Simon Ings

garygibsonsf · 08-19-2008, 10:46 AM

I'm completely astounded to find no mention here, anywhere, of an entire Simon Ings novel - originally published in 2000 - available as a free download on this website. Am I really the first to bring it to people's attention?

Simon Ings was one of my favourite science fiction writers of the late Eighties and Nineties. He's very much of the Interzone generation, with novels like HotHead and City of the Iron Fish under his belt. I haven't read anything by him I haven't loved (I like writers like Phil Dick, Paul Di Filippo, William Gibson etc, to give you an idea of where I'm coming from).

The book can be downloaded at: http://www.simonings.net/homepages/s...gsdownloa.html.

The novel, Painkillers, isn't science fiction, or at least was published as non-genre. There are some hints in a couple of online reviews I remember reading that suggested it might be, how to put it, 'sf under the radar'. I haven't yet read it myself, but it's in line.

stustaff · 08-21-2008, 08:45 AM

love Sci fi but never heard of this guy?! thabnks I'll take a look.

Nate the great · 08-21-2008, 11:51 AM

Here is an early draft conversion in Mobipocket.

JSWolf · 08-21-2008, 11:58 AM

Painkillers is not in such a nice format. Yes, it's HTML, but he has his quotes wrong. He's got the quotes as apostrophes. I did send email asking him to fix them. That just really bugs me big time when something so simple is so incorrect.

igorsk · 08-21-2008, 05:29 PM

Apparently single quotes are quite common in UK.

llasram · 08-21-2008, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Painkillers is not in such a nice format. Yes, it's HTML, but he has his quotes wrong. He's got the quotes as apostrophes. I did send email asking him to fix them. That just really bugs me big time when something so simple is so incorrect.

Is that «'» versus «‘’» or «"/“”»? The former is kind of annoying. The latter though:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Single or double quotation marks denote either speech or a quotation. Neither style – single or double – is an absolute rule, though double quotation marks are preferred in the United States, and both single and double quotation marks are used in the United Kingdom. A publisher’s or even an author’s style may take precedence over national general preferences.

Speaking of Wikipedia, the article on “Quotation mark, non-English usage” blew my mind when I first came across it. I had no idea there were so many different ways of marking speech even among languages which use the Roman alphabet.

montsnmags · 08-21-2008, 08:01 PM

I note at the download section that Simon says:

"Finally, a request: if you format the work for a reader or PDA, please send me a copy of your file, and I'll make it available here."

Perhaps if someone tidies up the html file, and even offers multiple format conversions ("courtesy of MobileRead"), Simon would be very grateful?

It's just a thought, aligning an author-friendly website with a reader-friendly author.

(At this point I say "I'd do it myself, but..." because I haven't done any conversions other than a couple of rough-and-ready html-prc ones for my own use, and I'm not confident I'm doing it right).

Cheers,
Marc

JSWolf · 08-21-2008, 11:37 PM

What is being used in place of quotes is apostrophes. It isn't single quotes. It apostrophes as it is the very same character as the apostrophe used in the word don't. yes, I could do the work and fix the mess. But I'd rather be lazy and have the author do it.

montsnmags · 08-22-2008, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

...
yes, I could do the work and fix the mess. But I'd rather be lazy and have the author do it.

Just to be clear, Jon, I do not in any way wish it to be taken from my post above that not fixing the author's file denotes laziness. I do not think it's "lazy". I'm also not unaware of the significant and ongoing work being put in by people at MobileRead (including yourself) to bring ebooks to us, the MobileRead audience and community. I have taken very significant advantage of these efforts.

It was merely to highlight the author's request for other formats, should there be someone here both able and so-inclined.

Cheers,
Marc

Nate the great · 03-12-2009, 10:30 PM

I finally got around to reading it. Later this week I will upload a proofread version with the errors fixed.

AnemicOak · 03-12-2009, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igorsk

Apparently single quotes are quite common in UK.

Yep, I've noticed this in some books I've bought off Amazon UK.

Moejoe · 03-15-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Yep, I've noticed this in some books I've bought off Amazon UK.

Single quotes, as in ' which is also used as an apostrophe is quite common. I use it, although I'd love to know the reasons why this is considered a bad thing for ebooks, as it's easily swapped around for the more traditional ".

Clarification: It's easily swapped around while writing, and if you're on a Mac, because the ' and " are in exactly the same position on the keyboard, it's a matter of using SHIFT or not.

