Tor Books, 2017
Read James Gunn's introductory essay, "Private Lives," and Vylar Kaftan's story, "FeastWar," on Tor's website, or scroll down to purchase CHASING SHADOWS.
light appears to be pouring across the planet
Young people log their lives with hourly True Confessions. Cops wear lapel-cams and spy agencies peer at us — and face defections and whistle blowers. Bank records leak and "uncrackable" firewalls topple. As we debate internet privacy, revenge porn, the NSA, and Edward Snowden, cameras get smaller, faster, and more numerous.
Has Orwell's Big Brother finally come to pass? Or have we become a global society of thousands of Little Brothers — watching, judging, and reporting on one another?
Partnering with the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination, and inspired by Brin's nonfiction book, The Transparent Society: Will Technology Make Us Choose Between Privacy and Freedom?, noted author and futurist David Brin and scholar Stephen W. Potts have compiled essays and short stories from writers such as Robert J. Sawyer, James Morrow, William Gibson, Damon Knight, Jack McDevitt, and many others to examine the benefits and pitfalls of technological transparency in all its permutations.
Among the many questions...
- Do we answer surveillance with sousveillance, shining accountability upward?
- Will we spiral into busybody judgmentalism? Or might people choose to leave each other alone?
- Will empathy increase or decrease in a more transparent world?
- What if we could own our information, and buy and sell it in a web bazaar?
purchase Chasing Shadows
Amazon.com US: hardcover 
Apple iTunes US: iBook and audiobook (unabridged)
Barnes and Noble US: hardcover and paperback and Nook ebook
indiebound.org US: hardcover and paperback
Kobo.com US: ebook
Mysterious Galaxy San Diego: hardcover and paperback and (Kobo) ebook
Powell's US: hardcover and paperback
CONTENTS
Introduction: Private Lives James Gunn
AD JUSTITIAM PER LUCEM
Mine, Yours, Ours Jack Skillingstead
Insistence of Vision David Brin
Planetbound Nancy Fulda
The Right's Tough Robert J. Sawyer
The Circuit Riders R.C. FitzPatrick
The Werewolves of Maplewood James Morrow
The Road to Oceania William Gibson
SURVEILLANCE — SOUSVEILLANCE
I See You Damon Knight
Eyejacked David Walton
FeastWar Vylar Kaftan
Your Lying Eyes Jack McDevitt
The Disaster Stack Vernor Vinge
LIES AND PRIVATE LIVES
First Presentation Aliette de Bodard
AfterShift Memories David Ramirez
Spew Neal Stephenson
Private Life in Cyberspace John Perry Barlow
BIG BROTHER, LITTLE BROTHER, VILLAGE
Elderjoy Gregory Benford
Street Life in the Emerald City Brenda Cooper
The Eyes Have It Stephen W. Potts
NO PLACE TO HIDE
Preferences Cat Rambo
Vectors Stephen Gaskell
Public Domain Scott Sigler
To See the Invisible Man Robert Silverberg
The Disconnected Ramez Naam
LOOKING BACK ... AND LOOKING UP
Eminence Karl Schroeder
Sport Kathleen Ann Goonan
Elephant on Table Bruce Sterling
A Tsunami of Light Afterword by David Brin
chasing shadows in the world
on this site
on the web
Brin on the web
film & media queries
Queries about film or media rights to any DAVID BRIN books or stories can be addressed to his film agent:
Vince Gerardis
Created-By Agency
email: rightsqueries@gmail.com
(with cc: to David Brin)
inter-viewing editors
Co-editors David Brin and Stephen Potts were interviewed on KPBS radio about Chasing Shadows. Among the questions posed: what happens in a society without privacy?
chasing shadows reviews
Gardner Dozois/Locus
"Chasing Shadows is a sort of cross between a futurology anthology and a Think-Tank project. Most of the Think-Tank project stories are so concerned with introducing a novel futurological idea about possible near-future societies that they have no room left for an involving human story employing the effects of that idea. That’s not a problem here."
theStar.com
"Chasing Shadows collects a variety of responses by SF writers to living in the digital panopticon, most of them less pessimistic than Orwell but still expressing some misgivings. No matter their particular angle though, all are entertaining and provocative, and piercingly relevant for our own time."
Paul Di Fillippo/Locus
"David Brin’s The Transparent Society (1998) surveyed the new technology that is driving us towards more and more disclosure, and drew fresh new conclusions about the issues. Now, still cogitating on the ramifications of these issues, and displaying admirable tenacity and dedication to the cause, Brin offers an anthology of fiction on the topic, featuring a stellar lineup of contributors."
a brief intro to science fiction author DAVID BRIN
To learn more, visit his books page, or see his "about me" page or detailed biography.
novels
David Brin's science fiction novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages. They range from bold and prophetic explorations of our near-future to Brin's Uplift series, envisioning galactic issues of sapience and destiny (and star-faring dolphins!). Learn More
shorter fiction
Short stories and novellas have different rhythms and artistic flavor, and Brin's short stories and novellas, several of which earned Hugo and other awards, exploit that difference to explore a wider range of real and vividly speculative ideas. Many have been selected for anthologies and reprints, and most have been published in anthology form. Learn More
Contrary Brin blog
Since 2004, David Brin has maintained a blog about science, technology, science fiction, books, and the future — themes his science fiction and nonfiction writings continue to explore. Learn More
social media influencer
Who could've predicted that social media — indeed, all of our online society — would play such an important role in the 21st Century — restoring the voices of advisors and influencers! Lively and intelligent comments spill over onto Brin's social media pages. Learn More
scientist
David Brin's Ph.D in Physics from the University of California at San Diego (the lab of nobelist Hannes Alfven) followed a masters in optics and an undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Caltech. Every science show that depicts a comet now portrays the model developed in Brin's PhD research. Learn More
transparency expert
Brin's non-fiction book, The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy?, continues to receive acclaim for its accuracy in predicting 21st Century concerns about online security, secrecy, accountability and privacy. Learn More
speaker & consultant
Brin speaks plausibly and entertainingly about trends in technology and society to audiences willing to confront the challenges that our rambunctious civilization will face in the decades ahead. He also talks about the field of science fiction, especially in relation to his own novels and stories. To date he has presented at more than 200 meetings, conferences, corporate retreats and other gatherings.Learn More
future/tech advisor
Brin advises corporations and governmental and private defense- and security-related agencies about information-age issues, scientific trends, future social and political trends, and education. Urban Developer Magazine named him one of four World's Best Futurists, and he was cited as one of the top 10 writers the AI elite follow. Past consultations include Google, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, and many others. Learn More
