An Apple a Day ...

" ... Neither Jeremy Fernando nor Julian Gough are literally concerned with the nominal subjects of their respective contributions to this book; that much seems clear, if anything can be clear in the face of their extravagant attempts to take perhaps the dominant icon of contemporary capitalism - the iPhone (and its variants) - and allow it to mutate into a prickly, resonant metaphor for everything from September 11, ISIS, Anders Behring Breivik, blind gratification, the power of the image, and being itself.

Gough's story - 'The iHole' - is not simply irreverent to capitalism's toys, it also seeks to pulverize flat notions of material reality by provoking and disturbing them and, in so doing, fulfills one of the central possibilities of the creative impulse.

Fernando's larger target - in 'iS6' - is meaning, or our attempts to force the meaningless into the garb of meaning - although this doesn't simply extend to a different kind of avoidance. He just wants to keep the monster in the game, lest we forget we are monsters."

- Neil Murphy, from 'Introduction: When Thought Wanders Off'

From the back cover:

"Here's the story that convinced me Julian Gough was the right guy to write the end game text for Minecraft."

- Notch

"Recently described as 'Asia's Sexiest Philosopher', Fernando's erudition and grasp of theory are balanced by a playful approach to popular culture and, in real life, a sartorial elan that does, indeed, match his sobriquet."

- Walter Mason