Hi!

Sorry for barging in like that.

I'm not following Mr. Gaiman's releases all too closely (have read only three books of his so far: American Gods, Neverwhere, Anansi Boys -- apologies :P) and got an email today with a link to a claimed leak of an unpublished manuscript of his.

Is this true? Or is it just someone trying to ride his coat tails? I didn't download it, but I was surprised and intrigued enough to ask around here, where people probably know everything about his works and activities.

Chris

Just saw it too ( No i wont say where and no i didnt download it....)

"Description:
Don't know if the story is true, so... make up your own mind (and proceed with care -- thar be dragons).

Got this from a friend of mine and supposedly it's the leak of a draft or outline (or whatever they call it) of a nerd thriller by Neil Gaiman, written under the pen name 'Rian Sato', as he wanted to take this into a direction somewhat different from his other writing (kind of like the Stephen King - Richard Bachmann deal).

Some intern at Gaiman's agency (Writer's something, forgot the name friend told me) was tasked to read through the text again for any obviously British English diction conflicting with Rian Sato's assumed American persona (guess they were well stocked with coffee at the moment and nothing needed to be xeroxed), but instead nabbed the file, took it home and then bragged about it online on some messageboard. Of course nobody believed him, intern threw a fit, board responded "POST PROOF OR STFU" and then the dude really posted the file. When everybody started ridiculing him for the danger he put himself in and serious screw-up he committed, he got scared and pulled the file again while begging everyone not to share it, but...

...well, here it is.

Sharing is caring, innit?


The original file, as included, is even still in manuscript formatting (or so I'm told), but there's also a standard, clear text version.

It's a small download (PDF), well worth it, and I'd be laughing so damn hard if this book hit the market in a year or two. I just wonder which name is going to be on the cover.


Do you think it's real?

"

If you want to know if it's an unpublished manuscript, ask Neil. If you'd rather speculate, don't bother.

The bit about an editor being assigned to remove obvious Britishisms from the book of an author who's publicly posted about how he's been assigned that very task and relatively recently makes me suspect that it's someone publishing a book from a publisher's slush pile.

Well, from what I've heard from other people, they pretty much reckon it's fake. Which is a relief.

Still wonder why somebody would specifically try to pass it off as one of Mr. Gaiman's works though. Odd. But, back to everyday business I guess.



Small off topic question, to give this thread a new, better purpose then: With the three books I've already read, which one would you recommend next?

Chris

I'd recommend Fragile Things or Smoke and Mirrors, both short story collections - M is for Magic is another, but I only have it for completeness' sake since it's basically a combo of the previous two with a few new bits in.

And Sandman. Always Sandman.

so someone doesn't come in a year from now and wonder if it was real, Neil's response was no

If you want to know what to read next I'd go with "Coraline" which I think is the best prose he's written. It's creepy, it's fun, and it's a quick read. Also the fairly recently released "Interworld" which was co-written by Neil is also a good, fun, and quick read.

Hey guys, gotta bump this one.

Guess I'm late to the party, but that really is a fake. It's one of my texts. And while the PDFs seem to be based on one of my files, the ones online are not by me. Don't know who put them online or how the person got them in the first place to be honest, but I'm guessing it's somebody I know and from around here. Apologies.

As Neil pointed out, there's lots wrong with them that gives away their inauthenticity. The story about their circumstances as well as the header/intro is bs and definitely not in sync with real life workings.

So, yeah, sorry about that. I kind of feel responsible without actually having done anything. That's a first. Usually it's the other way round.

Never mind, forget the files, and carry on.