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Lions In The Fog

SJ Ryan's Blog
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No matter how good a lion you are, you can’t see well if you’re surrounded by nothing but fog.


Featured posts:

Featured
May 31, 2021
Are We Biased Against Hard Work?
May 31, 2021
May 31, 2021
Aug 4, 2020
What Business Are You In?
Aug 4, 2020
Aug 4, 2020
Jul 30, 2020
Pace Yourself
Jul 30, 2020
Jul 30, 2020
Jul 28, 2020
Falling Off The Path
Jul 28, 2020
Jul 28, 2020
Jul 28, 2020
Advanced Leadership: Trust and Responsibility
Jul 28, 2020
Jul 28, 2020
Jul 27, 2020
Do We Crawl, Walk or Run?
Jul 27, 2020
Jul 27, 2020
Jul 15, 2020
Don't Forget Context When Offering Advice
Jul 15, 2020
Jul 15, 2020
Jun 29, 2020
And Then What?
Jun 29, 2020
Jun 29, 2020
Jun 23, 2020
Are You Sabotaging Your Own Strategy?
Jun 23, 2020
Jun 23, 2020
May 21, 2020
When Is It Okay to Quit?
May 21, 2020
May 21, 2020
norylska groans_cover thumb.jpg smugglers valour_cover thumb.jpg uncommon valor_cover thumb.jpg compulsory_cover thumb.jpg hunter_cover thumb.jpg androne_cover thumb.jpg eleventh cycle_cover thumb.jpg reclaimation_cover thumb.jpg osprey chron_cover thumb.jpg tales of the macabre_cover thumb.jpg

Another Labor Day In The Rearview Mirror

September 04, 2023

What I finished reading in August, 2023…

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The Wine Dark Deep

August 27, 2023

The spirit of Homer is alive and well out in the solar system…and beyond.

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Napoleon on Elba, all dressed up and nowhere to go.

Image: Wikimedia

Mid-Year Update, Pt 3: Odds, Ends and Lingering

August 16, 2023 in Miscellaneous

Books which have been exiled unfinished from the e-reader, and some which may soon follow them.

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fearful dog_cover thumb.jpg stonewall jackson_cover thumb.jpg punic wars_cover thumb.jpg histories_cover thumb.jpg war mage_cover thumb.jpg battle ring earth_cover thumb.jpg horizon protocol_cover thumb.jpg

Mid-Year Update, Pt 2: Business Not To Be Concluded

August 14, 2023 in Collection, Fantasy, Indie/Self-Published, Mil SF, Mystery, Reading Notes, Science Fiction, Series, War

Despite my best efforts, there are always books I can’t finish. This updates books stopped and sent back to the cloud as of mid-August 2023.

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Tags: Maas, Abrahams, Kress, Higgins, Ford, Heuler, Arenson, JR Handley, Ellis, Wolfe, Frater, Carr, Michael Anderle, Herodotus, Captivating History, GFR Henderson, Debbie Jacobs
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Three From The Road

July 31, 2023 in Fantasy, Grimdark, Horror, Mystery

The last day of July 2023, a couple of last-minute vacation reading finishes, including an excellent debut!

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Tags: Snyder, Hashem, Kurkov
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Paging Mr. Dickens to Galaxy's Edge

July 29, 2023 in Indie/Self-Published, Mil SF, Reading Notes

It was the best of indie mil SF, it was the worst of indie mil SF…

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Tags: Galaxys Edge, Order of the Centurion, Anspach, Cole, Robillard
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Great for the soul, not entirely conducive to productivity…

Perfect Reading Conditions

July 28, 2023 in Reading Notes

Reading with Pliny, not reading Pliny…

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Tags: Pliny the Elder
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Magazine Catch Up Reading

July 28, 2023 in Fantasy, Grimdark, Horror, Magazine, Non-fiction

The last few weeks saw me catching up reading digital magazines. Spoiled for choice! This includes: the last Galaxy’s Edge monthly, two Nightmares (129 and 130), two Dark Magazines (97 and 98), two Lightspeeds (157 and 158), a new and excellent Grimdark (35) and a new to me quarterly, Khōréō.

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Tags: Galaxys Edge, Lightspeed Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, The Dark, Grimdark, Khōréō
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Coming soon to a solar system near you.

Cixin Liu Is Not Sure It's Going To Work Out

July 14, 2023 in Collection, Science Fiction, Reading Notes

…but read this anyway — it’s good stuff.

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Tags: Cixin Liu
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Space Westerns!

July 14, 2023

Two great tastes that taste great together or are we going to regret mixing the streams?

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A clever name for a book full of clever writing.

New Voices Redux

July 08, 2023

Another excellent expedition into contemporary Chinese-language SFF.

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daughter from the dark_cover thumb.jpg riddle_cover thumb.jpg last quest_cover thumb.jpg mephisto_cover thumb.jpg artifact space_cover thumb.jpg reckoning_cover thumb.jpg absence of blade_cover thumb.jpg

Mid-Year Update, Pt 1: Finishes

July 07, 2023 in Fantasy, Indie/Self-Published, Mil SF, Mystery, Reading Notes, Science Fiction, SFF

Shorter reviews from June and early July 2023

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Tags: Dyachenko, Childers, Austin Dragon, Anspach, Cole, Miles Cameron, Ken Preston, Caitlin McKenna
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Lost Opportunities

July 02, 2023 in Indie/Self-Published, Science Fiction, Series

Another ambitious series from the indie/self-published scene. How does it measure up?

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Tags: Nathan Hystad
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Beyond Redemption, Belief, and Sanity

July 02, 2023 in Fantasy, Grimdark, Reading Notes

A fantastic journey into darkness and magic from Michael R. Fletcher.

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Tags: Michael R Fletcher
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The Rise and Fall and Return of Joe Coffin

July 01, 2023

If Guy Ritchie wrote gangster horror, this’d be it…

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joseph street_cover thumb.jpg waffle haus_cover thumb.jpg wolves_cover thumb.jpg haliden_cover thumb.jpg nevernight_cover thumb.jpg tor com 2021_cover thumb.jpg

Retrospective Spring Wrap Up, Pt. 2

July 01, 2023 in Fantasy, Horror, Indie/Self-Published, Reading Notes, Science Fiction

Continuing to catch up from my spring of lots of reading, little writing.

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Tags: Underwood, Grayson, C. Gockel, Sendowski, Kristoff, Ruoxi Chen, Datlow
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May Magazine Mayhem

June 26, 2023 in Horror, Grimdark, Fantasy, Magazine, Science Fiction

Sorry, that’s cheesy. What’s not are the fiction ‘zines within…

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Tags: Nightmare Magazine, Lightspeed Magazine, Dark Void Magazine, The Dark
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New Voices, New Perspectives

June 22, 2023

A collection of new and mostly award-winning Chinese SF. Strongly recommended.

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Um, don’t box sets actually go the other direction IRL?

Assassins, AIs, Power Armor, and Explosions, Oh My...

June 19, 2023 in Indie/Self-Published, Mil SF, Reading Notes, Science Fiction, Series

Another industrial-length series, packed with industrial-strength action. This one is genuinely good.

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Tags: Peloquin
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Retroactive Spring Wrap Up, Pt. 1

June 19, 2023 in Fantasy, Horror, Indie/Self-Published, Reading Notes, Science Fiction

I’ve been more motivated to read than write, so find myself catching up on a few months’ worth of reading. Here are some that didn’t rate longer stand-alone reviews.

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Tags: Newton Webb, Keyla Damaer, Reese Hogan, Christopher D. Schmitz
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email: sjr@gmx.us
phone: (571) 366-9110