Philip Purser-Hallard
@purserhallard.com
Philip Purser-Hallard writes stuff -- most recently Sherlock Holmes: The Monster of the Mere. Posting about writing, TV, SF, Doctor Who, politics, language, crosswords, things I like, things I'm interested in, things.
Pinned
Philip Purser-Hallard
@purserhallard.com
· Nov 14
Since new followers are arriving literally in their dozens, here's a quick rundown of my books and why, if you're interested in the stuff I post here, you might like to read them. Or vice versa.
Links are to my website, where there are links to buy from various sources.
Links are to my website, where there are links to buy from various sources.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
Put it this way, if this was an Ian Rankin novel it would start with terrorists nuking Morningside, provoking a devastating border war with the English which Inspector Rebus managed to stop from escalating into World War Three. At some point he'd arrest the terrorists.
November 16, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Put it this way, if this was an Ian Rankin novel it would start with terrorists nuking Morningside, provoking a devastating border war with the English which Inspector Rebus managed to stop from escalating into World War Three. At some point he'd arrest the terrorists.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
Aurora Rising by Alastair Reynolds. The usual excellent space opera from Reynolds, but it doesn't fulfil the promise of being a police procedural crime story as well. It's really only the protagonist who thinks he's a policeman when he's basically military.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/35...
www.goodreads.com/book/show/35...
Aurora Rising (Prefect Dreyfus Emergency #1)
Tom Dreyfus is a Prefect, a policeman of sorts, and one…
www.goodreads.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Aurora Rising by Alastair Reynolds. The usual excellent space opera from Reynolds, but it doesn't fulfil the promise of being a police procedural crime story as well. It's really only the protagonist who thinks he's a policeman when he's basically military.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/35...
www.goodreads.com/book/show/35...
Trying to remember the title I've seen of a book, or possibly film, criticising the Disney corporate megalith. Maybe Empire of the Mouse, or something similar? Any ideas?
November 15, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Trying to remember the title I've seen of a book, or possibly film, criticising the Disney corporate megalith. Maybe Empire of the Mouse, or something similar? Any ideas?
Thoughtful, non-kneejerk piece here from someone I muted when I first arrived on Bluesky because we got into a stupid argument years ago on Twitter:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n....
(I'm not about to unmute her, because I think we wind each other up too easily, but it's worth a read.)
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n....
(I'm not about to unmute her, because I think we wind each other up too easily, but it's worth a read.)
Don’t argue with strangers… and 11 more rules to survive the information crisis
Feeling overwhelmed by divisive opinions, endless rows and unreliable facts? Here’s how to weather the data storm
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Thoughtful, non-kneejerk piece here from someone I muted when I first arrived on Bluesky because we got into a stupid argument years ago on Twitter:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n....
(I'm not about to unmute her, because I think we wind each other up too easily, but it's worth a read.)
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n....
(I'm not about to unmute her, because I think we wind each other up too easily, but it's worth a read.)
I've been getting Screwtape Letters vibes from generative AI for some time now, but this is too on the nose.
Hold up
November 15, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I've been getting Screwtape Letters vibes from generative AI for some time now, but this is too on the nose.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
Okay, I can't let this one go. I live in Ireland, not the UK, but the use of this image by a supposedly socialist party is so stupid and offensive, I'm going to get stuck in.
Let me explain to you why any experienced illustrator/designer could have stopped you making so many miserable mistakes. 1/
Let me explain to you why any experienced illustrator/designer could have stopped you making so many miserable mistakes. 1/
November 15, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Okay, I can't let this one go. I live in Ireland, not the UK, but the use of this image by a supposedly socialist party is so stupid and offensive, I'm going to get stuck in.
Let me explain to you why any experienced illustrator/designer could have stopped you making so many miserable mistakes. 1/
Let me explain to you why any experienced illustrator/designer could have stopped you making so many miserable mistakes. 1/
All Doctor Who spinoffs should start like Class, with the 12th Doctor turning up to rescue the characters just this once, then telling them to fuck off.
November 15, 2025 at 11:33 AM
All Doctor Who spinoffs should start like Class, with the 12th Doctor turning up to rescue the characters just this once, then telling them to fuck off.
Oh God, who's Bill Clinton done now?
November 15, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Oh God, who's Bill Clinton done now?
