Oliver Arditi
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paracyclops.bsky.social
Oliver Arditi
@paracyclops.bsky.social
260 followers 380 following 74 posts
Writer, librarian, worldbuilder, conlanger, lapsed musician. I like fantasy, science-fiction and horror, books, records, comics, games, cats, food, and holding inexplicable opinions.
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paracyclops.bsky.social
I'm exploring some of Ursula K Le Guin's lesser known books, and loving them. 'The Beginning Place' is a beautiful, subtle and perceptive allegorical portal fantasy about the passage into adulthood.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/7690...

#fantasy #ursulakleguin #thebeginningplace #books #booksky
A white male hand holding up a copy of 'The Beginning Place' by Ursula K. Le Guin, above a plaid blanket .
December 16, 2025 at 7:29 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I found some notes from when I was last making up a language. I can’t remember what I was stressing about, but it reminded me what a slippery business saying things is when you start trying to pin it down…

#languageconstruction #conlang #conlanging #linguistics #grammar
A piece of paper with visual notes attempting to distinguish between conjunctions, demonstratives and indirect objects
December 11, 2025 at 4:44 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
This book is about people like me—probably the first time a psychologist has identified my 'type' of person. It should be a fascinating read for anyone.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/9ea5...

#psychology #personality #otrovert #nonfiction #ramikaminski #thegiftofnotbelonging #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of 'The Gift of Not Belonging' by Rami Kaminski, in front of a curtain with a 1950s style pattern.
December 1, 2025 at 5:07 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
Forty years late, I've finally read Iain Banks's 'The Wasp factory'—turns out to be as good or better than anything he wrote later. Just wow (but bring your puke bag).

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/cfa9...

#fiction #iainbanks #thewaspfactory #books
A white male hand holding up a copy of 'The Wasp Factory' by Iain Banks in a messy office.
November 30, 2025 at 5:35 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
'Quantum Radio' by A.G. Riddle is a fast, entertaining SF thriller, but I couldn't buy into its plot, characters, or SF elements, and the prose is so pedestrian it kept booting me out of the story.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/73e5...

#sf #sciencefiction #agriddle #quantumradio #books #booksky
A white male hand holding up a copy of A.G. Riddle's 'Quantum Radio' in front of a messy living room.
November 16, 2025 at 3:26 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
Michael Moorcock's 'Earl Aubec' is a bulky grab-bag of his short fiction, written over several decades, and although the standard is patchy, it contains some real gems.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/1825...

#eternalchampion #michaelmoorcock #earlaubec #fantasy #sf #sff #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of Michael Moorcock's 'Earl Aubec' in an airport.
November 15, 2025 at 12:43 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I loved @emilymandel.bsky.social 's 'Sea of Tranquility' so much I'll just sound gushy if I try to say why. Hard recommend.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/03e8...

#sf #scifi #sciencefiction #seaoftranquility
A white male hand holding a copy of Emily St. John Mandel's 'Sea of Tranquility' in front of a dirty cottage window and some flowers.
October 20, 2025 at 11:37 AM
paracyclops.bsky.social
Le Guin's 'The Eye of the Heron' is a beautiful fable, that uses SF mechanics to explore some political ideas, through her usual beautiful prose and heartrending character portraits.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/ed71...

#sf #sciencefiction @ursulakleguin.com #theeyeoftheheron #books #booksky
A copy of Ursula K. Le Guin's 'The Eye of the Heron' held by a white male hand in front of a bookcase bearing some other Le Guin books.
October 16, 2025 at 2:32 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
'The City We Became' is a contemporary urban fantasy which concludes @nkjemisin.bsky.social 's duology mapping good vs. evil onto tolerance vs. the alt right. It's a lot of fun!

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/422a...

#fantasy #urbanfantasy #theworldwemake #books #booksky @nkjemisin.bsky.social
A copy of 'The World We Make' by N.K. Jemisin, on a table, partially shadowed.
October 12, 2025 at 5:13 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I absolutely loved 'Under The Moon', a short, beautifully written SFFH story collection by E.M. Faulds. Small in size, enormous (sublunary) in scope, and frequently moving.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/71eb...

#fantasy #sf #horror #sffh #UnderTheMoonEMF #books @bethkesh.bsky.social
A white male hand holding a copy of 'Under The Moon' by E.M. Faulds in front of some stringed instruments.
October 5, 2025 at 11:59 AM
paracyclops.bsky.social
'The City We Became' is a wonderfully written contemporary urban fantasy that redraws the map of good vs. evil to reflect the state of early 21st century politics.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/623b...

#fantasy #urbanfantasy #nkjemisin #thecitywebecame #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of 'The City We Became' by N.K. Jemisin
September 27, 2025 at 1:57 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I enjoyed @annaleen.bsky.social ’s latest column in @newscientist.com It reminded me how weird it was to go out into the real world in the 1990s, after my upbringing in a feminist bubble, to discover that the battle for gender equality wasn’t completely done and dusted!

