rachelmanija: (Books: old)
rachelmanija ([personal profile] rachelmanija) wrote2025-05-23 10:18 am

Book Review Poll

I have been reading much more than I've been reviewing. So...

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 31


Which of these books would you MOST like me to review?

View Answers

When the Wolf Comes Home, by Nat Cassidy. Horror novel about an out of work actress on the run with a little boy.
1 (3.2%)

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty. The rollicking adventures of a middle-aged mom PIRATE in fantasy medieval Middle East.
16 (51.6%)

Diary of a Witchcraft Shop, by Trevor Jones and Liz Williams. What it says on the can: a diary of owning a witchcraft shop in Glastonbury.
8 (25.8%)

Sisters of the Vast Black, by Nina Rather. SPACE NUNS aboard a GIANT SPACE SEA SLUG.
12 (38.7%)

Making Bombs for Hitler, by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. Children's historical fiction about Ukrainian children kidnapped and enslaved in WWII, by a Ukrainian-Canadian author.
3 (9.7%)

Under One Banner, by Graydon Saunders. Commonweal # 4!
4 (12.9%)

Archangel (etc), by Sharon Shinn. Lost colony romantic SF about genetically engineered angels.
6 (19.4%)

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton. Historical murder mystery with time loops and body switching.
4 (12.9%)

Irontown Blues, by John Varley. Faux-noir SF with an intelligent dog.
2 (6.5%)

Blood Over Bright Haven, by M. L. Wang. Standalone fantasy that kind of looks like romantast but isn't, with anvillicious anti-colonial themes.
3 (9.7%)

An Immense World, by Ed Yong. Outstanding nonfiction about how animals sense the world.
12 (38.7%)

Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling, by Henry Lien ("Peasprout Chen"). Nonfiction, what it says on the can. Not all stories are in three acts!
8 (25.8%)

Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman. World's greatest D&D campaign in a truly fucked world.
5 (16.1%)



Have you read any of these? What did you think?
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-23 09:52 am

Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin



News that her supernatural aunt has been murdered upends a young woman's life.

Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-22 08:56 am

The Judas Contract by Marv Wolfman & George Pérez



Who is the secret traitor? The former boy wonder, the wonder girl, the alien princess, the cyborg, the shape-shifter, the spooky witch, the speedster, or the geokinetic who frequently brags about being evil and betraying the team?

The Judas Contract by Marv Wolfman & George Pérez
isis: (cowboy callum)
Isis ([personal profile] isis) wrote2025-05-21 03:13 pm
Entry tags:

wednesday media

What I recently finished watching:

S3 of Dark Winds, which GRRM (who is an executive producer of the show) makes a cameo in, hee. Also Jenna Elfman guest stars as an FBI investigator in from DC. This one goes hard on the "dark" part of the title, with some fairly gruesome crimes going on, as well as the emotional darkness from the fallout of the events of the previous season.

As usual I really enjoyed seeing my local landscapes, and the general Indian-country vibe of the show. (As I've mentioned before, I live not far from Navajo, though the local tribe is actually the Southern Ute; also, the college down the road is free for enrolled tribal members of any US tribe.) I was less a fan of how the season really consisted of very separate storylines, Bernie in the Border Patrol and Joe and Jim on the rez, however, the Navajo police investigation was well integrated with Joe's personal story, which made it all that more interesting. (Also here I have to admit that although I like Jim Chee as a character, I don't find him very attractive - a combination of Kiowa Gordon's chubby face and his truly dreadful 1970's costuming - so the romantic storyline was a little flat for me.)

However, damn do I love Bernie! However, her storyline confused me a bit, because it started out being about human trafficking but ended up being about drugs? But there was also a frightened Mexican family involved? Not sure what was going on there. I did figure out before the reveal who the bad guys and the complicit guys were (and heh, I bet the Republicans are none too pleased at the show painting the Border Patrol as a den of corruption) and wow, the ending of that bit was very kickass.

