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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

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

james_davis_nicoll

A magical hoard for Fifth Edition roleplaying

Bundle of Holding: 5E Treasures

james_davis_nicoll

2016: 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?"

Poll #33672 Clarke Award Finalists 2016

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 43

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
19 (44.2%)

Arcadia by Iain Pears
2 (4.7%)

Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
7 (16.3%)

The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
11 (25.6%)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
36 (83.7%)

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

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?

andrewducker

Ways to tell you have a child #37: the contents of your tumble dryer's lint trap is 50% glitter.

(And your hands are now covered in glitter from emptying it)

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

andrewducker

Why do people go to the group "Fans of X" and ask "Is X any good?"

I mean, no, most members of the fan group loathe it with a fiery passion and are only in the group to warn passers-by how terrible it is.

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

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

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%)

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

james_davis_nicoll

james_davis_nicoll

More stories should dig into the chemistry, biology, and physics of falling in love.

On Writing Romance as Hard Science Fiction

james_davis_nicoll

Amid economic downturn and political strife, young American teen discovers her hidden potential.

Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack

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

andrewducker

Facebook reminds me that we had norovirus on this day in 2021 and 2023. Jane has spent the last 24 hours with D+V. What are the odds?

james_davis_nicoll

james_davis_nicoll

would my Framework charge if plugged into one outlet but not another? I tested the outlet from which it did not charge and it works for other devices.

[Update]

I shut it down for an hour and everything works again.

james_davis_nicoll

Oh, the joys (and perils) of visiting unfamiliar places and times...

Adventures in Tourism: Five SFF Stories About Travel

james_davis_nicoll

Youtube pushed a song from this source at me.

I don't think they exist. There are no non-generated images of the singer and their pace of output is suspicious. And their FB bio references ai.

james_davis_nicoll

Oxford sends its best to study World War Two in this (grinds teeth) Hugo-winning tale of sound and fury.

Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis

james_davis_nicoll

The SHADOW OF THE WEIRD WIZARD corebooks, supplements, and adventures.

Bundle of Holding: Weird Wizard

james_davis_nicoll

2015: Five Britons sign for the doomed Mars One venture, the UK pays off its WWI War Loans, and the Liberal Democrats’ adroit political maneuvering yields memorable electoral returns.

Poll #33648 Clarke Award Finalists 2015

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 39

View Respondents

Which 2015 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
26 (66.7%)

Europe in Autumn by Dave Hutchinson
8 (20.5%)

Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta
7 (17.9%)

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
4 (10.3%)

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
16 (41.0%)

The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey
19 (48.7%)

Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.

Which 2015 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Europe in Autumn by Dave Hutchinson
Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta
The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey

andrewducker

We went up the hill. There were roses. Nobody knows why. Gideon has theories involving dead people.
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.

james_davis_nicoll

Frostflower can solve Thorn's pregnancy problem... but can the pair survive the attention of a fanatical farmer-priest?

Frostflower and Thorn (Frostflower and Thorn, volume 1) by Phyllis Ann Karr

james_davis_nicoll

Really, more of Book Received. One work new to me, science fantasy.

Books Received, September 13 — September 19

Poll #33640 Books Received, September 13 — September 19

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 38

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

Yalum by Matthew Hughes (September 2025)
10 (26.3%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.6%)

Cats!
36 (94.7%)

andrewducker

1. Popper was right about the link between certainty and extremism: (tags:politics psychology belief )
2. Plastic from takeaway containers may fuel Alzheimer's risk (in mice): (tags:mice alzheimers plastic )
3. Is it cheating if your illicit affair is with AI?: (tags:relationships ai )
4. The US "healthcare" system is not fit for purpose.: (tags:healthcare USA OhForFucksSake )

james_davis_nicoll

There's a planet in the habitable zone... but not an Earthlike planet.

Bad News From Alpha Centauri A…

james_davis_nicoll

Sabrena's life is full of struggles already. The last thing she needs is an other-worldly adventure. Life is, alas, not considerate of a teen's preferences.

Sabrena Swept Away by Karuna Riazi

andrewducker

1. Labour's plan to jumpstart city building after Rayner's 1.5m homes drive stalls: (tags:housing uk )
2. Chimps consume a pint of lager's worth of alcohol every day in fruit: (tags:alcohol chimpanzees )
3. Man with Covid for over two years became virus incubator, as it evolved into new variants of concern: (tags:pandemic virus evolution )
4. Samsung confirms its $1,800+ fridges will start showing you ads (and so I will never buy one): (tags:advertising Samsung technology OhForFucksSake )
5. Early dropoff in girls' school sports linked to new gender confirmation forms (in Canada): (tags:Canada girls sports school LGBT transgender bigotry )
6. Trump Spends Entire U.K. Trip Trying To Figure Out Where He Knows Prince Andrew From: (tags:politics Child_abuse satire usa uk royalty )
7. An "At The Mountains Of Madness" game, where you play as a penguin.: (tags:penguins hplovecraft games wtf )

james_davis_nicoll

A selection of Dozois' best, from the first half of his half century career.

Geodesic Dreams: The Best Short Fiction of Gardner Dozois by Gardner Dozois

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