I received criticisms on my novel too (don’t we all). One of my earlier reviews said my characters weren’t very deep - then two other reviewers said they thought the characters were likeable and believable.

Whatcha gonna do?

Of course, you should also consider the possibility that you really are an asshole.

It’s all very shocking…especially when they call you nasty things, like “asshole”.

People nowadays…SHEESH.

So, continue as you will and learn from it if you can. I haven’t stuck my foot into the pool yet, but you will remain my example and hero.
Forward,
Sybil

And I’m glad you liked Infoquake so much. Hey, ain’t no shame in being a notch below Neal Stephenson and Pat Cadigan, especially on my first shot out of the gate.

Incidentally, I’m pretty much done with the sequel, called MultiReal, which will hopefully be hitting the shelves in spring of ‘08. You can find a blog entry about it with some teasers here.

There is very little about the field of criticism that impresses me. “Everybody is a Critic” and the ones who somehow manage to get paid for it seem to believe that acute insight or even wittiness comes from being mean and dismissive. Go figure. They are a product of our culture. I think your idea of putting the negative reviews up at the top is great… it isn’t hard to read right past the meanness and self-serving cheap-shots to the real commentary.

You must also know that not only is Science Fiction a niche market, it has many subniches and cyberpunk, if you want to identify with it, is one of many. Literary (yes, I include science fiction in the grand taxonomy under Literature) taxonomies are not strict hierarchies and your work crosses several sub-genres, but that known generally as Cyberpunk is the most descriptive. I happen to like the subgenre of Cyberpunk for all it’s ragged edges and near-empty promises.

I place your work only a notch below that of my all time favorites and neck and neck with many of the “also rans”. For the moment Stephenson holds the top place with Diamond Age and Snow Crash but Cadigan and Foy hold a close second. Your work stands well next to some individual greats on the the theme of a VR/AR rich culture such as DonnerJack (Zelazny) and Aristoi (Walter Jon Williams). I also enjoyed Ridpath’s “Trading Reality”.

I like Gibson and Sterling’s work but it does not define the genre despite having been given credit for it. Their best work, in my opinion, was their classic collaboration: “The Difference Engine”. While others have followed in the tradition of “SteamPunk” they nailed it.

As it happens I am a practicing scientist working primarily in the arena of simulation of complex system and the use of virtual reality to analyze complex, abstract phenomena. We build computer models of a huge variety of physical phenomena as you can guess, but we also model social, economic, and other “softer” phenomena and find it yet harder to understand the many patterns we discover in the process. Your first novel is almost a VR Opera in the sense of a Space Opera… a small number of good guys slogging their way through an often mean and always uncaring universe, using only their wits and their good (or not so good) intentions.

I hope you are cranking out another one…

- Doc Strange