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
I've been collecting pandemic era signs that nobody can be bothered to take down or remove. There's something grimly fascinating about this. Putting them up was urgent and important; removing them is nobody's job. How long will some of these hang around?
November 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
I've been collecting pandemic era signs that nobody can be bothered to take down or remove. There's something grimly fascinating about this. Putting them up was urgent and important; removing them is nobody's job. How long will some of these hang around?
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
DNA Sequencing Reveals Hitler Was Type Of Fern
DNA Sequencing Reveals Hitler Was Type Of Fern
BATH, ENGLAND—Saying the discovery shed new light on the infamous German dictator’s life, University of Bath researchers revealed DNA sequencing Friday showing that Adolf Hitler was a type of fern. “A...
theonion.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:00 PM
DNA Sequencing Reveals Hitler Was Type Of Fern
Based solely on what they say and do onscreen, Ruby and Belinda seem to be the first long-term female companions to be exclusively opposite-sex-oriented since Amy.
(And even Amy wasn't impervious to her time-travelling self in "Space" / "Time". So possibly the first since the first RTD era.)
(And even Amy wasn't impervious to her time-travelling self in "Space" / "Time". So possibly the first since the first RTD era.)
November 14, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Based solely on what they say and do onscreen, Ruby and Belinda seem to be the first long-term female companions to be exclusively opposite-sex-oriented since Amy.
(And even Amy wasn't impervious to her time-travelling self in "Space" / "Time". So possibly the first since the first RTD era.)
(And even Amy wasn't impervious to her time-travelling self in "Space" / "Time". So possibly the first since the first RTD era.)
Wow, this is one of the stupidest things I've ever read. And I've read a Doctor Who novel where the Doctor turns out to be Jack the Ripper.
November 14, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Wow, this is one of the stupidest things I've ever read. And I've read a Doctor Who novel where the Doctor turns out to be Jack the Ripper.
Honestly, they're so thick we could use them for radiation shielding.
A lot of people are like "wow all these powerful men are barely literate and really bad at covering their tracks" and like, hello, did you actually believe we lived in a meritocracy
November 14, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Honestly, they're so thick we could use them for radiation shielding.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
Oh my god IT'S THE MEME!!!
Grace Kelly, Clark Gable, Ava Gardner “MOGAMBO” (1953) dir. John Ford
🎬 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
🎬 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
November 13, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Oh my god IT'S THE MEME!!!
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
He should have really silly punctuation imposed on him instead, as a mark of shame.
Andrew Mountbatten≠Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten@Windsor.
Andrew #Mountbatten#Windsor.
Andrew "Mountbatten" "Windsor".
Andrew Mountbatten[...]Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten ;-) Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten🍆Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten≠Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten@Windsor.
Andrew #Mountbatten#Windsor.
Andrew "Mountbatten" "Windsor".
Andrew Mountbatten[...]Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten ;-) Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten🍆Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s name to be hyphenated, as decreed by late queen
Palace announcement of ex-prince’s new name missed out hyphen used by other descendants of Elizabeth II
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:15 PM
He should have really silly punctuation imposed on him instead, as a mark of shame.
Andrew Mountbatten≠Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten@Windsor.
Andrew #Mountbatten#Windsor.
Andrew "Mountbatten" "Windsor".
Andrew Mountbatten[...]Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten ;-) Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten🍆Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten≠Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten@Windsor.
Andrew #Mountbatten#Windsor.
Andrew "Mountbatten" "Windsor".
Andrew Mountbatten[...]Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten ;-) Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten🍆Windsor.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
The value of reading history is you know that in 1860 there were abolitionists who were so demoralized that they thought chattel slavery would be permanent. 5 years later those still alive had lived to see its end.
November 12, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The value of reading history is you know that in 1860 there were abolitionists who were so demoralized that they thought chattel slavery would be permanent. 5 years later those still alive had lived to see its end.
He should have really silly punctuation imposed on him instead, as a mark of shame.
Andrew Mountbatten≠Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten@Windsor.
Andrew #Mountbatten#Windsor.
Andrew "Mountbatten" "Windsor".
Andrew Mountbatten[...]Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten ;-) Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten🍆Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten≠Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten@Windsor.
Andrew #Mountbatten#Windsor.
Andrew "Mountbatten" "Windsor".
Andrew Mountbatten[...]Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten ;-) Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten🍆Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s name to be hyphenated, as decreed by late queen
Palace announcement of ex-prince’s new name missed out hyphen used by other descendants of Elizabeth II
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:15 PM
He should have really silly punctuation imposed on him instead, as a mark of shame.
