12 Comments

It's weird, hadn't really thought much about this book since I read it over a decade ago, but reading this has brought it all back in a sudden Proustian rush. I can remember the charity shop I bought it in, reading it in the break room at work...

A damn shame that so much of it is lost, though I suppose that is always the risk of engaging in such esoteric shenanigans. When I think of how much creativity is lost as the internet decays-

Mono no aware, I guess.

Expand full comment

Oh my god! I haven’t read this book, but I used to sell it in a small bookshop in Darwin, NT Australia in 2007. I used to occasionally flip through it to watch the shark swim, so I doubt any of the copies we had contained any secret unchapters unless they were bound into the book itself. I had no idea this novel had such a cult following or that it was still being gradually pieced together online. Now I defs want to find a copy and see what it’s about.

Expand full comment

I’m not sure if the Australian or New Zealand editions have anything in them. The unchapters are mostly just bound in like normal text. I’ve been meaning to check those editions. It’s definitely worth a read! It’s a great book, and so is Maxwells Demon.

Expand full comment

Thank you!

I discovered RST last year and immediately wrote Hall and asked if he would consider publishing a novella containing all the unchapters for the book, as it really isn't fair for readers coming in years too late. We never had a chance to discover those things.

Expand full comment

He never responded, sadly.

Expand full comment

Only twice in the past decade have I found someone in the wild who loves this book as much as I do. Thank you for this post.

Expand full comment

Welcome, brother

Expand full comment

I have an inscribed (with drawings) copy of “The Aquarium Fragment”

Expand full comment

And? Where do we find Negative 10?

Expand full comment

Negative 10 hasn’t been found; the one Hall thought was 10 was actually 6. It’s in the Sharkive.

Expand full comment

Ah, alas! Thank you.

Expand full comment

Every time I find a copy of TRST at a thrift shop I thumb through it secretly hoping to find an unchapter. Thus far, I have not. Haven't thought of this novel in quite a bit, until today. Glad to see that there are still other people out there in the wild who are still searching for whatever remains.

Expand full comment