Hacker Chronicles
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Cover Reveal and the Specter of Thick Books
April 5, 2025
Welcome to the April issue of Hacker Chronicles! I'm happy to reveal the official cover for the print edition of Submerged. See Writing Update. Then we'll...
Gutenberg and The Digital Horizon
March 8, 2025
Welcome to the March issue of Hacker Chronicles! My upcoming novel Submerged has been typeset, and I recently visited the Gutenberg Museum in Germany. That...
Interview with hacker novelist John Sundman
February 1, 2025
Welcome to the February issue of Hacker Chronicles! In this issue, I'm excited to interview fellow hacker fiction author John Sundman. He has used different...
How AI Affects Human Creativity
January 4, 2025
Happy New Year, and welcome to the January issue of Hacker Chronicles! Over the holiday break, I read a scientific paper titled Human Creativity in the Age...
Signed Copies of Submerged, and Review of Anon (2018)
December 8, 2024
Happy belated Thanksgiving, and welcome to the December issue of Hacker Chronicles! Several of you have asked how to get a signed copy of my upcoming novel...
Editing with AI tool ProWritingAid
November 3, 2024
Welcome to the November issue of Hacker Chronicles! This month's features: How to get a signed copy of my upcoming novel Submerged My recent chat with New...
Mr. Robot, Season 1, Episode 1
October 6, 2024
Welcome to the October issue of Hacker Chronicles! Fall is here. 🍂 Such a great time of year to read, don't you think? I got a lot of reactions and thoughts...
Generative AI in Writing, and the NaNoWriMo Conflict
September 7, 2024
Welcome to the September issue of Hacker Chronicles! There's been a huge uproar on generative AI among people close to the National Novel Writing Month,...
Hacker review of Cyberpunk (short story, 1980)
August 4, 2024
Welcome to the August issue of Hacker Chronicles! I've got a treat for you cyberpunk lovers out there – a hacker review of the 1980 short story that started...
Audiobook published + Interview with Anna L. Davis
July 20, 2024
Welcome to the July issue of Hacker Chronicles! Two weeks late, I know. All because I foolishly thought the global audiobook publishing process would be...
Review of Dead Space for the Unexpected
June 1, 2024
Welcome to the June issue of Hacker Chronicles! This issue features a review of the short story Dead Space for the Unexpected. Enjoy! /John Writing Update...
The Matrix Resurrections
May 12, 2024
Welcome to the May issue of Hacker Chronicles! Sorry it's out late. I was sick last weekend which derailed my plan. But hey, it's finally here, the hacker...
An Interview with Fellow Hacker Fiction Author Katherine R. Dollar
April 6, 2024
Welcome to the April issue of Hacker Chronicles! This month I have a new treat for you — an interview with a fellow hacker fiction author! A conversation...
San Francisco Writers Conference 2024
March 2, 2024
Welcome to the March issue of Hacker Chronicles! Just a couple of weeks ago I attended the San Francisco Writers Conference and I decided to share my...
The Secret History of Hacking, and audio book auditions
February 4, 2024
Welcome to the February issue of Hacker Chronicles! I've got lots of things for you this time. An update on the editing of Submerged, a vote on which voice...
I, Robot (the movie)
January 1, 2024
Happy New Year and Welcome to the January issue of Hacker Chronicles! As promised, here is a New Year's Special reviewing I, Robot the movie from 2004. I'm...
Little Lost Robot (short story 6 of I, Robot)
December 23, 2023
Merry Christmas and Welcome to the December issue of Hacker Chronicles! We have finally arrived at short story number six in Asimov's collection – Little...
Draft 0 and Research Trip to Taiwan
November 25, 2023
Welcome to the November issue of Hacker Chronicles! Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! This issue will cover Draft 0 of my sequel and my recent research trip to...
I, Robot (short stories 4-5)
October 28, 2023
Welcome to the October issue of Hacker Chronicles! This month I continue the review of Isaac Asimov's short story collection I, Robot. Happy Halloween by the...
Source Code (the movie)
September 30, 2023
Welcome to the September issue of Hacker Chronicles! I'm pausing the review of I, Robot short stories for a month to not make this a one trick pony...
I, Robot (short stories 1-3)
August 30, 2023
Welcome to the August issue of Hacker Chronicles! Barely made it during August, I know. The text just got more and more massive and I eventually had to...
Steganography, or Hiding Messages
July 22, 2023
Welcome to the July issue of Hacker Chronicles! I hope you're coping in the heat if you're in the Northern Hemisphere. We're dealing with a broken AC...
Blade Runner
June 24, 2023
Welcome to the June issue of Hacker Chronicles! This month’s feature is a review of Blade Runner which is my all-time favorite movie. I’ve watched it twice...
The Turing Test and Our Fear of Humanoids
May 27, 2023
Welcome to the May issue of Hacker Chronicles! Last month I reviewed 2001: A Space Odyssey with the sentient computer Hal. We are now going deeper on that...
