Paradigm Shifts: Typewritten Tales of Digital Collapse (Cold Hard Type)

I am not generally a short story person, but I love typewriters and post-apocalyptic fiction, and I enjoyed Richard Polt's The Typewriter Revolution, so I decided to give this book a try. I'm so glad I did! The stories are wonderful, I was really blown away by their quality. Each story is typed on a typewriter, and in a way, it almost makes the typewriter feel like another character in the story. It also makes each story somehow more *real,* written by a real person on a real machine with a real result that you can hold in your hands. It's a brilliant format.If you love typewriters, buy this book. If you love post-apocalyptic fiction, buy this book. If you want to learn to love typewriters buy this book. Of course, it may cause you to decide to become a prepper. I know I'm now pondering whether I need to set in some emergency supplies, including, of course, plenty of paper and typewriter ribbons.

Never have I read an anthology where I loved every single story. Not one story disappointed me, not even the poetry. I knew I was going to buy this book as a novelty and when I heard RJ Montgomery was a contributor, I did not want to delay the purchase especially with the low price.Wonderful collection from contributors who created real stories with real people in real life situations and yet it's all fiction. The stories touched my heart. The stories made me care about these characters who don't really exist. The writing is that good. And even though the authors did not collaborate together, the stories flow as if it was all being experienced at together. I honestly haven't read a book this good in ages. I bought two copies of the book. One to keep and not be touched by others and another to share with my friends. I did not want to risk my book not coming back.

Check it out. This book has a lot of character. The stories for sure, and every story in a different typeface. The book is a marvelous invention, but this one reveals how standardization can also be dehumanizing. Something extra steps forward when a writer crafts with a personal instrument - in this case their beloved typewriter, and the character of that connection isn't stripped away by the publisher's "re-scription." Richard Polt is searching for a word to counter digital, because analog doesn't quite to do it. I don't know what that word would be, but it would have to convey the idea that the act of digitization, while powerful and essential is also an act that disconnects. Now that Richard has started us on this path of reconnecting I'm looking forward to the next logical step - a book that is entirely hand written.

The writing is a little above average for the genre. The real fun is the way the typography plays a role in the stories. It reminds me of World War Z and Robopocalypse. If you enjoyed those books, you'll likely find something entertaining here, too. If you're not really into typewriters, however, this is a three-star collection, IMO.

These are great stories put together by Richard Polt,, the minder of the typosphere, and written by typists from around the world. They muse over what may come to be, sooner than we may imagine, when hacked social media, face recognition and spying over our phones and computers, and basically all what we take for granted and it all comes down. Typewriters, the unhackable and uneditable conduits of our thoughts and works and not our masters, will be our possible salvation. Historical fiction? Fiction? We may see.

Tales from the other side of a full-scale societal collapse, with a focus on typewriters used for everything from fomenting revolution to inflicting blunt-force trauma. What's not to love?

This book is a wonderful collection of typewritten stories. I enjoyed the variety of well-written stories. My 15-year-old son borrowed and enjoyed it also. The price is low, making this an even better value.

Some very entertaining stories. Must read if you’re a typewriter enthusiast. But even if you aren’t, some make you think about what it could be like without technology

very good

Carino perchè i brani sono scritti interamente a macchina. Il contenuto è un po' banale.