Word from the biannual Television Critics Association press tour that the Sci Fi Channel in the U.S. has ordered a six-part miniseries based on Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age.

If recent history is any indication, the series will end up on Space here in Canada.

Stephenson himself will adapt his book for George Clooney’s production company, Smoke House Productions, the company he formed with Grant Heslov, with whom he wrote and produced Good Night, and Good Luck.

Clooney – who has been involved with indie projects such as Syriana, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and A Scanner Darkly – has a great sensibility for adaptations, so the fact that The Diamond Age will be produced under his slate bodes well for the miniseries.

The story – set in a near future – is about a young, disenfranchised girl who gets her hands on a special book that helps her learn about and survive the world. It’s one of my favourite novels, and one of Stephenson’s best.

Read it before you see the minseries on television.