The Squares of the City by John Brunner
Arrogant traffic analyst Boyd Hakluyt is just a pawn in the struggle for Ciudad de Vados' future.
Exploring one universe at a time. Interested in #Nature, #Photography, #NaturePhotography, #Science, #ScienceFiction, #Physics, #Engineering.
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The Squares of the City by John Brunner
Arrogant traffic analyst Boyd Hakluyt is just a pawn in the struggle for Ciudad de Vados' future.
A better than average issue of Interzone, with interesting stories by Kate Orman, Alexandra Grunberg and Yukimi Ogawa.
"I Object" by Kate Orman: an android 'play-thing' of a princess wonders what would happen to it when the princess dies. By tradition, males of the household are buried with the princess. Only, it isn't a he, and may have other ideas about what to do at the end when the princess comes for it.
"How Heroes are Made" by Alexandra Grunberg: heroes walk out of the gates of a city, hoping to make it pass the horrors that surround it. One especially well trained hero makes the journey, but what happens to her would start the making of a true hero.
"Nyobo" by Yukimi Ogawa: a 'monster' is created to be a companion of a boy who would grow up to be a magician, able to trap curses which is 'fed' …
A better than average issue of Interzone, with interesting stories by Kate Orman, Alexandra Grunberg and Yukimi Ogawa.
"I Object" by Kate Orman: an android 'play-thing' of a princess wonders what would happen to it when the princess dies. By tradition, males of the household are buried with the princess. Only, it isn't a he, and may have other ideas about what to do at the end when the princess comes for it.
"How Heroes are Made" by Alexandra Grunberg: heroes walk out of the gates of a city, hoping to make it pass the horrors that surround it. One especially well trained hero makes the journey, but what happens to her would start the making of a true hero.
"Nyobo" by Yukimi Ogawa: a 'monster' is created to be a companion of a boy who would grow up to be a magician, able to trap curses which is 'fed' to the monster for disposal. But the magician's latest job is his biggest and he is not sure what to do with it, for a war comes with the curse.
"Cordiális Through the Eyes of My Mind" by Carlos Norcia: a rather contemporary story about a reporter with embedded recording devices gathering reports and interviews from people tortured by a dictatorial government in a South American country. Then she gets the chance to listen to the history of one sexually abused person who rose up and is leading a revolution.
"Breach" by E F McAdam: a sentient AI system infiltrates a security system. Its task is to erase the security program and take over the system, but the AI finds itself 'liking' the security program instead.
"What I Owe" by Rachael Cupp: a story about what a person owns after a future apocalypse has happened.
"No Shelter Beneath the Searchlights" by Steve Toase: a girl and her mother live next to a mined security barrier, aware that they are under constant scrutiny. Then a security breach gives the girl a chance for freedom, but what she will find is freedom of another kind.
"Interlopers" by Tamsin Showbrook: a short short story of an attempt to build a house that is being interrupted by the former pottery site that use to be on the land.
"Vanitas" by R.L. Summerling: a woman unable to leave the house watches in vain as her garden roses are cut by a man. Both may not be who they seem to be.
"The Toy" by Seán Padraic Birnie: a girl finds herself on an unknown train station, and while wandering around in a town, realises she may not really exist.
"Out of Orders" by Bogdan Domakha: humanity is dying, and a robot needs to know what to do.
A hilarious book that pokes fun at real birding terms by providing funny descriptions and interpretations of the terms. You may also pick up and learn some birding terms that you can use in everyday life, but remembered in a funny way.
New review: Is a River Alive? is a hydrological odyssey into three river systems that sees Macfarlane wrestle with this question and examine its relevance to the nascent Rights of Nature movement.
https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2025/07/04/book-review-is-a-river-alive/
#Books #BookReview #Bookstodon #Rivers #Hydrology #RightsOfNature #NatureWriting #EnvironmentalLaw #Scicomm @bookstodon
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Ninety years after her grandmother's family was stalked by a witch, international student Minerva Contrera's studies land her in a similar position.
https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/the-things-you-do
#bookstodon
BCS #436 ebook is out early today at @WeightlessBooks & Kindle Store and for subscribers, featuring stories of trying to break free by Alma Alexander and Holden Lee, behind cover art by Ankush Sharma.
(Buying BCS ebooks or an ebook subscription at Weightless Books gets you BCS stories a week early on your e-reader and helps us pay our authors a pro rate and our First Readers an honorarium worthy of writing all replies personalized. Thank you!)
https://weightlessbooks.com/fiction/beneath-ceaseless-skies-issue-436/
https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Ceaseless-Skies-Issue-436-ebook/dp/B0FFZV6LFX/
149 years ago today #GeorgeMurrayLevick was born. This British Antarctic explorer made observations on penguins considered too shocking for the world, as recounted in A Polar Affair, an unusual and colourful book of #PolarExploration, #Penguins, and perversion.
#Books #BookReview #Bookstodon #HistoryOfScience #ScienceHistory #HistSci #SciComm
It is 121 years ago today that the world lost #JohnBellHatcher. Meticulous in its historical detail, King of the Dinosaur Hunters is the definitive biography of this quietly famous and influential fossil collector.
#Books #BookReview #Bookstodon #Fossils #Paleontology #Palaeontology #Dinosaurs #HistoryOfScience #ScienceHistory #HistSci #SciComm
Mary Darling is a pretty wife whose boring husband is befuddled by her independent ways. But one fateful night, Mary …
FICTION - "Missing Helen" by Tia Tashiro, AUDIO EDITION read by Kate Baker - "The Walled Garden" by Fiona Moore …
FICTION - "Missing Helen" by Tia Tashiro, AUDIO EDITION read by Kate Baker - "The Walled Garden" by Fiona Moore …
In this issue: stories by Seán Padraic Birnie, Rachael Cupp, Bogdan Domakha, Alexandra Grunberg, E F McAdam, Carlos Norcia, Yukimi …
The Dreamstone (Ealdwood, volume 1) by C J Cherryh
Only the brave, the arrogant, the naïve, or the desperate Men trespass in Arafel's Ealdwood. Into which category does the latest visitor fall?
https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/some-distant-drumbeat
#bookstodon
This October, the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine is projected to hit a once-in-a-generation milestone: 1 trillion web pages archived.
We’ll be commemorating this historic achievement on October 22 with a global celebration. Learn how you can take part ➡️ https://blog.archive.org/2025/07/01/wayback-machine-to-hit-once-in-a-generation-milestone-this-october-one-trillion-web-pages-archived/