James Davis Nicoll
@jdnicoll.bsky.social
Reviewer, Essayist, Hugo, Aurora, and Darwin Award finalist.
The Man Who Came Early by Poul Anderson
What hope has 10th century Icelandic culture against an armed and moderately educated 20th century American?
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/day-i...
What hope has 10th century Icelandic culture against an armed and moderately educated 20th century American?
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/day-i...
Day Is Done
Poul Anderson’s 1956 short story, The Man Who Came Early, is a Morganade.
Other Icelanders might rebuke, drive away or even kill a visiting Christian missionary. Ospak Ulfsson of Hillstead has a more ...
jamesdavisnicoll.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:08 PM
The Man Who Came Early by Poul Anderson
What hope has 10th century Icelandic culture against an armed and moderately educated 20th century American?
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/day-i...
What hope has 10th century Icelandic culture against an armed and moderately educated 20th century American?
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/day-i...
Bundle of Holding: Downcrawl-Skycrawl
Downcrawl and Skycrawl, twin toolkits from designer Aaron A. Reed that help you create spontaneous tabletop roleplaying adventures in the Deep, Deep Down and the Azure Etern.
bundleofholding.com/presents/Dow...
#ttrpg
Downcrawl and Skycrawl, twin toolkits from designer Aaron A. Reed that help you create spontaneous tabletop roleplaying adventures in the Deep, Deep Down and the Azure Etern.
bundleofholding.com/presents/Dow...
#ttrpg
Downcrawl-Skycrawl Bundle
Adventurer! This new Downcrawl-Skycrawl Bundle presents Downcrawl and Skycrawl, twin toolkits from designer Aaron A. Reed that help you create spontaneous tabletop roleplaying adventures in the Deep, ...
bundleofholding.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Bundle of Holding: Downcrawl-Skycrawl
Downcrawl and Skycrawl, twin toolkits from designer Aaron A. Reed that help you create spontaneous tabletop roleplaying adventures in the Deep, Deep Down and the Azure Etern.
bundleofholding.com/presents/Dow...
#ttrpg
Downcrawl and Skycrawl, twin toolkits from designer Aaron A. Reed that help you create spontaneous tabletop roleplaying adventures in the Deep, Deep Down and the Azure Etern.
bundleofholding.com/presents/Dow...
#ttrpg
Someone firmly asserted to me that I should follow backing ttrpg kickstarters or purchasing ttrpgs by actually reading or even playing the games in question. Are they communists?
February 16, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Someone firmly asserted to me that I should follow backing ttrpg kickstarters or purchasing ttrpgs by actually reading or even playing the games in question. Are they communists?
Reposted by James Davis Nicoll
I feel ashamed to share this, but it's where things are at, with no solution in sight, so I am sharing. I apologize.
www.gofundme.com/f/support-te...
www.gofundme.com/f/support-te...
Donate to Support Teri Hall now facing a Brain Tumor Diagnosis, organized by Christy Raedeke
This is not a fundraiser I ever imagined writing. More than a dec… Christy Raedeke needs your support for Support Teri Hall now facing a Brain Tumor Diagnosis
www.gofundme.com
February 16, 2026 at 5:47 PM
I feel ashamed to share this, but it's where things are at, with no solution in sight, so I am sharing. I apologize.
www.gofundme.com/f/support-te...
www.gofundme.com/f/support-te...
I wonder how aliens will react to the English name for the galaxy involving a bodily secretion.
February 16, 2026 at 1:54 AM
I wonder how aliens will react to the English name for the galaxy involving a bodily secretion.
If I ever run into one my old shop teachers, I will complement them on how nobody died.
February 15, 2026 at 10:50 PM
If I ever run into one my old shop teachers, I will complement them on how nobody died.
I love how supergroups often have mixes like Paragon of Human Development, One Man Tank, Mage, Omega-level Telepath, Actual God, and Guy Who is An Above Average Archer.
February 15, 2026 at 8:21 PM
I love how supergroups often have mixes like Paragon of Human Development, One Man Tank, Mage, Omega-level Telepath, Actual God, and Guy Who is An Above Average Archer.
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
Ben Reich plans a perfect murder in a world where getting away with murder is impossible.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/mind-...
Ben Reich plans a perfect murder in a world where getting away with murder is impossible.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/mind-...
Mind Games
Alfred Bester’s 1953 The Demolished Man is a stand-alone science fiction police-procedural novel.
Monarch Utilities & Resources is an established but declining commercial concern. Owner Ben Reich...
jamesdavisnicoll.com
February 15, 2026 at 12:12 PM
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
Ben Reich plans a perfect murder in a world where getting away with murder is impossible.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/mind-...
Ben Reich plans a perfect murder in a world where getting away with murder is impossible.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/mind-...
Ever see a title unfamiliar to you, only to discover the author's career was kneecapped by stupid publisher tricks?
