Argleton

by Suw Charman-Anderson

Matt is fascinated by the story of Argleton, the unreal town that appeared on GeoMaps but which doesn’t actually exist. No one knows how the mistake made its way into the most widely used map in the world. Accusations that it was a ‘copyright trap’ intended to catch out businesses using the map data without paying for a licence are vigorously denied. GeoMaps promises to remove the anomaly but yet, it persists.

Finally, Matt can resist no longer. He persuades his friend and flatmate Charlie to drive them both down to to find the non-existent town. And when they are standing on the very spot, at the exact longitude and latitude that defines Argleton, Matt sets in motion a chain of events that will take him places he didn’t know existed… and which perhaps don’t.

http://chocolateandvodka.com/fiction/...

Genres: Fiction

95 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Suw Charman-Anderson is an author, journalist and technologist. She began writing professionally as a freelance music journalist in the late 90s, contributing to the Melody Maker and various trade magazines. One of the UK’s social media pioneers, she switched her focus to technology in the early 00s. She has written about social media and technology for The Guardian, CIO Magazine, .Net Magazine, Computer Weekly and FirstPost.com. She currently blogs about publishing and crowdfunding for Forbes.com.

Suw is the driving force behind Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of the achievements of women in technology, science, engineering and maths. A committed digital rights advocate, in 2005 Suw founded the UK’s Open Rights Group.

Suw lives in the UK with her husband and two cats, Grabbity and Sir Izacat Mewton.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story from the very beginning - I was immediately intrigued, and I did not feel the action lagged at all. The writing is just descriptive enough to paint a vivid picture, but not so flowery that I was dragged down by details. Likewise, the characters are developed just through the action and not through going on and on about their prior life, so the detail level was just right. I enjoyed the inclusion of technology in the story but didn't feel over my head (which can easily happen - I am not a techie.)

The only reason I did not give this book five stars is the ending. I felt it was very sudden and unresolved. I realize I am a bit extreme in my preference for books which not only tie up the whole story in a nice bow, but also dish out just desserts to each character; so I may be a little unfair in my judgment. However, it reminded me of Isaac Asimov or the other short stories we read in Mrs. Longhenry's 10th grade English class, in that the ending is left to the reader's interpretation.

I am looking forward to reading more of Suw's work.

[Russell Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great short story, about what happens when Matt and Charlie go looking for towns that are shown on a web mapping service, but which don't actually exist.

It was really rather refreshing that one of the main characters (Charlie) is female and a computer geek. Given that the author set up Ada Lovelace Day, this probably shouldn't be at all surprising. The author combines maps and computer geekery to create a wonderful, intriguing story.

Highly recommended, especially if you like maps or are a computer geek.

[David Schwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ebook was produced as part of a Kickstarter.com project. The story is built around the non-existent town of Argleton that for awhile showed up on Google Maps. A couple discover this town by accident, and while there is no town, there is WiFi, and a mysterious phone app. This leads to a real mystery and some strange events. The ending was interesting! A quick read, and free!

[Claire Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick but enjoyable pace, easy to read but not simplistic. The story is centred on a couple who find a town on google maps that doesn't appear to exist in reality so they begin an investigation that will change their lives.

Highly recommended.

[David Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Produced via the first Kickstarter project we supported - ah, those were heady days. Begging for a sequel, methinks.

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quite a lot. Flatmates Matt and Charlie go in search of Argleton, a town that appears on GeoMaps, but doesn't actually exist, and get drawn into a puzzle crossing the country.

[Perry Aylen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A map reading geo caching mystery. Quite good but far too short; only a novellette