Bundle of Holding: SR5 Missions (repeat from 2024)
Dec. 2nd, 2025 01:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_davis_nicoll
Shadowrun 5th Edition scenarios and campaign sourcebooks.
Bundle of Holding: SR5 Missions (repeat from 2024)
james_davis_nicollShadowrun 5th Edition scenarios and campaign sourcebooks.
Bundle of Holding: SR5 Missions (repeat from 2024)
Things I Wish I’d Known When Starting a Book Collection
Dec. 2nd, 2025 10:02 amjames_davis_nicoll
Handy advice for overly enthusiastic bookworms (you know who you are)
Things I Wish I’d Known When Starting a Book Collection
Chanur’s Venture (Chanur, volume 2) by C J Cherryh
Dec. 2nd, 2025 09:35 amjames_davis_nicoll
Having saved hapless human Tully from the kif, hani star captain Pyanfar Chanur is faced with the consequences of saving hapless human Tully from the kif.
Chanur’s Venture (Chanur, volume 2) by C J Cherryh
📟 Unreview: Rise of the Gods
Dec. 2nd, 2025 06:57 amsolo_knightPlaythrough/Review: Rise of the Gods
( Game Description )
The idea isn’t horrible. If you have your toolbox at the ready and you want to play among the gods, with a clear-cut mission, and this story appeals to you, you may love it, and you may end up in interesting places. I’m a writer with a million ideas churning through my brain, I can create new ideas at the drop of a hat, and while I sometimes appreciate a ready-made quest starter to give to my player in DnD, the things I look for there are simpler and things that fit into my world.
This doesn’t. There may be a day when I feel I want an epic story seed and this is it, but that day may never come, and in the meantime, this is taking up space on my hard drive and in my brain that I can use better.
( Game Description )
The idea isn’t horrible. If you have your toolbox at the ready and you want to play among the gods, with a clear-cut mission, and this story appeals to you, you may love it, and you may end up in interesting places. I’m a writer with a million ideas churning through my brain, I can create new ideas at the drop of a hat, and while I sometimes appreciate a ready-made quest starter to give to my player in DnD, the things I look for there are simpler and things that fit into my world.
This doesn’t. There may be a day when I feel I want an epic story seed and this is it, but that day may never come, and in the meantime, this is taking up space on my hard drive and in my brain that I can use better.
Clarke Award Finalists 2024
Dec. 1st, 2025 10:59 amjames_davis_nicoll2024: Scutigera coleoptrata become established in the UK, a Trident missile suffers performance anxiety during a test and refuses to leave its sub, and Labour sweeps to victory in the General Election, with surprising little effect on the subsequent frequency of cruel and vindictive legislation.
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2024 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Corey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel Waidner
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
The Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
Poll #33896 Clarke Award Finalists 2024
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 25
Which 2024 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
View Answers
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
1 (4.0%)
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
1 (4.0%)
Corey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel Waidner
1 (4.0%)
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
24 (96.0%)
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
10 (40.0%)
The Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
1 (4.0%)
Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.
Which 2024 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Corey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel Waidner
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
The Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
December 2025 Patreon Boost
Dec. 1st, 2025 08:59 amjames_davis_nicoll
Impress your friends and potential significant others! Join the legions of James Nicoll Reviews supporters! James Nicoll Reviews is the only SF review that promises to be pyroclastic flow-free!
December 2025 Patreon Boost
🎪 First Impressions: Family + Spy
Dec. 1st, 2025 08:30 amsolo_knightFirst Impressions: Family + Spy
( Game Description )
This sounds so not like me that I wondered why I grabbed it; probably because someone mentioned it positively? I’d like to think that even a year or two ago I was more discerning. Cold War, spy stories, betrayals… not the first things I’d gravitate to.
Since the random tables are very brief and don’t combine well (if you want to combine multiple tables, all entries need to work with every other entry; here this is not the case) I feel you’ll have to make a tremendous amount of effort for something that would probably be better as a board game with limited options and clear rules. In a board game, if someone draws a ‘you betray another player’ card, it’s not the player’s fault, it’s the designer’s, and you all signed up for this to be possible. When you betray your real life friend in a made-up scenario and could have chosen a different action, it can feel different. Because there’s so little substance here, it’s near impossible to playtest this – this is a game that will turn out very differently at different tables – and I have my doubts about how playable this is, and how much fun it will turn out to be.
( Game Description )
This sounds so not like me that I wondered why I grabbed it; probably because someone mentioned it positively? I’d like to think that even a year or two ago I was more discerning. Cold War, spy stories, betrayals… not the first things I’d gravitate to.
Since the random tables are very brief and don’t combine well (if you want to combine multiple tables, all entries need to work with every other entry; here this is not the case) I feel you’ll have to make a tremendous amount of effort for something that would probably be better as a board game with limited options and clear rules. In a board game, if someone draws a ‘you betray another player’ card, it’s not the player’s fault, it’s the designer’s, and you all signed up for this to be possible. When you betray your real life friend in a made-up scenario and could have chosen a different action, it can feel different. Because there’s so little substance here, it’s near impossible to playtest this – this is a game that will turn out very differently at different tables – and I have my doubts about how playable this is, and how much fun it will turn out to be.
