MikeOfThePalace

“The Scarlet Throne” by Amy Leow This book pulls off a rather difficult trick. The main character is very clearly the villain in the overall story; she does a lot of truly horrible things; and yet the author manages to let me maintai...

The Scarlet Throne by @amyleowwrites.bsky.social - excellent story with a villain main character who actually acts like a villain. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/400Vkyr

“Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus” by Mary Shelley Frankenstein needs no introduction. It was groundbreaking; arguably, the very first novel of speculative fiction. It has been highly influential on culture and society, and is one of the most importan...

"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. It's ground-breaking. It's important. It's influential. None of that, sadly, is synonymous with "good." And, sadly, no tap number to "Putting on the Ritz." Full review here: bit.ly/3ZzF47i

“Dawn” by Octavia E. Butler The is a classic, from a renowned author; first book in the Xenogenesis trilogy. Picked it up because I needed something for the 1980s Bingo square (hard mode), and I’ve been meaning to read something...

"Dawn" by Octivia Butler - great story about sexuality, love, and colonialsm. Thanks to r/Fantasy bingo (80s SF/F square) for finally getting me to read a Butler. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/4qjagT1

“Absolution” by Jeff Vandermeer Gotta be honest here: it’s going to be hard for me to review this book fairly. I’m pretty certain Jeff Vandermeer set out to screw me over, specifically. I’d read and enjoyed the first 3 Southern Reac...

Enjoyed this return to Area X despite @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social screwing me over, personally, by announcing more Southern Reach books thereby making this not count for the "Last in a Series" r/Fantasy Bingo square. (I swear that square will be the death of me). Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐review here: bit.ly/3ZgZPEA

*I've* never won the Nobel Peace Prize. Can I have Baffin Island?

👉👈

“To Ride a Rising Storm” by Moniquill Blackgoose Happy news for everyone else who loved To Shape a Dragon’s Breath: the sequel lives up to the promise of book 1. I don’t think it was QUITE as good as book 1, but my criticisms can largely be chalked ...

To Ride a Rising Storm by Moniquill Blackgoose - excellent follow-up to To Shake a Dragon's Breath - with with fantasy o-chem! Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/3NGcYnX

“We Will Rise Again,” edited by Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older I didn’t like this anthology as much as I thought I would, I am very sorry to say.Part of this was the fault of when I chose to read this. Stories about fighting back against transphobia, racism, colo...

"We Will Rise Again" anthology - not sure if now is the best or the worst time to read a book like this, but there were some good stories in here. And this kind of book is important.

Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/4qH4kUK

“The Works of Vermin” by Hiron Ennes This was absolutely, utterly bizarre. I also mostly didn’t really understand what was going on; I was loving it, but I didn’t understand it. Then there was a reveal that made me re-evaluate everything...

The Works of Vermin by @hironennes.bsky.social - One of the weirdest things I've ever read. I didn't understand it - AT ALL - but I loved every moment. My ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review is here, for what it's worth; I try to talk about it, but I'm not convinced that's possible. Just go read it. bit.ly/4jp14ek

“We Dance Upon Demons” by Vaishnavi Patel This wasn’t the easiest novel to read, but it was an excellent one.Unlike the rest of Patel’s works, this one was relentlessly contemporary. It’s set in present-day Chicago; no secondary world at all....

We Dance Upon Demons by @vaishnawrites.bsky.social - excellent novel about a woman struggling against demons, both literal and metaphorical, but a novel about working in an abortion clinic in post-Roe America is not exactly what I would call "escapism." Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review: bit.ly/4pUy0wY

“Greenteeth” by Molly O’Neill This was a decent book that could have been a great book, if Orbit’s marketing people hadn’t pushed it as “cozy” and the author had embraced writing something YA (which is not and has never been a pej...

Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill - decent book that would have been better if A) the author had embraced writing a YA book; and B) Orbit hadn't marketed it as cozy. Definitely a solid read though. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐review here: bit.ly/4iERtiR

I question that truism that "everyone thinks they'll be rich someday." Referendums on tax hikes poll MUCH better if it's presented as tax on "income over [amount]" instead of "top 10% of earners." People overestimate where they are and underestimate what the wealthy make.

“Snake-Eater” by T. Kingfisher T. Kingfisher’s (aka Ursula Vernon) latest book is set in Arizona, where the protagonist Selena, along with her dog Copper, have arrived in a poor, remote town after ditching her emotionally abusive b...

Snake-Eater by @tkingfisher.com - a woman finding her self-confidence again after escaping a bad relationship, while also dealing with the god of roadrunners (which are vicious mini-dinosaurs) that was involved with her late aunt. Cozy, creepy, and wonderful. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/4ioEim0

“The Sign of the Dragon” by Mary Soon Lee I’ve been reading this for the readalong started by my fellow r/Fantasy mod /u/oboist73, so a special thanks to her for making me aware of the existence of this excellent, excellent book. I may even f...

Sign of the Dragon by @marysoonlee.bsky.social - well that was a masterpiece, and I might even stop crying some day. Epic poetry isn't something I read too much of, so thanks to my fellow r/Fantasy mod u/oboist73 for suggesting this. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/3MbFyNn

"Outlaw Planet" by M.R. Carey It’s not often these days that a book manages to take me completely by surprise. But M.R. Carey (also known as Mike Carey) pulled it off with this one.This book is a standalone follow up to his excell...

