This Brutal Moon, Bethany Jacobs #Books #ScienceFiction #BlogFiredrakeOrg https://blog.firedrake.org/archive/2026/06/This_Brutal_Moon__Bethany_Jacobs.html

Now more than ever we need to make the art, so I’m jumping in! I hope you’ll join me in September to bring Feather & Stone into the world.

I need all the follows I can get on this project. Please share! 🖤

https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/9c9632ff-5a33-4e64-972d-a9f695076816/landing

#art #books #natureart #poetry #artist #supportartists #artwork #artbook #artistsonmastodon

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Postcard design for my chapbook Feather and Stone. It features one of my oldest drawings of a feather and stone

The Mark of the Horse Lord, Rosemary Sutcliff #Books #BlogFiredrakeOrg https://blog.firedrake.org/archive/2026/06/The_Mark_of_the_Horse_Lord__Rosemary_Sutcliff.html

I have finally completed Book 8 of #TheExpanse, Tiamat's Wrath!

#ScienceFiction #SciFi #SF #Bookstodon #Books #Reading

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My Kobo displaying the book

Joe Haldeman (1943-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?27

L, Murray Tinkelman, 1976; R, Jim Burns, 1988
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for The Forever War. Soldier in helmet sits with a sword. Behind him are clocks.

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Cover for Mindbridge. An armored soldier holds aliens that look like human women but have tentacles and weird bumps.

John Berryman (1916-1988) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?2193

L, Malcolm Smith, 1951; R, H. R. Van Dongen, 1961
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for the December 1951 issue of Other Worlds. A large cylindrical spaceship with fins is in orbit above China. Various red jet-like spaceships zip around it.

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Cover for the Jan. 1961 issue of Analog. A destroyed city with hanging corpses. A wanted poster shows a male face and "TRAITOR."

My review of Wilhelm's Vietnam allegory The Killer Thing (variant title: The Killing Thing) (1967)
https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2024/01/15/book-review-kate-wilhelms-the-killer-thing-1967/
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

Kate Wilhelm (1928-2018) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?66

L, Geoff Taylor, 1977; R, uncredited, 1972
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang. A group of people walk in front of a ruinous American Capitol Building. It's overgrown.

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Cover for The Killing Things. A robot on tracks chases a man across a desert planet.

The perfect author for Pride Month!

Elizabeth A. Lynn (1946-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1040

L, Melvyn Grant, 1981; R, Wayne Barlowe, 1978
#scifi #sciencefiction #PrideMonth #books

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Cover for Watchtower. A knight with helmet sits on his horse -- he holds an axe. Next to him is another soldier with a sword. In the background there's a castle.

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Cover for A Different Light. A spaceship flies near a tower disgorging people.

Frank Riley (1915-1996) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?2100

L, Wallace Wood, 1958; R, Frank Kelly Freas, 1955
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for The Forever Machine. Man scratches his head. He's wired up to a machine. Woman stands next to him. Man stands in front looking on in concern. There are tubes and pipes and other technological marvels around the throne-like chair

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Cover for the June 1955 issue of If. A man in jacket and tie and crutch walks forward. A looming head peers over his shoulder.

Editor and author John W. Campbell, Jr. (1910-1971) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?14

L, Gray Morrow, 1966; R, Howard V. Brown, 1937
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Campbell's Invaders from the Infinite. A crocodile alien attacks a rocket ship

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October 1937 issue of Astounding. A red sphere shoots at three spaceships.

So I started 'Empire of Silence' and.... MEH. I'm only 6% in so will give to to 10-15% before DNF'ing but I really don't get the love of "Let's tell fantasy stories in space" stuff.

I hate "Rome in space" stuff. I hate "Kingdoms, but with space" as well.

No hate on authors or readers who love this stuff, but it isn't for me.

#books #scifi #reading @reading

Book Review: Clifford D. Simak’s The Worlds of Clifford Simak (1960) https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2026/06/08/book-review-clifford-d-simaks-the-worlds-of-clifford-simak-1960/
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover is by Powers. A surreal landscape of green with various spheres. There's a farmer with a pitchfork and straw hat.

This week’s gigs #comedy #poetry #books #bookshop
https://www.robinince.com is

In about three weeks, I'll launch my new novella, about an old woman with social anxiety who finds herself organising the defence of a decentralised nation when colonisers invade to steal the tech that makes her village a #solarpunk utopia. It is available for pre-order in all major stores (I think), but you can also get it from my small press, and there is a sample chapter available.

https://www.ododopress.com/novellas/the-blossoming-of-the-big-tree/

#books #bookstodon #book #SolarPunkSunday #scifi

Tickets for Pontypridd on Tuesday are here

https://www.ticketsource.com/Storyville-Books/an-evening-with-robin-ince/e-jzgpyl #comedy #books #poetry #neurodivergent

Next week starts in CRICKHOWELL ends in CHIPPENHAM and fits Pontypridd, Market Harborough, Stoke on Trent and Lincoln in between www.robinince.com #poetry #comedy #bookstodon #books

Loading William Gibson into my summer reading buffer 🔖

#books

Readers’ top 100 novels of all time | Fiction | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/books/ng-interactive/2026/jun/06/readers-top-100-novels-of-all-time

> After authors and critics chose their top 100 novels, we asked for your favourites. From Uruguay to the Isle of Skye, 3,000 readers cast their votes.

I've read 33 of these, but I have 20 more on my shelves, most of them started but not finished. Should I give them another chance?

I have become much better at reading novels.

But where is Doris Lessing?

#books

Next week I am in Crickhowell, Pontypridd, Market Harborough, Stoke on Trent , Lincoln, Chippenham

www.robinince.com #books #comedy #poetry

Off to Exeter - solo show sold out , but I am back in Devon later on in June https://www.robinince.com #neurodiversity #poetry #devon #books #library

My cozy mystery, The Case of the Missing Finger, is being featured by Bookshop.org this month! 🎉

I love Bookshop.org because they let me sell #DRMfree and they support independent bookstores as well.

Get Some Free Books 👉 https://authoremail.com/email/campaigns/tr8692gshc887/track-url/ve112qeg0qfde/2c00392f14c9ccb92f3927456c330e5bf41d28b6

(boosts appreciated)

#bookstodon #books #selfpromo

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Indie authors for indie bookstores. Free E-books

John Russell Fearn (1908-1960) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?465

L, Terry Maloney, 1950; R, Leo Morey, 1937
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Warrior of Mars. two muscular men stand in the foreground. One is shirtless, one shoots a fun. There's a UFO in the background with searchlights + additional figures.

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Cover for the December 1937 issue of Amazing Stories. It illustrates the Fearn story Zagribud. Four figures look at the cosmos below them. One man mans a scientific terminal.

#Spotted at a Secondhand Bookfair in Aotearoa New Zealand:

A teen radiating maximum ennui is slouched in the poetry aisle next to Mum. Heaving a sigh, she asks: "Ugh. What are you trying to PROVE?"
Mum continues idly browsing, unruffled: "I dunno. That a book can be used as a murder weapon?"

A tiny new human (months?) is MOST upset.
Her face screws up,
She emits a clucky little cry.
She inhales, ready to get on with some MIGHTY wails...
BUT WAIT!
What is this?!
Big Sister (3?) doing a happy dance to cheer her up?
Hmm.
Maybe she's not so upset after all.

Two women (50s?) are having an extraordinarily good gossip in the $1 fiction aisle.
Talking over each other excitedly, they're covering half the town's medical emergencies (gasp!) and a mystery woman called Maude's AWFUL new kitchen renovation. (Quel horreur!)

A tiny human (1?) in a blue onesie has decided that the best place to get a drink of water is this nice puddle here.
Mum spotting him just as he crouches down, head lowering.
Sprinting and scooting him up in one movement.
SAVED!

A VERY sneaky small human (4?), crouched beneath the history book table, is whisper-bellow explaining to a passerby that her: "IMAGINARY BEST FRIEND IMOGEN IS OVER THERE AND I'M SPYING ON HER!"
It seems Imogen the Imaginary Best Friend is quite wily and one must keep an eye on her at ALL TIMES!

(Continued Below)

#books #bookstodon

Tonight’s gig in Nottingham sold out very quickly , but I’m back very soon - join me in Radcliffe #books #poetry #adhd #autism #neurodiversity

Charles W. Runyon (1928-2015) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1630

L, uncredited, 1973; R, uncredited, 1973
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Pigworld. Face superimposed on a burning city.

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Cover for The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction. A composite image of a large amphibian/reptile-like human with sharp teeth, a satellite, various planets, another reptile man...

#Edinburgh readers: that excellent chap (Sir) Ian Rankin returns with The Heights, & will be appearing at the Assembly Rooms with the @TheEdinburghBookshop this autumn
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theedinburghbookshop/2243866

#books #livres #Edimbourg #BookLaunch #BookEvents #IanRankin #TheHeights

Leigh Kennedy (1951-) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?1497

L, uncredited, 1988; R, Steven Hunt, 1983
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for The Journal of Nicholas the American. Three faces loom over a mountain valley covered with snow.

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Cover for the Mid-December 1983 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction. Cover shows a window from a field into the cosmos. A bunch of hands reach out towards a galaxy.

Ed Emshwiller's art illustrating Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination serialized in Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (October 1956)
#scifi #sciencefiction #books #art

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Woman in the background stands austere in a white dress. Man in the front has jarring shadows across his face. There is a torn paper with the circulatory system of an arm. The background contains various jagged pieces of metal and patterns -- one spelling "NOMAD."

Mike McQuay (1949-1995) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?300

L, Luis Royo, 1985; R, Terry Oakes, 1980
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Pure Blood. A whole collection of people populate the cover. The two central figures wield swords. In the bottom left there are giant ridable dogs. Also what look like goblins across the bottom... Ruins in the background.

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Cover for Lifekeeper. Man sits in front of a bank of TV screens and controls.

Yay! I got a Thing in the post from @mwl!

#books #Bookstodon #Networking #WorldAltTextChampionshipEntry

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Photograph of Michael W Lucas's book "Networking for System Administrators - defenestrated edition" on a brown wooden desk. The cover shows a gang of BSD demons and Linux penguins working together to build a grand stone building. Another such building in the background has no wndows.

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Photograph of part of some random page in the book. Three blocks of text have been blacked out to hide ███████-specific information.

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Screenshot from Monty Python And The Holy Grail in which Arthur and his knights are trying not to look at God so that His awesome majesty doesn't burn their eyes out. The image has the subtitle "I'm averting my eyes, O Lord". Thanks to this edition of the book I no longer need to avert my eyes to avoid having my brain turn to goo from exposure to the UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN! ███████ world.

Lester del Rey (1915-1993) was born on this day. Bibliography: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?21

L, 1974; R, Richard Powers, 1956
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for The Sky is Falling. Spaceship flies through a series of megastructures -- spheres connected with tubes.

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Cover for Nerves. A composite cover of separate images -- Doctor operates on patient, the nervous system outline of a man looms above, a city, a tower

Harbour Street, Ann Cleeves #Books #Mystery #BlogFiredrakeOrg https://blog.firedrake.org/archive/2026/06/Harbour_Street__Ann_Cleeves.html

22 Dead Little Bodies, Stuart MacBride #Books #Mystery #BlogFiredrakeOrg https://blog.firedrake.org/archive/2026/06/22_Dead_Little_Bodies__Stuart_MacBride.html

I am yet to read any of Silverbeg's novels, but I think I'm getting this #humbleBundle

If you are into #ScienceFiction #SciFi it might be worth checking out!

#bookstodon #books #SF

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/best-robert-silverberg-open-road-media-books

New science fiction for the collection! Jack Vance, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Thom Keyes, and Kenneth Bulmer.

Cover citations, my initial thoughts, discussion: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2026/05/31/updates-recent-science-fiction-purchases-no-cccxlx-jack-vance-adolfo-bioy-casares-thom-keyes-and-kenneth-bulmer/
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for Vance's Galactic Effectuator. Humanoid with knife, helmet, cape, and weird body bumps and lines, stands over two more humanoid alien that appears to be stabbed.

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Cover for Casares' Diary of the War of the Pig. A pig shape looms from the background.

George R. Stewart (1895-1980) was born on this day. Known for his sole SF novel Earth Abides (1949)

L, Korte S. Meier, 1952; R, Bob Abbett, 1962
#scifi #sciencefiction #books

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Cover for the German Edition -- Leben ohne Ende. Cover illustrates a large steel bridge like the Golden Gate Bridge.

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Cover for Earth Abides. Man and woman stand in front of a group of others standing in front of a city.

Are there any good books on why factions form? I mean everything from political factions as we think of them to the formation of rival gangs and religious splinter groups.

For context: I'm starting a new TTRPG soon and factions are something I historically suck at. I'm too logical and systematic. Factions often run on social strata and sense of identity. I don't have an inherent gasp of them.

Audio books preferred.

#ttrpg #rpg #writing #gaming #sociology #politicalscience #books #audible

The Folded Sky, Elizabeth Bear #Books #ScienceFiction #BlogFiredrakeOrg https://blog.firedrake.org/archive/2026/05/The_Folded_Sky__Elizabeth_Bear.html

im reading a lot more full #books again thanks to #TheSloppening and #enshittification