io9: cryptonomicon

Neal Stephenson Gets Half A Million Dollars, But Did He Have To Switch Genres To Get It?

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:45:26 PDT

Neal Stephenson confirmed his status as one of science fiction's leading authors, in the wake of the acclaimed Anathem, by selling his next book in what Publisher's Marketplace calls a "major deal." (In other words, it was worth at least $500,000.) But the book, called REAMDE, is classified as "thriller" rather than "science fiction." Does that mean Stephenson is abandoning the genre? More likely, he's doing a near-future novel, and handling the thriller genre much the same way he did in 1994's Interface, co-written with his uncle J. Frederick George. As for the title — is it just "README" misspelled, or does it have some deeper significance? [Publisher's Marketplace, thanks Clinton!]

Neal Stephenson Explains Who Should Play Spock

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:00:00 PDT

In a tone of deep seriousness that sounds practically professorial, scifi author Neal Stephenson shared some grave thoughts a couple of months ago about science fiction actors. In this clip, the author of The Diamond Age and Cryptonomicon tells a London audience how SF actors' careers are "bifurcated" — they're famous among scifi fans, but not so widely known in the mundane world (not unlike Stephenson himself). I just love the way he gravely explains the careers of Lena Headley (Sarah Connor Chronicles) and Lucy Lawless (Battlestar Galactica, Xena). But then he moves on even more controversial territory: Who should play Spock if it isn't going to be Leonard Nimoy? His answer, unsurprisingly, is not the dude JJ Abrams picked to play Spock in the new movie. But it's actually some pretty inspired casting. Neal Stephenson can cast my dream Star Trek movie any time. [via Fora TV]

Where The Hell Is Our Diamond Age?

Kevin Kelly — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 08:40:14 PST

Last year at the Television Critics Association, where professional couch pota... er, critics get together to be spoon-fed updates from the networks about what to watch during the upcoming season, the Sci Fi Channel announced that George Clooney and his buddy Grant Heslov were developing Neal Stephenson's awesome The Diamond Age, or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer novel into a six-hour miniseries. Well, it's a year later, so what's going on with our miniseries? Better yet, which Stephenson project do you think would look best in front of the lens? Vote after the jump and let us know.

Update: The Sci Fi Channel has let us know that The Diamond Age is still in development. Interestingly, Neal Stephenson is on a panel at this year's CES next week featuring other science fiction innovators (like Lucy Lawless) as they "discuss the mutual influence they've had on each other."