Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
2026-06-12 09:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_davis_nicoll
Generic Asian Man Willis Wu dreams of becoming Kung Fu Guy. If he's not careful, he might become Dead Asian Guy instead.
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
james_davis_nicollGeneric Asian Man Willis Wu dreams of becoming Kung Fu Guy. If he's not careful, he might become Dead Asian Guy instead.
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
Jane Yolen (1939 - 2026)
2026-06-11 05:48 pmjames_davis_nicollWorldcon in Memoriam reports:
"Author Jane Yolen (b.1939) died on June 11. She wrote books and novels for all ages, including Briar Rose, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, and The Devilâs Arithmetic. Yolen won 2 Nebulas, a World Fantasy and was named Grand Master by SFPA, SFWA and World Fantasy. She served as SFWA President."
"Author Jane Yolen (b.1939) died on June 11. She wrote books and novels for all ages, including Briar Rose, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, and The Devilâs Arithmetic. Yolen won 2 Nebulas, a World Fantasy and was named Grand Master by SFPA, SFWA and World Fantasy. She served as SFWA President."
Safer Driving Through Science Fiction
2026-06-11 12:56 pmjames_davis_nicoll
Surely, issues like traffic jams, speeding, and road rage can be solved through these creative strategies...
Safer Driving Through Science Fiction
Trace Elements by Ada Palmer & Jo Walton
2026-06-11 08:58 amjames_davis_nicoll
Ada Palmer & Jo Walton converse about Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Trace Elements: Conversations on the Project of Science Fiction and Fantasy by Ada Palmer & Jo Walton
Bundle of Holding: Dungeononomicon
2026-06-10 03:17 pmjames_davis_nicoll
Jump-start your tabletop fantasy roleplaying campaign with the hundreds of pages of system-neutral tools and tables in this all-new Dungeononomicon Bundle from Raging Swan Press.
Bundle of Holding: Dungeononomicon
Project V by Park Seolyeon
2026-06-10 09:02 amjames_davis_nicoll
Two things stand between Kim Wooram and victory: rival contestants and institutional misogyny so entrenched women aren't allowed to compete at all. For the first, Wooram has exemplary skills. For the second, a cunning plan.
Project V by Park Seolyeon
Is anyone here already planning on being at this year's Worldcon?
2026-06-09 12:27 pmjames_davis_nicollIf so, would anyone like to be me for the purposes of accepting the Hugo should I win?
Street Candles (Stardrifter, volume 2) by David Collins-Rivera
2026-06-09 09:23 amjames_davis_nicoll
Ship's gunner Ejoq Dosantos waives prudence for one quick off-ship errand that proves neither quick, nor easy, and quite possibly not survivable.
Street Candles (Stardrifter, volume 2) by David Collins-Rivera
Happy 25th
2026-06-08 04:13 pmjames_davis_nicoll
A quarter century ago, I wrote my very first paid SF review. The book wasn't great but I got paid to read it!
The Precipice (Asteroid Wars) by Ben Bova
Bundle of Holding: Top Cow
2026-06-08 03:23 pmjames_davis_nicoll
Digital science fiction and fantasy graphic albums from comics publisher Top Cow Productions.
Bundle of Holding: Top Cow
Huh
2026-06-08 12:34 pmjames_davis_nicollI have a review category called Talking to the Sun". Created in Jan 2026. Two reviews. No documentation. I can't work out what the common element was.
james_davis_nicoll
The Young People discuss Leiber's take on sword and sorcery.
Young People Read Old Science Fiction Stories Edited By Cele Goldsmith: Fritz Leiberâs 1959 Lean Times in Lankhmar
News!
2026-06-07 09:30 ammarthawells* I did a podcast interview with Smart Bitches, Trashy Books about Murderbot and Platform Decay (warning: spoilers) https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/721-exploring-platform-decay-with-martha-wells/
* I stumbled on a really great review of Witch King from back in 2023. I don't think I saw it at the time, but because of the cancer diagnosis and all the travel when the book came out, that time is mostly a blur. https://everybookadoorway.com/intimate-majesty-witch-king-by-martha-wells/?referrer-analytics=1
* Murderbot Season 1 won the Ray Bradbury Award For Outstanding Dramatic Presentation last night at the SFWA Nebula Awards! Congrats to Paul and Chris Weitz and everyone on the Murderbot cast and crew!!!
* Also N.K. Jemisin was made the SFWA 42nd Damon Knight Memorial Grandmaster at the same ceremony, and her speech was awesome! You can see it on YouTube here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nmAxXj7-xxA&ra=m It's the first speech after Tananarive Due's toastmaster address.
* I stumbled on a really great review of Witch King from back in 2023. I don't think I saw it at the time, but because of the cancer diagnosis and all the travel when the book came out, that time is mostly a blur. https://everybookadoorway.com/intimate-majesty-witch-king-by-martha-wells/?referrer-analytics=1
* Murderbot Season 1 won the Ray Bradbury Award For Outstanding Dramatic Presentation last night at the SFWA Nebula Awards! Congrats to Paul and Chris Weitz and everyone on the Murderbot cast and crew!!!
