Bundle of Holding: Pyramid 2
Jul. 9th, 2025 03:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_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
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)
Tuesday, 8th July 2025
Jul. 8th, 2025 10:26 ambeck_liz posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
doctor_who_sonicEditor's Note: If your item was not linked, it's because the header lacked the information that we like to give our readers. Please at least give the title, rating, and pairing or characters, and please include the header in the storypost itself, not just in the linking post. For an example of what a "good" fanfic header is, see the user info. Spoiler warnings are also greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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Blogtor Who: Video of the Day – Doctor Who: Belinda and the Fifteenth Doctor, 2025
Blogtor Who: Master Replicas Doctor Who TARDIS Collection
Blogtor Who: Video of the Day – Doctor Who: The Story & The Engine, 2025
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Discussion and Miscellany
nwhyte on Castrovalva, by Andrew Orton (and Christopher H. Bidmead)
purplecat with Costume Bracket: Round 4, Post 5
Fanfiction
Complete
Taken bybadly_knitted (G | Tenth Doctor, Martha)
Recommendations
romanajo123 recommends Smothered by Shivver
If you were not linked, and would like to be, contact us in the comments with further information and your link.
Off-Dreamwidth Links
Blogtor Who: Video of the Day – Doctor Who: Belinda and the Fifteenth Doctor, 2025
Blogtor Who: Master Replicas Doctor Who TARDIS Collection
Blogtor Who: Video of the Day – Doctor Who: The Story & The Engine, 2025
(News from
doctorwhonews_feed and blogtorwho_feed, among others.)Discussion and Miscellany
nwhyte on Castrovalva, by Andrew Orton (and Christopher H. Bidmead)purplecat with Costume Bracket: Round 4, Post 5Fanfiction
Complete
Taken by
badly_knitted (G | Tenth Doctor, Martha)Recommendations
romanajo123 recommends Smothered by ShivverIf you were not linked, and would like to be, contact us in the comments with further information and your link.
TV Tuesday: Location, location, location
Jul. 8th, 2025 11:15 amyourlibrarian posting in tv_talk
In which shows does “place” play an important role in the success of the show to you? This could be a geographical location or some other significant space.
(no subject)
Jul. 8th, 2025 09:04 amseekingferretStarter Villain by John Scalzi
This was slight in the way Scalzi's books often are- he has good storytelling instincts but a reluctance to deeply interrogate his premises.
This has a similar premise to Hench, which I panned as 'morally bewildering.' The moral stakes are much clearer here, which made it easier to enjoy. Our hero inherits the family business, which his late uncle explicitly identifies as supervillainy, but the book doesn't expect you to sympathize with the ideology of supervillainy, merely the poor sadsack protagonist who must navigate this murky world and try to figure out where his own lines are drawn and how to make it out alive.
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Continuing on the theme. This was pitched as The Office in a supervillain's fortress, and it mostly fits the brief, albeit laden down with a slow burn romance between the villain and his personal assistant that I could have done without.
Here there is no question that we are supposed to understand the villain as a Robin Hood standing up to an oppressive king, but that supposed to is doing a lot of work. Maehrer seems caught between prongs of her scenario- for Evie's defection to the villain to be a source of angst and happening at risk of communal alienation, the king needs to be popular in her village. For her to have the moral clarity and belief in her mission required to be an effective assistant to the villain, the king needs to be transparently a tyrant. Splitting the middle here doesn't quite land. I kept waiting for the substantive reasons for Evie's rejection of the king's law to become clearer, but probably we are just supposed to read it as the evolving consequences of her growing love for the villain rather than any sort of political awakening.
That said, the handling of the evil office politics is a delight and I particularly enjoyed a baffling set of small details about 'the interns' because Maehrer never explains why a secret lair has interns, just has them be there and causing trouble in the background. This book made me laugh and that's worth a lot.
This was slight in the way Scalzi's books often are- he has good storytelling instincts but a reluctance to deeply interrogate his premises.
