RogerBW's Blog

Paul Temple and the Gilbert Case 30 June 2021

1954 audio thriller by Francis Durbridge, in eight parts: Paul Temple is a professional novelist and amateur sleuth. A young woman is murdered, and her boyfriend is set to hang. But her father is convinced that the man is innocent.

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Badlands 29 June 2021

1973 crime, dir. Terrence Malick, Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek: IMDb / allmovie. Bad boy Kit meets good(-ish) girl Holly. Death ensues.

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What Sort of Gamer Are You? 28 June 2021 - 6 comments

When the GM asks "what day of the week was your character born on", do you respond:

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Leaving Earth outcome odds 27 June 2021

I did some analysis of card draws in Leaving Earth to try to work out the odds in a particular situation.

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End of Empires, Toby Frost 26 June 2021

2014 humorous science fiction, fifth in the Isambard Smith series. The Lemming men are invading the British Space Empire, and must be stopped!

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Marlow Tabletop and Board Games 21 June 2021 25 June 2021

This Meetup-based boardgames group remains on-line for the moment; as usual we got together on Jitsi and then played some games on BGA.

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The Sirens Sang of Murder, Sarah Caudwell 24 June 2021 - 2 comments

1989 mystery, third of Caudwell's Hilary Tamar series. The barrister Cantrip has been called to Jersey, though he's certainly not a tax expert. It turns out that the administrators of the Daffodil Trust are becoming unexpectedly prone to sudden death…

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Perl Weekly Challenge 118: Binary Knight 23 June 2021 - 1 comment

I’ve been doing the Perl Weekly Challenges. The latest involved binary palindromes and a restricted Knight's Tour. (Note that this is open until 27 June 2021.)

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Pathfinder, Laura E. Reeve 22 June 2021

2010 science fiction, last of its trilogy. Ariane Kedros is testifying at the trial of surviving terrorists, and someone seems to be trying to blow her up, but at least the enigmatic aliens have a new job for her. Oh good…

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Someone Else's Garden Games 21 June 2021

I went to visit one of the tekeli.li forumites and we played games in someone else's outdoor space for a change.

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The Long Way Home, Ed Dover 20 June 2021 - 5 comments

1998 non-fiction. A Pan Am Boeing 314 Clipper was en route from Noumea to Auckland when Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. They were instructed to make their way back to the USA as best they could.

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Boardgames in Isolation: June (part 1) 19 June 2021

More boardgames played from home.

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Murder Is Easy 18 June 2021

2013 audio adaptation of Christie's 1939 mystery, in three half-hour episodes. Luke Fitzwilliam runs into a dotty old lady who's going to London to report a series of murders in her small village… but she's "accidentally" killed before she can get anywhere.

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Lightborn, Alison Sinclair 17 June 2021

2010 fantasy, second of its trilogy. Both Darkborn (burned by light) and Lightborn (dissolved by darkness) are having political upheavals, with assassination only another tool in the kit. Someone seems to be trying to set them at war with each other. But will anyone listen in time?

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Perl Weekly Challenge 117: Missing Possibilities 16 June 2021 - 1 comment

I’ve been doing the Perl Weekly Challenges. The latest involved file analysis and combinatorial explosion. (Note that this is open until 20 June 2021.)

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Heights of Green, Lise MacTague 15 June 2021

2015 SF, second of a trilogy. Torrin has got her new love Jak back to Torrin's home world, but that isn't by any means going to be the end of their problems.

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The Old Guard 14 June 2021 - 2 comments

2020 fantasy, dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood, Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne: IMDb / allmovie. From the dawn of time they came, moving silently down the centuries…

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Marlow Tabletop and Board Games 7 June 2021 13 June 2021

This Meetup-based boardgames group remains on-line for the moment; as usual we got together on Jitsi and then played some games on BGA.

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Kill the Queen, Jennifer Estep 12 June 2021

2018 fantasy, first of a trilogy. Evie is a very minor member of the royal family, without significant magic or status; even when the Crown Princess carries out a coup against the Queen, she just wants to be ignored. But as the only other survivor of the family, she won't be granted that luxury.

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Yet more pokey 11 June 2021 - 1 comment

Second vaccine dose achieved!

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Perl Weekly Challenge 116: Square Sequence 10 June 2021 - 1 comment

I’ve been doing the Perl Weekly Challenges. The latest involved lots of digit splitting. (Note that this is open until 13 June 2021.)

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Fugitive Telemetry, Martha Wells 09 June 2021 - 1 comment

2021 science fiction novella, sixth in the Murderbot series. On Preservation Station, one of the largest polities that's not part of the Corporate Rim, someone's been murdered. And it's Murderbot who finds the body.

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Boardgames in Isolation: May (part 2) 08 June 2021

More boardgames played from home.

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The Left-Handed Booksellers of London, Garth Nix 07 June 2021

2020 urban fantasy. Susan Arkshaw, brought up in the country by her slightly dippy mother, goes to London to start her art degree and try to find her father. Magic ensues.

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Julie Enfield Investigates: The Net and the Canal 06 June 2021 - 5 comments

1996 police procedural audio in four parts, by Nick Fisher. A body is found by a tour boat going along the Regent's Canal; DSI Julie Enfield (Imelda Staunton) investigates.

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Perl Weekly Challenge 115: Largest Chain 05 June 2021 - 1 comment

I’ve been doing the Perl Weekly Challenges. The latest involved chained strings and number construction. (Note that this is open until 6 June 2021.)

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The Pirates in the Deep Green Sea, Eric Linklater 04 June 2021 - 2 comments

1949 children's fantasy. Timothy and Hew live on Popinsay Island with their father, a retired naval captain, and help look for the pirate ship reputed to have been wrecked nearby. But soon they will get involved in larger adventures…

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Bank Holiday Garden Games 03 June 2021

On a warm Bank Holiday afternoon (can there be any stronger evidence that English weather is out of joint?) I got together with several friends for boardgaming, including one I hadn't seen in person for over a year (barring very brief handings-over of shopping etc.).

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The Soldier King, Violette Malan 02 June 2021

2008 fantasy, the second in the Dhulyn and Parno series. They're on the winning side of a battle against an aggressive kingdom, and they've captured the crown prince; and that's only the start of their troubles.

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May 2021 Trailers 01 June 2021 - 5 comments

Some trailers I've seen recently, and my thoughts on them. (Links are to youtube. Opinions are thoroughly personal. I still hate everything.)

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