November 2025 in Review
Nov. 30th, 2025 10:29 amjames_davis_nicoll
21 works reviewed. 11 by women (52%), 10 by men (48%), 0 by non-binary authors (0%), 0 by authors whose gender is unknown (0%), and 8 by POC (38%).
Book by book, closer to aleph null.
November 2025 in Review
The Incredible Umbrella (Incredible Umbrella, volume 1) by Marvin Kaye
Nov. 30th, 2025 09:17 amjames_davis_nicoll
An academic's dismal prospects are transformed by a magical umbrella.
The Incredible Umbrella (Incredible Umbrella, volume 1) by Marvin Kaye
🥾🍭📟 Playthrough/Review: Scroll of Changes
Nov. 30th, 2025 11:04 amsolo_knightPlaythrough/Review: Scroll of Changes
( Game Description )
I’m happy this thing exists but it didn’t work for me at all. Part of it is that it’s just so fussy, and I had to constantly look things up. Part of it is that the instructions about what kind of event the characters meet are just a bit too vague.
A giant turn-off, the thing that made me want to not use this at all, is that it encouraged me to think about success/failure (you have to use a binary result as part of the system), and that I was rushing through the gameplay/story creation to reach the next step in the gamified system. That’s partly my fault – I wanted to simulate the use of this tool and did not want to spend days or weeks playing, one event at a time. At the same time, ‘the characters will encounter an event of this magnitude’ ruined the discovery for me, and I found myself un-inspired.
The longer I engaged, the less I liked it.
I need to go back and think about whether this type of mental oracle – what *type* of challenge am I facing – is useful and/or fun, and how this list compares to other GMing tools.
With the DM in the driving seat, I can see how determining ‘this is a skirmish’ vs ‘this is the Big Bad’ and ‘this encounter is about the party growing together’ or ‘this is about discovering a truth about the world’. (I _think_ Ironsworn works a bit like that? I’m just leaving this as a note to self). Coming at it from a player perspective, you obviously have an idea about where in a storyline you are – at the beginning, near the resolution – but emergent gameplay and unexpected complications are a big part of the fun, as are ambiguous results (you killed the Big Bad, but you lost something important, and discovered a third thing. Is this a success or a failure?
Having thought more about the process it’s entirely possible that this type of oracle – an oracle shaping the mood/theme of an encounter – would work for me; this particular resource definitely doesn’t.
Here, the Marie Kondo lens is definitely an asset. I was quite excited to try this out, but found the actual gameplay uninspiring; this does not spark joy for me.
( Game Description )
I’m happy this thing exists but it didn’t work for me at all. Part of it is that it’s just so fussy, and I had to constantly look things up. Part of it is that the instructions about what kind of event the characters meet are just a bit too vague.
A giant turn-off, the thing that made me want to not use this at all, is that it encouraged me to think about success/failure (you have to use a binary result as part of the system), and that I was rushing through the gameplay/story creation to reach the next step in the gamified system. That’s partly my fault – I wanted to simulate the use of this tool and did not want to spend days or weeks playing, one event at a time. At the same time, ‘the characters will encounter an event of this magnitude’ ruined the discovery for me, and I found myself un-inspired.
The longer I engaged, the less I liked it.
I need to go back and think about whether this type of mental oracle – what *type* of challenge am I facing – is useful and/or fun, and how this list compares to other GMing tools.
With the DM in the driving seat, I can see how determining ‘this is a skirmish’ vs ‘this is the Big Bad’ and ‘this encounter is about the party growing together’ or ‘this is about discovering a truth about the world’. (I _think_ Ironsworn works a bit like that? I’m just leaving this as a note to self). Coming at it from a player perspective, you obviously have an idea about where in a storyline you are – at the beginning, near the resolution – but emergent gameplay and unexpected complications are a big part of the fun, as are ambiguous results (you killed the Big Bad, but you lost something important, and discovered a third thing. Is this a success or a failure?
Having thought more about the process it’s entirely possible that this type of oracle – an oracle shaping the mood/theme of an encounter – would work for me; this particular resource definitely doesn’t.
Here, the Marie Kondo lens is definitely an asset. I was quite excited to try this out, but found the actual gameplay uninspiring; this does not spark joy for me.
Look! I remembered to post before December started this year!
Nov. 30th, 2025 02:42 am![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
denise posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_newsHello, friends! It's about to be December again, and you know what that means: the fact I am posting this actually before December 1 means karzilla reminded me about the existence of linear time again. Wait, no -- well, yes, but also -- okay, look, let me back up and start again: it's almost December, and that means it's time for our annual December holiday points bonus.
The standard explanation: For the entire month of December, all orders made in the Shop of points and paid time, either for you or as a gift for a friend, will have 10% of your completed cart total sent to you in points when you finish the transaction. For instance, if you buy an order of 12 months of paid time for $35 (350 points), you'll get 35 points when the order is complete, to use on a future purchase.
