iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I am experiencing no small amount of jealousy towards friends and peers at FantasyCon. But then I must remind myself that I hate going places and seeing people. Even people I like. Mine is the heart of a hermit.

140

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 2h

There seem to be 2 camps. One that wanted it to end before that last sequence, and one who thought that last sequence was the perfect campy chaotic climax. Nobody is indifferent.

000

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 2h

A useful thread about a fresh front opening up on the war on writers.

021

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 2h

We are doing some super el ninõ shit this year, apparently

120

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Widow's Bay is turning out to be excellent. So glad I didn't abandon it after the slightly dull first episode because it clearly just needed a run up before it could take flight.

260

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I always hear Ethan Winters to the tune of Iiiiiivyyyy Wintersssss.

010

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I have Alan Wake 2 to play. But to get to it, I have to finish Alan Wake 1. I bounced off AW1 originally, because the main character is a writer, and as you know, I hate writers. But maybe this time will be different. *cue groundhog day loop of my misery*

340

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

My only complaint about Lifeforce (1985) is that they prevented the heroic space shuttle captain making out with the space vampire lady while she was possessing Patrick Stewart.

000

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The campy charm is definitely the appeal of a lot of the 80s flicks we are gravitating towards. We went in blind, so everything was a pleasant surprise. I suspect we are trying to recapture the Blockbuster experience, picking movies with as little advance knowledge about them as possible.

000

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Last night's movie was Witchtrap. Bad plot, bad acting, but the dialogue was so funny it made the whole thing enjoyable. Two of the characters in the haunted house trying to kill them just doing buddy cop quips back and forth the whole time... genius move.

120

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Prosper's Demon - K. J. Parker

010

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

My son inexplicably developed this laugh as a teenager without ever encountering Mutley as a child. Eerie.

120

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Our Halloween movie marathon hit a rough patch, but we emerged into the glory of John Carpenter's Village of the Damned last night, which managed to be genuinely horrifying in places despite the more... goofy elements.

010

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"Why set a crime novel in a slaughterhouse?" Because that is an absolutely banging place to set a crime novel, no explanation needed 😅

010

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I'm picturing it in the "NoLogo" font.

010

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

After that (Helen) Grant money, presumably.

100

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Its the constant flow of it, just like a kid's rambling storytelling.

000

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Morning! I am currently reading Arthur Machen's The White People. While the framing device was overwrought enough to almost put me off, the "fairy tale" written in a child's voice is weirdly effective. I am a sucker for good voice in a story.

271

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Every possible way it could be wrong, it is wrong. 😅 The evil parrot is surprisingly effective as a villain though... especially his Hannibal Lecter style introduction.

110

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I am familiar with the concept of refuge in audacity, but every time the evil parrot in Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated says the phrase "poisonous cobra larvae implanted in your spine" and activates them by pushing a button, I lose my fucking mind.

140

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Do you read Sutter Cane? Kicked off the halloween horror movie marathon month with a bang.

140

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I've been reading some older "fantasy" stories, that would now be called "horror" stories, but at the time were called "dillemma" stories, and which somehow are best described as "weird" tales. Genre is the root of all evil.

010

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

My darling wife purchased some new pillows for our bed. Pillows that seem to be mostly empty. A single layer of feathers spread flat across the inside. It was like laying my head down on a crisp packet. Needless to say, I am well rested.

050

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Reminds me of that dog that danced at Crufts: Tripping Hazard.

110

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

To be fair, I think we were all pretty surprised, given his track record.

120

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Tomorrow will be a better day. (I keep telling myself.)

110

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

You deserve some sort of special award for that one. Incredible.

010

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I think they are too busy trying to club the leader of the labour party to death for proposing labour policies today.

120

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I want these on my shelves, so I guess I need to wait for the new paperbacks in January, but my goodness, don't they look gorgeous.

041

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

If you are a Stranger Things fan (sorry) and you need a name for a cat, please consider "Shady Slink."

120

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I'm just glad it got published so I don't have to feel guilty about forgetting to send you back notes for another decade. 😅

110

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I was lucky enough to read an early draft of this book a million or so years ago, well worth a look if you want something a little different from the usual historical fantasy fare.

141

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Horror fans really are eating well at the moment. Across all media. Meanwhile I look through award shortlists for fantasy and I recognise nobody and nothing interesting.

001

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Ghostphone. I can still hear his buzzes...

010

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

4. No amount of evidence will convince my father to believe in me.

050

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Reasons my wife believes I am a haunting: 1. Meticulous knowledge of the past, little awareness of the present. 2. Mysterious smells drifting through the house. 3. Strange whispering in the dead of night.

150

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

A squirrel just casually strolled by my feet as I was having a smoke. I think I just won today and I haven't even started yet.

060

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Reality Fracture prerelease is today. It feels like someone at Hasbro saw all the multiverse nonsense Marvel movies were doing to alienate fans and decided they wanted in on it. That said; I am a sucker for the alternate universe version of evil characters as good, dragons as sphynx etc. #mtg

020

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

As October draws ever nearer, I have begun assembling a collection of films and books of the spooky variety, to indulge in.

051

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Wriggly Ever After, the sequel to goblin-road-trip-comedy Wriggly Little Hands is out today, if you need a little joy in your lives. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...

010

G. D. Penman @gdpenman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Our local antique store has a genuine Morrocan fez. It is calling to me like the Green Goblin mask. Anyway, the group chat immediately began savaging me.