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Tuesday, July 8th, 2025 09:00 am
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
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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
Monday, July 7th, 2025 02:37 pm
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
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Monday, July 7th, 2025 07:22 pm
Two offers for Steve Jackson Games' GURPS RPG system - The first is a new bundle of the first sixty issues of Volume 3 of Pyramid Magazine (2008-2013), the other is a repeat bundle of GURPS 4E Essentials - the rules and the most useful supplements etc.
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Pyramid1
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/July2025GURPS
Pyramid magazine has always been a useful resource for GURPS, and a lot of it is readily adapted to other systems. This offer feels a little on the expensive side, but you're paying less than a dollar an issue, compared to $6 and up if you buy them individually, which is a very good deal if you don't already own a lot of them. A follow-on bundle which launches on Wednesday has a lot more issues, the remainder of Volume 3.
When the GURPS 4E bundle was last on offer I said "GURPS is probably the most popular generic RPG rules set, designed to be readily adapted to any setting. It's reasonably easy to pick up, though there are other games out there that easier to learn, and has a vast range of support material available. This Essentials offer is aimed at people who don't already own the game at all - I own most of it already in dead tree format, the exceptions are things that simply don't interest me much such as the Mass Combat supplement. If you don't already own it, and want a very adaptable rules set, it's well worth a look." I don't see any reason to change any of that
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Pyramid1
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/July2025GURPS
Pyramid magazine has always been a useful resource for GURPS, and a lot of it is readily adapted to other systems. This offer feels a little on the expensive side, but you're paying less than a dollar an issue, compared to $6 and up if you buy them individually, which is a very good deal if you don't already own a lot of them. A follow-on bundle which launches on Wednesday has a lot more issues, the remainder of Volume 3.
When the GURPS 4E bundle was last on offer I said "GURPS is probably the most popular generic RPG rules set, designed to be readily adapted to any setting. It's reasonably easy to pick up, though there are other games out there that easier to learn, and has a vast range of support material available. This Essentials offer is aimed at people who don't already own the game at all - I own most of it already in dead tree format, the exceptions are things that simply don't interest me much such as the Mass Combat supplement. If you don't already own it, and want a very adaptable rules set, it's well worth a look." I don't see any reason to change any of that
Monday, July 7th, 2025 12:15 pm
Why wait around for the throne or the cash when murder can deliver it immediately?
Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors
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Monday, July 7th, 2025 10:12 am
2004: 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: 38
Which 2004 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
View Answers
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
19 (50.0%)
Coalescent by Stephen Baxter
5 (13.2%)
Darwin's Children by Greg Bear
14 (36.8%)
Maul by Tricia Sullivan
5 (13.2%)
Midnight Lamp by Gwyneth Jones
2 (5.3%)
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
17 (44.7%)
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
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Sunday, July 6th, 2025 11:38 pm
Today was the Westercon 77 Business Meeting. Because Lisa didn't come to Westercon (she's preparing for her trip to Europe that starts on Wednesday of this week), she loaned me her camera gear and I was deputized to record the meeting. Kevin is the overall manager of Westercon Business (both Martin Pyne, chair of the Business Meeting, and I as head of Site Selection report to him), and he also maintains a YouTube playlist of Westercon Business Meetings. Here's the video from this year's meeting.
I presented the results of Site Selection to the meeting at the start. The results of Site Selection were declared official when the meeting thanked me for my work and ordered me to destroy the ballots, which I will do when I get home where our shredder is.
A technical amendment that restores the official name of Westercon (accidentally deleted by a different change a few years ago) was ratified without objection.
Then came the Big Event: the motion that I authored with Linda Deneroff to Retire Westercon. I spoke first, and you can watch the video to hear my case. There was some debate, and while I feel sure that nobody really wants Westercon to end, the meeting appears to have been persuaded by my argument that it's time for it to retire, and for the retirement to be done in a dignified and orderly manner.
The motion to Repeal the Westercon Bylaws received first passage by a vote of "many to four." As with all bylaw amendments, it has to be ratified by the following year's Westercon to take effect. Should the motion be ratified, there would still be two Westercons left. Westercon 79 in 2027 will be in Santa Clara at BayCon. The possible Last Westercon would be Westercon 80 in 2028. That convention site will be selected next year at BayCon 2026.
I hope that we can persuade LASFS, which founded the convention in 1948, to host Westercon 80 and give Westercon a dignified and appropriate retirement.
