ben peek
@nosubstance
Author of The Godless, 26Lies, Dead Americans and other novels. Short fiction in Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, Nightmare, Overland, etc. Lives in the edges of Sydney, Australia.
One day you’ll love your novel viruses and your lack of privacy. One day you’ll love AI.
This is a fantastic collection. I gotta figure out if Lee’s novels are in print.
It’s funny how language changes. This story by Sheridan Le Fanu was originally published in 1847.
I quite like Coetzee. The main piece here (a novella) is terrific. You’d buy the book alone for it. There’s half a dozen stories that accompany it as well but they’re just okay. You wouldn’t argue that Coetzee is much of a short story writer.
There's a lot of pro war movies that are nothing more than military propaganda and recruitment tools, and it's hard to settle on just one to hate while critics praise its virtues (maybe they're on the take, who knows) but today we'll go with Black Hawk Down. Also, Ridley Scott is a hack.
It’s kinda strange watching people go on about how important the Epstein files are and how they must be released and at the same time we have this Michael Jackson movie being hyped at the same time.
Yesterday’s new arrival. @jeffreyford8.bsky.social has been putting out great collections of strange and weird stuff for a while now. This is his eighth. Pretty happy to see it.
Finished this morning. Pretty cool, though I must admit, I found ‘Notes from the Underground’ to be a bit of a slog. I am somewhat bemused ‘White Nights’ became a tiktok sensation. But hey, whatever people enjoy, people enjoy.
First collection of the year, Erika Krouse’s Save Me, Stranger. A couple of great stories, some nice prose, but sadly Krouse’s pieces are riddled with stereotypes. There’s also the cardinal sin of writing a story that sounds like an online argument. Unfortunate really cause ‘Eat My Moose’ slaps.
Today is my 15th anniversary with @silverybromide.bsky.social. She gave me Seis Mujeres by José Rosas Ribeyro. It’s published by La Cartonera, who make handmade books out of recycled cardboard. So, on this final day of the year, remember there’s great stuff out there, everywhere.
Finished Hassan Blasim’s Corpse Exhibition this morning. It’s a collection drawn from two previous collections published by Comma Press (I’d read one already). It’s great, honestly. Every story is excellent. I even enjoyed the rereads. Fully recommend.
My cat, Harper, has her own special energy. Pray to her as you would the darkness. She listens.
Watched Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah last night. I'd heard a lot, and it delivers a lot. Recommend.
Amelia Gray’s Gutshot. Cool cover, cool collection. Full of nice, weird little pieces.
All this talk of short stories. Finished this collection by Arthur Miller this morning. Wasn’t a fan of all of it, but he’s got some good pieces in it, especially ‘Fitter’s Night’ and ‘The Misfits’.
Convincing you to read my novel by the first sentence. Share yours if you want. From The Red Labyrinth
Male edition arrived yesterday, so have both editions of this excellent book now.
One of the complaints I have about Alien: Earth is, oddly, how much the xenomorph looks like a man in the suit. Every now and then you get a flash of that in one of the films, but the way they put together those scenes in the series doesn't hide the suit well, sadly.