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Christopher Rowe

@christopherrowe.bsky.social

1.3K followers 360 following 740 posts

Writer, reader, cyclist, cook, traveller. THE NAVIGATING FOX, starred review in Publishers Weekly, out now from Tordotcom Publishing.

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · Apr 13

Sunday selfie.

A black and white photograph of a bald, clean-shaven white man from the upper chest up. He’s wearing a black t-shirt, and there’s a hint of a smile on his face.

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 8h

Way to go!

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 17h

In that spirit, I say that LLMs are like player pianos. They only make the music a human hand has inscribed on the rolls they’re loaded with. And they never sound as good.

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 17h

A friend once told me that the closest parallel to NFTs —a previous “inevitable” thing foisted on a world that deserves better—was those certificates you can order that give you “ownership” of a star.

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 3d

Bow to your partner.
Bow to the lady across the hall.

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 4d

I must admit that the practice illustrated in the attached images both irritates and concerns me. The pictures are the cover and first page of Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars as it first appeared in book form in 1917, and then the cover and first page of the same book as published in 2024.

The striking cover of the first publication (in book form) of Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel, A Princess of Mars. The illustrator was Frank E. Schoonover.

The first page of the 1917 edition of A Princess of Mars. A highlighted sentence reads: "We all loved him, and our slaves fairly worshipped the ground he trod."

Joe Jusko's exciting cover of A Princess of Mars as published in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorize Library line by ERB, Inc.

The first page of the 2024 estate-authorized edition of A Princess of Mars. A highlighted sentence reads: "We all loved him, and our servants fairly worshipped the ground he trod."

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 5d

A commonplace conversation once often heard around here that you don’t hear anymore:

“Are you not gonna lock the door?”

“Nah. Somebody might need to get in.”

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 6d

Lean on me!

A farmer leaning against a large black steer’s rump.

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 9d

Robert E. Howard fans be advised.

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 9d

God bless Jane Goodall, Ambassador to Our Cousins. Her work helped us better understand ourselves.

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 10d

No, but it does have to do with water.

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 10d

Should have said it’s about a foot long.

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 10d

Who knows what this is? Don’t be tacky and no fun by looking this up with a search engine or whatever.

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 10d

I need just 12 more followers to hit 1300. I will recruit whoever those 12 are as disciples and send them out into the world to preach peace, love, and resistance to Empire. Warning: some of you will probably be martyred.

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 18d

I am really digging the outfits, wizards! Especially the hats!

From "Death and 7 Wizards," written by Roy Thomas with pencils by John Buscema under Ernie Chua's inks in the Marvel comic, Conan the Barbarian #33, cover-dated December 1973.

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 20d

Here’s the announcement of the next round of digital shorts based on the characters of Robert E. Howard. My story is about Bran Mak Morn, a Pict hero in the days of the Roman occupation. The title is “Wolf of the Heather.”

www.superherohype.com/comics/62877...

New Conan the Barbarian Stories Set Release Dates, View Covers | Exclusive - Comic Book Movies and Superhero Movie News - SuperHeroHype

Titan Books and Heroic Signatures have confirmed a new ebooks line starring Conan the Barbarian and other heroes created by Robert E. Howard.

www.superherohype.com

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 22d

This photograph of Reagan-era Marine veteran Curtis Evans exercising his constitutional right to protest in Broadview, Illinois, yesterday was taken for the Chicago Tribune by Stacey Wescott. I know Curtis Evans is a hero, and I'm betting Stacey Wescott is a future Pulitzer winner.

While people in the background flee tear gas, an older man strides purposefully forward through the flags, carrying a large American flag on a pole, with a smaller one in his back pocket. An abandoned protest sign on the ground, partially obscured by the gas, reads, "Every Ice Agent Will be Held to Account."

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 22d

A bit of doggerel I wrote when Adam West passed away.

"Holy Wholly Wholesome!"
Sang a Robin on a lark.
"Always keep in mind, Chum,
Not every knight is dark."

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 22d

Here's a dark fantasy story I wrote called "Dolly Girl." I'm pretty proud of it. It's about 8,100 words long, which means it will take most native English readers about 40 minutes to read. If you take the time, let me know what you think!

www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-...

Dolly Girl

Like at least the five previous Constance Faradays—Connie’s mother, and hers, and hers, and on back like that—Connie had been...

www.apexbookcompany.com

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · 29d

I posted this image last week,but am reposting as I can now prove this is my 5-times-great-grandfather. As a member of Gabriel Long's Company of Morgan's Rifles, he crossed the Delaware with George Washington. Shortly thereafter, he was wounded at Princeton, then fought at Brunswick and elsewhere.

The Principal Surveyor of the Land for the Commonwealth of Virginia's Land-Office Military Warrant No. 3985, dated October 21, 1785, granting William Rowe 100 acres of land in consideration for his services for three years as a soldier on the Virginia Continental Line.

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · Sep 12

A rare long-distance action shot of me at work. My brother snapped me checking to see if #13 had calved—you can see she had—and “sexing” the baby. Little girl.

A view down over a large, mostly empty pasture. At rear, a very large barn stands before a wooded horizon. In the foreground, left to right, a farmer walks from his parked pickup truck toward a tiny black smudge just barely discernible as a baby calf. To the right, the calf’s anxious mother looks on.

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · Sep 6

I'm not sure if this is a William Rowe in my family. There are a LOT of William Rowes in my family. Heck, I see at least two every day, and on some days three! I should look into it more deeply at some point. It would be cool to have a Revolutionary War Veteran ancestor.

An aged document reads:

Land-Office Military Warrant, No. 3985
To the principal SURVEYOR of the Land, set apart for Officers and Soldiers of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
This shall be your WARRANT to survey and lay off in one or more surveys, for William Rowe, his Heirs or Assigns; the Quantity of One hundred Acres of Land, due unto the said William Rowe in consideration for his Services for the three years as a Soldier in the Virginia Commonwealth Line agreeably to a Certificate from the Governor and Council, which is received into the Land-Office, GIVEN under my Hand, and Seal of the said Office, this 21st Day of October in the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and 85.

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · Sep 3

I acknowledge the smugness of this letter I've just typed up. I will also be smug when I walk down to the post box on the public square after breakfast in the morning to mail it. If you're gonna be performative, try to make someone else's day with it while you're making your own, that's what I say!

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Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · Aug 30

Happy Labor Day weekend from the ‘ville.

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · Aug 26

Double dipping this morning.

Christopher Rowe @christopherrowe.bsky.social · Aug 25

Hey genre publishing people. Do I know anyone who, or know anyone who knows anyone who, worked on the Tor Conan books in the 80s and 90s and might answer a few questions?

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