I presented the results of Site Selection to the meeting at the start. The results of Site Selection were declared official when the meeting thanked me for my work and ordered me to destroy the ballots, which I will do when I get home where our shredder is.
A technical amendment that restores the official name of Westercon (accidentally deleted by a different change a few years ago) was ratified without objection.
Then came the Big Event: the motion that I authored with Linda Deneroff to Retire Westercon. I spoke first, and you can watch the video to hear my case. There was some debate, and while I feel sure that nobody really wants Westercon to end, the meeting appears to have been persuaded by my argument that it's time for it to retire, and for the retirement to be done in a dignified and orderly manner.
The motion to Repeal the Westercon Bylaws received first passage by a vote of "many to four." As with all bylaw amendments, it has to be ratified by the following year's Westercon to take effect. Should the motion be ratified, there would still be two Westercons left. Westercon 79 in 2027 will be in Santa Clara at BayCon. The possible Last Westercon would be Westercon 80 in 2028. That convention site will be selected next year at BayCon 2026.
I hope that we can persuade LASFS, which founded the convention in 1948, to host Westercon 80 and give Westercon a dignified and appropriate retirement.
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Sunday, July 6th, 2025 09:00 am
Can the American King's uncanny military genius best an enemy so cunning the enemy loses every battle?
The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun by Christopher Anvil
Saturday, July 5th, 2025 09:30 pm
I had to come out of hibernation this morning, because we concluded that due to needed to be at Westercon/BayCon through the end of the convention on Monday, we had to stay an extra day. Fortunately, I brought one of my work computers and was able to put the PTO request. I called the front desk and they told me that while they could extend my stay, I couldn't get the convention rate and it would cost more than $100 more per night. I winced but said yes. Then I had to go down and get our keys recoded because I'm the one with the ID. I then handed everything back over to Kayla.
Saturday, July 5th, 2025 08:40 pm
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Saturday, July 5th, 2025 02:43 pm
Sometime in the last couple of months, someone posted a link to a site that had interesting looking shirts made of linen, for lower prices than most places charge. I forgot to bookmark it. Can anyone point me to it? or to something else that fits that description, even if you didn't see it here?
Edited to add: A the shirts were less expensive than I expected, which is a large part of why I'm interested. Those may have been sale prices, I don't remember.
Also, the were made of either linen or a linen blend, not "line".
Edited to add: A the shirts were less expensive than I expected, which is a large part of why I'm interested. Those may have been sale prices, I don't remember.
Also, the were made of either linen or a linen blend, not "line".
Saturday, July 5th, 2025 09:35 am
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Saturday, July 5th, 2025 09:01 am
Four works new to me. One is SF, two fantasy, and the magazine (which I have not yet looked inside) likely both. Two of the novels are series novels, one does not seem to me.
Books Received, June 28 — July 4
Poll #33326 Books Received, June 28 — July 4
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 36
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
FIYAH No. 35: Black Isekai published by FIYAH Literary Magazine (July 2025)
18 (50.0%)
Aces Full edited by George R. R. Martin (November 2025)
3 (8.3%)
Only Spell Deep by Ava Morgyn (March 2026)
6 (16.7%)
The Damned by Harper L. Woods (October 2025)
3 (8.3%)
Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)
Cats!
29 (80.6%)
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Friday, July 4th, 2025 07:55 pm
The former Conservative MP Matt Hancock was the UK's Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 2019-21 and thus responsible for much of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As one would expect, he has been called to give evidence to the enquiry into the handling of the pandemic. Two issues have been quite controversial:
That's a degree of selfishness fully consistent with his decision to use social distancing to undertake an extra-marital affair with one of his senior staff. That forced him to resign as Health Secretary, and he left parliament voluntarily at the last election. However, he's not yet been held to account for his terrible, heartless decisions while in charge of the nations' health.
More details and donations here.
- One was awarding many valuable contracts for vitally needed supplies and equipment to Conservative Party members with no obvious capability to fulfil them, without and transparency. That piece of corruption will be held against the Conservative Party for a very long time. He wasn't responsible for all of that: the entire Cabinet were involved.
- The other was the decision to discharge many hospital patients into care homes for the elderly without testing them for COVID-19. That was his decision, and it resulted in the residents of those care homes being placed at very high risk of infection. And being elderly and frail enough to require care home residence, a great many of them died.
That's a degree of selfishness fully consistent with his decision to use social distancing to undertake an extra-marital affair with one of his senior staff. That forced him to resign as Health Secretary, and he left parliament voluntarily at the last election. However, he's not yet been held to account for his terrible, heartless decisions while in charge of the nations' health.
