yinzip | Reading

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: 26

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Which of these look interesting?

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Children of Fallen Gods by Carissa Broadbent (December 2025)
2 (7.7%)

Enchanting the Fae Queen by Stephanie Burgis (January 2026)
2 (7.7%)

The Language of Liars by S. L. Huang (April 2026)
12 (46.2%)

We Burned So Bright by T. J. Klune (April 2026)
10 (38.5%)

We Could Be Anyone by Anna-Marie McLemore (May 2026)
1 (3.8%)

These Godly Lies by Rachelle Raeta (July 2026)
0 (0.0%)

The New Prometheans: Faith, Science, and the Supernatural
9 (34.6%)

Every Exquisite Thing by Laura Steven (July 2026)
1 (3.8%)

The Infinite State by Richard Swan (August 2026)
3 (11.5%)

Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky (June 2026)
12 (46.2%)

Moss’d in Space by Rebecca Thorne (July 2026)
9 (34.6%)

Platform Decay by Martha Wells (May 2026)
21 (80.8%)

Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
18 (69.2%)

james_davis_nicoll

STARS MOVE! STARS MOVE! STARS MOVE!

Here Is Your Periodic Reminder that Stars Move

james_davis_nicoll

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

james_davis_nicoll

Merriam-Webster NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.

james_davis_nicoll

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

james_davis_nicoll

I dreamed I discovered a weapon in Half Life 2 that would generate and hurl at considerable speed empty shipping containers.

james_davis_nicoll

The complete tabletop RPG about the heroic rats of Fortitude

Bundle of Holding: The Far Roofs

james_davis_nicoll

You too can support James Nicoll Reviews.

October 2025 Patreon Boost

james_davis_nicoll

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

james_davis_nicoll

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

james_davis_nicoll

Two stories about beautiful people partying their way through time.

Elegy for Angels and Dogs /The Graveyard Heart (Tor SF Double, volume 24) By Walter Jon Williams & Roger Zelazny

elynne

I apparently saved this picture earlier but never actually posted it so it could be linked elsewhere, so--here it is! ( Read more... )

james_davis_nicoll

A magical hoard for Fifth Edition roleplaying

Bundle of Holding: 5E Treasures

james_davis_nicoll

2016: The Chilcot Inquiry illustrates the meticulous process by which the UK went to war in Iraq, Lord Lucan is declared dead, and the UK’s narrow vote to leave the EU is at worst the second stupidest collective decision made by a Western democracy in 2016.

Pretend I caught that the poll autofilled the wrong question and that it reads "which 2016 Clarke Award finalists did you read?"

Poll #33672 Clarke Award Finalists 2016

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 52

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Which of these look interesting?

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Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
22 (42.3%)

Arcadia by Iain Pears
2 (3.8%)

Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
7 (13.5%)

The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
12 (23.1%)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
44 (84.6%)

Way Down Dark by James Smythe
0 (0.0%)

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

Which 2016 Clarke Award finalists did you read??
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Arcadia by Iain Pears
Europe at Midnight by Dave Hutchinson
The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Way Down Dark by James Smythe

james_davis_nicoll

The Cherryh titles I dropped into ngram fell into 3 patterns:

Ones whose titles don't play nicely with ngrams. I dropped those.
Ones where the mentions per year decline fairly steadily year to year.
Cyteen. What's up with Cyteen? Did Jo Walton mention it on tor dot com around 2009?

james_davis_nicoll

Nine science fiction stories by the author of The Universe Between.

Tiger by the Tail and Other Science Fiction Stories by Alan E. Nourse

james_davis_nicoll

Six works new to me: four fantasy, one mystery, one non-fiction (from an unexpected source)... unless you count the fantasy-mystery as mystery, in which case it's three fantasy and two mysteries. At least two are series. I don't know why publishers are so averse to labelling series.

Books Received, September 20 — September 26

Poll #33662 Books Received, September 20 — September 26

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 44

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

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An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong
12 (27.3%)

Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst (July 2026)
13 (29.5%)

Following My Nose by Alexei Panshin (December 2024)
12 (27.3%)

The Fake Divination Offense by Sara Raasch (May 2026)
8 (18.2%)

The Harvey Girl by Dana Stabenow (February 2026)
9 (20.5%)

Scarlet Morning by ND Stevenson (September 2025)
18 (40.9%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.3%)

Cats!
33 (75.0%)

james_davis_nicoll

A grieving mother and her best friend break into a ghost museum to conduct illicit but surely harmless Ghost Day celebrations. Revelations await.

Bound Feet by Kelsea Yu