Tag: books

Hiromi Kawakami Book List

Relatively unknown in the West, Hiromi Kawakami is one of Japan’s best and most acclaimed contemporary authors. She has won all of the major Japanese literary prizes, including the Akutagawa Prize, the Tanizaki Prize, the Yomiuri Prize, and the Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature. She is known for her delicate exploration of human relationships and the subtle magic that permeates everyday life, occasionally delving into what can only be described as deep science fiction. Somewhat reminiscent of Haruki Murakami, though far more deeply rooted in Japanese culture, Kawakami writes stories that feel both deeply personal and mysteriously otherworldly. Her work often focuses on the connections between people—romantic, familial, and neighborly—rendered with a gentle touch that reveals profound truths about loneliness, love, and belonging.

While three of her books are yet to be translated into English, I have read nine of the ten that are available, and this is how I would list them in order of personal preference and general literary quality.

This is one of my rare contributions to Fandom Pulse. You can read it there. Note that it does not include the three novels not yet translated into English, or the tenth book, Manazuru, which I am reading now.

DISCUSS ON SG

Retro Bindery Backers

As we’re rapidly approaching full operational status for the Death Star bindery, we’re going to need to figure out the print runs for THE ILIAD and THE ODYSSEY. So, sometime next month, we’re giving everyone the chance to back the bindery at the same price as the original backers who have made the whole thing possible.

We’ve set up a poll at the Castalia Library stack, so please feel free to let us know if a) you’re already a backer, b) you’re interested in becoming one, or c) not so much. You can also check out the first draft of the title page as well as what the interiors are going to look like.

DISCUSS ON SG

Based Quantum Wardogs

The Based Book Summer Sale.

It’s time to take a break from your daily routine and especially from corporate culture and get some great based books from both established and emerging talent for only $0.99 – many titles free – but only for one week!

With about 300 based books on the shelf to browse including over a hundred new to the trove, there’s something for for every seeker of truth and tale. So unpouch your scrystone, or a “computer,” if your arcane aptitude is still in its infancy, settle into your favorite scrying chair, and begin the scroll.

Castalia House is participating in the Based Book Sale with a 4-pack SF set in the Quantum Mortis universe, which for $3.99 includes:

  • Quantum Mortis: A Man Disrupted
  • Wardogs Inc. Battlesuit Bastards
  • Wardogs Inc. Hunter Killer
  • Wardogs Inc. Metal Monsters

DISCUSS ON SG

Last Call

The next Based Book Sale starts Wednesday, June 18, 2025, 12:00 AM PDT and ends Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 12:00 AM PDT. Participating authors need to sign up by the end of the day Monday June 16. Follow the instructions, and comment on this post.

The link is there. If you want in, be sure to let the Based folks know. I’ve included a little SF bundle this time myself.

On an unrelated note, don’t miss the Monday Stream on UATV with the Big Bear and me.

The Book People Speak

The poll has closed. A respectable 190 Castalians had their say and the results were remarkably close.

  • 29% Aristotle – Rhetoric
  • 26% The Cambridge Medieval History Vol. 2
  • 26% Machiavelli – Discourses on Livy
  • 09% Hemingway – A Farewell to Arms
  • 09% Waugh – Decline and Fall

Tomorrow, therefore, we shall begin with the serialization of RHETORIC by Aristotle, utilizing the Library edition which begins with an Introduction by none other than your favorite dark lord. If you want to take part in the group reading and the discussion in the comments, be sure to subscribe to the Castalia Library substack.

DISCUSS ON SG

The Next Serial

Now that the Castalia Library substack subscribers have completed The Christian Empire in just under one year, it’s time to decide what the next serial will be. I’ve provided a list of five possibilities, and I’ll leave it to the Library community to decide which of the five will be serialized next.

Of course, if you want to be able to take advantage of it most easily, you should consider subscribing to the substack. It’s free, and you’ll be kept up to date on all Library-related matters as well as have the chance to read through the selected book with the rest of us.

DISCUSS ON SG

Fake Reviews on Amazon

The traditional publishers are actively manipulating the reviews of their books on Amazon and GoodReads alike:

Every “A-list” author from the major sci fi imprints seems to start out with 100+ “pre-release” reviews (almost all 4 or 5 stars) on Goodreads. Now, this could just be successful ARC promotion. That’s entirely possible.

Another explanation is that they have teams of people willing to pad reviews ahead of release. Idk, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

Especially since most of these A-listers see their Goodreads averages plummet once actual readers get their hands on the books. I’m not talking about a gradual decline. I’m talking about books that have a 4.3+ rating pre-release ending up in the 3.5 – 3.6 range within a few months.

If you go back through the Goodreads Choice Awards nominees, the trend jumps out of the data. A huge percentage of these books are extremely poorly rated by readers. Not at the time of release, mind you, but within a few months.

