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citizenpsmith

July 2025

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The quoted material below is quoted material.

I wrote in 2022 that the election system used by WSFS should be changed. At present, the rules for electing the Mark Protection Committee, the body charged with ensuring that the intellectual property of WSFS is protected, are set out in Standing Rule 6.2:

Voting shall be by written preferential ballot with write-in votes allowed. Votes for write-in candidates who do not submit written consent to nomination to the Presiding Officer before the close of balloting shall be ignored. The ballot shall list each nominee’s name. The first seat filled shall be by normal preferential ballot procedures as defined in Section 6.4 of the WSFS Constitution. There shall be no run-off candidate. After a seat is filled, votes for the elected member shall be eliminated before conducting the next ballot. This procedure shall continue until all seats are filled. In the event of a first-place tie for any seat, the tie shall be broken unless all tied candidates can be elected simultaneously. Should there be any partial-term vacancies on the committee, the partial-term seat(s) shall be filled after the full-term seats have been filled.

I warned that this carries the risk that a single faction with roughly half of the total votes could win every single seat and squeeze out other viewpoints.

My warning has come dramatically true.


Eight works new to me. Mostly novels but there are two tabletop roleplaying rule books in there. Four are fantasies (including the ttrpgs), one seems to be horror, one non-fiction, and two are SF. Four could be said to be series books and other four appear to be stand-alone.

Books Received, July 19 to July 25


Poll #33429 Books Received, July 19 to July 25
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 40


Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

Stone and Sky by Ben Aaronovitch (July 2025)
23 (57.5%)

The Adventure of the Demonic Ox by Lois McMaster Bujold (July 2025)
23 (57.5%)

They Call Her Regret by Channelle Desamours (February 2026)
3 (7.5%)

Sky on Fire by E. K. Johnston (July 2025)
12 (30.0%)

The Rainseekers by Matthew Kressel (February 2026)
6 (15.0%)

Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Gamemaster’s Guide by Dominic McDowall and Pádraig Murphy et al (Q1 2026)
2 (5.0%)

Warhammer: the Old World Roleplaying Game, Player’s Guideby Dominic McDowall and Pádraig Murphy et al (Q1 2026)
2 (5.0%)

Starlost Unauthorized by D G Valdron (October 2024)
13 (32.5%)

Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
26 (65.0%)



A young hunter's carelessly loosed arrow earns her imprisonment under the supervision of a mage.

The Whisperer in White by Y. R. Liu


The all-new Neon Lords Bundle featuring Neon Lords of the Toxic Wasteland, the gonzo slime-punk post-apocalyptic cassette-future tabletop roleplaying game from Super Savage Systems.

Bundle of Holding: Neon Lords


Fifty years after the Great Disaster, special investigator Saya searches for survivors. There are a few... but none are human.

The Color of the End: Mission in the Apocalypse, volume 1 by Haruo Iwamune


In this ERB pastiche, unremarkable academic Tarl Cabot reinvents himself as a man of action on the counter-Earth, Gor. There's much less BDSM than the series' reputation would lead one to expect.

Tarnsman of Gor (Gor, volume 1) by John Norman
2006: J. Richard Gott III’s methodology suggests 80-year-old Queen Elizabeth will live until somewhere between 2032 and 2066, a European heatwave sets a record that will surely stand in perpetuity, and Profumo’s demise at an advanced age reminds Britons of the dire consequences for politicians of scandal… nil.

Poll #33385 Clarke Award Finalists 2006
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 51


Which 2006 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

Air by Geoff Ryman
17 (33.3%)

Accelerando by Charles Stross
35 (68.6%)

Banner of Souls by Liz Williams
12 (23.5%)

Learning the World by Ken MacLeod
17 (33.3%)

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
9 (17.6%)

Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds
9 (17.6%)



Bold for have read, italic for intend to read,, underline for never heard of it.

Which 2006 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Air by Geoff Ryman
Accelerando by Charles Stross
Banner of Souls by Liz Williams
Learning the World by Ken MacLeod
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds


Four works new to me. three novels, one TTRPG supplement. Two appear to be fantasy, one SF, and one is a mystery (by an author famous for their fantasy). Two appear to be stand-alone and two are series.

Books Received, July 12 — July 19



Poll #33375 Books Received, July 12 — July 19
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 42


Which of these look interesting?

View Answers

The Bloody and the Damned by Becca Coffindaffer (April 2026)
13 (31.0%)

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay: Sea Wardens of Cothique by Dave Allen, Dominic McDowall, Michael Duxbury, Jude Hornborg, Naomi Hunter, Steven Lewis, Simon Wileman, et al (4th Quarter, 2025)
1 (2.4%)

Boy, With Accidental Dinosaur by Ian McDonald (February 2026)
18 (42.9%)

Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin by Nancy Springer (February 2026)
12 (28.6%)

Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)

Cats!
30 (71.4%)



Terrible life choices gave Connie Lam a mountain of debt. The most recent poor decision left her as the lead suspect in a murder case.

Club Contango (Tracerverse, volume 2) by Eliane Boey