The Nathanomicon

It’s been a little while since I last posted an update. I’ve been busy at work, designing games and working on pinball. And I’ve been busy writing another book (no details yet, but I’ve done a substantial amount of work on it). Since I can’t share details about what I’m working on or what I’m writing, I thought I could at least share some thoughts on what I’m currently reading. I’m currently re-reading the excellent The Laundry Files by Charles Stross. The Laundry Files is a series of books that is James Bond meets Lovecraftian Horror meets ISO-9000 certification manuals. It is absolutely brilliant. Summoning unspeakable horrors through portals into our dimension used to be done with magic, but all magic really is, is high-level mathematical equations. And with computers getting smarter and more powerful, more accidents are starting to happen where unsuspecting computer programmers are starting to bring through nameless creatures with a tendency to eat brains and possess bodi

I'm the Fantasy Writer of the Day over on reddit, in the r/Fantasy forum. I'm doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything). Come take a look! https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/brp3z7/rfantasy_writer_of_the_day_nathan_sumsion/

I was on a podcast! The very talented Rekka Jay invited me to talk on her HybridAuthor podcast, where we discussed my book Necropolis PD , my process in writing it, and how my experience in making role-playing games and video games contributed to my writing process. Rekka writes science-fiction and steampunk books under the name  R J Theodore , and her recent book Flotsam is one that I really enjoyed. I had a lot of fun talking to her. Go take a listen! http://hybridauthorpodcast.com/episode-78-nathan-sumsion/

Why did I write Necropolis PD, and how did Crunch Time almost destroy my writing debut? Necropolis PD , my debut novel, will release in a few short weeks, and I’ve been thinking back a lot to how the book came about, and why I decided to write it. I’ve always wanted to write books. As far back as I can remember I was writing stories. After school I was drawing comics, playing role-playing games with friends, creating adventures in my mind and on paper, and I was reading voraciously, anything in the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres. In high school and college, I wrote in my spare time. I managed to write a single published issue of a comic. I submitted a few short stories to magazines. I started work on creating a role-playing game with some friends. I ran numerous role-playing campaigns, both around the table and with friends online. And in the back of my mind, I was putting together ideas for books I would someday write. In the summer before my senior year of colleg

With the release of my debut novel Necropolis PD only a few weeks away, I thought I’d talk about the processes that brought the book to life, or at least some of the influences that played a hand in its creation. The first topic I’ll discuss is how my experience in game design factored into the creation of the world of Necropolis PD. I’ve been designing games professionally for over 20 years. I’ve helped make computer games, console games, first-person shooters, platformers, massively-multiplayer online games, role-playing games and more. When designing a world for a game, it’s important to keep in mind that as the designer, I am responsible for defining all the rules of the world. As the designer, I am teaching the player how they can interact with the environment. If I want them to jump, I have to show them how high and how far they can jump, if they can double-jump, if they can grab onto ledges and pull themselves up. This has to be consistent from level-to-level, I can’t su

My debut novel Necropolis PD is now available for pre-order! Click the link to find out more about the book and where you can order it. I'm really excited about the book. It was a huge amount of work, the cover looks amazing, the team at Parvus did a tremendous job. I couldn't be happier. Necropolis PD from Parvus Press

I decided to try my hand at streaming playing a game. Looking through my collection of games on Steam, I chose Shadowrun Returns  by Harebrained Schemes as my first game. It's fun, it looks great, and I'm curious if a second playthrough with a different character and making different story choices will substantially change the experience. Twitch YouTube I don't have a regular schedule yet, but hopefully I can do a follow-up session soon.