drpaisley | Reading

The first in a series of anthologies that assemble stories by Campbell Award (now the Astounding) finalists.

New Voices: The Campbell Award Nominees (New Voices, volume 1) edited by George R R Martin

james_davis_nicoll

This is probably in no way significant, but it just occurred to me to check to see where WorldCon was the years I was nominated:

2010: Melbourne, Australia
2011: Reno, USA
2019: Dublin, Ireland
2020: Wellington, New Zealand
2024: Glasgow, Scotland

(I was nowhere near the ballot in 2009, Montreal)

At a guess, those are years where vote totals were a bit lower?

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james_davis_nicoll

Four books new to me.Two are SF, one is fantasy, one is a mix of both. I don't see anything unambiguously labelled as series works.

Books Received, July 5 — July 11

Poll #33350 Books Received, July 5 — July 11

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 36

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

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Secrets, Spells, and Chocolate by Marisa Churchill (December 2025)
12 (33.3%)

Spread Me by Sarah Gailey (September 2025)
13 (36.1%)

The Forest on the Edge of Time by Jasmin Kirkbride (February 2026)
13 (36.1%)

The Universe Box by Michael Swanwick (February 2026)
16 (44.4%)

Some other option (see comments)
1 (2.8%)

Cats!
29 (80.6%)

james_davis_nicoll

Specifically Fabula Ultima

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james_davis_nicoll

New Dawn requires only that people conform without exception or face memory erasure and worse. Yet, a minority insists on being individuals.

The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe

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Last feline from Parliament Hill cat colony dies

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Desperate to pay her brother Jasper's way out of Muhlenberg County, Opal accepts a job at an infamously cursed mansion.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

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

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Yelling "Get off my lawn!" on an interplanetary scale...

Five Books About Aliens Who Are Fed Up With Humans

james_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)

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Tepid remake of the Fenian Raids fails to launch.

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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

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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

james_davis_nicoll

Why wait around for the throne or the cash when murder can deliver it immediately?

Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors

james_davis_nicoll

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.

Poll #33332 Clarke Award Finalists 2004

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 42

View Respondents

Which 2004 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

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Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
21 (50.0%)

Coalescent by Stephen Baxter
5 (11.9%)

Darwin's Children by Greg Bear
16 (38.1%)

Maul by Tricia Sullivan
5 (11.9%)

Midnight Lamp by Gwyneth Jones
3 (7.1%)

Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
20 (47.6%)

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

james_davis_nicoll

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

james_davis_nicoll

This is much easier for Martin's New Voices series....

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james_davis_nicoll

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: 37

View Respondents

Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

FIYAH No. 35: Black Isekai published by FIYAH Literary Magazine (July 2025)
19 (51.4%)

Aces Full edited by George R. R. Martin (November 2025)
3 (8.1%)

Only Spell Deep by Ava Morgyn (March 2026)
6 (16.2%)

The Damned by Harper L. Woods (October 2025)
3 (8.1%)

Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
29 (78.4%)

james_davis_nicoll

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

james_davis_nicoll

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.

Intergalactic House of Paisley

Teh Right People Will Get This

New Voices: The Campbell Award Nominees (New Voices, volume 1) edited by George R R Martin

Huh

Books Received, July 5 — July 11

RPG checklist

The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe

RIP, Coal

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Bundle of Holding: Pyramid 2

Five Books About Aliens Who Are Fed Up With Humans

Kowloon Generic Romance, volume 1 by Jun Mayuzuki (Translated by Amanda Haley)

Right wing coup foiled

The Squares of the City by John Brunner

Bundle of Holding: GURPS 4E Essentials (from 2022) & Pyramid 1

Five Dangerously Impatient Heirs and Successors

Clarke Award Finalists 2004

The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun by Christopher Anvil

Wild Cards checklist

Books Received, June 28 — July 4

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Every time I run something

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