I have as well.
I have as well.
February 14, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Ever see a title unfamiliar to you, only to discover the author's career was kneecapped by stupid publisher tricks?
I have as well.
I have as well.
Books Received, February 7 to February 13
Nine books new to me: 3 horror, 4 mystery, 1 non-fiction, and 1 science fiction, although I am not sure about the proper categorization of some of those books. Only one is explicitly part of a series. First 4 covers!
jamesdavisnicoll.com/post/books-r...
Nine books new to me: 3 horror, 4 mystery, 1 non-fiction, and 1 science fiction, although I am not sure about the proper categorization of some of those books. Only one is explicitly part of a series. First 4 covers!
jamesdavisnicoll.com/post/books-r...
February 14, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Books Received, February 7 to February 13
Nine books new to me: 3 horror, 4 mystery, 1 non-fiction, and 1 science fiction, although I am not sure about the proper categorization of some of those books. Only one is explicitly part of a series. First 4 covers!
jamesdavisnicoll.com/post/books-r...
Nine books new to me: 3 horror, 4 mystery, 1 non-fiction, and 1 science fiction, although I am not sure about the proper categorization of some of those books. Only one is explicitly part of a series. First 4 covers!
jamesdavisnicoll.com/post/books-r...
On this day, Captain James Cook decided to spend the rest of his life in Hawaii.
February 14, 2026 at 5:08 AM
On this day, Captain James Cook decided to spend the rest of his life in Hawaii.
Elon Musk downgrades empty Mars Colony pledge to empty Lunar Colony pledge
www.thebeaverton.com/2026/02/elon...
www.thebeaverton.com/2026/02/elon...
Elon Musk downgrades empty Mars Colony pledge to empty Lunar Colony pledge
BROWNSVILLE, TX - Tech visionary Elon Musk astounded observers when he set aside more than a decade of unfulfilled vows to colonize the Red Planet in favour of the seemingly more modest goal of failin...
www.thebeaverton.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Elon Musk downgrades empty Mars Colony pledge to empty Lunar Colony pledge
www.thebeaverton.com/2026/02/elon...
www.thebeaverton.com/2026/02/elon...
If my two 2025 Beaverton pieces qualify for short fiction awards, does it follow that they should also qualify for the ISFDB?
February 13, 2026 at 9:10 PM
If my two 2025 Beaverton pieces qualify for short fiction awards, does it follow that they should also qualify for the ISFDB?
Someone was playing with ttrpg alignment elsewhere. I proposed the following:
Order vs Chaos, Habit vs Improvisation, and Asocial vs Social.
The first is a measure of how organized someone is, the next how they perform tasks, and the third how often they seek out other people.
(con't)
Order vs Chaos, Habit vs Improvisation, and Asocial vs Social.
The first is a measure of how organized someone is, the next how they perform tasks, and the third how often they seek out other people.
(con't)
February 13, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Someone was playing with ttrpg alignment elsewhere. I proposed the following:
Order vs Chaos, Habit vs Improvisation, and Asocial vs Social.
The first is a measure of how organized someone is, the next how they perform tasks, and the third how often they seek out other people.
(con't)
Order vs Chaos, Habit vs Improvisation, and Asocial vs Social.
The first is a measure of how organized someone is, the next how they perform tasks, and the third how often they seek out other people.
(con't)
Assuming one can trust Wikipedia, 5000 people live in Brokenwood. If each season is a year, then Brokenwood has etween 4 and 6 murders per year. Probably towards the high end as some episodes have multiple murder. This means Brokenwood has one of the highest murder rates on Earth.
(con't)
(con't)
February 13, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Assuming one can trust Wikipedia, 5000 people live in Brokenwood. If each season is a year, then Brokenwood has etween 4 and 6 murders per year. Probably towards the high end as some episodes have multiple murder. This means Brokenwood has one of the highest murder rates on Earth.
(con't)
(con't)
That's not really fair to ICE. They do plan to imprison all POC, political dissidents, queer people, and (If Fuentes is the next President) most women as well. They just have not had time to get to those goals.
As Americans are struggling with grocery bills and rent, ICE has spent more than $500 million to buy industrial warehouses with a goal of transforming these structures into mass detention camps to jail our immigrant neighbors:
americasvoice.org/blog/america...
americasvoice.org/blog/america...
Americans Can’t Afford Food, Yet ICE Is Spending Hundreds of Millions To Convert Industrial Warehouses Into Mass Detention Camps - America's Voice
When it comes to its barbaric and deadly mass deportation agenda, the federal government has been blowing through taxpayer money like it’s going out of style, spending more than $500 million dollars t...
americasvoice.org
February 13, 2026 at 3:50 PM
That's not really fair to ICE. They do plan to imprison all POC, political dissidents, queer people, and (If Fuentes is the next President) most women as well. They just have not had time to get to those goals.
