Simon > Recent Status Updates

Recent Reads: Lawless Book 3 - Ashes To Ashes. Dan Abnett's neo-noir space western gets all timey-wimey as Munce bring the hammer down on Badrock. But this is a town built on a natural psychic amplifier and as secrets come out, so destinies change. Metta Lawson knows it's better to talk than shoot.

Recent Reads: Somewhere Beyond The Sea. The continuation of T J Klunes' gentle fantasy romance is a study in love and resistance, where acceptance is key and where families are patiently built, piece by loving piece. A much-needed book, though oddly hard to read at times. Well worth your time.

Recent Reads: Penric's Progress. A collection of three of Lois McMaster Bujold's Penric and Desdemona novels. Tales of justice (and of science) in a secondary world on the verge of its renaissance. Penric makes an entertaining centrepiece, but the growing ensemble is fascinating.

Recent Reads: The Quotable Giant Days. Wit and wisdom from John Allison's tale of student life. You never knew there as so much to learn at a British university. Or for that matter so much to laugh at. For fans of the comic, but suitable for new readers too.

Recent Reads: The Bright Spot. Robert Sydney's slow dystopia is a fascinating tale of two actors in over their heads. They're a cyberpunk Nick and Nora in The Thin Man, and the prize is the brain control software that makes people cheaper than machines. It's r/antiwork fiction.

Recent Reads: Dead Men's Boots. Mike Carey's freelance exorcist Felix Castor is out of his depth. Something links the suicide of a friend, a revenant serial killer, and a conspiracy of the dead. But can he find that link in time to save his own skin, and those of his friends?

Recent Reads: Delicious In Dungeon Vol 4. Ryoko Kui's fantasy cooking manga reaches a destination, in the battle with the Red Dragon (which is very tasty). Orc beer bread starter makes dining easier, too. But what happens when you resurrect your sister with dragon blood magic?

Recent Reads: The Menace From Farside. Ian McDonald's Luna novella is a tale of the first generation, finding its own in a journey to Tranquility Base. A funhouse mirror reflection of Heinlein and Ford, racing both to Armstrong's footprint. It is time to make a place in a world.

It's the regency Mr and Mrs Smith!

Recent Reads: Valiant Dust. Recent MilSF from game designer Richard Baker, taking an interestingly anti-colonial approach to the Hornblower trope. The Great Game plays on in the stars, and a junior officer from an undeveloped world finds himself in deep waters. Light reading.

Recent Reads: FTL Y'all! What if a warp drive was $200 and the plans were online? A comics anthology explores the world that might evolve, with every kind of story, and every kind of protagonist. A diverse and empowering book.

Recent Reads: Martians Abroad. Carrie Vaughn's near future SF sends colonists from Mars back to school on Earth. Colonial tensions and little "accidents" are a potent brew in Vaughn's dialogue with Heinlein's Podkayne. A modern take on a classic of YA SF.