agent13 | Reading

james_davis_nicoll

An assortment of George R. R. Martin's early SFF.

A Song for Lya by George R. R. Martin

james_davis_nicoll

Nine works new to me: Three fantasy, one mystery, two SF, and three TTRPG (fantasy), of which at least fourish are series.

Books Received, October 17 — October 23, 2026

Poll #35245 Books Received, October 17 — October 23, 2026

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 32

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

Wrecker’s Point by Dave Allen, Clive Oldfield, Simon Wileman et al (Q2 2027)
1 (3.1%)

Consider the Ravens by Cressida Downing (July 2027)
11 (34.4%)

A Curse Carved in Ink by Tzeyi Koay (January 2027)
6 (18.8%)

On the Road to Ruin by Brian McClellan (May 2027)
1 (3.1%)

The Disintegration Loops by Ray Nayler (May 2027)
12 (37.5%)

Brightfire by Jordan Rivet (July 2027)
4 (12.5%)

Twilight Sword Core Rules by Riccardo “Rico” Sirignano, Simone Formicola, et al (October 2026)
6 (18.8%)

Twilight Sword Lands of Radia by Riccardo “Rico” Sirignano, Simone Formicola, et al (October 2026)
3 (9.4%)

Moonshine Becomes You by Olivia Waite (June 2027)
13 (40.6%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (3.1%)

Cats!
23 (71.9%)

james_davis_nicoll

Nova Huang is delighted to see an old crush but less delighted to see the demon with whom the old crush is struggling.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu

james_davis_nicoll

Four books unjustly doomed by circumstances beyond their creators' control.

Publishing Nightmares and Stories of Authorial Woe

james_davis_nicoll

The June 2021 Yellow King RPG Bundle featuring .PDF ebooks of the surreal supernatural tabletop game The Yellow King from Pelgrane Press.

Bundle of Holding: Yellow King RPG (from 2021)

james_davis_nicoll

A seeming nobody discovers that he is more than a mere pawn.

King’s Blood Four (True Game, volume 1) by Sheri S. Tepper

ffutures

This is a repeat of the June 2021 bundle of the RPG of the novel The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers (an annotated version is included if you pay for the "scholar collection"), which shares a lot with Call of Cthulhu and other horror RPG settings. It's based on the Gumshoe system.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/YKRPG2026

When this was first listed I said "As I've said before, I managed to get a little burnt out on horror after writing and playing way too much Call of Cthulhu in the eighties and nineties. I'm also not a huge fan of the gumshoe system - I'm not entirely sure why, I think it's simply that I'm more comfortable with other systems and really like some of their mechanisms, e.g. the sanity rules of Call of Cthulhu. But if you're into horror and/or the Gumshoe system this is probably for you." I don't see any reason to change that.

james_davis_nicoll

Aimi and her pals' investigation of untoward, otherworldly goings-on leaves the survivors with a better idea of the scale of the catastrophe bearing down on Earth.

Wakusei Closet, volume 2 by Tsubana

james_davis_nicoll

The accusation came after Prime Minister Carney visited his home province and urged Albertans to vote to “stay in Canada,” an act which the US government is calling “a deliberate attack on U.S. interests.”

I should clarify that the Beaverton is a parody site.

james_davis_nicoll

A castaway on an alien world discovers the local culture has changed dramatically in the thirty years since humans last visited Toka.

Heroes Are Made by Poul Anderson & Gordon R. Dickson

ffutures

An all-new bundle of the 2D20 RPG Cohors Cthulhu, from Modiphius Entertainment, set on the fringes of the second century Roman Empire.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/CohorsCthulhu

It's an interesting idea - I'm not a huge fan of the 2D20 system but it would be easy enough to convert it to any of the other mythos-based RPGs. Anyone who has read books set in the Roman empire can probably come up with plenty of ideas - for example, any of the Falco mysteries or The Eagle of the Ninth could work quite with mythos cultists added to the mix. And there's always room for some misdirection - for example, one of the St. Germaine vampire novels set in Rome featured a bunch of vampire-murdering cultists that turned out to be early Christianity!

It's not the cheapest of these bundles, but it's a comparatively recent game and you do get a fair amount for the money. But as I periodically mention, I'm not actually paying to get this stuff, if you do your mileage may vary.

james_davis_nicoll

This all-new Cohors Cthulhu Bundle presents .PDF ebooks of Cohors Cthulhu, the 2d20 System tabletop roleplaying game from Modiphius Entertainment of cosmic horror in the Roman Empire.

Bundle of Holding: Cohors Cthulhu

james_davis_nicoll

Someone in my group wants to run Mayfair's DC Heroes, which of course raises the question, can I still design a DC Heroes character?

I am feeding someone's cat and since the bus trip over there takes between 30 and 90 minutes, I had time to kill. My starting point was an NPC from a post I won't look up, a moderately cranky middle-aged woman with low-end brick abilities.

( Read more... )

james_davis_nicoll

Robots are our trustworthy pals... so why are Calvin, Powell, and Donovan continually confronted by misbehaving robots?

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

james_davis_nicoll

Seven books new to me. Three fantasies, one horror (unless it's not), two SF, and one anthology that is both fantasy and SF. At least two are series books.

Books Received, October 10 — October 16

Poll #35202 Books Received, October 10 — October 16, 2026

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 41

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

Love, Witches, and Wahala by Christine Cowan (November 2026)
7 (17.1%)

We Used to Be Heroes by Thomas Elrod (May 2027)
15 (36.6%)

Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume Four edited by Stephen Kotowych (October 2026)
17 (41.5%)

Massif by Garth Nix (October 2026)
25 (61.0%)

As We Fall Through Time by Claire North (October 2026)
15 (36.6%)

We Won’t Be Here When It Ends by Mark Oshiro (April 2027)
6 (14.6%)

A Magical Girl Rehired by Seolyeon Park (December 2026)
15 (36.6%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.4%)

Cats!
29 (70.7%)

james_davis_nicoll

Great news, everyone! New evidence points towards complex life being very robust.

I Am No Longer Pessimistic About the Survival of Complex Life on Earth, Thanks to Science!

james_davis_nicoll

In which a shrinking community of human survivors learn much about their alien conquerors... none of it good.

The Faith of Beasts (The Captive's War, volume 2) By James S. A. Corey

james_davis_nicoll

...Or are the two lists indistinguishable in your mind?

Do You Distinguish Between “Best” and “Favorite” Books?

james_davis_nicoll

Hard-working mercenaries trade an unreliable employer for an evil employer.

The Black Company (Book of the North, volume 1) by Glen Cook

james_davis_nicoll

Three giant solitaire gamebooks (800 pages!) plus 400 pages of full-color graphic novels and comics of Cthulhu Mythos cosmic horror from Blue Fox Publishing.

Bundle of Holding: Blue Fox Cthulhu