Reading

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Five Books About Conversing With Animals

How great would it be to talk with animals, through magic or technology or… whatever?

Five Books About Conversing With Animals

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Hard Landing by Algis Budrys

Starmen marooned in barbaric America!

Hard Landing by Algis Budrys

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I was trying to get up to 50K written in 2 weeks (for reasons, and I succeeded), but I didn't have enough brain to write my book, so I asked for fic prompts and someone suggested a Kpop Demon Hunters prompt of "How Sussie ended up with Derpy's hat" and I thought, I can do that!

In an ideal world, you would go read this over at my Patreon and become a member there if you're not already, but nobody's going to strike you down for reading it here. :)

( Read more... )

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Fanfic: Worm/The War of the Worlds - The Martian Part IX

Continuing my Worm / War of the Worlds crossover story.

The previous chapters are archived on these sites:
On Twisting the Hellmouth - https://www.tthfanfic.org/story.php?no=33872
On AO3 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/39112812
On Fanfiction.net - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14083560/1/The-Martian
On Spacebattles Forum - https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-martian-worm-the-war-of-the-worlds-au.1034761/

See chapter I for disclaimers.

( IX - Blue Mars )

Comments please before I post to archives.

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Two Traveller Bundles - Exploration and Ancients

This is an offer of two bundles for Mongoose Traveller - one is a repeat, the other new (though based on a fairly old adventure).

MONGOOSE TRAVELLER EXPLORATIONS (from Nov 2022)
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/2025Explorations

TRAVELLER ANCIENTS CAMPAIGN (new)
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/TravAncients

The last time Traveller Explorations was on offer I said "OK - Traveller is probably the best-loved SF system out there, and the Mongoose version is VERY popular. You're getting a ton of stuff for your money. Need I say more? Unless you really dislike SF or the setting, or already have everything here, I'd recommend buying them."

I'm less sure about the Ancients Campaign - I was never a huge fan of the original Secrets of the Ancients, the plot was a bit linear and the eventual secret really wasn't incredibly exciting, and while it looks like there are some more plot threads to keep players busy they are definitely still going to need some nudges to keep them on the right track. Not all players LIKE long campaigns, and although this is relatively cheap it might be a good idea to sound people out before buying.

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bundle of holding

Bundle of Holding: Traveller Explorations (from 2022) & Traveller Ancients

The TRAVELLER 2022 UPDATE corebook, ALIENS guides, sector sourcebooks, and more.

Bundle of Holding: Traveller Explorations (from 2022)

A high-power 800-page adventure for Mongoose Traveller that uncovers the greatest mysteries of Charted Space

Bundle of Holding: Traveller Ancients

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Vindicated!

Literally the funniest thing I have read about the Heated Rivalry tv show so far (thanks to the Rec Center newsletter last Friday):

"With Hockey RPF the fanfic was for the romance and the sex, the things canon didn't provide. But in Heated Rivalry canon does provide. So logic dictates that the fanfic is there to make them actually play hockey." - (from bluesky)

It's not just me who wants more hockey in the hockey romance!

(Heated Rivalry is still not legally available in the UK; HBO Max is launching in the UK in March, hopefully it'll include the show when it does.)

Meanwhile my Rick Riordan reading adventure has come to the end of the 10 (ten!) books I bought on Kindle a decade ago for no reason I now remember, so I have been wrangling the local libraries to get more. I'm officially off sick today with this stupid cough, and resting / reading a lot.

I could be reading through the large pile of library Riordans ... but no
I could be reading one of the other four library books I have out that are due back this week ... but no
I could read one of the several books I already bought in December ... but no
I could go wild and watch the episodes-so-far of Percy Jackson on Disney+ (challenge my inability to watch anything by myself!) ... but no
I am actually reading a modern AU fanfic of Much Ado About Nothing and vaguely wondering about challenging my inability to watch anything by myself with the Tennant/Tate production

Clarke Award Finalists 2025

2025: Scientists are astonished when the largest ever dinosaur fossil trackway does not lead into the House of Lords, Tate Britain breaks with English tradition by returning looted art, and in a shocking break from centuries of Catholic precedent, the new Pope is a Cubs fan.