Nate the great · 03-15-2009, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Single quotes, as in ' which is also used as an apostrophe is quite common. I use it, although I'd love to know the reasons why this is considered a bad thing for ebooks, as it's easily swapped around for the more traditional ".

Clarification: It's easily swapped around while writing, and if you're on a Mac, because the ' and " are in exactly the same position on the keyboard, it's a matter of using SHIFT or not.

A single quote looks like an apostrophe, which is why an apostrophe is often used in place of a single quote in certain font sets.

Moejoe · 03-15-2009, 03:58 PM

Thanks for the clarification. I now see what you mean, and it's the first time I've ever noticed it on the keyboard.

Well, you learn something new everyday and I'm very glad I learned this one. Now shifting all single quotation to the more traditional ". This place is fantastic, you've just helped me correct an error I've been making for years. Thankyou very much.

cerement · 03-15-2009, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igorsk

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Yep, I've noticed this in some books I've bought off Amazon UK.

Apparently single quotes are quite common in UK.

Language specific quotes - requires a large CSS file and using the <q> tag instead of " or ' or “ or ‘ or « ...

08-19-2008, 10:46 AM	#1
garygibsonsf Addict Posts: 321 Karma: 432192 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite	Simon Ings I'm completely astounded to find no mention here, anywhere, of an entire Simon Ings novel - originally published in 2000 - available as a free download on this website. Am I really the first to bring it to people's attention? Simon Ings was one of my favourite science fiction writers of the late Eighties and Nineties. He's very much of the Interzone generation, with novels like HotHead and City of the Iron Fish under his belt. I haven't read anything by him I haven't loved (I like writers like Phil Dick, Paul Di Filippo, William Gibson etc, to give you an idea of where I'm coming from). The book can be downloaded at: http://www.simonings.net/homepages/s...gsdownloa.html. The novel, Painkillers, isn't science fiction, or at least was published as non-genre. There are some hints in a couple of online reviews I remember reading that suggested it might be, how to put it, 'sf under the radar'. I haven't yet read it myself, but it's in line. Last edited by garygibsonsf; 08-21-2008 at 10:17 PM. Reason: spelling error

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08-21-2008, 08:45 AM	#2
stustaff Wizard Posts: 1,055 Karma: 2110 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Derbyshire UK Device: sony reader PRS505 and 600	love Sci fi but never heard of this guy?! thabnks I'll take a look.

08-21-2008, 11:58 AM	#4
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 76,028 Karma: 134368292 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Painkillers is not in such a nice format. Yes, it's HTML, but he has his quotes wrong. He's got the quotes as apostrophes. I did send email asking him to fix them. That just really bugs me big time when something so simple is so incorrect.

08-21-2008, 05:29 PM	#5
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	Apparently single quotes are quite common in UK.

08-21-2008, 08:01 PM	#7
montsnmags Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,155 Karma: 4632658 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: none	I note at the download section that Simon says: "Finally, a request: if you format the work for a reader or PDA, please send me a copy of your file, and I'll make it available here." Perhaps if someone tidies up the html file, and even offers multiple format conversions ("courtesy of MobileRead"), Simon would be very grateful? It's just a thought, aligning an author-friendly website with a reader-friendly author. (At this point I say "I'd do it myself, but..." because I haven't done any conversions other than a couple of rough-and-ready html-prc ones for my own use, and I'm not confident I'm doing it right). Cheers, Marc

08-21-2008, 11:37 PM	#8
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 76,028 Karma: 134368292 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	What is being used in place of quotes is apostrophes. It isn't single quotes. It apostrophes as it is the very same character as the apostrophe used in the word don't. yes, I could do the work and fix the mess. But I'd rather be lazy and have the author do it.

03-12-2009, 10:30 PM	#10
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	I finally got around to reading it. Later this week I will upload a proofread version with the errors fixed.

03-15-2009, 03:58 PM	#14
Moejoe Banned Posts: 5,100 Karma: 72193 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South of the Border Device: Coffin	Thanks for the clarification. I now see what you mean, and it's the first time I've ever noticed it on the keyboard. Well, you learn something new everyday and I'm very glad I learned this one. Now shifting all single quotation to the more traditional ". This place is fantastic, you've just helped me correct an error I've been making for years. Thankyou very much.

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