Well This Sucks (how Amazon screwed my new novel, and what to do about it)

Preorders are, apparently, a big thing. Publishers place huge importance on them.

As far as I can tell, there are three main reasons for this: 1) They are a way to gauge future interest in the book, and therefore inform how much support publishers are willing to give it. Marketing, publicity, all that. 2) They impact the algorithm on Amazon, making the book more visible on the site, and 3) Indicate consumer interest to retailers, who in turn are liable to stock more of the title.

So preorders are not quite everything (I retain the bloody-minded notion that it being a good book should matter most), but bloody hell they’re important. So when about 8 months’ of preorders for The Escher Man were wiped from Amazon, globally, well, that fucking sucked.

Yes – you read that right. It happened, a couple of weeks back. A reader got in touch with me on social media, asking why his kindle preorder had been cancelled. An entirely reasonable question. I contacted my publisher and they discovered that the format for the kindle had been entered incorrectly, and changing it to the correct one had wiped all the e-book orders. The indifferent parasitic behemoth that is Amazon would not move the preorders over, and nothing could or would be done.

Great. There’s a whole separate discussion about relying so heavily on a book distributor who yet cares so little about books, but that discussion is not for now. For now, as The Bard said, things without remedy should be without regard: what’s done is done. As an Australian would say: I can’t fix fucken Amazon. The cunts.

What I can do is this: ask you to preorder. If you already did so on Kindle, and it was cancelled, please do so again. If you just want to yell fuck amazon! As you preorder it from elsewhere, then don’t be shy. Do it. If you were thinking about getting The Escher Man, in any format, now’s your chance.

But not out of charity. Preorder it because it’s a good book. I’m enormously proud of The Escher Man. It takes place five years after the events of 36 Streets, but is a stand-alone novel. It took me ten years to write, in stops and starts, over and again, in part because I wasn’t quite good enough to execute the original concept, not until the last few years.

I’ve included the blurb at the bottom of this page, if you want to know a little more about the story. As me lauding my own work can only have so much credibility, I’ve included some early praise, as well, including from the Queen of Cyberpunk.

But first, some links for the preorder: For US readers, use this link. For the UK, we have Forbidden Planet and Amazon UK, for Australia, this link will take you to both local bookstores, and Amazon Australia.

It’s available on kobo, for any who use that (my wife is an avowed fan). For the rest of the world, use your local bookstore if you can, or Amazon if you must. Pre-order the shit out of it.

Some early praise:

“An incisive and self-assured voice in near-future fiction. One of those writers with an effortless grasp of the highs and lows of human nature. Always a joy to read.”
Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time

“A couple of years ago, I said I couldn’t wait to see where T. R. Napper’s science fiction would take me next. Turns out, it was worth the wait.”
Richard Morgan, author of Altered Carbon

“Brace yourself, this is the future, but not as you remember it… it’s more badass.”
Pat Cadigan, author of Synners and Fools

“T. R. Napper shows true genius in his storytelling, with a compelling plotline, noirish setting, and characters of true depth.”
Kaaron Warren, author of The Underhistory

“As with Napper’s previous work, there is both a tremendous amount of violence, interspersed with loving, deliberate attention to the great melting pots of culture that he writes about, expressed in the subtle nuances of conversation, the movement of bodies, and the lives that lie wasted in the gutters.
You can read this as a book of many allegories; about how the politics of today shape the future of the world; about individuals trying their best to keep their loved ones safe and secure in a dark world that cares nothing for their loves and losses; about the fallibility of memory and the narrative of the self; or even about how the genre, envisioned in decades past, continues to evolve as reality catches up with it.
But however you read it, this is one hell of a read. T. R. Napper is back on his quest to be the reigning successor to Burning Chrome, Altered Carbon, Synners and Ghost in the Shell. And it’s definitely working. The Escher Man gripped me from the very first scene and never let go. This is the new face of cyberpunk.” Yudhanjaya Wijeratne, author of The Salvage Crew

“Napper concocts a visceral toxic future set in an unforgiving world of rain, grime, and gangland turmoil. The stakes are high and the tech is fascinating. Cyberpunk fans are sure to get a kick out of this polished and exciting adventure.” Publishers Weekly

Blurb:

Your name is Endel ‘Endgame’ Ebbinghaus. It is Saturday, 3 September, 2101. You’re head of security for Mister Long, boss of the Macau Syndicate, a drug cartel. Your memories are being wiped and re-written. You keep this log because you’re hard pressed to remember what day it is. But today is a special day, mate. This is your last day on the job.

‘Endgame’ is a violent man, the perfect enforcer. But Endel is also a father and husband, haunted by the memories of his estranged family, and the life they once had.

Endel wants them back, and he wants out. But life in the syndicate isn’t one you can simply leave.

Endgame is a violent man. Or is he? In a world where memory manipulation is the weapon of choice for the powerful, Endel can’t tell friends and enemies apart anymore, can’t be sure if he’s a person or a tool.

Trapped in a taut, twisting nightmare, Endel must find a way to escape the labyrinth they’ve made of his mind, and take revenge.