* Also N.K. Jemisin was made the SFWA 42nd Damon Knight Memorial Grandmaster at the same ceremony, and her speech was awesome! You can see it on YouTube here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nmAxXj7-xxA&ra=m It's the first speech after Tananarive Due's toastmaster address.
james_davis_nicoll
Scoundrel âSlippery Jimâ DiGriz AKA the Stainless Steel Rat, so cunning he has two criminal nicknames, has never been outwitted, outmanoeuvred, captured or executed.
Until now.
The Stainless Steel Rat (The Stainless Steel Rat, volume 1) by Harry Harrison
SHTTRPG Idea stolen from Worldâs Finest #189-190
2026-06-06 11:02 amjames_davis_nicollFor a setting where everyone is supposed to have some sort of common origin and yet they all have wildly different abilities.
The PCs all have medical conditions addressable by transplants ranging from minor stuff like a cornea transplant to organ transplants. By tremendous luck, a donor comes in just as they all hit the top of their respective wait lists. However, unbeknownst to the doctors or the recipients, the dead person--who died peacefully in their sleep from unknown causes--was the local superhero, someone with a Superman or Martian Manhunter-level buffet of abilities.
Each PC gains an ability appropriate for the particular body part they received... and once their abilites manifest feel obligated to use them to replace the mysteriously vanished superhero.
The PCs all have medical conditions addressable by transplants ranging from minor stuff like a cornea transplant to organ transplants. By tremendous luck, a donor comes in just as they all hit the top of their respective wait lists. However, unbeknownst to the doctors or the recipients, the dead person--who died peacefully in their sleep from unknown causes--was the local superhero, someone with a Superman or Martian Manhunter-level buffet of abilities.
Each PC gains an ability appropriate for the particular body part they received... and once their abilites manifest feel obligated to use them to replace the mysteriously vanished superhero.
Books Received, May 30âââJune 5
2026-06-06 09:15 amjames_davis_nicoll
Four books new to me. Two books whose genre isn't immediately clear to me, two fantasies. Three currently lack final cover art.
Books Received, May 30âââJune 5
Poll #34694 Books Received, May 30âââJune 5
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 52
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
The Magical Cheese Emporium by Sarah Beth Durst (January 2027)
26 (50.0%)
A Devil of a Crime by T. Kingfisher (March 2027)
36 (69.2%)
Nocturnus by Greer Rivers (February 2027)
6 (11.5%)
Lock Her Up by Elizabeth Searle (October 2026)
9 (17.3%)
Some other option (see comments)
2 (3.8%)
Cats!
33 (63.5%)
Finally, a Unit of Measurement for a Certain Kind of Moral DepravityâŠ
2026-06-05 10:22 amjames_davis_nicoll
We've all encountered this trope in post-apocalyptic fiction before. Let's give it a name...
Finally, a Unit of Measurement for a Certain Kind of Moral DepravityâŠ
Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim
2026-06-05 08:46 amjames_davis_nicoll
Soyoung Rose Kang would like to have her cake and eat it too. Happily for Ms. Kang, she lives in a world where thatâs possible.
To an extent.
Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim
The Restoration Game by Ken MacLeod
2026-06-04 09:15 amjames_davis_nicoll
A programmer is dragged into a geopolitical squabble, complicated by untoward existential revelations.
The Restoration Game by Ken MacLeod
Bundle of Holding: Kobolds Ate My Baby!
2026-06-03 01:56 pmjames_davis_nicoll
This new Kobolds Ate My Baby! Bundle presents Kobolds Ate My Baby!, the cult-classic tabletop fantasy roleplaying game of anti-dungeon-crawl silliness, in its 2024 Orange Book edition from 9th Level Games.
Bundle of Holding: Kobolds Ate My Baby!
Dead Weight by Hildur KnĂștsdĂłttir (Translated by Mary Robinette Kowal)
2026-06-03 08:56 amjames_davis_nicoll
Io the cat and Io's owner Ăsta need a pragmatic friend. Happily for the pair, Unna could be that friend.
Dead Weight by Hildur KnĂștsdĂłttir (Translated by Mary Robinette Kowal)
Rimrunners (Rimrunners, volume 5) by C J Cherryh
2026-06-02 09:00 amjames_davis_nicoll
Merchantship Loki is retired war criminal Bet Yeager's ticket off Thule Station and away from murder charges... but Loki offers hazards of its own.
Rimrunners (Rimrunners, volume 5) by C J Cherryh
Bundle of Holding: Brancalonia (from 2024) & Brancalonia Bounty
2026-06-01 02:18 pmjames_davis_nicoll
Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition (and compatible systems) knavish adventure in Acheron Games' Brancalonia.
Bundle of Holding: Brancalonia (from 2024)
An all-new bundle of recent Brancalonia supplements.
Bundle of Holding: Brancalonia Bounty