kgbooklog

Another year begins! I have a new In Review banner image!

The first new project this year is Homeward By Starlight, which will review twelve of Poul Anderson’s most notable short works.

January 2026 in Review

Ten books new to me. Five are fantasy, one non-fiction, two horror, one magazine, and I am not sure how to categorize the Tingle. Three are definitely fantasy.

Books Received, January 24 — January 30

A detail about the 2017 Hugo nomination long list I've never noticed before:



I checked and I did notice at the time James Nicoll Reviews was treated as different from me, but I seem to have failed to correct the typo for a decade.

A young man sets out to reinvent himself, far from home.

The First Thousand Trees (Annual Migration of Clouds, volume 3) by Premee Mohamed

What can be done about Mairilek's obsession with matters beyond male ken?

When Voiha Wakes (House of Kendreth, volume 3) by Joy Chant

RIP Agents Nevada and Alcala, whose reaction to a building-sized rooster was to empty their Mac 10s in its direction, thus ensuring it noticed them.

The player-characters, on the other hand, handled their immediate threat, a truck-sized centipede, more effectively.

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What dark motive leads a successful teen comedian who has vowed never to date anyone less funny than her to help an unfunny but otherwise personable young man work on his comedic skills?

Someone Hertz, volume 1 by Ei Yamano (Translated by David Evely)

Was out on a walk, not particularly interesting, just getting out. I started counting traffic.

• On a very boring two-way street some distance from the station, with little of pedestrian interest: 7 bicycles, 4 mopeds/motorbikes, 33 cars (and a bus or two). I did not formally count pedestrians, as there hardly were any at first, but it ended up feeling comparable to bicycles. Then I hit a street where there seemed to be a phase transition in traffic.

• Same street, but now closer to the station: 25 pedestrians, 12 2-wheel vehicles of all types, 17 cars/buses/trucks.

• 3-way scramble intersection, very close to the station: 26 pedestrians to 9 cars; 28 pedestrians to 9 cars. (Two different light cycles.) Going the other direction, more casual count, but maybe 18 to 14. I note that much more signal time is given to moving the 9-14 cars than the 18-26+ pedestrians (plus non-counted sidewalking bicycles.)

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Some internal counter tipped over to the point of trying McDonald's here. The menu is fairly different; no obvious equivalent to quarter-pounders; different flavors like teriyaki burger or shrimp burger. I tried a potato beef burger ("big beef" patty, potato patty) and shaka chicki (fried chicken fillet, and from the wrapping you're supposed to shake seasoning over it? But I didn't have any.) There was a messup and I was handed a simple bag of fries, which I discovered only at home. Went back (stole one fry; it smelled better than it tasted) to say "chigau!" and be glad I'd kept the receipt. Got my actual bag. It was... okay.

I note that if you're hungry Now, hot fast food from McDonald's or conbini has the advantage of coming in paper wraps. If you get nice cold snacks from conbini or supermarkets, it comes in a plastic tray. Given the total lack of public trash cans, the paper wraps are rather easier to stick into a pocket of your backpack. (Some conbini have trash cans, so you could eat there and throw it out -- but many don't!)

I think the schtick is the crew gets sent out to investigate potentially revolutionary tech and it's always legitimately amazing but also not what they're expecting. Case in point, they were looking into a supposed teleporter and now everyone is ant-sized.

Among my other ideas

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Having successfully fled her home city with the proceeds of a spectacular heist, Aiah must now build a new life on that foundation.

City on Fire (Metropolitan, volume 2) by Walter Jon Williams

Third-party tabletop fantasy roleplaying sourcebooks and adventures for The Arcane Library's old-school FRPG, Shadowdark.

Bundle of Holding: Shadowdark Compatible

So yeah, kind of hard to concentrate on work while being consumed by rage. I've been to conventions in the Minneapolis area and I have a lot of friends up there, and one of my goddaughters and her husband live there.

For instance, this is Greg Ketter, from DreamHaven Books, where I've done signings, at the protest and running into tear gas:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XHDR1PnqPeg

I've been doing mutual aid and sending donations where I can (https://www.standwithminnesota.com/) which is helping my sanity somewhat.


Other stuff I should link to:

Interview with me on Space.com https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-books/martha-wells-next-murderbot-diaries-book-is-the-family-roadtrip-from-hell-on-ringworld-interview


Weather permitting, I'll be guest of honor this coming weekend at AggieCon in College Station: https://www.aggiecon.net/

That's all I've got right now. Abolish ICE.

Fostering a teen is a challenge at the best of times. The end of civilization is not the best of times.

The Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing

I got an email from Riotminds providing me with a free preview of their upcoming Wicked Dew - Victorian Horror RPG. What caught my eye is that it seems to be entirely online. I've asked if there's a downloadable rulebook I overlooked, but I can see why a company might adopt a purely online approach.

[Update]

There will be a printed book.

Su Lin dutifully accepts a social obligation, only to find herself embroiled in another murder and further colonial machinations.

The Angsana Tree Mystery (Crown Colony, volume 8) by Ovidia Yu

Canada denied spot on the Bored of Peace.

This is roughly on par with being denied a lifetime supply of dogshit popsicles.

An unhappily married man's quest for the truth leads into a past almost everyone has forgotten.

The Iowa Baseball Confederacy by W. P. Kinsella

There's something about Japanese streets which I did not consciously notice until someone pointed it out. Someone who rented a car would notice right away; maybe habitual drivers would too.

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