It's not that often that a book manages to take me COMPLETELY by surprise, but @mikecarey.bsky.social managed it with Outlaw Planet, his standalone follow-up to the Pandominion duology. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/3KgRTiD

Screen shot of Amazon data on "The Sign of the Dragon" on 11/24/2025. Text in the screenshot reads: Best Sellers Rank: #53,631 in Kindle Store #83 in Epic Poetry (Books) #102 in Asian Myth & Legend #580 in Dark Fantasy Horror Customer Reviews: 4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars (42)

#TSOTD_note. "The Sign of the Dragon" has a Best Sellers Rank of 53,631 on Kindle just now. Best-selling authors would laugh derisively at this number, but it's the highest I remember seeing for my book, so I'm happy!

✏️📖🐉

N.B. Lower numbers are better, so there are over 50,000 books ahead of mine.

ABI Bouhmaida @forgoodcode Every Windows 11 PC is now an Al PC with Copilot at the center of it all. Here's how to get rid of Copilot completely from your computer (1/3)

ABI Bouhmaida @forgoodcode 1/ Settings App > Personalization > Taskbar > Other System Tray Icons > Switch "Microsoft 365 Copilot App" Off This hides Copilot from your taskbar

(9) ABI Bouhmaida @forgoodcode 2/ Press Win + R > Type in ‘regedit’ > Navigate to "HKEY _CURRENT_USER\ Software \ Policie s\Microsoft\ Windows" > Right-click on the "Windows" Key > New > Key > Name the new key "WindowsCopilot’ > Right-click on the new key EY > DWORD (32-bit) Value

@forgoodcode 3/ > Name the value "TurnOffWindowsCopilot’ > Double-click the name of the value > Set the "Value Data" to 1 > Restart your computer Congrats! Copilot is now completely gone from your computer. Hope this helps

My new favorite kind of meme is "here are detailed instructions on how to turn off AI". 🔨

“The Crimson Road” by A. G. Slatter Yet another wonderful Gothic fantasy from A. G. (aka Angela) Slatter.As with the other books in Slatter’s Sourdough universe, this one doesn’t require you to have read anything else. Unlike All the Mu...

Another excellent, excellent book from @angelaslatter.bsky.social. I'd meant to read it when it came out, but I'm glad I did not - this was a great book to read in the fall. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at
bit.ly/3K1meBF

Don't Buy Starbucks! At any location, today and beyond, while workers are on ULP strike!

As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.

Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX

Bingo!

46% through. No BINGO yet.

Reading & enjoying The Crimson Road by @angelaslatter.bsky.social and filling out @katkale.bsky.social 's Sourdough Universe bingo card. Futher updates as things progress

“Dead Hand Rule” by Max Gladstone After finishing this book the first thing I had to do was catch my breath. Once I had it, I needed to let out a scream of frustrated rage that I don’t have book 4.I will avoid spoilers as best I can, ...

Dead Hand Rule by @maxgladstone.bsky.social - another fantastic entry in the series. Incredibly frustrating when characters I care about are on opposite sides for very good reasons. I needs book 4, I NEEDS IT. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/4hREava

The Rose Field (The Book of Dust, #3) Picking up right where The Secret Commonwealth left off…

PHILIP PULLMAN HAS A NEW BOOK OUT?! TODAY?!?!?! www.goodreads.com/book/show/22...

“The Everlasting” by Alix E. Harrow The theme of this book, if I had to pick one, is that what makes a nation a nation is the story the people tell themselves. This is very topical; in many ways, the ongoing political conflict in the US...

The Everlasting by @alixeharrow.bsky.social - well that was a freaking masterpiece. Both topical and timeless (rimshot), heartbreaking and uplifiting. Easy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Full review at bit.ly/47e1yht

My money is on "The Last Fight About Lunch"

“Red City” by Marie Lu This is the adult debut of YA author Marie Lu, and it’s a good one. Very intense.This is a Romeo & Juliet re-imagining. Instead of being from rival noble families in Verona, or rival ethnic street gan...

"Red City" by Marie Lu - a Romeo & Juliet retelling, but with less choreography and tough guy finger snapping and more extreme violence from rival magical drug cartels. Intense read. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/3VQI25x

Oh no he found AO3

“Kill the Beast” by Serra Swift This was one of the more interesting Beauty & the Beast retellings I’ve ever countered.To sum up the blurb: our protagonist Lyssa has spent her life dedicated to hunting down the immortal faerie beast...

"Kill the Beast" by @serratheswift.bsky.social - one of the more interesting Beauty & the Beast retellings I've ever read. Full ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review here: bit.ly/4gP1SYE

There's an upcoming ReadAlong for "The Sign of the Dragon" on Reddit fantasy:
www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/co...

As far as I can tell, it's organized by oboist73, to whom I'm greatly indebted for posting many many kind comments about "The Sign of the Dragon."

The first bit of the discussion is on 10/7

“The Shattering Peace” by John Scalzi This was a disappointment, I’m sorry to say.To start, my general feelings on Scalzi: I loved the Old Man’s War series for the most part, and a lot of his earlier stuff. I enjoyed Kaiju Preservation So...

Sad to say that I was disappointed by John Scalzi's new Old Man's War novel "The Shattering Peace." We learn lots more about the Consu, which only serves to make them much less cool à la the Borg. Full ⭐⭐ review at bit.ly/4nBVNkc