Yeah, definitely didn't intend to suggest people skip Egan's story (nor qntm's often-linked Lena) - all are very provoking and worth considering on their own.

While we're on the topic of influences between literature and theories of mind, I've long wondered to what degree Dennett might have been influenced by Haruki Murakami. Consciousness Explained's writing overlaps the preparation of the English translation of Hard-Boiled Wonderland and Murakami's own time in New England (including specifically at Tufts). The work done by the Old Man in HBW is quite literally a "multiple drafts" view of a mind.