#wheresmyjetpack #feminism
September 19, 2025 at 9:01 AM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I was underwhelmed by 'Earthsong', final book in Suzette Haden Elgin's 'Native Tongue' 3logy. No sign of the first book's radicalism. I enjoyed it, but I doubt I'll remember it.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/8a33...

#sf #sciencefiction #suzettehadenelgin #earthsong #nativetongue #books #booksky
A white male hand holding an iPad displaying the cover of the ebook of 'Earthsong' by Suzette Haden Elgin.
September 16, 2025 at 8:13 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I was knocked-out by Marlon James's 'Moon Witch Spider King'—a stonking follow-up to the first book in the series. Dense, intricate language, wonderful worldbuilding, and no holds barred.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/4a40...

#fantasy #marlonjames #darkstar #moonwitchspiderking #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of 'Moon Witch Spider King' by Marlon James in front of a messy sitting room.
September 10, 2025 at 11:18 AM
paracyclops.bsky.social
Just finished Michael Moorcock's 1993 'Stormbringer' omnibus. Much fun, occasionally profound—best story was the 1991 'Revenge of the Rose'.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/a883...

#michaelmoorcock #elric #eternalchampion #chaos #stormbringer #fantasy #swordandsorcery #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of Michael Moorcock's 1993 omnibus 'Stormbringer' in front of a shelf bearing other titles from the 1990s 'Tale of the Eternal Champion' omnibus series.
September 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I've got a new favourite book! 'Black Leopard Red Wolf' by Marlon James is one of the best novels I've read, and the most accomplished contemporary fantasy book I've encountered.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/1af4...

#fantasy #marlonjames #blackleopardredwolf #books #booksky
A copy of ‘Black Leopard Red Wolf’ by Marlon James resting on a black cat in a cardboard box
July 30, 2025 at 7:26 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
This is today’s office.
July 30, 2025 at 3:52 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I found 'The Kingdom of Gods' by N.K. Jemisin a beautifully crafted, thematically complex work of grown-up fantasy fiction.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/b401...

#fantasy #fantasyfiction #books #nkjemisin #theinheritancetrilogy #thekingdomofgods
A copy of N.K. Jemisin's 'The Kingdom of Gods' lying on a fireplace.
July 18, 2025 at 3:56 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I loved this sumptuous English language re-launch of Metal Hurlant, jam-packed with a mix of classics and new stories. Favourites were Moebius's 'Is Man Good?', James Stokoe's 'Red Planet Tomatoes', and Yuri Campos's 'Lacuna'.

#comics #metalhurlant #bandedessinée #humanoids #moebius #comicsky
A white male hand holding up a copy of 'Metal Hurlant: Old Dreams, Young Visions' in front of some wet foliage.
July 2, 2025 at 12:05 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I'm making my way through Tad Williams's 'Memory, Sorrow and Thorn'. 'To Green Angel Tower: Siege' contains some good writing, and was really enjoyable to read, but for me it's a LOT longer than it needs to be.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/e433...

#fantasy #epicfantasy #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of 'To Green Angel Tower: Siege' by Tad Williams, by a widow with foliage visible through it.
June 24, 2025 at 6:21 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
Ursula K. Le Guin's 'Steering The Craft' is both a creative writing manual, and a manifesto for the importance of good writing. It's as beautifully written as her fiction.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/bb4c...

#creativewriting #ursulakleguin #steeringthecraft #books #booksky
A white male hand holding a copy of Ursula K. Le Guin’s ‘Steering the Craft’ in front of a shed.
June 11, 2025 at 4:42 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I was quietly but powerfully moved by Ursula K. Le Guin's 'Orsinia', a beautifully crafted cross between Realist historical fiction and Ruritarian romance.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/3c91...

#fiction #ruritarianromance #shortstories #ursulakleguin #orsinia #books #booksky
A while male hand holding up 'Orsinia' by Ursula K. Le Guin in front of a shelf of Le Guin's other books.
May 21, 2025 at 4:24 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
Just read @interzone.press #298 (about a year late). Loved every story, but Mame Bougouma Dieme’s ‘Perpetual Motion Sickness’ in particular was utterly devastating.

#sf #sciencefiction #fantasy #sff #specfic #interzone #shortfiction #shortstories #books
The cover of Interzone #298 held by a white male hand in front of some red geraniums
May 11, 2025 at 7:16 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
I had Lord Dunsany on my TBR 4 a long time. I found 'Time & The Gods' very enjoyable & was amazed at how much of Dunsany's influence I could detect in some of my favourite writers.

app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/0e38...

#fiction #fantasy #lorddunsany #timeandthegods #thegodsofpegana #books #booksky
A white male hand holding up a copy of Lord Dunsany's 'Time And The Gods' in front of some cosy domestic mess.
May 7, 2025 at 1:38 PM
paracyclops.bsky.social
Latest read: 'The Book of Gold' by Ruth Frances Long—an entertaining fantasy heist story. I especially enjoyed the world, closely based on Renaissance Europe, and the focus on books, libraries and scholarship.
#fantasy #fantasyfiction #romantasy #books #thebookofgold @rflong.bsky.social #booksky
April 24, 2025 at 11:59 AM