John Bierce
@johnbierce.bsky.social
Fantasy novelist, author of Mage Errant, The Wrack, and More Gods Than Stars. Science and history nerd, some flavor or other of leftist/Marxist/anarchist, can burp the alphabet.
johnbierce.com
johnbierce.com
Reposted by John Bierce
Take LoTR. The reason evil exists in the books is because the creator is singing new creations into existence and Melkor wants to co-opt the song. It’s the reason Sauron’s armies are twisted forms of elves. The evil in LoTR CANNOT CREATE, they can go “this thing looks like this other thing”
The far right is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and Musk keeps posting about "hobbits" because modern scientific racism owes more to fantasy worlds and gaming systems than genetic science, and they see both as effective mediums for right-wing propaganda www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why Elon Musk Needs Dungeons and Dragons to Be Racist
The fantastical roots of “scientific racism”
www.theatlantic.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Take LoTR. The reason evil exists in the books is because the creator is singing new creations into existence and Melkor wants to co-opt the song. It’s the reason Sauron’s armies are twisted forms of elves. The evil in LoTR CANNOT CREATE, they can go “this thing looks like this other thing”
Reposted by John Bierce
Reminder: If you use generative AI for *any of your writing tasks* you are a Slopper not a writer and should be ashamed of yourself. The end.
November 11, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Reminder: If you use generative AI for *any of your writing tasks* you are a Slopper not a writer and should be ashamed of yourself. The end.
Reposted by John Bierce
I really hope I never attract the attention of Joyce Carol Oates, Kendrick Lamar, or menswear guy.
November 11, 2025 at 6:39 PM
I really hope I never attract the attention of Joyce Carol Oates, Kendrick Lamar, or menswear guy.
Reposted by John Bierce
the very nasty people of Avalanche have been very unfair and hurt our beautiful mako reactors which are so green, so beautiful, we love them, we're all going to see mother
November 11, 2025 at 5:53 PM
the very nasty people of Avalanche have been very unfair and hurt our beautiful mako reactors which are so green, so beautiful, we love them, we're all going to see mother
Like most novelists these days, I get an absolute ton of spam marketing emails. The newest left in the ChatGPT prompts and tried to sell me marketing on a true crime book I didn't write.
Really makes me sad for the state of scamming today. Scammers used to take pride in their work, but, alas...
Really makes me sad for the state of scamming today. Scammers used to take pride in their work, but, alas...
November 11, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Like most novelists these days, I get an absolute ton of spam marketing emails. The newest left in the ChatGPT prompts and tried to sell me marketing on a true crime book I didn't write.
Really makes me sad for the state of scamming today. Scammers used to take pride in their work, but, alas...
Really makes me sad for the state of scamming today. Scammers used to take pride in their work, but, alas...
Convincing you to read my novel by the first sentence. Share yours if you want.
(Here's the opening of "The City That Would Eat the World", my socialist sword and sorcery novel featuring a pseudomedieval megastructure arcology, carnivorous public transit kaiju, and fingernail priests.)
(Here's the opening of "The City That Would Eat the World", my socialist sword and sorcery novel featuring a pseudomedieval megastructure arcology, carnivorous public transit kaiju, and fingernail priests.)
November 11, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Convincing you to read my novel by the first sentence. Share yours if you want.
(Here's the opening of "The City That Would Eat the World", my socialist sword and sorcery novel featuring a pseudomedieval megastructure arcology, carnivorous public transit kaiju, and fingernail priests.)
(Here's the opening of "The City That Would Eat the World", my socialist sword and sorcery novel featuring a pseudomedieval megastructure arcology, carnivorous public transit kaiju, and fingernail priests.)
Reposted by John Bierce
some years, Circulatory System Walking Through the Kitchen Day just completely sneaks up on you
November 10, 2025 at 1:28 PM
some years, Circulatory System Walking Through the Kitchen Day just completely sneaks up on you
Reposted by John Bierce
"i asked grok" "i asked chatgpt" yeah well i asked carl sagan and he said the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge 🧪
July 18, 2025 at 4:12 AM
"i asked grok" "i asked chatgpt" yeah well i asked carl sagan and he said the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge 🧪
Bonus points if you laugh maniacally while drinking it
you can just make a shirley temple at home. no one can stop you. you can have a silly little pink drink whenever you want.