This has a similar premise to Hench, which I panned as 'morally bewildering.' The moral stakes are much clearer here, which made it easier to enjoy. Our hero inherits the family business, which his late uncle explicitly identifies as supervillainy, but the book doesn't expect you to sympathize with the ideology of supervillainy, merely the poor sadsack protagonist who must navigate this murky world and try to figure out where his own lines are drawn and how to make it out alive.
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Continuing on the theme. This was pitched as The Office in a supervillain's fortress, and it mostly fits the brief, albeit laden down with a slow burn romance between the villain and his personal assistant that I could have done without.
Here there is no question that we are supposed to understand the villain as a Robin Hood standing up to an oppressive king, but that supposed to is doing a lot of work. Maehrer seems caught between prongs of her scenario- for Evie's defection to the villain to be a source of angst and happening at risk of communal alienation, the king needs to be popular in her village. For her to have the moral clarity and belief in her mission required to be an effective assistant to the villain, the king needs to be transparently a tyrant. Splitting the middle here doesn't quite land. I kept waiting for the substantive reasons for Evie's rejection of the king's law to become clearer, but probably we are just supposed to read it as the evolving consequences of her growing love for the villain rather than any sort of political awakening.
That said, the handling of the evil office politics is a delight and I particularly enjoyed a baffling set of small details about 'the interns' because Maehrer never explains why a secret lair has interns, just has them be there and causing trouble in the background. This book made me laugh and that's worth a lot.
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
Let's Get Literate! July 2025 Hopefuls
Jul. 8th, 2025 12:36 amrenay posting in ladybusinessWell, I made a reading list last month...how did I do? ( Read more... )
Every Kind of Craft Check-In: Workspaces
Jul. 7th, 2025 06:24 pmyourlibrarian posting in everykindofcraftI was thinking that our monthly check-ins might take place near the start of each month but with a few other things going on the past week, I've left it until now to kick this off.
The idea is to prompt everyone to share what they have been working on, are working on, or want to be working on 😉 And I thought for this first round I might offer a challenge. What does your workspace (or spaces) look like? ( Read more... )
The idea is to prompt everyone to share what they have been working on, are working on, or want to be working on 😉 And I thought for this first round I might offer a challenge. What does your workspace (or spaces) look like? ( Read more... )
Post-D&D Crash
Jul. 7th, 2025 06:42 pmsettiaiWelp. The last few days were certainly exhausting.
Don't get me wrong, the long weekend of D&D was a ton of fun, and I'm very glad that we managed to pull it off. That said, it was extremely draining on me even after I spent as much time as possible prior to it trying to charge my internal batteries. By the time we ended yesterday afternoon, my spoons were long gone.
Since I had to get up early to catch the bus to E&Z's place (which was on the weekend schedule the entire time since Friday was a holiday) and then it was usually 1am or so before I made home at night, I didn't get nearly enough sleep pretty much the entire time. Especially since I record summary videos for this game, so I had to get that done at night before I could go to bed.
I ended up taking a nap after I made it home yesterday, and the only thing preventing me from doing so tonight is that I know it will be better to push through and go to bed early instead. If I nap now, I'll be up half the night.
And then work today made things even more fun, but that's a story for another post. 🙃
ETA: Or, you know, I could decide take a nap after all because it hit 7:30pm, and my brain had completely stopped functioning. I'm still tired, so hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep at a decent hour despite the nap.
Don't get me wrong, the long weekend of D&D was a ton of fun, and I'm very glad that we managed to pull it off. That said, it was extremely draining on me even after I spent as much time as possible prior to it trying to charge my internal batteries. By the time we ended yesterday afternoon, my spoons were long gone.
Since I had to get up early to catch the bus to E&Z's place (which was on the weekend schedule the entire time since Friday was a holiday) and then it was usually 1am or so before I made home at night, I didn't get nearly enough sleep pretty much the entire time. Especially since I record summary videos for this game, so I had to get that done at night before I could go to bed.
