ben peek
@nosubstance.bsky.social
Author of The Godless, 26Lies, Dead Americans and other novels. Short fiction in Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, Nightmare, Overland, etc. Lives in the edges of Sydney, Australia.
http://linktr.ee/benpeek
http://linktr.ee/benpeek
Pinned
ben peek
@nosubstance.bsky.social
· Jun 5
The Red Labyrinth
The Red Labyrinth [Peek, Ben] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Red Labyrinth
www.amazon.com
I've got a new book out, The Red Labyrinth. It's a dark little novella about a giant underground labyrinth and a woman who starts a revolution inside it. Also, there are monks. Most of them are mad.
It's good for your friends. It's good for your enemies. It's good for completely random strangers.
It's good for your friends. It's good for your enemies. It's good for completely random strangers.
All this talk of short stories. Finished this collection by Arthur Miller this morning. Wasn’t a fan of all of it, but he’s got some good pieces in it, especially ‘Fitter’s Night’ and ‘The Misfits’.
November 23, 2025 at 8:17 PM
All this talk of short stories. Finished this collection by Arthur Miller this morning. Wasn’t a fan of all of it, but he’s got some good pieces in it, especially ‘Fitter’s Night’ and ‘The Misfits’.
Reposted by ben peek
Google has started automatically opting you in to let it read your stuff to train AI. You need to turn this off in SEVERAL places in your settings (not just for Gmail), if you want to maintain privacy and confidentiality.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
Gmail can read your emails and attachments to train its AI, unless you opt out
A new Gmail update may allow Google to use your private messages and attachments for AI training. Here's how to turn it off.
www.malwarebytes.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Google has started automatically opting you in to let it read your stuff to train AI. You need to turn this off in SEVERAL places in your settings (not just for Gmail), if you want to maintain privacy and confidentiality.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
Reposted by ben peek
Reposted by ben peek
This study show that using poems to jailbreak LLMs is... super effective? What the heck.
November 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
This study show that using poems to jailbreak LLMs is... super effective? What the heck.
The things US Presidents say.
November 21, 2025 at 12:22 AM
The things US Presidents say.
Reposted by ben peek
A government that can’t bring itself to tax fossil fuel, big tech or any wealth properly but defunds its critical institutions is not a good government, sorry
November 18, 2025 at 8:17 PM
A government that can’t bring itself to tax fossil fuel, big tech or any wealth properly but defunds its critical institutions is not a good government, sorry
This week's No Substance if you missed it (and lets be honest, you probably did)
This week's No Substance is about the new Frankenstein.
I did not like it.
I did not like it.
No Substance #248: Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein
I am a big fan of Guillermo del Toro, but I am not a fan of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.
nosubstance.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:45 AM
This week's No Substance if you missed it (and lets be honest, you probably did)
I discovered this week that The Wizard of Earthsea still works for kids. It has been in print forever so I suppose I oughtn't be, but sometimes you wonder if those old books are surviving on nostalgia and vibe kicks cause everything (rightly) changes. But Earthsea is still alright, I am told.
November 19, 2025 at 2:43 AM
I discovered this week that The Wizard of Earthsea still works for kids. It has been in print forever so I suppose I oughtn't be, but sometimes you wonder if those old books are surviving on nostalgia and vibe kicks cause everything (rightly) changes. But Earthsea is still alright, I am told.
Reposted by ben peek
This week's No Substance is about the new Frankenstein.
I did not like it.
I did not like it.
No Substance #248: Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein
I am a big fan of Guillermo del Toro, but I am not a fan of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.
nosubstance.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:19 AM
This week's No Substance is about the new Frankenstein.
I did not like it.
I did not like it.
This week's No Substance is about the new Frankenstein.
I did not like it.
I did not like it.
No Substance #248: Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein
I am a big fan of Guillermo del Toro, but I am not a fan of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.
nosubstance.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:19 AM
This week's No Substance is about the new Frankenstein.
I did not like it.
I did not like it.
Every time I read about Szalay’s Flesh it sounds awful. It’s a real feat in marketing.
November 17, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Every time I read about Szalay’s Flesh it sounds awful. It’s a real feat in marketing.
Reposted by ben peek
Ben's novella is an outstanding work of dark fantasy with a richly imagined setting and vivid, complex characters. Great book.
Convincing you to read my novel by the first sentence. Share yours if you want.
From The Red Labyrinth
From The Red Labyrinth
November 11, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Ben's novella is an outstanding work of dark fantasy with a richly imagined setting and vivid, complex characters. Great book.
Convincing you to read my novel by the first sentence. Share yours if you want.