November 7, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Bonus points if you laugh maniacally while drinking it
I was not expecting a Predator movie to be adorable and heartwarming, but Predator Badlands was adorable and heartwarming, and I absolutely loved it.
November 6, 2025 at 11:08 PM
I was not expecting a Predator movie to be adorable and heartwarming, but Predator Badlands was adorable and heartwarming, and I absolutely loved it.
Reposted by John Bierce
a crab is crawling on a sandy beach
ALT: a crab is crawling on a sandy beach
media.tenor.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Reposted by John Bierce
THE TIME TRAVELER'S PASSPORT is now available, a new collection from Amazon Original Stories. 99¢ each or free w/ Prime/KU membership. Stories by: John Scalzi, RF Kuang, Peng Shepherd, Kaliane Bradley, P. Djèlí Clark, & Olivie Blake.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0FN8CHTQD
www.amazon.com/dp/B0FN8CHTQD
November 3, 2025 at 10:32 PM
THE TIME TRAVELER'S PASSPORT is now available, a new collection from Amazon Original Stories. 99¢ each or free w/ Prime/KU membership. Stories by: John Scalzi, RF Kuang, Peng Shepherd, Kaliane Bradley, P. Djèlí Clark, & Olivie Blake.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0FN8CHTQD
www.amazon.com/dp/B0FN8CHTQD
My ex and I adopted our cats from here, they do wonderful work- please share, or even donate if you can!
We are literally drowning and need help!
The worst #flooding our area has seen in 60 years submerged our #CatShelter. Keeping the #cats safe was a huge challenge, and the shelter suffered significant damage.
Please watch and share the video or help us directly: www.vietnamcatwelfare.org/support/
The worst #flooding our area has seen in 60 years submerged our #CatShelter. Keeping the #cats safe was a huge challenge, and the shelter suffered significant damage.
Please watch and share the video or help us directly: www.vietnamcatwelfare.org/support/
November 3, 2025 at 11:01 AM
My ex and I adopted our cats from here, they do wonderful work- please share, or even donate if you can!
Reposted by John Bierce
For the love of God stop calling capitalism “Technofeudalism.” This is not a mutant regression off the track of benign capitalism’s progress to utopia. This is capitalism doing capitalism.
November 2, 2025 at 2:17 PM
For the love of God stop calling capitalism “Technofeudalism.” This is not a mutant regression off the track of benign capitalism’s progress to utopia. This is capitalism doing capitalism.
@maxgladstone.bsky.social's Craft books are a COLOSSAL influence on my own books, especially More Gods Than Stars. So much of my approach towards designing fictional economies in fantasy worlds is informed by the Craft Sequence and Craft Wars- I highly recommend all my fans check it out!
DEAD HAND RULE is out today! As an implacable enemy skitters nearer across the stars, Tara Abernathy gathers Gods and Deathless Kings alike to join forces. Of course, there's still a little fine print to be sorted out. But surely they'll be able to come together against the darkness. Any minute now.
October 28, 2025 at 7:35 PM
@maxgladstone.bsky.social's Craft books are a COLOSSAL influence on my own books, especially More Gods Than Stars. So much of my approach towards designing fictional economies in fantasy worlds is informed by the Craft Sequence and Craft Wars- I highly recommend all my fans check it out!
I generally maintain a policy of not talking bad about other living authors' fiction publicly- I'm of the opinion that skill as a writer doesn't necessarily translate to skill as a critic, and I also just feel bad criticizing other folks' work. (Their politics, on the other hand...)
October 27, 2025 at 12:55 PM
I generally maintain a policy of not talking bad about other living authors' fiction publicly- I'm of the opinion that skill as a writer doesn't necessarily translate to skill as a critic, and I also just feel bad criticizing other folks' work. (Their politics, on the other hand...)
Reposted by John Bierce
Eat shit Nigel
Nigel Newton, CEO of Bloomsbury, telling us why AI is good for publishing with this fun caveat: “We are programmed deep in our DNA to be comforted by the authority and the reliability of big brand names, & that applies more than ever to the names of big writers."
