Islands of Abandonmemt: Life in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flynn successfully pushed a load of buttons in my head. I'd like the author to be less impartial about events that led to these places being abandoned, but abandoned places are my true crime so I was still rapt.

I read Atomic Bomb Cinema by Jerome F. Shapiro on the basis of its title alone. What's Atomic Bomb Cinema? Basically anything Shapiro wants it to be. This would not be my recommended text on western cinema's depictions of nuclear weapons.

I love the ASOIAF works of George R. R. Martin, so I read Fevre Dream to fill the hole of no new stories. Vampires on the antebellum Mississippi! Sounds awesome! Unfortunately I found the pacing uneven, which detracted from the experience.

I liked other books by Daphne du Maurier(like Rebecca and The House on the Strand), so I read The Loving Spirit. A Cornish family saga with some paranormal elements, it's quite enjoyable but not a patch on her more famous works.

Forgot to take a photo of this one before I took it back to the library - Timescape by Gregory Benford. My previous experience with Benford was Foundation's Fear, which I didn’t like (because of booby Joan of Arc). Timescape - sending a warning back in time - was much better, really interesting.

I read Perfume: the story of a murderer by Patrick Suskind (pictured here in the University library, where I chickened out of reading it in German). Less unsettling than I expected, it put me in mind of The Tin Drum by Günther Grass somewhat.

I read Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford, a work of detective fiction set in a city with a strong Native American identity in an alternate America. It was largely very good, but I prefer my alternate history a lot harder!

Most recently I read Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. 'What would happen if a comet hit Earth?' it asks, and comes up with some very racist answers. Not recommended!

I've not been posting about what I've read this year. Back in January I read Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey. It felt lesser than Caliban’s War, but credit to the authors for keeping an epic sci-fi book focused. The viewpoints were a bit dull, and Holden shouldn't be the main character.

I don't write as often as I'd like, but I do have a published chapter in If We'd Just Got That Penalty: A Collection of Alternate History Sporting Stories. What might it be like to be a footballer in a post-nuclear war Britain? Read it and find out!

amzn.eu/d/6NLgsUf

My friends: So we're going to play this new Eurogame where you're Dutch merchants operating in Dejima. Each turn you have goods to sell, the price of which is determined by different factors, such as supply, trends, inter-daimyo relations, tracked with these tokens -
Me: Wallace & Gromit sheep game.

Also got this t-rex angel for our Christmas tree, which this photo isn't really doing justice to showing how incredible it is.

My last book of 2024 was Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Not a bad read, but I wonder if the original short story actually works better.

I read Sense and Sensibility (on my ancient Kindle). I've enjoyed Austen before, but this was more of a miss for me. I was particularly disappointed by the ending - if it were a romantic comedy (which it isn't) I would feel let down.

I read Neuromancer by William Gibson. I felt a little that it was mainly notable for its aesthetic, and being able to see its influence in later works (like The Matrix).

I recently finished Caliban’s War by James S. A. Corey, book two of the Expanse series. I enjoyed Leviathan Wakes on the whole, but there were a couple of moments I found problematic that weighed on my mind. Caliban’s War managed not to have those problems, really looking forward to Abaddon's Gate.

I've been reading Anxious People by Fredrik Backman - translated from the original Swedish (where it was Folk med ångest). Humorous, but I felt like I never quite got invested in it, 5/10.

How did the voters of Neath manage to achieve this result in 1997?