I ended up taking a nap after I made it home yesterday, and the only thing preventing me from doing so tonight is that I know it will be better to push through and go to bed early instead. If I nap now, I'll be up half the night.
And then work today made things even more fun, but that's a story for another post. 🙃
ETA: Or, you know, I could decide take a nap after all because it hit 7:30pm, and my brain had completely stopped functioning. I'm still tired, so hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep at a decent hour despite the nap.
Bundle of Holding: GURPS 4E Essentials (from 2022) & Pyramid 1
Jul. 7th, 2025 02:37 pmjames_davis_nicoll
Everything you need for your own GURPS 4E tabletop roleplaying campaign.
Bundle of Holding: GURPS 4E Essentials (from 2022)
Volume 3 (Nov 2008 - Dec 2018) of Pyramid, the Steve Jackson Games magazine for tabletop roleplaying gamers. Sixty issues and more!
Bundle of Holding: Pyramid 1
July 4 Flood Relief
Jul. 7th, 2025 11:42 ammarthawellsKerr County Flood Relief Fund
The Kerr County Flood Relief Fund supports relief and rebuilding efforts after the flood of July 4, 2025. Your generosity helps our neighbors recover.
The Community Foundation - a 501(c)(3) public charity serving the Texas Hill Country - will direct funds to vetted organizations providing rescue, relief, and recovery efforts as well as flood assistance. The Fund will support the communities of Hunt, Ingram, Kerrville, Center Point, and Comfort. All donations are tax-deductible, and you will receive a receipt for your gift.
https://cftexashillcountry.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4201
And Kerrville Pets Alive! is taking donations for rescue and fostering lost pets.
https://kerrvillepetsalive.com/?link_id=3&can_id=588b5a597b5d30fd7e36b213e5ba6987&source=email-freedom-is-fought-for-not-given&email_referrer=email_2803907&email_subject=how-you-can-help-texas-flood-victims&&
The Kerr County Flood Relief Fund supports relief and rebuilding efforts after the flood of July 4, 2025. Your generosity helps our neighbors recover.
The Community Foundation - a 501(c)(3) public charity serving the Texas Hill Country - will direct funds to vetted organizations providing rescue, relief, and recovery efforts as well as flood assistance. The Fund will support the communities of Hunt, Ingram, Kerrville, Center Point, and Comfort. All donations are tax-deductible, and you will receive a receipt for your gift.
https://cftexashillcountry.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4201
And Kerrville Pets Alive! is taking donations for rescue and fostering lost pets.
https://kerrvillepetsalive.com/?link_id=3&can_id=588b5a597b5d30fd7e36b213e5ba6987&source=email-freedom-is-fought-for-not-given&email_referrer=email_2803907&email_subject=how-you-can-help-texas-flood-victims&&
Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors
Jul. 7th, 2025 12:15 pmjames_davis_nicoll
Why wait around for the throne or the cash when murder can deliver it immediately?
Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors
Clarke Award Finalists 2004
Jul. 7th, 2025 10:12 amjames_davis_nicoll2004: Labour spares no effort to liberate Britons from human rights, UKIP's electoral successes surely do not reflect fundamental flaws in the British psyche, and London voters are heartbroken to discover the Livingstone who was just elected mayor isn’t the Livingstone who co-wrote the Fighting Fantasy books.
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read,, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2004 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
Coalescent by Stephen Baxter
Darwin's Children by Greg Bear
Maul by Tricia Sullivan
Midnight Lamp by Gwyneth Jones
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
Poll #33332 Clarke Award Finalists 2004
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 41
Which 2004 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
View Answers
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
20 (48.8%)
Coalescent by Stephen Baxter
5 (12.2%)
Darwin's Children by Greg Bear
15 (36.6%)
Maul by Tricia Sullivan
5 (12.2%)
Midnight Lamp by Gwyneth Jones
2 (4.9%)
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
19 (46.3%)
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read,, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2004 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
Coalescent by Stephen Baxter
Darwin's Children by Greg Bear
Maul by Tricia Sullivan
Midnight Lamp by Gwyneth Jones
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
Review: Censored: A Literary History of Subversion and Control
Jul. 7th, 2025 05:02 pmanehan posting in booknookTitle: Censored: A Literary History of Subversion and Control
Authors: Matthew Fellion and Katherine Inglis
Genre: non-fiction
As a consequence of realising that hey, interlibrary loans exist and are actually pretty cheap, I've been reading a book called Censored: A Literary History of Subversion and Control by Matthew Fellion and Katherine Inglis.