( The fine print and much more behind this cut! )
Thank you, in short, for being the best possible users any social media site could possibly ever hope for. I'm probably in danger of crossing the Sappiness Line if I haven't already, but you all make everything worth it.
On behalf of Mark, Jen, Robby, and our team of awesome volunteers, and to each and every one of you, whether you've been with us on this wild ride since the beginning or just signed up last week, I'm wishing you all a very happy set of end-of-year holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and hoping for all of you that your 2026 is full of kindness, determination, empathy, and a hell of a lot more luck than we've all had lately. Let's go.
karzilla reminded me about the existence of linear time again. Wait, no -- well, yes, but also -- okay, look, let me back up and start again: it's almost December, and that means it's time for our annual December holiday points bonus.The standard explanation: For the entire month of December, all orders made in the Shop of points and paid time, either for you or as a gift for a friend, will have 10% of your completed cart total sent to you in points when you finish the transaction. For instance, if you buy an order of 12 months of paid time for $35 (350 points), you'll get 35 points when the order is complete, to use on a future purchase.
( The fine print and much more behind this cut! )
Thank you, in short, for being the best possible users any social media site could possibly ever hope for. I'm probably in danger of crossing the Sappiness Line if I haven't already, but you all make everything worth it.
On behalf of Mark, Jen, Robby, and our team of awesome volunteers, and to each and every one of you, whether you've been with us on this wild ride since the beginning or just signed up last week, I'm wishing you all a very happy set of end-of-year holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and hoping for all of you that your 2026 is full of kindness, determination, empathy, and a hell of a lot more luck than we've all had lately. Let's go.
My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's Vol. 6
Nov. 29th, 2025 10:51 ammarycatelli posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
booksMy Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's Vol. 6 by Matsuri Akai
Spoilers ahead for the earlier volumes.
( Read more... )
Spoilers ahead for the earlier volumes.
( Read more... )
Books Received, November 22 — November 28
Nov. 29th, 2025 08:58 amjames_davis_nicoll
Eight books new to me. Five fantasy, one horror, two science fiction, of which two are series and six may not be.
Books Received, November 22 — November 28
Poll #33890 Books Received, November 22 — November 28
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 62
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
Kill All Wizards by Jedediah Berry (June 2026)
21 (33.9%)
The Franchise by Thomas Elrod (May 2026)
10 (16.1%)
Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden (July 2026)
3 (4.8%)
Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer (June 2026)
30 (48.4%)
Inkpot Gods by Seanan McGuire (June 2026)
20 (32.3%)
Cursed Ever After by Andy C. Naranjo (June 2026)
7 (11.3%)
For Human Use by Sarah G. Pierce (February 2026)
3 (4.8%)
The War Beyond by Andrea Stewart (November 2025)
10 (16.1%)
Some other option (see comments)
1 (1.6%)
Cats!
44 (71.0%)
First Impressions: Runecairn Wardensaga
Nov. 29th, 2025 12:07 amsolo_knightFirst Impressions:
Runecairn Wardensaga
( Game Description )
Right now, I don’t have the brains to learn a whole new system and figure out how to solo it.
I have a lot of things to deal with right now, and just haven’t got the ability to concentrate on a new thing for hours when I have plenty of other books and systems vying for my attention. Just logging my Black Friday loot and all the things that came before is taking up all available processing space.
I’m definitely keeping this one around to read when I find the leisure.
Ironically, I haven’t skimmed enough to get a true taste of the setting, just the conceptual framework, From what I gather (I did poke at reviews a little), the game has a number of interesting mechanics around classes, levelling up, and death.
Unfortunately for Runecairn, one of the games on my desk that I am trying to make a priority and invest some time in is Vaesen, which is also a Norse Mythology inspired game (different time period, completely different mechanic) so, yeah: this one is in a queue through no fault of its own.
Runecairn Wardensaga
( Game Description )
Right now, I don’t have the brains to learn a whole new system and figure out how to solo it.
I have a lot of things to deal with right now, and just haven’t got the ability to concentrate on a new thing for hours when I have plenty of other books and systems vying for my attention. Just logging my Black Friday loot and all the things that came before is taking up all available processing space.
I’m definitely keeping this one around to read when I find the leisure.
Ironically, I haven’t skimmed enough to get a true taste of the setting, just the conceptual framework, From what I gather (I did poke at reviews a little), the game has a number of interesting mechanics around classes, levelling up, and death.
Unfortunately for Runecairn, one of the games on my desk that I am trying to make a priority and invest some time in is Vaesen, which is also a Norse Mythology inspired game (different time period, completely different mechanic) so, yeah: this one is in a queue through no fault of its own.
The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine, Vol. 6
Nov. 28th, 2025 02:09 pmmarycatelli posting in booksThe Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine, Vol. 6 by Grrr
Spoilers ahead for the earlier books.
( Read more... )
Spoilers ahead for the earlier books.
( Read more... )
James and the Commute Home
Nov. 28th, 2025 09:19 amjames_davis_nicollWell, that was more close brushes with performing CPR than I consider ideal for a commute...
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