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
AI can help authors beat writer’s block, says Bloomsbury chief
Publisher last week reported jump in revenue in academic and professional arm thanks to AI licensing deal
www.theguardian.com
October 27, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Eat shit Nigel
Reposted by John Bierce
I understand why they had to stop him but I don’t agree with imprisoning him in the phantom zone
October 25, 2025 at 11:47 PM
I understand why they had to stop him but I don’t agree with imprisoning him in the phantom zone
Me: I can probably get a little more writing done after the gym
Me after the gym: fucking circuit training no use brain
Me after the gym: fucking circuit training no use brain
October 24, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Me: I can probably get a little more writing done after the gym
Me after the gym: fucking circuit training no use brain
Me after the gym: fucking circuit training no use brain
Reposted by John Bierce
Since I have a lot of rural Alberta folks who follow me: the Edmonton police are looking for anyone with property with an old well north of Edmonton to contact them (more details in the video). It's for a cold case.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtRo...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtRo...
Cold case: Edmonton police searching for remains of Ruth Clarke who has been missing since 1990
YouTube video by CTV News
www.youtube.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Since I have a lot of rural Alberta folks who follow me: the Edmonton police are looking for anyone with property with an old well north of Edmonton to contact them (more details in the video). It's for a cold case.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtRo...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtRo...
Reposted by John Bierce
ROY BATTY: …I rode on the back decks of a blinker and watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments... they'll be gone.
CHATGPT: That’s a powerful story 🎯 Thank you for sharing with me! It really spoke to your passion for space! 🚀
CHATGPT: That’s a powerful story 🎯 Thank you for sharing with me! It really spoke to your passion for space! 🚀
October 23, 2025 at 2:57 PM
ROY BATTY: …I rode on the back decks of a blinker and watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments... they'll be gone.
CHATGPT: That’s a powerful story 🎯 Thank you for sharing with me! It really spoke to your passion for space! 🚀
CHATGPT: That’s a powerful story 🎯 Thank you for sharing with me! It really spoke to your passion for space! 🚀
Reposted by John Bierce
Just finished my 8th read through Into the Labyrinth, book 1 of the Mage Errant series by @johnbierce.bsky.social
Easily one of my favourite comfort reads.
🪐📚
Easily one of my favourite comfort reads.
🪐📚
October 22, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Just finished my 8th read through Into the Labyrinth, book 1 of the Mage Errant series by @johnbierce.bsky.social
Easily one of my favourite comfort reads.
🪐📚
Easily one of my favourite comfort reads.
🪐📚
Had my first 3k word writing day in AGES, feels great. Helps that the short story I was writing was a very different genre than I usually do, and I was enjoying the hell out of it.
October 22, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Had my first 3k word writing day in AGES, feels great. Helps that the short story I was writing was a very different genre than I usually do, and I was enjoying the hell out of it.
My brain: I finished all my work for the day, I can relax and take it easy! Maybe play a videogame or watch a movie?
Me: immediately starts doomscrolling
Me: immediately starts doomscrolling
October 21, 2025 at 6:42 PM
My brain: I finished all my work for the day, I can relax and take it easy! Maybe play a videogame or watch a movie?
Me: immediately starts doomscrolling
Me: immediately starts doomscrolling
The new episode of Cool Zone Media Book club, hosted by @margaret.bsky.social, features an excellent reading of my pseudonymous namesake Ambrose Bierce's An Inhabitant of Carcosa!
www.iheart.com/podcast/867-...
www.iheart.com/podcast/867-...
CZM Book Club: Two Tales of Classic Horror, by Saki and Bierce - Cool Zone Media Book Club | iHeart
<p>Margaret reads you 'The Open Window' by Saki and 'An Inhabitant of Carcosa' by Ambrose Bierce</p><p>See <a href='https://omnystudio.com/listener'>omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information...
www.iheart.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:14 AM
The new episode of Cool Zone Media Book club, hosted by @margaret.bsky.social, features an excellent reading of my pseudonymous namesake Ambrose Bierce's An Inhabitant of Carcosa!
www.iheart.com/podcast/867-...
www.iheart.com/podcast/867-...