Why Do I Love Charts? Let Me Count the Ways.
Jul. 14th, 2025 02:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_davis_nicoll
Charts hold back chaos, and we should sing their praises!
Why Do I Love Charts? Let Me Count the Ways.
Bundle of Holding: Hearts of Wulin
Jul. 14th, 2025 02:08 pmjames_davis_nicoll
This new Hearts of Wulin Bundle presents Hearts of Wulin, the tabletop roleplaying game of Chinese wuxia action melodrama from Age of Ravens Games.
Bundle of Holding: Hearts of Wulin
Another Games Bundle - Hearts of Wulin
Jul. 14th, 2025 06:32 pmffuturesThis is an offer of Hearts of Wulin, featuring "the Apocalypse Engine game of Chinese wuxia melodrama."
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/HeartsOfWulin
The main game material was in a previous bundle, this bundle adds three new supplements, including one for running detective mysteries in the style of Judge Dee etc. The whole lot is very cheap, and for once I don't think it's going to be worth cherry-picking if you're even slightly interested. I should probably add that I know very little about wuxia as a genre - there may be other games out there that handle it better.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/HeartsOfWulin
The main game material was in a previous bundle, this bundle adds three new supplements, including one for running detective mysteries in the style of Judge Dee etc. The whole lot is very cheap, and for once I don't think it's going to be worth cherry-picking if you're even slightly interested. I should probably add that I know very little about wuxia as a genre - there may be other games out there that handle it better.
Clarke Award Finalists 2005
Jul. 14th, 2025 10:27 amjames_davis_nicoll2005: The Ulster Volunteer Force struggles to grasp the meaning of the term “ceasefire”, Britain is astonished by the unlikely coincidence that every known WWI veteran is over 100 years of age, and in what some experts hope is a sign Britain has begun to emerge from chaos after the retreat of the Roman Empire, Dr Who is revived.
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read,, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2005 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Iron Council by China Miéville
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Market Forces by Richard Morgan
River of Gods by Ian McDonald
The System of the World by Neal Stephenson
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Poll #33355 Clarke Award Finalists 2005
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 45
Which 2005 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
View Answers
Iron Council by China Miéville
16 (35.6%)
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
13 (28.9%)
Market Forces by Richard Morgan
8 (17.8%)
River of Gods by Ian McDonald
12 (26.7%)
The System of the World by Neal Stephenson
20 (44.4%)
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
16 (35.6%)
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read,, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2005 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Iron Council by China Miéville
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Market Forces by Richard Morgan
River of Gods by Ian McDonald
The System of the World by Neal Stephenson
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
New Voices: The Campbell Award Nominees (New Voices, volume 1) edited by George R R Martin
Jul. 13th, 2025 08:50 amjames_davis_nicoll
The first in a series of anthologies that assemble stories by Campbell Award (now the Astounding) finalists.
New Voices: The Campbell Award Nominees (New Voices, volume 1) edited by George R R Martin
Huh
Jul. 12th, 2025 12:02 pmjames_davis_nicollThis is probably in no way significant, but it just occurred to me to check to see where WorldCon was the years I was nominated:
2010: Melbourne, Australia
2011: Reno, USA
2019: Dublin, Ireland
2020: Wellington, New Zealand
2024: Glasgow, Scotland
(I was nowhere near the ballot in 2009, Montreal)
At a guess, those are years where vote totals were a bit lower?
( Read more... )
2010: Melbourne, Australia
2011: Reno, USA
2019: Dublin, Ireland
2020: Wellington, New Zealand
2024: Glasgow, Scotland
(I was nowhere near the ballot in 2009, Montreal)
At a guess, those are years where vote totals were a bit lower?
( Read more... )
Books Received, July 5 — July 11
Jul. 12th, 2025 08:47 amjames_davis_nicoll
Four books new to me.Two are SF, one is fantasy, one is a mix of both. I don't see anything unambiguously labelled as series works.
Books Received, July 5 — July 11
Poll #33350 Books Received, July 5 — July 11
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 40
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
Secrets, Spells, and Chocolate by Marisa Churchill (December 2025)
14 (35.0%)
Spread Me by Sarah Gailey (September 2025)
14 (35.0%)
The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride (February 2026)
15 (37.5%)
The Universe Box by Michael Swanwick (February 2026)
18 (45.0%)
Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.5%)
Cats!
31 (77.5%)
The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe
Jul. 11th, 2025 09:08 amjames_davis_nicoll
New Dawn requires only that people conform without exception or face memory erasure and worse. Yet, a minority insists on being individuals.
The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Jul. 10th, 2025 08:53 amjames_davis_nicoll
Desperate to pay her brother Jasper's way out of Muhlenberg County, Opal accepts a job at an infamously cursed mansion.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Bundle of Holding: Pyramid 2
Jul. 9th, 2025 03:46 pmjames_davis_nicoll
The latter half of Pyramid's ten-year run, the issues published from November 2013 to December 2018, sixty-two issues in all.
Bundle of Holding: Pyramid 2
Another GURPS Bundle - Pyramid 2
Jul. 9th, 2025 06:38 pmffuturesThis is the second bundle of Pyramid Magazine issues I mentioned on Monday, covering the second half of Volume 3 of Pyramid (62 issues, Nov 2013 - Dec 2018)
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Pyramid2
There's not really much to add to what I said previously - you get a lot of material for a huge range of genres, and a lot of it is easily adapted to other RPGs. On Monday I think I underestimated how much these bundles are saving - if you buy the lot the cost is about 10% of what you pay for the issues individually. If you don't already own most of them it's probably worth a look.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Pyramid2
There's not really much to add to what I said previously - you get a lot of material for a huge range of genres, and a lot of it is easily adapted to other RPGs. On Monday I think I underestimated how much these bundles are saving - if you buy the lot the cost is about 10% of what you pay for the issues individually. If you don't already own most of them it's probably worth a look.
Five Books About Aliens Who Are Fed Up With Humans
Jul. 9th, 2025 10:01 amjames_davis_nicoll
Yelling "Get off my lawn!" on an interplanetary scale...
Five Books About Aliens Who Are Fed Up With Humans
Kowloon Generic Romance, volume 1 by Jun Mayuzuki (Translated by Amanda Haley)
Jul. 9th, 2025 08:55 amjames_davis_nicoll
In a city with over a million people per square kilometre, real estate firms will never lack for clients. Good news for the employees of the Wong Loi Realty Company!
Kowloon Generic Romance, volume 1 by Jun Mayuzuki (Translated by Amanda Haley)
The Squares of the City by John Brunner
Jul. 8th, 2025 09:00 amjames_davis_nicoll
Arrogant traffic analyst Boyd Hakluyt is just a pawn in the struggle for Ciudad de Vados' future.
The Squares of the City by John Brunner