Charlie Stross
@cstross.bsky.social
SFF author, triple Hugo award winner (and three times Locus award too), over a million books sold.
Mostly on Mastodon: @cstross@wandering.shop
Blog: https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/
Mostly on Mastodon: @cstross@wandering.shop
Blog: https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/
Reposted by Charlie Stross
All the discourse about Manga dominance of US/UK comic shelves seems to miss out survivorship bias.
The Manga we get isn't randomly selected.
The success isn't in the Manga formula (altho' much better digital presentation).
It's cos we get the best of western friendly and don't see the worst.
The Manga we get isn't randomly selected.
The success isn't in the Manga formula (altho' much better digital presentation).
It's cos we get the best of western friendly and don't see the worst.
February 16, 2026 at 6:03 PM
All the discourse about Manga dominance of US/UK comic shelves seems to miss out survivorship bias.
The Manga we get isn't randomly selected.
The success isn't in the Manga formula (altho' much better digital presentation).
It's cos we get the best of western friendly and don't see the worst.
The Manga we get isn't randomly selected.
The success isn't in the Manga formula (altho' much better digital presentation).
It's cos we get the best of western friendly and don't see the worst.
Reposted by Charlie Stross
This is IMO fully consistent with Sir Keir being exactly what he appears to be: a clueless bonnet ornament on a car filled with crooks and shit gangsters, forever staring directly ahead, oblivious to the horrors behind.
February 16, 2026 at 1:21 PM
This is IMO fully consistent with Sir Keir being exactly what he appears to be: a clueless bonnet ornament on a car filled with crooks and shit gangsters, forever staring directly ahead, oblivious to the horrors behind.
Reposted by Charlie Stross
So our DOJ, instead of investigating and prosecuting the known crimes of pedophiles and ICE...is searching social media to find people who oppose ICE's criminal behavior and disapprove of pedophiles found in the Epstein files. To make their lives easier, HERE I AM. And yes, Pam Bondi,
February 16, 2026 at 1:32 PM
So our DOJ, instead of investigating and prosecuting the known crimes of pedophiles and ICE...is searching social media to find people who oppose ICE's criminal behavior and disapprove of pedophiles found in the Epstein files. To make their lives easier, HERE I AM. And yes, Pam Bondi,
Reposted by Charlie Stross
It was a fairy roadworks, they were doing stuff on the Other Side so had to close the mundane road too for safety. Happens a lot but they don’t want to draw attention to it, for obvious reasons.
February 16, 2026 at 9:32 AM
It was a fairy roadworks, they were doing stuff on the Other Side so had to close the mundane road too for safety. Happens a lot but they don’t want to draw attention to it, for obvious reasons.
Reposted by Charlie Stross
Friday, cones and signs outside the house closing a lane of the road. This morning, everything is gone but _no roadworks were ever done_. It's like an incredibly mundane dream.
February 16, 2026 at 9:29 AM
Friday, cones and signs outside the house closing a lane of the road. This morning, everything is gone but _no roadworks were ever done_. It's like an incredibly mundane dream.
Reposted by Charlie Stross
A romance cartoon for the @theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 10:30 AM
A romance cartoon for the @theguardian.com
Yes, but what about his arse leeches (Placobdelloides jaegerskioeldi)? Do hippo arse leeches go to heaven too?
I saw the hippopotamus arise,
clap his broad wings & soaring, claim the skies.
Angels sing him in, saints bring him in
to PARADISE!
In pure flood, of lamb’s blood
he’s laundered neat.
With gold harp, in F-flat,
he’s singing sweet.
6/7
clap his broad wings & soaring, claim the skies.
Angels sing him in, saints bring him in
to PARADISE!
In pure flood, of lamb’s blood
he’s laundered neat.
With gold harp, in F-flat,
he’s singing sweet.
6/7
February 15, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Yes, but what about his arse leeches (Placobdelloides jaegerskioeldi)? Do hippo arse leeches go to heaven too?
