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Hugh Howey Lives Kindle Edition

by Daniel Arthur Smith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 121 ratings
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Can an AI write a novel?
In 2174 authors are obsolete. With the exception of a few human ‘Author’ titles printed in the small basement and back room Libraries, all stories are created by the Artificial Intelligence of the Archive. Most believe the ‘Authors’ are only brands to lure people into spending their credits on print. One woman believes that one of them, author Hugh Howey, is real, and still alive. Her Librarian feeds her belief that Hugh Howey is still sailing around the world, uploading his work to the Archive. Convinced she has found clues in his stories as to where he now resides, she and her girlfriend sail to an island, where she believes Hugh Howey lives.
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  1. Print length
    114 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    April 14, 2015
  5. File size
    1832 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"It's a tightly written, emotion laded science fiction story and it's jumped to the top of my "best short fiction" of the year list." ~ Philip Harris, Author of The Girl in the City.


"What a beautiful tribute, not only to the namesake author Hugh Howey, but also to the art of writing." ~ Will Swardstrom, author of Uncle Allen.


"Hugh Howey Lives is a sensitive, sci-fi story of creative sacrifice." ~ David Bruns, author of Weapons of Mass Deception


"This is one writer who writes right." ~ Lon Grover, author of Email From Mars: Outbound.


"What kept me engaged the most, was the tremendous breadth of heart that went into the work." ~ Michael Patrick Hicks, author of Convergence and Consumption


"A great read that I could not put down." ~ Kimberly Wells, author of Mariposa

From the Author

Thank you for reading Hugh Howey Lives.  This story came about after Hugh wrote a blog entry in early November 2014 titled 'Humans Need Not Apply'.  In the article and the lengthy comment conversation that followed, Hugh speculated that within 100 years, computers would be writing novels and authors could be obsolete.
 
I emailed Hugh a pitch with a different speculation, and that is the story in Hugh Howey Lives.
 
People have asked me if I know Hugh Howey.  The answer is no, I don't.  Hugh allowed me to use his name in the story he inspired.  We are not close friends that share emails or other correspondence. I have yet to meet him (though maybe I will one day when he visits Manhattan).  In a broader sense though, Hugh is a friend to many authors, particularly freelance and indie, but not just them.  He has taken time to share his experience and insights on his blog, at mentor workshops, and has famously been a pivotal inspiration in the evolving publishing industry.  Because Hugh shared his experience, I connected with my editor Crystal Watanabe, and the cover artist of this book, Ben Adams.  I advise anyone, writer or reader, to visit his website hughhowey.com.
 
If you visit Hugh's site you will notice that he sails.  There was a time in my life when I sailed and I knew Hugh did too.  What I did not know was that at the same time I wrote this story, Hugh was having a catamaran built - to live on, write on, to sail away on.  We'll chalk that up to serendipity.
 
There are numerous contributors that bring a project to completion.  My family, first and foremost.  A myriad of fellow authors and friends. Individually, I want to thank my lovely wife, floral designer Susan Holt.  She supported the project by diligently reading the first draft through the tenth.  I would also like to thank the readers that signed up as First Readers for this manuscript, as their contributions have helped me to create a better release edition. I would like to thank Hugh for the thumbs up - the story would have been the same but his inclusion as a character and name in the title added a bit of pressure that I think made the work much better.  I also thank author friend Susan Kaye Quinn for helping me to improve the story by sharing insights in process and inspiring me to dig deeper, Crystal Watanabe for her editing walkthroughs and cross continental discussions concerning writer minutia, and finally, Ben Adams for the stellar cover and interior art.
 
If you enjoyed Hugh Howey Lives, I would appreciate if you would share your thoughts in a review.  Reviews help other readers that may have similar interest as you decide whether this is a story they would like to read.
 
And again, thank you.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00V56OIWE
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holt Smith Ltd (April 14, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 14, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1832 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 114 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 121 ratings

About the author

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Daniel Arthur Smith

Daniel Arthur Smith

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Daniel Arthur Smith is a USA Today bestselling author. His titles include Spectral Shift, Agroland, The Cathari Treasure, and a few other novels and short stories. He also curates the phenomenal short fiction series Tales from the Canyons of the Damned and Frontiers of Speculative Fiction.

He was raised in Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University where he studied philosophy, with focus on cognitive science, meta-physics, and comparative religion. As a young man Daniel was a bartender, barista, poetry house proprietor, teacher, then became a technologist and futurist for the Fortune 100 across the Americas and Europe.

Daniel has traveled to over 300 cities in 22 countries, residing in Los Angeles, Kalamazoo, Prague, Crete, and now writes between Manhattan and Connecticut where he lives with his wife and sons.

For more information, visit danielarthursmith.com

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
121 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Arkewal
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Fast, Futuristic Exploration with Twists and Turns
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
Remember that moment in Soylent Green where it’s revealed that “Soylent Green is people!”? Or the scene in The Twilight Zone episode “How to Serve Man,” where we learn the aliens aren’t benevolent at all, but actually serving up a smorgasbord of human goodies? There’s a moment like that in Hugh Howey Lives. Daniel Smith crafts his lead up to the moment with such skill, the “oh crap” feeling that dawned inside me when I got to it reminded me of those great moments. Then he got me again when he turned that gut-wrench on its head and took the story in yet another, much more satisfying direction.

