Oct. 3rd, 2025 10:06 am
Oct. 3rd, 2025 09:10 am
An Unlikely Coven (Green Witch Cycle, volume 1) By AM Kvita
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james_davis_nicoll
Forgotten again by her family, Joan Greenwood discovers that this time her witch-kin had a legitimate excuse: a potentially existential threat to Greenwood power and privilege.
An Unlikely Coven (Green Witch Cycle, volume 1) by AM Kvita
Oct. 2nd, 2025 08:36 am
Probe (Search, # 1) by Leslie Stevens & Russ Mayberry
james_davis_nicoll
A field agent armed with privacy-violating technology searches for Nazi loot--stolen diamonds--on behalf of a South African diamond cartel.
Probe (Search, # 1) by Leslie Stevens & Russ Mayberry
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Oct. 2nd, 2025 08:28 am
Last night's dream
james_davis_nicollI dreamed I discovered a weapon in Half Life 2 that would generate and hurl at considerable speed empty shipping containers.
Oct. 1st, 2025 09:55 am
Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey„ volume 1 by Akiko Higashimura
james_davis_nicoll
Akiko's plan to become Japan's foremost manga artist is manifestly reasonable, so why will reality not cooperate?
Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey„ volume 1 by Akiko Higashimura
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Sep. 30th, 2025 12:22 pm
September 2025 in Review
james_davis_nicoll
21 works reviewed. 11 by women (52%), 9 by men (43%), 1 by non-binary authors (5%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (0%), and 8 by POC (38%).
The chart is breaking formatting. Need to fix or remove it. I do like charts, though.
September 2025 in Review
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Sep. 30th, 2025 08:45 am
Elegy for Angels and Dogs /The Graveyard Heart by Williams and Zelazny
james_davis_nicoll
Two stories about beautiful people partying their way through time.
Elegy for Angels and Dogs /The Graveyard Heart (Tor SF Double, volume 24) By Walter Jon Williams & Roger Zelazny
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Sep. 29th, 2025 12:15 pm
Clarke Award Finalists 2016
james_davis_nicoll2016: The Chilcot Inquiry illustrates the meticulous process by which the UK went to war in Iraq, Lord Lucan is declared dead, and the UK’s narrow vote to leave the EU is at worst the second stupidest collective decision made by a Western democracy in 2016.
Pretend I caught that the poll autofilled the wrong question and that it reads "which 2016 Clarke Award finalists did you read?"
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2016 Clarke Award finalists did you read??
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Arcadia by Iain Pears
Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Way Down Dark by James Smythe
Pretend I caught that the poll autofilled the wrong question and that it reads "which 2016 Clarke Award finalists did you read?"
Poll #33672 Clarke Award Finalists 2016
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 52
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
22 (42.3%)
Arcadia by Iain Pears
2 (3.8%)
Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
7 (13.5%)
The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
12 (23.1%)
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
44 (84.6%)
Way Down Dark by James Smythe
0 (0.0%)
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2016 Clarke Award finalists did you read??
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Arcadia by Iain Pears
Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Way Down Dark by James Smythe
Tags:
Sep. 28th, 2025 08:37 pm
I don't know what to make of this
james_davis_nicoll
The Cherryh titles I dropped into ngram fell into 3 patterns:
Ones whose titles don't play nicely with ngrams. I dropped those.
Ones where the mentions per year decline fairly steadily year to year.
Cyteen. What's up with Cyteen? Did Jo Walton mention it on tor dot com around 2009?
Sep. 28th, 2025 08:59 am
Tiger by the Tail and Other Science Fiction Stories by Alan E. Nourse
james_davis_nicoll
Nine science fiction stories by the author of The Universe Between.
Tiger by the Tail and Other Science Fiction Stories by Alan E. Nourse
Sep. 27th, 2025 09:10 am
Books Received, September 20 — September 26
james_davis_nicoll
Six works new to me: four fantasy, one mystery, one non-fiction (from an unexpected source)... unless you count the fantasy-mystery as mystery, in which case it's three fantasy and two mysteries. At least two are series. I don't know why publishers are so averse to labelling series.
Books Received, September 20 — September 26
Poll #33662 Books Received, September 20 — September 26
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 43
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong
12 (27.9%)
Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst (July 2026)
12 (27.9%)
Following My Nose by Alexei Panshin (December 2024)
11 (25.6%)
The Fake Divination Offense by Sara Raasch (May 2026)
7 (16.3%)
The Harvey Girl by Dana Stabenow (February 2026)
8 (18.6%)
Scarlet Morning by ND Stevenson (September 2025)
17 (39.5%)
Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.3%)
Cats!
32 (74.4%)
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Sep. 26th, 2025 09:17 am
Bound Feet by Kelsea Yu
james_davis_nicoll
A grieving mother and her best friend break into a ghost museum to conduct illicit but surely harmless Ghost Day celebrations. Revelations await.
Bound Feet by Kelsea Yu
Sep. 25th, 2025 10:07 am
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
james_davis_nicoll
More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics of falling in love.
On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction
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Sep. 25th, 2025 08:53 am
Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack
james_davis_nicoll
Amid economic downturn and political strife, young American teen discovers her hidden potential.
Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack
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Sep. 24th, 2025 09:05 am
Kowloon Generic Romance, volume 2 by Jun Mayuzuki
james_davis_nicoll
Realtor Reiko Kujirai has many questions, about her apparent rival and about herself, but very few answers.
Kowloon Generic Romance, volume 2 by Jun Mayuzuki
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