an anthology of other people’s stories set in the CDU universe? Along the lines of “More than Honor”, for example.
CDU universe?
If you mean the universe of the “Old Man’s War” books, no, nothing like that has been contemplated, and it wouldn’t be something I would be interested in at this point in any event. It’s a little early yet for something like that; the series isn’t quite four years old.
Adding a test comment to assist with Tor’s process….
Any plan for “After the Coup” being published by Tor or Subterranean Press? I am thrilled that we were able to read it for free, but I miss being able to hold a book in my hands.
I imagine it will be collected at some point, Dan.
I’m glad Tor has put all that effort into a new website. I first found sample chapters on their old site and, based upon those samples, bought quite a few books. The old “first taste is free” bit works really well on me. Then, with time, they quite putting up much new content, what they did put up was not always the first chapter or a whole chapter, and I discovered the Baen site, which kicks butt in terms of sample chapters and even free content. Consequently, fewer new Tor authors made it to my reading pile. I look forward to once again finding authors and books by their efforts.
Hi!
First of all, thanks for letting us reading this fine piece of art for free. It was very entertaining. I liked it a lot, and I was wondering if you’ll let me to do a “fan” translation to Spanish and put it anywhere, so others can enjoy it too.
Again, thanks a lot!
Arcnor:
I don’t mind you doing it for your own amusement and sharing it with your friends, but otherwise I do sell stories into other languages, so if you do make a translation, please don’t post it publicly.
Thanks for your fast reply! I was only talking about your free story, but I understand you. Don’t worry, I’ll not post it publicly.
Bye!
Acnor:
The story is free to read, sure. But I did get paid for it. Free on your end doesn’t mean free on mine.
Understood ;). I suspected that, but I don’t know how all of this works, I’m very bad at the “legalese” thing, jejeje.
Anyway, don’t get accustomed to it, because just like Dan Reitemeier, I miss the “real feel” of a good book! :)