All of which is to say, nobody pulls more shenanigans and manipulates the book-buying public more than trad pub.

No, it’s not possible. While there is an organic element of pre-release review-stoking, the repetitive and reliable nature of the pattern indicates that this is a level of manipulation by favored players that Amazon is willing to tolerate. Amazon is not only confirmed to play favorites, but it habitually indulges in a level of charades and shenanigans much more comprehensive than anyone suspects, and has done so from the very beginning.

Ever wonder why Hugh Howey was never able to follow up on his incredible “success”? Or why his “super-popular” books were so mediocre? He was just a variant on the traditional publisher’s manufactured bestseller.

If it gets big fast, it is fake. Every single fucking time.

If I had more bandwidth, one of the things I would do is design a truly impartial and objective review site that aggressively resisted review-fluffing and review-sinking alike.

DISCUSS ON SG

The Winds of Winter is Complete

And has been, apparently, for nine years already.

A publishing industry insider has told Fandom Pulse The Winds Of Winter was finished and turned in back in 2016. Epic fantasy fans have all but given up on getting the end of A Song Of Ice And Fire, George R.R. Martin’s epic which sprawled out of control with too many perspective characters where the author wrote himself into a corner. On top of it, Martin himself seems to have completely given up on it and published a very angry rant at fan reaction on his blog this week.

However, an insider told Fandom Pulse the thirteen-years-late book actually was finished in 2016 during the filming of season 6 of A Game Of Thrones. The insider, who we confirmed worked in the publishing industry at big companies, said that they have spoken with editors at both Spectra and Voyager, who are Martin’s publishers in the United Kingdom and the United States, to confirm this, with both having a similar story.

That’s another big scoop for Fandom Pulse, following on the heels of the confirmation of its original reporting about Ark Press being part of Peter Thiel’s new publishing empire. . Apparently the reason The Winds of Winter wasn’t published despite being completed is because Martin withdrew the book after the producers of the TV show criticized the ending, which reportedly is much the same ending that was filmed. It’s also interesting that the first mention of an additional book to follow appears to be around the same time that Martin withdrew the book from his publishers.

If these reports are true, it might explain why the two producers abandoned the production so hastily, and why they pretty much just phoned in that final season. They would have known it was going to be a trainwreck long before they started filming it. It would also explain why Martin apparently has no intention of releasing the book, at least, not while he’s still alive to listen to his former fans castigating his swan song. Of course, if you watched Arkhaven Nights last night, you already know all of this…

So, it would appear that Martin lost his writing fastball even sooner than we thought. As Murakami says, once a writer gets fat, it’s over. I’ll be discussing this on the Darkstream tonight, so if you’re interested, tune in.

UPDATE: Ruh-roh…

“The Starks and Lannisters and Targaryens, Tyrion and Asha, Dany and Daenerys, the dragons and the direwolves, I care about them all,” Martin wrote. “More than you can ever imagine.”

Dany is Daenerys. But apparently George doesn’t realize that now.

DISCUSS ON SG

The Stalwarts of Library

Congratulations to the intrepid subscribers to the Castalia Library substack, as today marks the end of our second serialization. After 315 daily installments and 614 pages covering everything from the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed to the Teutonic migrations, we have finally managed to accomplish together something I never quite managed to do on my own despite it being one of my prize possessions, which is read every single page of The Cambridge Medieval History Volume I: The Christian Empire.

So, well done, everyone.

To be honest, I’ve been a little shocked at seeing how many people have been reading along; there are usually 1,000 post-reads recorded, so even if three-quarters of those readers are only glancing at each post, that’s a lot more people reading through one of the more advanced historical summaries ever published.

Tomorrow I’ll put up a poll for what the next daily serialization should be. One option is to simply continue with Volume II: Foundation of the Western Empire, but perhaps we might do with a break from the Cambridge historians for a while. Feel free to make any suggestions on SocialGalactic, but recall that any work we serialize there must be in the public domain.

DISCUSS ON SG

The People Have Spoken

In what leather would you prefer to see the two Homer Library editions bound?

  • 54% The new Franklin-style pigskin
  • 34% The new cowhide
  • 11% The original Easton-style cowhide

    There is also considerable enthusiasm for the ability to retroactively back the two Castalia Bindery editions, so we’ll probably get that rolling next week, for the next 2-3 weeks. This will be a useful way of helping us pay for the hubbing tools and the leather-cutting press that we now need to acquire.

    If you are a Bindery backer and you have a religious problem with pigskin, get in touch with me. Due to our great appreciation for your support in helping us get the bindery going, we will arrange to bind your backer editions in the new cowhide. Which, fittingly enough, is something that we can actually do now that we control the production process.

    DISCUSS ON SG