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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-09 08:50 am

The Cool War by Frederik Pohl



A hapless minister is drafted into international intrigue.

The Cool War by Frederik Pohl
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-08 02:15 pm
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Bundle of Holding: Mystery Flesh Pit



Welcome, visitor, to Mystery Flesh Pit National Park: The RPG, the Cypher System tabletop roleplaying game rulebook from Ganza Gaming about the Permian Basin Superorganism.

Bundle of Holding: Mystery Flesh Pit
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-08 11:00 am
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-07 08:51 am
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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
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-06 02:47 pm
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Bundle of Holding: Achtung! Cthulhu



Everything you need for Nazi-punching Mythos adventures

Bundle of Holding: Achtung! Cthulhu
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-06 12:12 pm
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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: 61


Which 2017 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
6 (9.8%)

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
42 (68.9%)

After Atlas by Emma Newman
10 (16.4%)

Central Station by Lavie Tidhar
9 (14.8%)

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
47 (77.0%)

Occupy Me by Tricia Sullivan
4 (6.6%)



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
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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
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-04 09:04 am
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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%)

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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-03 10:06 am
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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
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-02 08:36 am
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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
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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.
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-01 02:01 pm
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Bundle of Holding: The Far Roofs



The complete tabletop RPG about the heroic rats of Fortitude

Bundle of Holding: The Far Roofs
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james_davis_nicoll ([personal profile] james_davis_nicoll) wrote2025-10-01 10:59 am
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October 2025 Patreon Boost



You too can support James Nicoll Reviews.

October 2025 Patreon Boost
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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
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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.



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