james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-07 08:51 am
Entry tags:

Forty Thousand in Gehenna by C J Cherryh



Union technocrats had a plan for Gehenna, a plan that failed to take into account local conditions.

Forty Thousand in Gehenna by C J Cherryh
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-06 02:47 pm
Entry tags:

Bundle of Holding: Achtung! Cthulhu



Everything you need for Nazi-punching Mythos adventures

Bundle of Holding: Achtung! Cthulhu
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-06 12:12 pm
Entry tags:

Clarke Award Finalists 2017

2017: The Royal College of Nursing’s alarming description of conditions in the NHS inspires the government to do worse, the Tories succeed in freezing British lifespans after a century of progress, and the UK begins that political equivalent of autoerotic asphyxiation known as Brexit.

Poll #33694 Clarke Award Finalists 2017
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 53


Which 2017 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
6 (11.3%)

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
35 (66.0%)

After Atlas by Emma Newman
10 (18.9%)

Central Station by Lavie Tidhar
9 (17.0%)

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
43 (81.1%)

Occupy Me by Tricia Sullivan
4 (7.5%)



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


Which 2017 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
After Atlas by Emma Newman

Central Station by Lavie Tidhar
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
Occupy Me by Tricia Sullivan
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-05 08:59 am

Destinies, February-March 1980 (Destinies, # 6) edited by Jim Baen



Pacifist Dorsai, space forts, duelling reviews, a rant about that mean Mr. Einstein and more in this issue of Destinies.

Destinies, February-March 1980 (Destinies, # 6) edited by Jim Baen
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-04 09:04 am
Entry tags:

Books Received, September 27 — October 3



Twelve books new to me. Four fantasies, one horror, one non-fiction, and six (!) science fiction works, of which at least four are series instalments.

Books Received, September 27 — October 3

Poll #33688 Books Received, September 27 — October 3
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 58


Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

Children of Fallen Gods by Carissa Broadbent (December 2025)
4 (6.9%)

Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis (January 2026)
9 (15.5%)

The Language of Liars by S. L. Huang (April 2026)
22 (37.9%)

We Burned So Bright by T. J. Klune (April 2026)
21 (36.2%)

We Could Be Anyone by Anna-Marie McLemore (May 2026)
8 (13.8%)

These Godly Lies by Rachelle Raeta (July 2026)
4 (6.9%)

The New Prometheans: Faith, Science, and the Supernatural
16 (27.6%)

Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven (July 2026)
5 (8.6%)

The Infinite State by Richard Swan (August 2026)
7 (12.1%)

Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky (June 2026)
25 (43.1%)

Moss’d in Space by Rebecca Thorne (July 2026)
20 (34.5%)

Platform Decay by Martha Wells (May 2026)
43 (74.1%)

Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
40 (69.0%)

james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-03 10:06 am
Entry tags:
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-03 09:10 am

An Unlikely Coven (Green Witch Cycle, volume 1) By AM Kvita



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
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-02 08:36 am
Entry tags:

Probe (Search, # 1) by Leslie Stevens & Russ Mayberry



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
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-02 08:28 am

Last night's dream

I dreamed I discovered a weapon in Half Life 2 that would generate and hurl at considerable speed empty shipping containers.
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-01 02:01 pm
Entry tags:

Bundle of Holding: The Far Roofs



The complete tabletop RPG about the heroic rats of Fortitude

Bundle of Holding: The Far Roofs
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-01 10:59 am
Entry tags:

October 2025 Patreon Boost



You too can support James Nicoll Reviews.

October 2025 Patreon Boost
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-01 09:55 am

Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist's Journey„ volume 1 by Akiko Higashimura



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
beatrice_otter: Miss Piggy in a superhero costume: Were you looking for flying pigs? (Were you looking for flying pigs?)
beatrice_otter ([personal profile] beatrice_otter) wrote2025-09-30 03:07 pm

New archive just dropped

Back in the day, there were a lot of different fanfic archives. And then AO3 came along, and everyone moved there. And there's a lot to be said for having a central multifandom archive! I love AO3! But there's also something to be said for communities having their own space.

The OTW has always said they their code is open source and they want people to use it to make their own archives, but it is ... not very user-friendly, shall we say. But now there are several people who have gotten their own instance of the OTW-A code up and running for their own archives.

And now there is another! There is now a femslash-focused archive called Sunset! It was just created and is still very tiny, but if you are into femslash, either writing it or reading it, you might find it interesting. It is run by Agnes the Alien.

Sunset is a website established in 2025 dedicated to hosting femslash (F/F) fanworks. It holds pro-freedom of fiction, queer and trans inclusive, anti-racist and generally compassionate ideals. We're here to have fun and love women. Sunset is run by one person, Agnes the Alien, who dreamed this up in zher bedroom. Please be nice to zher!

 ...

THIS IS AN 18+ ARCHIVE.

I'd also like to shout out Squidgeworld, Superlove, Ad Astra, and Comic Fanfiction Authors Archive.



james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-30 12:22 pm
Entry tags:

September 2025 in Review



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: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-29 02:01 pm
Entry tags:

Bundle of Holding: 5E Treasures



A magical hoard for Fifth Edition roleplaying

Bundle of Holding: 5E Treasures
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-29 12:15 pm
Entry tags:

Clarke Award Finalists 2016

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: 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
james_davis_nicoll: (Default)
james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-09-28 08:37 pm

I don't know what to make of this



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?