Reading

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The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine, Vol. 4

The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine, Vol. 4 by Grrr

Spoilers ahead for the earlier volumes.

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Entry tags:

meetpoint,
review

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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Only The Dead Have Seen The End Of War

I essayed

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bundle of holding

Bundle of Holding: Achtung! Cthulhu

Everything you need for Nazi-punching Mythos adventures

Bundle of Holding: Achtung! Cthulhu

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clarke award

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: 57

View Respondents

Which 2017 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
6 (10.5%)

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
38 (66.7%)

After Atlas by Emma Newman
10 (17.5%)

Central Station by Lavie Tidhar
9 (15.8%)

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
46 (80.7%)

Occupy Me by Tricia Sullivan
4 (7.0%)

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

Entry tags:

food and other fun things

So the heroine thinks she has figured out how to feed herself. And quite possibly discover the other character she's looking for because the food she would take, the people think they are giving to another character.

Such complications

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fiction reviews: fantasy (other worlds)

Villains Are Destined to Die

Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 1 by Gwon Gyeoeul

The original novel.

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vignette

vignettes

This week's prompt is:
suspect 🤔

Anyone can join, with a 50-word creative fiction vignette in the comments. Your vignette does not have to include the prompt term. Any (G or PG) definition of the word can be used.

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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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fairy tales in stories

here comes the nursery bogey

A father and son have found unequivocal evidence of the heroine's presence, even if the father will misinterpret it slightly.

To keep his son from babbling, he will spin a story of some kind of fae creature.

I just have to figure out what. Especially since it's not a real creature, and the father doesn't even believe it, any more than the father would believe there really was a Jennie Greentooth to drown children in the dangerous river.

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Sanders' Union Speaker

Sanders' Union Speaker: Containing a Great Variety of Exercises for Declamation, Both in Prose and Verse by Charles Walton Sanders

Another collection of extracts for the scholar. This differs from his Union Readers and New Readers in that it is, overtly, aimed at performance before crowds. Some have directions on how they are to be staged, down to the observation that the poem about being a man is more comic when told by a young boy than an older one.

Many more comic pieces. Also, the time of publication is clear, since many pieces directly address the war. More speeches and poems and fewer essays. But its selection does cast quite a light on the times.

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books received

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

View Respondents

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%)

Entry tags:

review

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

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.

The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine, Vol. 4

Forty Thousand in Gehenna by C J Cherryh

Only The Dead Have Seen The End Of War

Bundle of Holding: Achtung! Cthulhu

Clarke Award Finalists 2017

food and other fun things

Villains Are Destined to Die

vignettes

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

here comes the nursery bogey

Sanders' Union Speaker

Books Received, September 27 — October 3

Magic And Marvels And Monsters, O My!

Here Is Your Periodic Reminder that Stars Move

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

Remove Curse

It's Out -- It's Out!

New LLM

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

Last night's dream