Hrm. Seen at a Terf Island publisher:
Not available for shipping to the following countries:
American Samoa
Canada
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Philippines
Puerto Rico
United States of America
Virgin Islands, U.S.
(con't)
Not available for shipping to the following countries:
American Samoa
Canada
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Philippines
Puerto Rico
United States of America
Virgin Islands, U.S.
(con't)
February 13, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Hrm. Seen at a Terf Island publisher:
Not available for shipping to the following countries:
American Samoa
Canada
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Philippines
Puerto Rico
United States of America
Virgin Islands, U.S.
(con't)
Not available for shipping to the following countries:
American Samoa
Canada
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
United States Minor Outlying Islands
Philippines
Puerto Rico
United States of America
Virgin Islands, U.S.
(con't)
I have no doubt that when the Democrats get back in, they will act as decisively towards ICE as Obama did wrt Guantanamo.
February 13, 2026 at 2:44 PM
I have no doubt that when the Democrats get back in, they will act as decisively towards ICE as Obama did wrt Guantanamo.
Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery) by Mia P. Manansala
Lila Macapagal's quest to keep her aunt's ailing restaurant afloat is greatly complicated when a pesky foodblogger dies mid-meal... with Lila as the most likely murder suspect.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/murde...
Lila Macapagal's quest to keep her aunt's ailing restaurant afloat is greatly complicated when a pesky foodblogger dies mid-meal... with Lila as the most likely murder suspect.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/murde...
Murder Scene
2021’s
Arsenic and Adobo is the first volume in Mia P. Manansala’s Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery cozy mystery series.
Having discovered her fiancé in bed with her neighbour, Lila Macapagal dumped him a...
jamesdavisnicoll.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery) by Mia P. Manansala
Lila Macapagal's quest to keep her aunt's ailing restaurant afloat is greatly complicated when a pesky foodblogger dies mid-meal... with Lila as the most likely murder suspect.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/murde...
Lila Macapagal's quest to keep her aunt's ailing restaurant afloat is greatly complicated when a pesky foodblogger dies mid-meal... with Lila as the most likely murder suspect.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/murde...
What legal authority applies to data centres on the Moon?
February 12, 2026 at 4:33 PM
What legal authority applies to data centres on the Moon?
New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine: Volume I, Number 3, edited by Oliver Brackenbury
A sample issue of New Edge Sword & Sorcery, whose 2026 funding drive goes live today.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/timel...
A sample issue of New Edge Sword & Sorcery, whose 2026 funding drive goes live today.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/timel...
Timeless In Your finery
2024’s New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine: Volume I, Number 3 is the fourth1 issue of the Oliver Brackenbury-edited sword and sorcery magazine2.
Why review Volume 1, Number 3 and not, say, the firs...
jamesdavisnicoll.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:37 PM
New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine: Volume I, Number 3, edited by Oliver Brackenbury
A sample issue of New Edge Sword & Sorcery, whose 2026 funding drive goes live today.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/timel...
A sample issue of New Edge Sword & Sorcery, whose 2026 funding drive goes live today.
jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/timel...
According to Wikipedia, one of Benjamin Alarie,
Harold Albrecht, John English, Graeme Smith, or, uh, me.
Harold Albrecht, John English, Graeme Smith, or, uh, me.
Who's the most famous alum of your high school?
I'll go first: David Draiman of Disturbed
I'll go first: David Draiman of Disturbed
guys i just found out i went to the same high school as howard lutnick. please respect my privacy at this time.
February 12, 2026 at 5:33 AM
According to Wikipedia, one of Benjamin Alarie,
Harold Albrecht, John English, Graeme Smith, or, uh, me.
Harold Albrecht, John English, Graeme Smith, or, uh, me.
Because I happened to have looked up Ellery Queen and James P. Hogan for unrelated reasons, I know know that there was a director named James P. Hogan and that he directed Ellery Queen movies.
February 12, 2026 at 4:51 AM
Because I happened to have looked up Ellery Queen and James P. Hogan for unrelated reasons, I know know that there was a director named James P. Hogan and that he directed Ellery Queen movies.
Canada's critical crocodile shortage to be addressed?
Concerned about the Point of No Return? Today we published a paper on the risk of a hothouse Earth trajectory. You can read it here: authors.elsevier.com/c/1mbW49C~Iu...
February 12, 2026 at 2:56 AM
Canada's critical crocodile shortage to be addressed?
I started listening to something I assumed would be about the Vagont Dam disaster but instead it's about the Gleno Dam disaster. How many major dam catastrophes has Italy experienced?
February 12, 2026 at 12:37 AM
I started listening to something I assumed would be about the Vagont Dam disaster but instead it's about the Gleno Dam disaster. How many major dam catastrophes has Italy experienced?