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Praise for the
Milkweed Triptych
"A major talent... I can't wait to see more."
—George R. R. Martin
"Mad English warlocks battling twisted Nazi psychics? Yes please, thank you. Tregillis's debut has a white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters-- an unstoppable Vickers of a novel."
—Cory Doctorow on Bitter Seeds
"Ian Tregillis triumphantly concludes his astonishing, brilliant, pulse-pounding debut trilogy, The Milkweed Triptych."
—Cory Doctorow on Necessary Evil
"Tregillis' conclusion of the Milkweed Triptych is the pièce de résistance of the series. Necessary Evil is a perfect marriage of science fiction, fantasy and alternate history."
—RT Book Reviews (4.5 stars, Top Pick) on Necessary Evil
"Darkly fascinating…A thoroughly fascinating conclusion to an imaginative tour de force."
—Kirkus on Necessary Evil
"A cross between the devious, character-driven spy fiction of early John le Carré and the mad science fantasy of the X-Men... Despite the jaw-dropping backdrop and oblique plotting, the narrative is driven by character and personal circumstance...
Grim indeed, yet eloquent and utterly compelling."
Grim indeed, yet eloquent and utterly compelling."
—Kirkus on The Coldest War
"The characters come alive via [Tregillis's] imaginative dialogue and his storyline will keep readers spellbound and on the edge of their seats with an intense sci-fi/alternate history thriller plot."
—RT Book Reviews (4.5 stars, Top Pick) on The Coldest War
"Well-drawn characters and a feel for time and place make this an excellent journey into an alternate Britain."
—Library Journal on Bitter Seeds
"Engrossing... Tregillis ably mixes cold war paranoia with his mythology."
—Publishers Weekly on The Coldest War
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The End: NECESSARY EVIL Is Out! - 5/1/2013, 10:29 AM Because I Haven't Posted About tDCS In A While - 4/8/2013, 04:07 PM Announcing the NECESSARY EVIL Signing Tour - 4/5/2013, 05:15 PM Nuclear Deterrence in a Blood Magic World - 2/22/2013, 09:41 AM Guest Post #2 at Charlie Stross's Blog - 2/17/2013, 04:41 PM Guest Post at Charlie Stross's Blog - 2/15/2013, 09:17 PM A Conversation with Charlie Stross - 2/8/2013, 11:06 AM NOW OUT in the UK: THE COLDEST WAR - 2/7/2013, 12:22 AM Clarion Is Accepting Applications for the Class of 2013 - 1/27/2013, 06:38 PM Holy Smokes! Cover Art for Something More Than Night - 1/23/2013, 09:44 PM
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Tuesday, July 26 2011, 09:29 PM
My friend E. E. Giorgi — writer, mathematician, photographer, geneticist — has started a new series of blog posts about genetics and "junk" DNA. I'm looking forward to reading the entire series, because genetics if fascinating to me, but my knowledge of it is still stuck in 10th grade. (There wasn't much room for biochemistry in my schoolin'. More's the pity.)
For a long time I've wondered when somebody will get around to inventing a machine that's a cross between a player piano and a biochemical reactor. The genome has just four letters in it, right? So I picture this tiny little piano keyboard with just four keys on it. You could load it up with a 19-mile long paper tape of, say, the genome of a cat, and then turn the crank. The Genome Player Piano would merrily whir away, playing atonal and discordant music:
plink plink plink tink-a-pink gong gong gong honk plink honk honk tink-a-gong plink plink honk...
...until a cat popped out on the other end.
Okay. Maybe that's not precisely how modern genetics works. But it should, damn it. Because that would be pretty awesome. Also, let's face it: the flying monkey will always be the Holy Grail of genetic engineering. It's practically the Higgs Boson of the field. Isn't it?
Close PermalinkComments (5)
untitled -
EEGiorgi, Tuesday, July 26 2011, 09:48 PM
Hey, that's brilliant Ian! I wonder, though, would four keys really be enough? Hmmm, that's food for thought!
Thanks so much for posting the link!
Hey, that's brilliant Ian! I wonder, though, would four keys really be enough? Hmmm, that's food for thought!
Thanks so much for posting the link!
neat -
Steve Halter, Wednesday, July 27 2011, 08:53 AM
That does look like it will be an interesting series.