From The Red Labyrinth
From The Red Labyrinth
November 11, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Convincing you to read my novel by the first sentence. Share yours if you want.
From The Red Labyrinth
From The Red Labyrinth
Reposted by ben peek
This week's No Substance. I talk a little about Javier Serena's Last Words on Earth, a fictionalised recount of the live of Roberto Bolaño.
Please enjoy.
Please enjoy.
No Substance #247: Last Words on Earth by Javier Serena
Book I am a big fan of Roberto Bolaño’s work.
nosubstance.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:12 PM
This week's No Substance. I talk a little about Javier Serena's Last Words on Earth, a fictionalised recount of the live of Roberto Bolaño.
Please enjoy.
Please enjoy.
The great Japanese actor Nakadai Tatsuya has died at the age of 92. He was in some amazing films including The Human Condition trilogy, Ran, Kwaidan, and my personal favourite Harakiri.
If you've never seen any, do yourself a favour.
If you've never seen any, do yourself a favour.
1962 - Harakiri Trailer
YouTube video by Trailers Through Time
www.youtube.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:27 AM
The great Japanese actor Nakadai Tatsuya has died at the age of 92. He was in some amazing films including The Human Condition trilogy, Ran, Kwaidan, and my personal favourite Harakiri.
If you've never seen any, do yourself a favour.
If you've never seen any, do yourself a favour.
A truly excellent actor. Harakiri is an amazing film.
Nakadai Tatsuya has passed away, aged 92. He was one of the greats of Japanese screen actors, appearing in The Human Condition, Harakiri, Kwaidan, Ran, Sword of Doom, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and many, many others.
November 11, 2025 at 4:19 AM
A truly excellent actor. Harakiri is an amazing film.
This week's No Substance. I talk a little about Javier Serena's Last Words on Earth, a fictionalised recount of the live of Roberto Bolaño.
Please enjoy.
Please enjoy.
No Substance #247: Last Words on Earth by Javier Serena
Book I am a big fan of Roberto Bolaño’s work.
nosubstance.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:12 PM
This week's No Substance. I talk a little about Javier Serena's Last Words on Earth, a fictionalised recount of the live of Roberto Bolaño.
Please enjoy.
Please enjoy.
Male edition arrived yesterday, so have both editions of this excellent book now.
November 10, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Male edition arrived yesterday, so have both editions of this excellent book now.
I had one of those vegan, plant based Gaytimes today. I literally couldn’t tell you the difference between it and a real one.
November 7, 2025 at 6:14 AM
I had one of those vegan, plant based Gaytimes today. I literally couldn’t tell you the difference between it and a real one.
It's nice to hear Mamdani won. It's even nicer, though, to hear that Dick Cheney is still dead.
November 5, 2025 at 5:11 AM
It's nice to hear Mamdani won. It's even nicer, though, to hear that Dick Cheney is still dead.
I hear the American kids adopting Australian slang. Someone told me they grabbed ‘sheila’ for some reason. Anyhow, for a minimal fee I’ll tell you about some of the better words like smoko, bogan, rooted, durry, and sickie. Americans could really so with learning what a sickie is.
November 4, 2025 at 7:55 PM
I hear the American kids adopting Australian slang. Someone told me they grabbed ‘sheila’ for some reason. Anyhow, for a minimal fee I’ll tell you about some of the better words like smoko, bogan, rooted, durry, and sickie. Americans could really so with learning what a sickie is.
Order a copy of the male edition of this excellent book today (I read the female edition when I wrote this)
This week's No Substance is about the really cool, really excellent Dictionary of the Khazars. It's so good you don't even need to read this. You should just buy a copy.
No Substance #246: Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić
This Week’s Book
nosubstance.substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Order a copy of the male edition of this excellent book today (I read the female edition when I wrote this)
Reposted by ben peek
This week's No Substance is about the really cool, really excellent Dictionary of the Khazars. It's so good you don't even need to read this. You should just buy a copy.
No Substance #246: Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić
This Week’s Book
nosubstance.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:56 AM
This week's No Substance is about the really cool, really excellent Dictionary of the Khazars. It's so good you don't even need to read this. You should just buy a copy.
This week's No Substance is about the really cool, really excellent Dictionary of the Khazars. It's so good you don't even need to read this. You should just buy a copy.
No Substance #246: Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić
This Week’s Book
nosubstance.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:56 AM
This week's No Substance is about the really cool, really excellent Dictionary of the Khazars. It's so good you don't even need to read this. You should just buy a copy.
You know, I can name more literary zombie novels than I can zombie horror novels.
November 1, 2025 at 5:17 AM
You know, I can name more literary zombie novels than I can zombie horror novels.