Poll #33961 Clarke Award Finalists 2025

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 22

View Respondents

Which 2025 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
1 (4.5%)

Extremophile by Ian Green
0 (0.0%)

Private Rites by Julia Armfield
1 (4.5%)

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
14 (63.6%)

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
14 (63.6%)

Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maud Woolf
0 (0.0%)

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

Which 2025 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
Extremophile by Ian Green
Private Rites by Julia Armfield
Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maud Woolf

RIP the Mass Market Paperback

Now you can have the ebook (which you're only renting if it is DRMed), hard-to-shelve trade paperback, or the expensive hardcover.

Darn them to heck

200 Significant Science Fiction Books by Women, 1984–2001, by David G. Hartwell

I was a bit surprised to come across this as Hartwell wasn't really the go-to editor where women's SF was concerned. An interesting snapshot of SF in a sixteen-year period. The end is the fall of the American republic. Not sure what was significant about 1984.

( Read more... )

Staff

https://www.oglaf.com/staff/

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Cold War in a Country Garden (Dilke, volume 1) by Lindsay Gutteridge

One very small step for a man, one giant leap for Her Majesty's Government.

Cold War in a Country Garden (Dilke, volume 1) by Lindsay Gutteridge

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icons

icon community promo: retro_icontest

retro_icontest - Blast From The Past Icontests - is once more embarking on

Are you ready to ride? Pack your satchel of art supplies and join us in another round of the Icon Quest!

Looking for more places to make icons? Here is the list of currently active iconmaking communities on dw: https://icontalking.dreamwidth.org/46317.html

After some digging

I am not aware of any big name authors who got their start with a work published by Baen Books after 2006. If there are recent analogs of Bujold or Weber, I do not know of them.

Huh

So, I asked on Bluesky:

Aside from Larry Correia, are there any big name Baen authors who debuted at Baen, after Jim Baen's death?

(So, Tim Powers wouldn't count because he debuted not at Baen and also long before JB died)

I got three names: Chuck Gannon, Jason Cordova and Mike Kupari. Gannon actually debuted at Baen in 1994 but only two (I think) short pieces, after which there was a long delay until his novels began appearing. I don't know the other two but SF is huge and it's perfectly possible for me to overlook BNAs. Still, granting all three, with LC that makes four... and in 2028, Toni Weisskopf will have been running Baen for as long as Jim Baen did.

This could, of course, be the natural consequence of the Del Monte approach.

[added later]

Current Mood: chipper

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Mood Theme in a Year Returns!

moodthemeinayear is coming back in 2026 with a new twist: Creating a custom mood theme can now earn you Dreamwidth points!

Mood Theme in a Year is a community that takes a laid-back approach to creating a custom mood theme. If you've always wanted to create your own mood theme (those little images that pop up when you select something from the drop-down "Mood" menu when posting), this is a great place to do it! Take your time creating graphics for anywhere between 15 and 132 moods, either following the community's suggested schedule or going at your own pace. (Though you need to make a minimum of 18 graphics to earn any paid time.)

The "official" schedule starts again from the beginning on January 1st, but you can jump in at any time during the year; feel free to challenge yourself as well with Bingo cards or the Mood Theme in a Month calendars! Learn more in the community pinned post or profile.

I hope to see you there!

Five Books About Conversing With Animals

Hard Landing by Algis Budrys

Fic: How Sussie Got His Hat

Fanfic: Worm/The War of the Worlds - The Martian Part IX

Two Traveller Bundles - Exploration and Ancients

Bundle of Holding: Traveller Explorations (from 2022) & Traveller Ancients

Vindicated!

Clarke Award Finalists 2025

RIP the Mass Market Paperback

Darn them to heck

200 Significant Science Fiction Books by Women, 1984–2001, by David G. Hartwell

Staff

Cold War in a Country Garden (Dilke, volume 1) by Lindsay Gutteridge

icon community promo: retro_icontest

After some digging

Huh

Mood Theme in a Year Returns!

Merry Christmas for Poilievre!

Looking Back at the Work of John Varley, 1947-2025

The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson