Thank you for Ensorcelled’s enthusiastic reception. I poured my heart into writing this book, and it’s been extremely special to see readers connecting so deeply with the story. Hearing how it moved many of you to tears moves me to tears.
Thanks also for spreading the word. Social media has been buzzing and you’ve posted lots of extremely generous and thoughtful Amazon/Goodreads reviews. I can’t overstate the impact of recommending Ensorcelled to friends. Weird little books like this one thrive on word-of-mouth.
I’ve posted links to notable coverage below for your perusal.
Oh, and remember: Books make great gifts, and, in my admittedly biased opinion, Ensorcelled’s tight, powerful story and striking design make it a particularly good one.
And now, a book I love that you might too:
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton is a surprisingly weird and weirdly underrated novel given how many copies it sold and the popularity of the blockbuster franchise it spawned. The story weaves together many apparently disparate threads and there are extensive speculative digressions into the biotechnology, business interests, and institutional dynamics that make the park possible and its dissolution inevitable. If the movie is supremely entertaining, the book is supremely thought-provoking.
Things worth sharing:
Ellen Huet wrote up a little profile on me for Bloomberg: “Science fiction is yoga for the imagination.”
Craig Mod recommended Ensorcelled in Roden (one of my all-time favorite newsletters!): “A little book-shaped blast of what can happen when you pay attention, drop the distractions, and really look at the world.”
Kei Watanabe at Glasp interviewed me about writing the book: “Ensorcelled is the shortest book I’ve written and also took the longest to write. Whether you make software, movies, or any other creative product, you’ve probably experienced how concision may appear effortless, but is extremely difficult to achieve. Ensorcelled is tight. There isn’t a chapter, paragraph, sentence, or word out of place. I took the cleanest line to the heart of the story, which I hope will make readers’ hearts sing.”
Ozan Varol featured it in his popular and beloved newsletter: “Reads like a campfire fable for the digital age. It follows a teenager obsessed with a soon-to-be-released fantasy video game. But instead of spending the weekend plugged in, he’s dragged on a camping trip, where he stumbles into a very different kind of magic. It even made me want to go camping—which is a sentence I’ve never written before.”
Brad Feld, a dear friend who, along with his wife Amy Bachelor, provided a generous grant to support Ensorcelled’s production, published a blog post about it: “Genius. It’s a unique format that can be read in one setting. The writing is beautiful. The story, like the image on the cover, pulls you in with steadily increasing intensity. And then, a delicious twist.”
Julie Fredrickson published a wonderful review: “It was with great pleasure that I read Eliot Peper’s enchanting novella… a delight for young and young at heart readers of literature.”
Readwise featured it in their Wisereads newsletter: “You could become so bewitched by a seductive elsewhere that you missed out on ever being truly here, and yet, elsewhere was sometimes exactly where you needed to go.”
Nick interviewed me for the Miles & Mountains podcast: “We dig into why this story works so well in short form and how a tight arc can carry more voltage than a sprawling series. We also widen the lens: genre as a toolbox rather than a box, how to market work that refuses neat labels, and why he thinks writer’s block is a myth for long-form storytellers. If you’re hungry for a fast, moving read that blends fantasy’s wonder with the grit of real trails, you’ll find a lot to love here.”
My dad published a blog post about behavioral psychology research on the real-world implications of the story’s themes: “A young boy, captured by the spell of the immersive digital world, discovers that real-life experiences carry far deeper meaning.”
Damola Morenikeji published not one, but two blog posts inspired by it: “It’s the kind of book that reminds us of what happens when we allow ourselves see the details in the world around us. And the worlds we can imagine. It reminded me of why we make things. Why we care.”
Andrew Liptak featured it in Transfer Orbit (my favorite sci-fi/fantasy newsletter!): “I’m a big fan of Eliot Peper’s novels, and this new one is something a little different from him: it’s a super-slim fantasy about a kid named Tam who’s excited to play an upcoming video game. When his parents instead take him off on a camping trip, he discovers that the mountains have a magic of their own.”
Don Houts published a lovely review: “Peper strikes again. If you’ve not already read his work, then you are in for a treat.”
Thanks for reading. We all find our next favorite book because someone we trust recommends it. So when you fall in love with a story, tell your friends. Culture is a collective project in which we all have a stake and a voice.
Best, Eliot
Eliot Peper is the author of Ensorcelled, Foundry, Reap3r, Veil, Breach, Borderless, Bandwidth, Neon Fever Dream, Cumulus, Exit Strategy, Power Play, and Version 1.0. He is also the head of story at Portola and works on special projects.
“In an era of stories unspooling endlessly, loose and lazy, Ensorcelled is a tonic: tight, bright, spring-loaded. Here is proof that you can spin up a whole universe in 100 pages or less, and proof that a warm, encouraging tale can have teeth-clenching tension at its heart. Here is my favorite Eliot Peper book yet!”
-Robin Sloan, author of Moonbound
