Author Archive: Sarah Hoyt

FROM CAROLINE FURLONG:   The Guardian Cycle, Vol. 3: Neptune’s Envoys and Other Stories.

There is no need to be afraid of the dark. But what about fearing that which lives in the dark? What if those shadows have teeth and glittering, hungry eyes?

Darkness conceals many Things better avoided. Meet the miner who delved too deep beneath Luna’s surface for treasure, yet lived to return and tell the tale in Despot Hold ‘Em. Follow Damien Fraser as he collects diamond rain from the cloud depths in Neptune’s Envoys – if he can avoid the Devil sharks. But are the Devils the worst things there?

Allan Kearney defeated the demons seeking his soul after escaping death in a Nihanese prison camp. Now, with the help of Michio Oshika and assembled allies, he plans to infiltrate the camp to free the other prisoners. But so much blood has been spilled that the ground is ripe for a Hellmouth to open. The demon priest who branded Allan and killed so many others is dead, yet another may appear, one who could draw a different demon to his aid with the right sacrifice….

AH! BUT WE WERE MADE FOR TIMES LIKE THIS. ALL OF US WHO STAND UP:  At a time when submission is called “virtue” and fear “prudence,” Sydney Sweeney’s simple frankness serves as an act of insurrection.

For the times, they are achanging.

THE DAYS OF MICROSOFT — THE DAYS OF ALL THE GIANTS — ARE PASSING: I’m going to connect two dots that have been active conversation topics on X recently. One is Microsoft corporate blather about Windows turning into an “agentic” OS stuffed with AI; the other is increasing hype around the Steam Machine from Valve. Reaction to the Microsoft trial balloon has been, to put it mildly, negative. People hear AI from Microsoft and think “Oh great – superintelligence to spam me with yet more ads and spyware.” (Think Clippy with vampire fangs.) Slightly more sophisticated users worry about prompt injection. As they should.

It’s like watching the dinosaurs die after the asteroid, with no idea what hit them.

Oh, yeah, and a link for the X-communicated.