The book is a survey of the history of censorship of literature mainly in the UK and the US, presented through case studies of individual censored works, though many of the chapters discuss censorship of similar books more broadly. The oldest case is the censorship of the early English translations of the Bible; the newest the censorship of Chicanx literature in Arizona in the 2010s.
The book takes a broad view of censorship. It doesn't just deal with censorship by the state, but also other forms of censorship, such as self-censorship and the chilling effect that censorship exerts on the literary landscape as a whole.
I'm not going to talk about it in any great detail. It's really well-written -- very accessible to a lay reader, without feeling like it's been dumbed-down -- so go read it if the topic interests you.
( Some thoughts on censorship of literature based on this book )
Authors: Matthew Fellion and Katherine Inglis
Genre: non-fiction
As a consequence of realising that hey, interlibrary loans exist and are actually pretty cheap, I've been reading a book called Censored: A Literary History of Subversion and Control by Matthew Fellion and Katherine Inglis.
The book is a survey of the history of censorship of literature mainly in the UK and the US, presented through case studies of individual censored works, though many of the chapters discuss censorship of similar books more broadly. The oldest case is the censorship of the early English translations of the Bible; the newest the censorship of Chicanx literature in Arizona in the 2010s.
The book takes a broad view of censorship. It doesn't just deal with censorship by the state, but also other forms of censorship, such as self-censorship and the chilling effect that censorship exerts on the literary landscape as a whole.
I'm not going to talk about it in any great detail. It's really well-written -- very accessible to a lay reader, without feeling like it's been dumbed-down -- so go read it if the topic interests you.
( Some thoughts on censorship of literature based on this book )
help with Venetian dialect
Jul. 6th, 2025 06:05 pmdinogrrl posting in little_detailsHello wonderful people!
I've got a fantasy story that's set in early 18th-century Venice. I don't speak Italian, and definitely don't know the difference between the various regional dialects, so I'm looking for some help with a nickname in Venetian.
I have a priest who can use magic, who is not exactly a nice guy. Nobody likes to be around him, he's the kind of person you can just tell will erupt like a magic-spewing volcano the moment something doesn't go his way. My main character is ten when she first meets him and has a very visceral Do Not Like reaction to him, comparing him to a pack of rabid dogs. She is not told his name at the time, so in her mind she dubs him Father Mad Dog (creative, I know).
Several years ago I tried to parse "Father Mad Dog" into Italian/Venetian, and I don't know where I came to the conclusion that it'd be "Don Can' Pazzo" but that's what I've been using. I guess somewhere along the line I was under the impression that cane would get shortened to can when used like this. Is any of this correct? Or do I need another phrase entirely?
I've got a fantasy story that's set in early 18th-century Venice. I don't speak Italian, and definitely don't know the difference between the various regional dialects, so I'm looking for some help with a nickname in Venetian.
I have a priest who can use magic, who is not exactly a nice guy. Nobody likes to be around him, he's the kind of person you can just tell will erupt like a magic-spewing volcano the moment something doesn't go his way. My main character is ten when she first meets him and has a very visceral Do Not Like reaction to him, comparing him to a pack of rabid dogs. She is not told his name at the time, so in her mind she dubs him Father Mad Dog (creative, I know).
Several years ago I tried to parse "Father Mad Dog" into Italian/Venetian, and I don't know where I came to the conclusion that it'd be "Don Can' Pazzo" but that's what I've been using. I guess somewhere along the line I was under the impression that cane would get shortened to can when used like this. Is any of this correct? Or do I need another phrase entirely?