Crashworld is a science fiction/fantasy novel written by Stony Brook University student Andrew Pernick. It is written entirely on the internet (http://www.andrewpernick.com). It is usually updated weekly. The novel will be contained in either three or five books. Because of its online format, the author is easily reached, and readers have easy access to fanfiction, out-take chapters, a forum dedicated to the novel, and the author himself. Pernick allows and encourages the circulation of the webnovel to attract new readers.

The plot is as follows, taken directly from the author's website:

The world of Gana is one of mystery, magic, chivalry and peace. 350 years have passed since a strange phenomenon occurred, one that forever changed the natural development of its people. On that fateful day, the medieval cultures and societies of Gana were suddenly reorganized, their technological and scientific knowledge catapulted centuries ahead of where they should be. Suddenly, through the discovery of the Device, a small piece of electronics approximately 4" tall by 3" with a monitor screen and keyboard built in, all of the libraries in the world were suddenly, and inextricably, linked, creating a network of knowledge available to all. Gana's peoples suddenly had access to every piece of knowledge on the planet.

Now, after three and a half centuries of development, the people of Gana enjoy the benefits of advances in medicine, engineering, physics, mechanics, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, art, literature, architecture and philosophy. They are living at the dawn of an industrial revolution while still retaining much of their medieval ways. Castles dot the landscape, knights quest for valor and justice, weaponry is limited to swords, bows, crossbows and the like, buildings are made of stone and wood; yet the people also enjoy indoor plumbing, coal-powered generators, primitive electric lighting, and steel tools. It is as if technological elements of our society had somehow crashed into their medieval world.

Yet there are some who wish to advance the culture more, to increase the pace of the technological and scientific revolutions, so that they might be masters of the new future. True power, they believe, comes from controlling technology. If they can accelerate the advancement of technology, with themselves as overseers, controllers, and guardians of knowledge, they can rule the world entire...

The prologue and first book are presently being self-published through Lulu, Inc. (http://www.lulu.com, a technology company facilitating self-publishing and on-demand printing, in a limited run of 100 copies and will be sold by the author at I-CON 25 in Stony Brook, New York.

Pernick's second book, Hindrances, is unrelated to Crashworld, and of a different genre.