Every now and then we get a Mayo grad student at fencing who can give me a quick understanding of what's going on in DNA research. My (imprecise) understanding is that the really hard problem is how various protein molecules interact with the DNA to trigger or suppress the genes.
Hmm, yes I would put flying monkey creation right up there near the top of the list. Of course, if monkeys get wings, then the cats are going to demand them also.
That does look like it will be an interesting series.
Every now and then we get a Mayo grad student at fencing who can give me a quick understanding of what's going on in DNA research. My (imprecise) understanding is that the really hard problem is how various protein molecules interact with the DNA to trigger or suppress the genes.
Hmm, yes I would put flying monkey creation right up there near the top of the list. Of course, if monkeys get wings, then the cats are going to demand them also.
The Player Piano of New Species -
Scott Denning, Wednesday, July 27 2011, 02:08 PM
In the garage of the house next door to where I grew up, there was an old player piano. We used to pound around on it -- I would use it to score and punctuate ghost stories I told the younger kids. Funny thing about that old piano, it was a brand I had never heard of before or since: GATTACA. Huh.
Your choice of critter to create is apt, because a cat is the only creature I can think of that you can produce from the letters C, A, T, and G. Leaving only the G -- "C'mere, little Guanine! How's my snookums today?"
'Guanine' sounds like 'guano' which leads me to suggest that, before you get the flying monkey machine cranking, you should invest heavily in hat companies. Broad-brimmed, sturdy, poop-resistant hats. Flying monkeys would bedevil the world, cackling in evil glee as they directed their dung upon the masses below, 32 feces per second per second. Maybe the fruit grower's associations will pay you protection money, to keep the thieving from their groves.
Now flying cats would transform the world in a wholly wonderful way, turning public squares everywhere into aerodromes. Imagine sitting at a table in an outdoor cafe, sipping your beverage and betting on which pigeon will next get stooped upon (not pooped upon, as with a monkey) by an ace tabby. We would have to start calling such aerial combat 'catfights' rather than dogfights.
But what -- no tiny winged giraffes?
In the garage of the house next door to where I grew up, there was an old player piano. We used to pound around on it -- I would use it to score and punctuate ghost stories I told the younger kids. Funny thing about that old piano, it was a brand I had never heard of before or since: GATTACA. Huh.
Your choice of critter to create is apt, because a cat is the only creature I can think of that you can produce from the letters C, A, T, and G. Leaving only the G -- "C'mere, little Guanine! How's my snookums today?"
'Guanine' sounds like 'guano' which leads me to suggest that, before you get the flying monkey machine cranking, you should invest heavily in hat companies. Broad-brimmed, sturdy, poop-resistant hats. Flying monkeys would bedevil the world, cackling in evil glee as they directed their dung upon the masses below, 32 feces per second per second. Maybe the fruit grower's associations will pay you protection money, to keep the thieving from their groves.
Now flying cats would transform the world in a wholly wonderful way, turning public squares everywhere into aerodromes. Imagine sitting at a table in an outdoor cafe, sipping your beverage and betting on which pigeon will next get stooped upon (not pooped upon, as with a monkey) by an ace tabby. We would have to start calling such aerial combat 'catfights' rather than dogfights.
But what -- no tiny winged giraffes?
GATTACA -
Richard, Wednesday, July 27 2011, 10:04 PM
I think we need to create a little web app that will actually play various decoded genomes. It will be boring, but I bet it gets a shit-ton of hits.
I think we need to create a little web app that will actually play various decoded genomes. It will be boring, but I bet it gets a shit-ton of hits.
untitled -
Shane, Thursday, July 28 2011, 05:11 PM
Fun fact: Guanine sounds like guano because it was first isolated from guano!
Fun fact: Guanine sounds like guano because it was first isolated from guano!
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Unwalkers interview [English | French ]
Interview with Speculate! Podcast Interview with Adventures in SciFi Publishing
Ian Tregillis on the Sword and Laser Podcast
Ian Tregillis on John Scalzi's The Big Idea
Interview with Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Interview with SFRevu
Interview with Mad Hatter Book Review
Interview with Apex Books
Interview at Literary Musings Interview with Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
An interview with the authors of Busted Flush at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Interview with Travis Heermann at The Write Line
9-way interview with the contributors to the Wild Cards novel Inside Straight at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Interview in the February, 2008 newsletter of the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
An extended interview with Ian Tregillis by Ty Franck, on www.wildcardsbooks.com.