RogerBW's Blog

Nuclear Weapons: Principles, Effects and Survivability, Charles S. Grace 31 May 2015 - 1 comment

1994 non-fiction, volume 10 of the Brassey's New Battlefield Weapons Systems and Technology series. A practical primer on the design and operation of nuclear weapons, their effects, and their simulation.

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The Rolling Girls 30 May 2015

2015 futuristic fantasy, 12 episodes: AniDB. After the Great Tokyo War, Japan is balkanised; each area is protected by its own vigilante squad. Four girls set out to deal with some of the problems.

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Windscale 1957, Lorna Arnold 29 May 2015

1995 non-fiction. In October 1957, the core of Windscale's Pile 1 caught fire, burned for three days, and spread radioactive contamination across what was then Cumberland. This is the official history of the incident and its aftermath.

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Does Free Content Drive Out Good? 28 May 2015 - 4 comments

Gresham's Law famously states that "bad money drives out good": if there are two currencies available, people will tend to hoard the one they trust and spend the one they don't. I think there's a different but allied process going on with items that are "good enough" driving out of the market ones that are good.

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Tenth Harpoon PBEM AAR: Maybe the Last Gulf Escort Deja Vu 27 May 2015 - 1 comment

This one took a while, largely because I've been busy with a writing project that's stuck its tentacles into all my space time.

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A Gentleman of Fortune, Anna Dean 26 May 2015

2009 historical detection, second in Dean's Dido Kent series. Rich invalid Mrs Lansdale has died, of an overdose of laudanum. Her nephew stands to inherit. But did he do it?

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GURPS Zombies: Day One, Sean Punch 25 May 2015

Eight zombie campaign frames sketched out in moderate detail.

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SpringCon 23 May 2015 24 May 2015

Back to this this small quarterly boardgames convention in Watford.

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The Three-Body Problem, Liu Cixin 23 May 2015

2014 translation of 2006 SF from China. In the long shadow of the Cultural Revolution, various people try to work out why scientists are committing suicide.

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X-Wing at Wycombe Warband, May 2015 22 May 2015 - 2 comments

More X-Wing at Wycombe Warband, first time I'd made it for a while. With images; cc-by-sa on everything.

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Kamisama Hajimemashita 2 21 May 2015

2015 modern fantasy, 12 episodes: AniDB. Sequel to 2012's Kamisama Hajimemashita; vt "Kamisama Kiss" or "Beginning of Life as a God". Ordinary schoolgirl Nanami has become a shrine deity, and is still trying to learn how to do her job.

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Natural Causes, James Oswald 20 May 2015

2012 mystery, first in Oswald's Inspector McLean series. A prominent city elder in Edinburgh is killed, but less than a day later his killer commits a public and messy suicide. Case closed, and the police are happy. But McLean won't let it lie, especially when the same thing happens again.

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12 Monkeys season 1 19 May 2015 - 5 comments

2015 SF, 13 episodes. In the future, humanity has been nearly wiped out by a plague. James Cole is sent back in time to 2015, just before it started, to try to prevent it.

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Thunder on the Right, Mary Stewart 18 May 2015

1957; mystery/thriller or romantic suspense. Jennifer Silver goes to the Pyrenées to visit her widowed cousin, who's staying in a convent and thinking about taking orders. But when she arrives, she finds her cousin has suddenly died and been buried. Or has she?

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What We Do in the Shadows 17 May 2015

2014 comedy, dir. and starring Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi: IMDb / allmovie

Four vampires share a flat in modern New Zealand. Comedy happens.

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The Family Vault, Charlotte MacLeod 16 May 2015

1980, cosy American detective fiction; first of MacLeod's novels of Sarah Kelling and Max Bittersohn. In Boston, an old family vault is opened for the first time in thirty years… to reveal the corpse of a well-known burlesque dancer.

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Thoughts on the 2015 Hugo Awards 15 May 2015 - 10 comments

As has been widely discussed, a group of science fiction fans and hangers-on managed to populate the 2015 Hugo Award nominees with many works from their preferred list. What is a reasonable response to this?

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A Small Colonial War, Robert Frezza 14 May 2015 - 1 comment

1990 military SF. In the 22nd century, the Japanese empire which controls Earth and the colony worlds sends a task group to suppress a three-way colonial revolt. It doesn't help that many of the colonists are exiled Boers.

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Thirsty Meeples May 2015 13 May 2015 - 2 comments

Back to the boardgame café. With images; cc-by-sa on everything.

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Fox Five, Zoë Sharp 12 May 2015

2011 thriller: five short stories about Charlie (Charlotte) Fox, former soldier and current private bodyguard.

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Yowamushi Pedal Grande Road 11 May 2015

2014, 24 episodes: AniDB

Sports. Onoda Sakamichi, cyclist with huge natural talent, continues his racing career. (Sequel to Yowamushi Pedal.)

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The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison 10 May 2015 - 2 comments

2014 fantasy. Maia is the fourth son of the emperor of Elfland, exiled to a rural estate and forgotten about. But now the emperor is dead along with his other sons, and Maia becomes the new emperor, thrown headlong into court politics for which he is unprepared.

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Pyramid 77: Combat, edited by Steven Marsh 09 May 2015

Pyramid is the monthly GURPS supplement containing short articles with a loose linking theme. This time it's combat: fighting of all sorts.

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Souls in the Great Machine, Sean McMullen 08 May 2015

1999 SF. More than a thousand years after Greatwinter destroyed civilisation, new cultures have grown up in what was once Australia. But what is the secret at the heart of the Library?

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Who Is David Fitton? 07 May 2015 - 5 comments

The Wycombe parliamentary constituency has been Conservative since 1951. It has often had candidates from obscure parties, but since 2001 there's been an Independent: one David Fitton.

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Bury in Haste, Jean Rowden 06 May 2015

2007 mystery. In rural Yorkshire in 1956, Constable "Thorny" Deepbriar is a village bobby who's always longed to try his hand at detection. Now he's going to get his chance.

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Mendez Nunez 05 May 2015 - 4 comments

When we were on our way to see Defender last Saturday, we spotted this Spanish frigate moored at West India Docks. I was able to get back to see her in a bit more detail on Monday. Images follow: cc-by-sa on everything.

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Ninth Harpoon PBEM AAR: Again, Gulf Escort Deja Vu 04 May 2015 - 3 comments

Back to basics with this introductory scenario, which we completed in a little over three weeks. This time things went very differently…

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Firepower, 2 May 2015 03 May 2015 - 14 comments

To Firepower, the Royal Artillery Museum. I hadn't been for eight years, and things had changed a bit. Many photos follow; cc-by-sa on everything.

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Anywhere but Here, Jerry Oltion 02 May 2015

2005 SF, sequel to The Getaway Special. With cheap hyperdrive available to the world, things are falling apart; two people try to work out their options.

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HMS Defender 01 May 2015 - 4 comments

After the tour of HMS Middleton, it was off to Greenwich to see the Type 45 HMS Defender. As with other recent tours, it was very selective, with no access to berthing or engineering spaces. Images follow: cc-by-sa on everything.

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