Pity that he ended up writing a novel in which the main character is stranded on Mars because of an impossible martian storm; then communicates with Earth by absolutely implausible means (while there were many more obvious, among which the most classic &quot;SOS&quot; written on the sand); that he survives by growing potatoes that couldn&#x27;t possibly germinate, planted in a highly toxic soil, and raised with a light source that does provide only a small fraction of the energy required to grow caloric food...<p>EDIT: I&#x27;ve already got one downvote, hurray! Would the downvoter(s) be kind enough to point out <i>why</i> and <i>how</i> they disagree with what I&#x27;ve written in the comment? Plus: at least wait to see what I have to say about Charles Stross himself and his novel &quot;Glasshouse&quot;. :)