Smith’s story is an excellent example of how knowing a reader’s expectations can help a writer know where to take a story. Smith is a first-class wordsmith, sure, but more than that, he knows what his readers will look for, how they will react to certain tropes and givens of storytelling. And as any good craftsman would, he uses that knowledge to heighten his tale’s emotional effect and provide his reader a more rewarding overall experience.

But the real strength of Smith’s novella is how he explores his two lead characters, Kay and Tia. What makes them tick, including with each other, allows Smith to explore themes related to culture, literature, how we view ourselves within those contexts, and why they’re important for defining who we are. He also explores the darker side of that coin: any set of characteristics, cultural or otherwise, is ultimately limiting by definition. And Smith isn’t above positing the notion that even paradise can be a kind of prison.

Fans of Hugh Howey will find a lot here to love too—references to Howey’s works and characters, for example, but also Smith’s application of a theory Howey himself put forward in a blog not long ago. Read his afterword to discover what that is.

If you like great writing; if you appreciate significant literary themes wrapped inside a candy-shell of futuristic adventure; or if you just want a good, quick, hard-to-put-down read—I highly recommend Hugh Howey Lives.
12 people found this helpful
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Janyaa
4.0 out of 5 stars An Homage to the Artist
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2015
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Can machines make art, or is the human element essential to that endeavor? How much of the human element is needed? Could one person provide the missing ingredient for all the books written? I enjoyed this novella and appreciated the way Daniel Smith explored the concept of what roles the artist, technology, and society play in regards to making art (in this case, writing.)

The inclusion of Hugh Howey was, I think, a nod to the great influence he's had on the indie author world. However, the ideas portrayed in this story would have just as easily worked if he'd used any other author, or even a fictitious one. The writing was crisp, the characters were fully realized, and the overall story arc was interesting. I thought the relationship between Kay and Tia was particularly well written. The ending was poignant and left me with a sense of longing.

Overall, I feel this short story was well done!
2 people found this helpful
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April Sarah
3.0 out of 5 stars and that might have hindered my enjoyment of this story
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2015
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I saw Hugh Howey and I had to read, and that might have hindered my enjoyment of this story. In my mind I kept trying to see Howey in the writing and of course that is so not the point.

The story line and premise of 'Hugh Howey Lives' is quite intriguing, if not a bit creepy. The sociological elements of why they have stories set up as they do, is the most interesting part yet doesn't really get hinted at until the end. And part of me is a bit irked about how complicit everyone is.

I personally did not connect with either of the main two characters but I can see where they are coming from. At the same time, once again, I was constantly unhappy with them as well.

I have so many mixed emotions about this story. My brain did a lot of thinking. This, of course, was nothing of what I expected and I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad one.
4 people found this helpful
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MaryA/labowner
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book!
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2015
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Wonderful story, with a nod to the author Hugh Howey. Smith could have chosen ANY author for his incentive/homage! But he chose Hugh. How nice for fans of Hugh's books. I am a devoted Silo Saga/Wool Series fan so thank you Daniel for a great story, mentioning one of my favorite authors - Hugh Howey.

At times this book reminded me of a YA author, S. A. Bodeen (The Gardener comes to mind). So he could have easily chosen Bodeen but again, it's a nice tribute to Hugh with a fictional story. A win-win.

I wished this book was longer but it was still a great book and I immensely enjoyed it.
2 people found this helpful
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Jill Library Girl Clements
4.0 out of 5 stars Good premise, fully realized characters
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2015
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Good premise, fully realized characters, and crisp prose made this novella a surprising delight to read. While Mr. Smith is having a bit of fun using Hugh Howey to tell a good story about writers and the creative imagination, he also seems to really grok the essence of Hugh Howey-ness. The details of this story dovetail so nicely with the some of the facts of Mr. Howey's life, that it almost feels too believable. I was impressed with the authenticity and tenderness of his portrayal of the relationship between Tia and Kay, as well. Nice work: I hope authors like Daniel Smith and Hugh Howey will continue spinning their own yarns for many years to come -- with no help from the Archive.
2 people found this helpful
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Susan Copple
2.0 out of 5 stars Gave me something to think about, but ...
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2015
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Parts of this book were great. It is well written in that respect. I just couldn't feel empathy for the lead characters. As far as Hugh Howey's character, I kept wondering if that character was exchanged with another one, how the story might change. Charles Dickens? Adolf Hitler? Patricia Highsmith? I just wonder about their writing style, time frame reference, and experiences. Would they have changed the flavor of the story? I don't know. Only the author knows. And he will probably say I didn't 'get' it. And I'd have to agree.
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Philip Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, great worldbuilding
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2015
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Based on the title, you might be thinking that this is a gimmicky, throwaway, comedy novella. It isn't. It's a tightly written, emotion laded science fiction story and it's jumped to the top of my "best short fiction" of the year list.

The overall premise, a seemingly impossible quest to find a 150 year old author, set in a world where books are now computer generated had me hooked from the beginning, and the characters, writing and some very effective world building kept me turning the pages.

Highly recommended.
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