Peadar

I figured, but didn't want anybody to take it literally and miss out

I expect to be there! And I'm going to disagree with the comment above. It's small, but it's a very pretty town. Also, the fans who run the convention are hugely friendly and enthusiastic. The CosPlays are second to none and LuxCon is VERY well attended -- several thousand people a day at least. They usually have a great games section too, as well as medieval reenactors in full armour staging brawls. Recommended.

Brilliant if true!

Oh, yes, being British doesn't help. Not being a known part of the WorldCon in-crowd won't help either, of course. Nor does it help Adrian Tchaikovsky who published a wonderful sequel to Children of Time, as well as a few, truly exceptional novellas. But I must correct you on one thing: The Book of Koli was the *first* part of the trilogy. It came out in 2020 and was therefore eligible. Parts 2 and 3 came out very quickly afterwards at six month intervals.

M. R. Carey's The Book of Koli was absolutely outstanding and in my opinion, would be a worthy Hugo winner. It is head and shoulders above at least two books on that list, but in a way, that's how the Hugos have always worked. Fans vote the way they want, as is their absolute right. However, the idea that there are no excellent books by men in this or any other year, is just as ridiculous as saying there are no excellent books by women. But I'm guessing you both know that already.

Ah, yes, it was yourself Thank you!

Reading Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, as recommended here. Enjoyable so far. Lots of interesting cultural and historical snippets.

I loved this one and am sorry you did not. I thought he was an amazing character, if a little bit crazy. As for me, I'm reading yet another Adrian Tchaikovsky book, Bear Head.

I enjoyed Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera, although compared to something like Shashi Tharoor's Inglorious Empire, it pulls a lot of punches. Maybe because the latter author grew up in a country that experienced the empire from under the boot, as opposed to being the person wearing it. As an Irish person, Mr. Tharoor's attitudes are much closer to my own.

You are welcome! I follow the guy on twitter too -- lots of interesting stuff in his feed, usually.

Starting Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera. A book about the effects of the British Empire on modern British society.

I'll be starting The Fall of Koliv by M. R. Carey today. I absolutely loved the first two books in this series. It's a wonderful post-apocalyptic tale full of carnivorous plants and insane artificial intelligences.

Thank you so much for reading my books I have started One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Enjoying this time travel novella a lot so far. There's a pet dinosaur.

I'm up to book 4 of Colleen McCullagh's Masters of Rome series, Caesar's Women. I have enjoyed the books tremendously so far, but Caesar is easily my least favourite character -- a dreaded combination of Mary Sue and pomous dickhead. He's coming to dominate the series more and more, so after this one I'll probably take a break to jump into something else.

The Expert System's Brother was short and fun. Up next, The Grass Crown by Colleen McCullough.