Make that four raccoons in a trench coat, *but* one of them is a brown bear that outweighs the rest by 9:1 and keeps dragging them places they don't want to go, and the fourth raccoon has dissociative identity disorder and is self-medicating with cocaine (hint: Northern Ireland)
I love @cstross.bsky.social 's description: The UK isn't a country, but 4 raccoons in a trenchcoat.
February 15, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Make that four raccoons in a trench coat, *but* one of them is a brown bear that outweighs the rest by 9:1 and keeps dragging them places they don't want to go, and the fourth raccoon has dissociative identity disorder and is self-medicating with cocaine (hint: Northern Ireland)
Reposted by Charlie Stross
Explaining the plot of Scooby-Doo to my daughter and realizing the central irony of the show is that the gang cruises around looking for magic and mysteries that never pan out, while the only truly supernatural element is the talking dog they all ignore.
February 14, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Explaining the plot of Scooby-Doo to my daughter and realizing the central irony of the show is that the gang cruises around looking for magic and mysteries that never pan out, while the only truly supernatural element is the talking dog they all ignore.
ULTIMATE PIZZA FTW!!
What we do with leftover takeout naan is spread brinjal auberjine pickle on it and cover it in sharp cheddar, then grill it until the cheese is all bubbly. Heavenly.
If you don't have overhead grills in America this might be hard, though.
If you don't have overhead grills in America this might be hard, though.
February 15, 2026 at 11:25 AM
ULTIMATE PIZZA FTW!!
Reposted by Charlie Stross
Pigeons taking the tube mediachomp.com/magical-worl...
Magical Worlds Fantasy Concept
headspace-hotel came up with this neat fantasy concept that there are lots of different magical worlds and all of them have different...
mediachomp.com
February 15, 2026 at 9:29 AM
Pigeons taking the tube mediachomp.com/magical-worl...
Reposted by Charlie Stross
"had much the same effect as a PhD in the social anthropology of necromancers, or the necrotic sociology of anthropophagists, or maybe both" -- @cstross.bsky.social
February 15, 2026 at 5:48 AM
"had much the same effect as a PhD in the social anthropology of necromancers, or the necrotic sociology of anthropophagists, or maybe both" -- @cstross.bsky.social
— Realizes he wrote that novel 20 years ago
— Sees self in mirror
— Crumbles to grave-dust
— Sees self in mirror
— Crumbles to grave-dust
...and I really _must_ dig that out and read it again (along with Rule 34). It may be 20 years old, but it's _still_ a banger. 3:O)>
February 14, 2026 at 9:12 PM
— Realizes he wrote that novel 20 years ago
— Sees self in mirror
— Crumbles to grave-dust
— Sees self in mirror
— Crumbles to grave-dust
Reposted by Charlie Stross
For the afternoon crew! RELEASE DAY: Daywalker's Leman
Lili Saintcrow | RELEASE DAY: Daywalker’s Leman
Been a while since we’ve had a release day around here, hasn’t it? So many re-releases, but now we’re back to the usual. Well, not exactly. A while ago, a very dear friend of mine…
www.lilithsaintcrow.com
February 14, 2026 at 8:03 PM
For the afternoon crew! RELEASE DAY: Daywalker's Leman
I look forward to the first time the lithium battery pack wrapped around a walker's ankle catches fire and burns to the bone
Nike's battery-powered footwear system, which propels wearers forward, is part of a broader push to help humans move farther and faster.
'E-bike for your feet': How bionic sneakers could change human mobility
Nike's battery-powered footwear system, which propels wearers forward, is part of a broader push to help humans move farther and faster.
n.pr
February 14, 2026 at 4:07 PM
I look forward to the first time the lithium battery pack wrapped around a walker's ankle catches fire and burns to the bone
Reposted by Charlie Stross
black holes are just regular neutron stars with social anxiety. change my mind
February 14, 2026 at 1:25 PM
black holes are just regular neutron stars with social anxiety. change my mind
Reposted by Charlie Stross
Donald Trump v the BBC: it should be easy to know side you’re on. We should rally to the cause of public service broadcasting before it’s too late app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/72423/...