What I'm watching now:

S2 of Andor, which I only remember certain points from S1 so I was pretty confused during the first episode. Hopefully it will become clear(er) after the second episode, tonight.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-21 02:17 pm
Entry tags:

Bundle of Holding: Awfully Cheerful Engine



The complete Omnibus with the rules and eight settings for Awfully Cheerful Engine, the cinematic action-comedy tabletop roleplaying game.

Bundle of Holding: Awfully Cheerful Engine
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-21 10:09 am
Entry tags:

Five SFF Works About Meddling, Mystery-Solving Kids



Darn kids, always battling ghosts and exposing conspiracies and making a mess...

Five SFF Works About Meddling, Mystery-Solving Kids
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-21 09:14 am
Entry tags:

Bundle of Holding: OSE Treasures 2



Recent third-party tabletop roleplaying adventures for Old-School Essentials.

Bundle of Holding: OSE Treasures 2
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-21 09:06 am
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-20 03:53 pm

Well, crap

Got a notice from Campus Health that I may have been exposed to measles in Hagey Hall on the 8th, between 5 PM and 11 PM.

Oddly, that's not a one-to-one correspondence with my shift on the 8th. My shift started at 3:45 PM. The client's company was there before me, so if they were the source, the warning should begin earlier. I wonder what time Plant Ops evening shifts begin?
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-20 09:01 am

That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made by Eric James Stone



A horny but pious Mormon and a hot but godless scientist witness the wrath of an angry god.


That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made by Eric James Stone
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-19 01:58 pm
Entry tags:

Bundle of Holding: Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy Bundle



Rulebooks, Adventure Anthologies, + 4 adventures for the Old-School Essentials tabletop roleplaying rules set from Necrotic Gnome.

Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy Bundle
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-19 12:21 pm
Entry tags:
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-19 10:15 am

Clarke Award Finalists 1997

1997: The UK wins Eurovision, the BBC foolishly embraces that passing fad known as the internet, and Tony Blair wins a razor-thin 179 seat majority.


Poll #33137 Clarke Award Finalists 1997
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 34


Which 1997 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh
3 (8.8%)

Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
19 (55.9%)

Gibbon's Decline and Fall by Sheri S. Tepper
11 (32.4%)

Looking for the Mahdi by N. Lee Wood
4 (11.8%)

The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt
13 (38.2%)

Voyage by Stephen Baxter
5 (14.7%)



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

Which 1997 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh
Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Gibbon's Decline and Fall by Sheri S. Tepper
Looking for the Mahdi by N. Lee Wood
The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt
Voyage by Stephen Baxter
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-19 09:36 am

Work

I made a positive contribution to work by proposing a sign for the perennially-blocked door 10 that warning people that door is an emergency door and not to be blocked. Door 10 is in a short corridor next to a change room and people keep commandeering it to store stuff. Specifically clients. I think I may have annoyed the client last Friday by informing them I wasn't going to open the theatre until that exit was cleared.

Of course, nobody will read the sign but at least it will be there.

Not as annoying as the time the Hack the North kids decided the best place for a pile of duffle bags was against the outside of door 8, one of the two main balcony entrances.

The legion of house managers got a long form of things that we're expected to do, each section of which we had to initial before returning it. I was not the only one who read it looking for sections that might have been inspired by something I did or did not do.
rydra_wong: The UK cover of "Prophet" by Blaché and Macdonald, showing the title written vertically in iridescent colours (prophet)
rydra_wong ([personal profile] rydra_wong) wrote2025-05-18 08:56 pm
Entry tags:

I think I'm allowed another self-promo in case anyone missed the first

It took me a year to drag this fic out of the scorched earth that certain parts of my brain have been since my Epic Psychiatric Misadventures, I think it's genuinely one of the better things I've written, and I am very proud of it.

a word you've never understood on AO3 (Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald, M, Sunil Rao/Adam Rubenstein, 9K words)

Summary: He’s been starving for so long. He thinks he’s never not been starving.

Note: massive spoilers for canon, and probably won't make a lot of sense if you've not read it. I am aware this is niche.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-05-18 08:48 am

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury



Guy Montag and his wife Millie live comfortable, conventional, middle-class lives. Millie finds purpose in an endless stream of television entertainment. Guy burns books.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury