We Dance Upon Demons by @vaishnawrites.bsky.social - excellent novel about a woman struggling against demons, both literal and metaphorical, but a novel about working in an abortion clinic in post-Roe America is not exactly what I would call "escapism." Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review: bit.ly/4pUy0wY

Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill - decent book that would have been better if A) the author had embraced writing a YA book; and B) Orbit hadn't marketed it as cozy. Definitely a solid read though. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐review here: bit.ly/4iERtiR

Snake-Eater by @tkingfisher.com - a woman finding her self-confidence again after escaping a bad relationship, while also dealing with the god of roadrunners (which are vicious mini-dinosaurs) that was involved with her late aunt. Cozy, creepy, and wonderful. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/4ioEim0

Sign of the Dragon by @marysoonlee.bsky.social - well that was a masterpiece, and I might even stop crying some day. Epic poetry isn't something I read too much of, so thanks to my fellow r/Fantasy mod u/oboist73 for suggesting this. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/3MbFyNn

It's not that often that a book manages to take me COMPLETELY by surprise, but @mikecarey.bsky.social managed it with Outlaw Planet, his standalone follow-up to the Pandominion duology. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/3KgRTiD

#TSOTD_note. "The Sign of the Dragon" has a Best Sellers Rank of 53,631 on Kindle just now. Best-selling authors would laugh derisively at this number, but it's the highest I remember seeing for my book, so I'm happy! ✏️📖🐉 N.B. Lower numbers are better, so there are over 50,000 books ahead of mine.

My new favorite kind of meme is "here are detailed instructions on how to turn off AI". 🔨

Another excellent, excellent book from @angelaslatter.bsky.social. I'd meant to read it when it came out, but I'm glad I did not - this was a great book to read in the fall. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/3K1meBF

As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history. Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX

Reading & enjoying The Crimson Road by @angelaslatter.bsky.social and filling out @katkale.bsky.social 's Sourdough Universe bingo card. Futher updates as things progress

Dead Hand Rule by @maxgladstone.bsky.social - another fantastic entry in the series. Incredibly frustrating when characters I care about are on opposite sides for very good reasons. I needs book 4, I NEEDS IT. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/4hREava

PHILIP PULLMAN HAS A NEW BOOK OUT?! TODAY?!?!?! www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...

The Everlasting by @alixeharrow.bsky.social - well that was a freaking masterpiece. Both topical and timeless (rimshot), heartbreaking and uplifiting. Easy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Full review at bit.ly/47e1yht

"Red City" by Marie Lu - a Romeo & Juliet retelling, but with less choreography and tough guy finger snapping and more extreme violence from rival magical drug cartels. Intense read. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/3VQI25x

"Kill the Beast" by @serratheswift.bsky.social - one of the more interesting Beauty & the Beast retellings I've ever read. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/4gP1SYE

There's an upcoming ReadAlong for "The Sign of the Dragon" on Reddit fantasy: www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/co... As far as I can tell, it's organized by oboist73, to whom I'm greatly indebted for posting many many kind comments about "The Sign of the Dragon." The first bit of the discussion is on 10/7

Sad to say that I was disappointed by John Scalzi's new Old Man's War novel "The Shattering Peace." We learn lots more about the Consu, which only serves to make them much less cool à la the Borg. Full ⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/4nBVNkc

It's a standard tactic of narcissist bullies to blame those abused within the situation the narcissist created for the effects of the situation the narcissist created, as a pretext for enacting further abuse. It's not necessary to accept it, though. It's actually pretty important not to.

In 2023 it was calling enemies "vermin" who were "poisoning the blood of the country," and promising "I am your retribution." In 2024 it was never-ending promises of violence to cheers and applause of people who wanted to see it done on their behalf. In 2025 they've been doing it. It's their world.

In 2021 it was an actual attempted overthrow of the government, along with the attempted assassination of the Vice President and Congress. In 2022 it was laughing about the attempted assassination of Nancy Pelosi and the brutal attack on her husband by a deranged hammer-wielding maniac.

In 2015 it was "lock her up." In 2016 it was "2nd amendment solutions." In 2017 it was telling cops "please don't be too nice." In 2018 "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." In 2019 it was "can't you just shoot them in the legs or something?" In 2020 it was "stand back and stand by."

This explains it better than I can

Nice of the Hugo folks, after more or less ignoring the /r/Fantasy bingo team during the awards, and indeed poking fun at us, to also leave us out of their non-apology. I wasn't expecting us to win, and am honestly quite happy to lose to Jordan S. Carroll, but we deserve respect regardless. 1/2

Planned obsolescence is the WORST. If I'm paying very nearly nine dollars for a pair of earbuds, I should be able to expect them to keep working after a mere two trips though the washer and dryer. #sorrynotsorry

@melissacaruso.bsky.social Just finished a re-listen to Last Hour Between Worlds in anticipation of the sequel, and I have to ask - do you yourself own a pair of Damn Good Boots?

The Bewithching by @silviamg.bsky.social interweaves witches from 1990s & 1930s New England and 1900s Mexico in an excellently high-tension horror novel (even if it's strange, given my recent reading, to read a book where witches aren't the protagonists) Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/3U20qr9

Fun novella from KJ Parker. A bunch of academics are given a horrible job but an interesting challenge, and get into it in spite themselves. Then things get wierd. Full review at bit.ly/4eQgaXR

DNF for "Wearing the Lion" by John Wiswell, I'm sorry to say. In the end Hera was simply too unsympathetic a co-protagonist. Full review here: bit.ly/4kuN6WX

The Listeners by @maggiestiefvater.bsky.social - excellent magical realism work about WW2 diplomats, Appalachian coal miners, and luxury hotels. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/4lHTzyR

Heart of the Wyrdwood by @rjbarker.bsky.social - excellent end to the trilogy. Took me by surprise, everyone got the ending they deserve, and boy do I have questions. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/3ZT5u4p

The Two Lies of Faven Sythe by @meganeokeefe.bsky.social - Sapphic space pirates, kidnappings, and eldritch beings beyond human comprehension, what's not to love? Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/4jS9glT

"The Great Library of Tomorrow" by Rosalia Aguilar Solace - a Neverending Story-esque book ABOUT books & stories, perfect for a bookish 12 year old who fantasizes about finding their way to adventure down a dusty passage in a library. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/4jENr9e

Mossa & Pleiti are back with "The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses" by @older.bsky.social. Cozy mystery at its very most cozy, as always. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/4kmc0ci

"Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me" by @djangowexler.bsky.social was every bit as ridiculous and fun as the first Dark Lord Davi book, but also with TONS of heart and a spectacular character growth arc. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/3HaucXs

The comment period for this ends in 3 DAYS. Please leave a comment telling them EVERYONE should be able to get covid boosters. www.regulations.gov/commenton/FD...

"My Immortal" by fanfiction.net writer XXXbloodyrists666XXX is the stuff of legend, both the best and the worst fanfic I've ever encountered. Read my full review here bit.ly/4mnCivR

Overgrowth by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire) - just ok. Started out strong, ended up as "wow humans suck" which I've seen done much better. Not great, not terrible. Full review at bit.ly/4jWOSk6

"The Devils" by Joe Abercrombie - I'd call it his take on the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Also feel like he's grown as an author - even in a grimdark world, not EVERYTHING needs to be awful. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/4m8OlgD

"Chaos" by @constancefay.bsky.social - silly, self-aware, and INCREDIBLY fun. Exactly as I've come to expect from this author & what I need more of in my life these days. Very much looking forward to (what I'm assuming will be) Itzel's story next book. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here. bit.ly/4lEUeSz

"Once was Willem" by MR Carey - medieval horror, fairy story, found family, and Seven Samurai, what's not to like? Been a Mike Carey fanboy for years and years, doesn't look like that's changing any time soon. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/4jfTpy2

"The River Has Roots" by @amalelmohtar.com is a delightful bittersweet fairy tale. Makes me super curious to read This Is How You Lose the Time War because her style here is so, so different from Max Gladstone. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/4cpHg6P

Democratic leadership, please be aware that Sen. Booker has me feeling more inspired than I have felt in MONTHS

The Incandescent by @emilytesh.net - I had high expectations after Some Desperate Glory, and she met them. This is one of the best magic school books I've ever read, maybe THE best. Full review here: bit.ly/4kS5oD4

@emilytesh.net Have to ask - is Chetwood an homage to LotR?

"When We Walked in Memory" by Charlotte Kersten. Beautiful book about healing from trauma and stopping an immortal lich. But mostly the trauma. Full review here: bit.ly/4hx8qtF

"Halfway Human" by Carolyn Ives Gilman - one of the more thought-provoking books I've read. Excellent, and SHOULD be a well-known classic. Much to say that is extremely relevent, even 30 years later. Not an easy read though. Full review: bit.ly/41DUkAC

It sure would be a shame if the Internet at large flooded this new Education Department portal with fraudulent/joke reports of "DEI" in schools so that the department can't figure out what's real and what's not. It would be very bad if people inclined to do that shared this widely. enddei.ed.gov

I'm in dire straights for Fantasy Bingo and need to read book 1 of a 4+ book series. Bingo queen u/happy_book_bee recomended bit.ly/3QysAIA. If I'd had read the blurb, I would've known the protag was a half-elf assassin and not a chubby, short, hairy-footed lady. That was confusing for a few pages.

Beren & Lúthien by JRR Tolkien - great if you're a weirdo like me who likes all the minutae of the evolution of Tolkien's writings over the years. Probably dry as dust for everyone else. Full review here: bit.ly/4ibdVij

Elon Musk likes to think he's Tony Stark, but he isn't nearly smart enough or pretty enough.