Trump’s attack on the BBC is a harbinger of much worse to come
The BBC has its problems—but they are nothing compared to the American billionaires who control much of US media
app.prospectmagazine.co.uk
February 14, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Donald Trump v the BBC: it should be easy to know side you’re on. We should rally to the cause of public service broadcasting before it’s too late app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/72423/...
Reposted by Charlie Stross
If you (probably wisely) haven't caught up with the Telegraph recently it is saying exactly what you think it is. 🙄
February 14, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Reposted by Charlie Stross
I thought I was middle class until I went to university. Then I overheard a middle class girl tell her friend “I don’t know why anyone would choose to be poor, if I were poor I’d just invest £10,000 of my savings into stocks and reinvest the dividends until I had a sustainable passive income”
February 14, 2026 at 10:53 AM
I thought I was middle class until I went to university. Then I overheard a middle class girl tell her friend “I don’t know why anyone would choose to be poor, if I were poor I’d just invest £10,000 of my savings into stocks and reinvest the dividends until I had a sustainable passive income”
Reposted by Charlie Stross
What actual fuck.
I’m never eating a banana again.
I’m never eating a banana again.
February 13, 2026 at 6:33 PM
What actual fuck.
I’m never eating a banana again.
I’m never eating a banana again.
Reposted by Charlie Stross
Challenge accepted.
February 13, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Challenge accepted.
Reposted by Charlie Stross
What's a word that changes your opinion of someone when you hear them mis-pronounce it?
For me: 'et cetera'/'ecksetra'.
For me: 'et cetera'/'ecksetra'.
February 13, 2026 at 6:15 PM
What's a word that changes your opinion of someone when you hear them mis-pronounce it?
For me: 'et cetera'/'ecksetra'.
For me: 'et cetera'/'ecksetra'.
Reposted by Charlie Stross
you have to treat people like this with the same seriousness as you would a guy screaming at you about the lizard people on the street; they have a similar relationship with reality.
there would be no real concrete effects of an AOC presidency that would be materially different from a JD Vance presidency because they all work for the capitalist ruling class and not for us, yes including AOC. we don't need a different president we need a dictatorship of the proletariat.
This is about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
My earnest advice to you is to stop worrying about labels like "liberal" and "conservative" and think about the immediate, concrete, REAL effects of, say, an AOC presidency vs. A JD Vance presidency
My earnest advice to you is to stop worrying about labels like "liberal" and "conservative" and think about the immediate, concrete, REAL effects of, say, an AOC presidency vs. A JD Vance presidency
February 13, 2026 at 6:13 PM
you have to treat people like this with the same seriousness as you would a guy screaming at you about the lizard people on the street; they have a similar relationship with reality.
Reposted by Charlie Stross
Blocked the few Labour MPs I followed on here. The "good ones" who remain in a fascist party enforcing segregation and a new Section 28. Fuck them all. Even Nadia Whittome is a dick by this point. Labour is dead as a progressive party. I won't associate with their voters, bunch of nonces.
February 12, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Blocked the few Labour MPs I followed on here. The "good ones" who remain in a fascist party enforcing segregation and a new Section 28. Fuck them all. Even Nadia Whittome is a dick by this point. Labour is dead as a progressive party. I won't associate with their voters, bunch of nonces.
Reposted by Charlie Stross
That thing where you hope you're not in the hospital when you're supposed to be giving a lecture next week. I would not recommend heart failure, you guys, really puts a crimp in your giddyup.
February 13, 2026 at 5:52 PM
That thing where you hope you're not in the hospital when you're supposed to be giving a lecture next week. I would not recommend heart failure, you guys, really puts a crimp in your giddyup.