Andrew Mountbatten≠Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten@Windsor.
Andrew #Mountbatten#Windsor.
Andrew "Mountbatten" "Windsor".
Andrew Mountbatten[...]Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten ;-) Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten🍆Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten≠Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten@Windsor.
Andrew #Mountbatten#Windsor.
Andrew "Mountbatten" "Windsor".
Andrew Mountbatten[...]Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten ;-) Windsor.
Andrew Mountbatten🍆Windsor.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
I think it's a reasonable move, having the same person in charge of the police and in charge of crime is a clear conflict of interest
November 13, 2025 at 12:02 PM
I think it's a reasonable move, having the same person in charge of the police and in charge of crime is a clear conflict of interest
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
Like most magic, the Magic Sock is just sleight-of-hand -- it allows schools to make that bit of their responsbility for kids' safety & mental health seem to disappear. "Well I never!" I say to myself, shaking my head in wonderment & disbelief, as I discover that responsibility in my own pocket
![Screenshot of bsky post from @iammrj.bsky.social [Nov 10, 2025 at 7:21pm]: "Like, you do understand that Big Bad Phone will be the same when it comes out of the Magic Sock right? and consequently putting Big Bad Phone in the Magic Sock will have done literally nothing to the purported effects of Big Bad Phone?"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:f5raocwf2qj5icv7syegrcav/bafkreihzvbyxeedr5vfdw5guz27sehkty7thkrcq4x22tzt6iykpwgw7im@jpeg)
November 13, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Like most magic, the Magic Sock is just sleight-of-hand -- it allows schools to make that bit of their responsbility for kids' safety & mental health seem to disappear. "Well I never!" I say to myself, shaking my head in wonderment & disbelief, as I discover that responsibility in my own pocket
When I try to picture Jeffrey Epstein I always get Jerry Seinfeld, which is making these emails read oddly.
November 13, 2025 at 7:16 AM
When I try to picture Jeffrey Epstein I always get Jerry Seinfeld, which is making these emails read oddly.
I mean... as it happens, I never did rate Rowling, and I still think it's OK to say as much outside this kind of context. But when it's a creator I do love, like Whedon, Mieville or Gaiman, it's devastating, and people saying that kind of thing really does not help at all.
Here's a thing that I despise: When someone is outed as an abuser, TERF, terrible human, and ppl start going "I never liked them anyway" "I never found them funny" "They never wrote good things to begin with" and seriously shut the hell up. All of that is just to position you are superior and (cont)
November 12, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I mean... as it happens, I never did rate Rowling, and I still think it's OK to say as much outside this kind of context. But when it's a creator I do love, like Whedon, Mieville or Gaiman, it's devastating, and people saying that kind of thing really does not help at all.
Reposted by Philip Purser-Hallard
Here's a thing that I despise: When someone is outed as an abuser, TERF, terrible human, and ppl start going "I never liked them anyway" "I never found them funny" "They never wrote good things to begin with" and seriously shut the hell up. All of that is just to position you are superior and (cont)
November 12, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Here's a thing that I despise: When someone is outed as an abuser, TERF, terrible human, and ppl start going "I never liked them anyway" "I never found them funny" "They never wrote good things to begin with" and seriously shut the hell up. All of that is just to position you are superior and (cont)
Repost with an iconic fictional band (if you feel like it)
![Text from the BBC TV series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, reading:
NOISE LEVELS
DISASTER AREA
DISASTER AREA, A PLUTONIUM ROCK GAND FROM THE GAGRALACKA MIND ZONES ARE GENERALLY
[Nothing beside remains.]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:3dxhm5kyfttpsxahprd67u7m/bafkreiftyocflrczjbri5jtbcxihxml5d6lxgog2gvcktsmggcu3uzy74q@jpeg)
November 12, 2025 at 6:55 AM
Repost with an iconic fictional band (if you feel like it)
Carry On Orlando.
I like the Carry On films but the lore is too confusing, impossible for modern audiences to accept these people could play a major part in the French Revolution AND lose their bras on camping holidays
November 11, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Carry On Orlando.
Autocorrect now guessing that when I say "Valhalla" I probably mean "Walsall".
November 11, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Autocorrect now guessing that when I say "Valhalla" I probably mean "Walsall".