2001: A Space Odyssey
April 23, 2023
Welcome to the April issue of Hacker Chronicles! This month's feature is a review of the classic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. I've had it on my list ever...
Computers Talking
March 25, 2023
Welcome to the February issue of Hacker Chronicles! Last month I visited New York City for the first time in many years and went to Liberty Bagels. You might...
Fraktal encryption (and an Easter egg)
February 25, 2023
Welcome to the February issue of Hacker Chronicles! This issue features a deep dive on “Fraktal encryption” which is a key part of the plot in my hacker...
Long-term storage of data
January 28, 2023
Happy New Year, doubly, and welcome to the January issue of Hacker Chronicles! I hope the start of 2023 has been good to you. We had storms and enormous...
Ghost in the Shell
December 26, 2022
Happy Holidays, and welcome to the December issue of Hacker Chronicles! Many subscribers have joined since I got started a year and a half ago so let me...
The Shell
November 26, 2022
Welcome to the November and Thanksgiving issue of Hacker Chronicles! The holiday season is upon us and I’m on the final stretch of NaNoWriMo. This month’s...
The Von Neumann Mistake, and NaNoWriMo
October 29, 2022
Welcome to the October issue of Hacker Chronicles! The nights are getting chilly in California. My wife and I have a yearly chicken race of who’s the first...
Hackers (the movie)
September 24, 2022
Welcome to the September issue of Hacker Chronicles! Sorry about last month’s duplicate letter. I sent my service provider an error report as soon as I...
Randomness, and a new cover for Identified
August 27, 2022
Welcome to the August issue of Hacker Chronicles! The backside blurb of The Hacker's Dictionary from 1983 says that the book is "a Berlitz to the underground...
Pass Thoughts – Authenticating with brain waves
July 24, 2022
Welcome to the July issue of Hacker Chronicles! I hope you’re all coping with the heatwave that’s hammering the northern hemisphere. It’s been as hot in...
The Matrix Revolutions
June 30, 2022
Welcome to the June issue of Hacker Chronicles! I’m late this month because I’m traveling internationally for the first time in 2.5 years. This past weekend...
The Minority Report, Part 2
May 21, 2022
Welcome to the May issue of Hacker Chronicles! Last month I reviewed the 1950s short story The Minority Report. If you haven’t read that review yet, you can...
The Minority Report, Part 1
April 25, 2022
Welcome to the April issue of Hacker Chronicles! I recently reviewed the science fiction classic Colossus by D.F. Jones. It features super computers and the...
Hacking Printers
March 26, 2022
Welcome to the March issue of Hacker Chronicles! I’ve been fretting the fact that I didn’t mention the war in Ukraine in my previous newsletter issue. It was...
Colossus – The Forbin Project
February 25, 2022
Welcome to the February issue of Hacker Chronicles! Below you’ll find the first progress bar for the writing of my next novel and a review of the science...
Hacking Genes and Brains
January 28, 2022
Welcome to the January issue of Hacker Chronicles, and Happy New Year! I decided to hold off reviewing The Matrix Revolutions (2003) to not make this a...
Ebook pre-order and Matrix Reloaded
December 22, 2021
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The last few weeks have been intense due the Binary Release of Identified. Thank you, all of you who bought it! This...
Re: Backordered. Deadline for second batch on Thursday.
December 12, 2021
Hi again! Sorry for another email but so many of you are asking for clarification. Anyone who placed an order before I sent the previous email is in batch 1,...
Backordered. Deadline for second batch on Thursday.
December 12, 2021
Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I’m sold out of batch 1 of Identified and will need to print more books to fulfill further orders. I thought 100...
Sales start of Identified! And The Matrix.
December 11, 2021
Welcome to the December issue of Hacker Chronicles! Have I got a jam-packed issue for you. The sales start of my hacker thriller Identified and a review of...
Hacker Gear
November 26, 2021
Welcome to the November issue of Hacker Chronicles! First of all, it’s been Thanksgiving and I want to say thank you. I’m very fortunate to have stayed...
The Origins of Cyberspace
October 22, 2021
Welcome to the October issue of Hacker Chronicles! This month’s feature article looks at the origins of cyberspace, stretching from 1960s art through 1980s...
Review of Sneakers (1992) and sneak peek of book cover
September 24, 2021
Welcome to the September issue of Hacker Chronicles, the hacker fiction newsletter! This issue features both a review of the movie-classic Sneakers and sneak...
The Mystery of the Hack and the Negative Bookshelf
August 21, 2021
Welcome to the August issue of Hacker Chronicles, the hacker fiction newsletter! Regards, John Wilander August Feature: The Mystery of the Hack and the...
Review of Johnny Mnemonic (1981, 1995)
July 24, 2021
Welcome to the July issue of Hacker Chronicles, the hacker fiction newsletter. Here you’ll get news and updates on my writing as well as reviews and...
Hackers, Crackers, and Cybercriminals
June 25, 2021
Welcome to Hacker Chronicles, the hacker fiction newsletter! This is where you’ll get news and updates on my writing as well as reviews and commentary on...