More details and donations here.
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Friday, July 4th, 2025 11:55 am
Jay Kuo takes a break from chronicling the regime's crimes to share some honest hope for today, and the days and months ahead:
https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/celebrating-independence
https://statuskuo.substack.com/p/celebrating-independence
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Friday, July 4th, 2025 08:58 am
Ninety years after her grandmother's family was stalked by a witch, international student Minerva Contrera's studies land her in a similar position.
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Thursday, July 3rd, 2025 11:27 pm
I got away from home at 5:30, but immediately had to stop for fuel because I forgot to refuel last night. I also stopped in Reno to grab a breakfast sandwich, Donner Summit for the rest area, Colfax for coffee and a restroom, Lodi Junction to refuel, Livermore for coffee, and Fremont to buy Kayla some nail polish remover because she forgot to pack some, before getting to the Marriott about 1:30 PM. That's really good time for me. I managed to miss Reno and Sacramento's rush hours, and when I reached the Bay Area, I was going against the holiday get-away traffic.
( Moving In )
I am not sure if I'll post much about the convention while it's going on. Friday in particular is super-busy, with the Preliminary WSFS Business Meeting online at 9 AM, and the Opening Ceremony of BayCon/Westercon at 1 PM, followed by Site Selection opening at 2:30 PM. Furthermore, I personally am not going to be around the convention. I've delegated everything to Kayla. And I'm clearly not going to get enough sleep, which is bad.
( Moving In )
I am not sure if I'll post much about the convention while it's going on. Friday in particular is super-busy, with the Preliminary WSFS Business Meeting online at 9 AM, and the Opening Ceremony of BayCon/Westercon at 1 PM, followed by Site Selection opening at 2:30 PM. Furthermore, I personally am not going to be around the convention. I've delegated everything to Kayla. And I'm clearly not going to get enough sleep, which is bad.
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Thursday, July 3rd, 2025 10:48 pm
Laputa-like, my dear and daunting Readercon has come round again to Burlington. They've given me a delectable set of appearances, and I hope to see some of you there!
Understanding Originals Through their Responses
Thursday, July 17, 2025, 8:00 PM EDT, Salon G/H
Melissa Bobe (m), Greer Gilman, Michael Dirda, Rebecca Fraimow
An expected result of discovering books in conversation with each other is that reading the older book illuminates hidden aspects of the newer one. But what of the reverse case, when reading the response tells you something new about the original? Panelists will discuss the deeply satisfying experience of appreciating originals through the responses to them, including examples they've seen, what they learned from them, and how this shaped their experience of both books.
Reading: Greer Gilman,
Friday, July 18, 2025, 12:00 PM EDT, Envision / Enliven
Greer Gilman reads from Lightwards, her third Cloudish novel.
Crafts as Magic, Magic as Craft
Friday, July 18, 2025, 4:00 PM EDT, Create / Collaborate
Scott H. Andrews (m), Chris Rose, Greer Gilman, Natalie Luhrs, Stephanie Wytovich
To those of us who have never learned such skills ourselves, all manner of crafts from cooking to pottery and from fiber arts to woodwork can seem like magic. In what ways is it illuminating to talk about crafts and magic in terms of each other? What stories have made good use of crafts as magic or magic as craft?
Meet the Pros(e)
Friday, July 18, 2025, 10:15 PM EDT, Salon F
At the Friday night Meet the Pros(e) party, program participants are assigned to tables with a roughly equal number of conferencegoers and other participants, and then table placements are scrambled at regular intervals so that everyone gets to meet a new set of people in a small-group setting. Think of it as a low-key sort of speed dating where you need never be the sole focus of anyone's attention, and the goal is just to get to know some cool Readerconnish people. Please note that this event will include a bar and is mask-optional, unlike most other programming.
The Allure of Orpheus and Eurydice
Saturday, July 19, 2025, 11:00 AM EDT, Salon F
Tom Doyle (m), Constance Fay, Greer Gilman, Gwynne Garfinkle, Kate Nepveu
The tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice — the lover who visits Hades to rescue his love, only to falter at the end — has inspired artists for millennia. We'll look at why the story has resonated for so long, favorite adaptations and whether Orpheus could ever NOT look back.
