It shouldn't really be news, but journalism lecturer Max McCoy (author of the "Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone" novel) dropped a link to my review into his blog, calling (and then apologizing for having called) Voynich News "geeky". Gee, how should I retaliate? Perhaps I'll have to call him "cheeky" for quoting 75% of my review in his posting, but then apologize for doing so. :-p
Regardless, it's nice to get a response: blogging can be somewhat dispiriting, mainly from the resounding lack of feedback (this blog gets about 1 comment for every 10 posts, which is perhaps a little bit low). Publishers are more interested in the Times Literary Supplement and/or Richard & Judy, and rarely send bloggers review copies; journalists hate bloggers (basically, for undercutting them); academics seem wary of bloggers to the point of enforced mutism; while bloggers are mainly courted by other bloggers working on their PageRank.
Or maybe people are a bit scared of me, because I take in so many different types of stuff and try to make sense of them all as a whole, in an era when people enjoy the cubicle comfort of specialized knowledge.
Or perhaps I produce closed readings which people are not interested enough in to feel the urge to pass any comment on?
Or might I be the only person that finds this stuff interesting?
2 comments:
Hah, well, speaking as someone who's been reading for a few months now - I'd comment more, but I'm afraid I wouldn't have anything intelligent to add to the discussion. I'm not well versed enough in cryptography to really make any contributions to research. I'd been hearing about the VMS on and off for years now but hadn't until recently found a book on the subject and had my interest piqued. I'm using it as a plot point in the novel I'm working on, but even if it weren't for that your blog is fascinating for the wide-ranging interest you have. Not to mention you do a lot of the legwork pulling in references for lazy fellows like myself.
Anyways, just wanted to break the resounding silence a bit.
Hi Lew,
Thanks for the comment, as you can tell from the post it's much appreciated! :-)
Do remember to let me know if (and hopefully when) your novel gets close to print: sometimes it feels like I'm the only non-Voynich-novelist reading this. :-o
I'm should perhaps also mention that I'm always happy to give novelists confidential feedback on early drafts, in case there are any Voynich- / cipher- / history-related issues there that could cause embarrassment at a later stage.
Glad you enjoy the blog! all suggestions for VMs-related legwork gladly received!
Cheers, .....Nick Pelling.....
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