Cartography and the Imagination
Saturday, July 19, 2025, 3:00 PM EDT, Salon F
Fonda Lee (m), Anne E.G. Nydam, Greer Gilman, Jedediah Berry, Robert V.S. Redick
There are few conventions more ubiquitous in fantasy novels than the map at the beginning of the book. Often, as Diana Wynne Jones memorably put it in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, "you must not expect to be let off from visiting every damn place shown on it." A map can be used to give a sense of place, to make a promise to the reader about which locations will become relevant, even to conceal or misdirect. This panel will discuss how maps can both illuminate an imagined world or conceal its dark edges.
Understanding Originals Through their Responses
Thursday, July 17, 2025, 8:00 PM EDT, Salon G/H
Melissa Bobe (m), Greer Gilman, Michael Dirda, Rebecca Fraimow
An expected result of discovering books in conversation with each other is that reading the older book illuminates hidden aspects of the newer one. But what of the reverse case, when reading the response tells you something new about the original? Panelists will discuss the deeply satisfying experience of appreciating originals through the responses to them, including examples they've seen, what they learned from them, and how this shaped their experience of both books.
Reading: Greer Gilman,
Friday, July 18, 2025, 12:00 PM EDT, Envision / Enliven
Greer Gilman reads from Lightwards, her third Cloudish novel.
Crafts as Magic, Magic as Craft
Friday, July 18, 2025, 4:00 PM EDT, Create / Collaborate
Scott H. Andrews (m), Chris Rose, Greer Gilman, Natalie Luhrs, Stephanie Wytovich
To those of us who have never learned such skills ourselves, all manner of crafts from cooking to pottery and from fiber arts to woodwork can seem like magic. In what ways is it illuminating to talk about crafts and magic in terms of each other? What stories have made good use of crafts as magic or magic as craft?
Meet the Pros(e)
Friday, July 18, 2025, 10:15 PM EDT, Salon F
At the Friday night Meet the Pros(e) party, program participants are assigned to tables with a roughly equal number of conferencegoers and other participants, and then table placements are scrambled at regular intervals so that everyone gets to meet a new set of people in a small-group setting. Think of it as a low-key sort of speed dating where you need never be the sole focus of anyone's attention, and the goal is just to get to know some cool Readerconnish people. Please note that this event will include a bar and is mask-optional, unlike most other programming.
The Allure of Orpheus and Eurydice
Saturday, July 19, 2025, 11:00 AM EDT, Salon F
Tom Doyle (m), Constance Fay, Greer Gilman, Gwynne Garfinkle, Kate Nepveu
The tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice — the lover who visits Hades to rescue his love, only to falter at the end — has inspired artists for millennia. We'll look at why the story has resonated for so long, favorite adaptations and whether Orpheus could ever NOT look back.
Cartography and the Imagination
Saturday, July 19, 2025, 3:00 PM EDT, Salon F
Fonda Lee (m), Anne E.G. Nydam, Greer Gilman, Jedediah Berry, Robert V.S. Redick
There are few conventions more ubiquitous in fantasy novels than the map at the beginning of the book. Often, as Diana Wynne Jones memorably put it in The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, "you must not expect to be let off from visiting every damn place shown on it." A map can be used to give a sense of place, to make a promise to the reader about which locations will become relevant, even to conceal or misdirect. This panel will discuss how maps can both illuminate an imagined world or conceal its dark edges.
Nine
Thursday, July 3rd, 2025 10:34 pm
I embrace new tools. In Fabula Ultima, for example, the order in which characters go in combat varies. I found it hard to keep track of who'd gone, so I went out and got poker chips and little round labels. Now, I can just toss the chips representing characters into a bowl once they've gone. Order!
OK, except it turns out I can't tell blue from green under the ceiling light in the room where I DM and the names on the labels need to be bigger.
OK, except it turns out I can't tell blue from green under the ceiling light in the room where I DM and the names on the labels need to be bigger.
Thursday, July 3rd, 2025 08:56 am
Director of the nation formerly known as Canada Quinn Atherton is determined to deliver much mass murder as it takes to achieve peace, order, good government. Why do so many ingrates object?
Blight(Sleep of Reason, volume 2) by Rachel A. Rosen
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Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025 11:51 pm
The inspiration being the 1999 Mummy movie is not without problematic elements.
Imagine an Egyptian film company wanting to make a movie about idiots waking a horror in Canada that only the Egyptian lead can resolve.
( Read more... )
Imagine an Egyptian film company wanting to make a movie about idiots waking a horror in Canada that only the Egyptian lead can resolve.
( Read more... )