iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jonny Nexus

@jonnynexus.bsky.social

399 followers 180 following 1.7K posts

SF/F author. He/him. From London, lives in Greater Manchester. Agent: John Jarrold

Posts Replies Media

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 10h

I'll be at @octocon.bsky.social, the Irish National Science Fiction Convention, in Cork this weekend. Would you to meet up and chat with any of you guys that might be there!

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A review of Strata by Sir Terry Pratchett. A story of a discworld that isn’t THE Discworld, written before the Discworld, and it’s science-fiction not fantasy, with more than a hint of Larry Niven’s Ringworld. #booktok #sf #pratchett vm.tiktok.com/ZN8rv5J98/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

A review of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, by Agatha Christie. Christie’s first published novel, and the novel that introduced the world to her Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. #booktok #mystery #fiction vm.tiktok.com/ZN8rVec9D/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Part of what might become a bit of a series, of thoughts about writing sparked by conversations with my daughter, who's getting into writing. This one's on how to structure your overall story about three key events. buttondown.com/TheNexusFile...

The Three Key Events Of A Story

My daughter's recently been getting into novel writing, which means that she and I have been having lots of conversations about writing, and how to structure...

200

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Did this architect really want to aggravate people with a bit of OCD?

A cylindrical tower block which looks like four stacked cylinders, with each slightly twisted compared to the one below (going by the placing of the windows and facing).

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

A review of The Dungeon Book, as told by Cornelius the Skull, by my very good friend, Gareth Hanrahan. A lovely and engaging story with twists and turns in which a human child is raised by the denizens of a dungeon (i.e. the monsters). #booktok #fantasy #fiction vm.tiktok.com/ZGdQGCaJ6/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

On why, thanks to bloody Generative AI, if I ever self-publish another novel, I won’t be paying artists to produce me cover artwork, but will instead just opt for for a very plain, stripped down, Penguin / Traveller style cover with no art whatsoever. #booktok #ai vm.tiktok.com/ZGdQgFxLg/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A review of Murder Before Evensong by the Reverend Richard Coles. A rare DNF review by me. #booktok #mystery #fiction vm.tiktok.com/ZGdQqYwcr/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

A review of The Guns Of The South, by Harry Turtledove. Alternate history where the South wins the American Civil War, with a time travel twist. #booktok #civilwar #alternatehistory vm.tiktok.com/ZGdQ4MQVR/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

You may or may not have been aware that Armadacon was in a bit of limbo, due to their previous hotel abruptly cancelling their booking at very short notice. Well they've now got a new location, in central Plymouth! It's the 7th and 8th of November, and I will be there. armadacon.org/location.php

Where is ArmadaCon?

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A review of Chris Evans’s two autobiographies, It’s Not What You Think, and Memoirs of a Fruitcake. Entertaining and informative stories about his life and TV / radio career. #booktok #memoir #tv #radio vm.tiktok.com/ZGdQCRGoq/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

A review of Moscow X by David McCloskey. Second novel by the former CIA analyst turned spy thriller author. #booktok #thriller #spy #cia vm.tiktok.com/ZGdQ97NRU/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

In the tradition of names becoming verbs, can we now say that “to sheeran” is when by attempting to not take sides in a controversial situation because you don’t want to get involved, you end up not merely implicitly taking a side anyway, but taking the opposite side to the one you would have taken.

100

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A review of The Man in the White Suit: The Stig, Le Mans, the Fast Lane and Me, by Ben Collins. An insider’s view of life working on Top Gear (and the book that cause a huge legal fuss). #booktok #topgear #tv vm.tiktok.com/ZGdQH1rcH/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

A review of Dragonfly: The Terrifying Story of Mir, Earth’s First Outpost in Space, by Bryan Burrough. Detailed, informative, and entertaining account of the Mir-Shuttle programme. #booktok #spacestation #nasa vm.tiktok.com/ZGdQaKjEW/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Watching Max Verstappen vs 100 on Disney+, where Max races 100 famous social media personalities. I’ve know Max Verstappen. I know Mo Gilligan, who’s one of the two hosts.

100

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

A review of PS I Love You by Cecilia Ahern. No idea why I bought it, but I cried buckets at the end. #booktok #fiction #ireland vm.tiktok.com/ZGdQ5YknJ/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

A review of Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer. The first novel by the bankrupt Conservative MP turned novelist. #booktok #fiction vm.tiktok.com/ZN8jEFbbP/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The @octocon.bsky.social programme is now up, and I'm on a panel (details below). I find generative AI hugely depressing, so I while I hope I'll rant passionately but coherently, there is a chance of tears. 😀 (CC @spacecurves.bsky.social)

Sunday, 4 October 2026. 14:30. The Importance of Human Created Work in This Age of AI Slop. Pegasus 1, Starts: 14:30. Duration: 60 mins. Jack-John Kirwan. Alex McKenzie. Emma Newman. Jonny Nexus. Edmund Schluessel (moderator). In-person only. Panel, Science & Technology, Writing/Editing/Publishing

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

A review of Gentlemen and Blackguards, gambling mania and the plot to steal the derby of 1844, by Nicholas Foulkes. A glimpse into the dark underbelly of early Victorian society. #booktok #horseracing #gambling #victorian vm.tiktok.com/ZN8jBsSP2/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Have been listening to Manchester Storm's Stormcast podcast, where they are interviewing new and existing players. Many of the North American imports essentially describe spending the first half of their careers grinding in the minor leagues chasing the NHL, and then coming to Europe and having fun.

100

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

A review of Team Yankee by Harold Coyle. Gritty and authentic fictional account of armoured combat during a then (1980s) near future conventional Third World War, with the Warsaw Pact invading West Germany and clashing with NATO forces. #booktok #militaryfiction #tanks vm.tiktok.com/ZN8jRgRLM/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

A review of Popcorn by Ben Elton. Brilliantly funny satire of Quentin Tarantino. #booktok #satire #humor vm.tiktok.com/ZN82c8wuv/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

There is no more joyful sight than a spaniel with his or her head poking out of a car window, ears flapping in the breeze, living their best life.

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

A review of Fatherland by Robert Harris. Gripping and immersive alternate history thriller in an early 1960s Berlin in which Nazi Germany won the Second World War. #booktok #alternatehistory #ww2 vm.tiktok.com/ZN82XngMr/

Jonny Nexus on TikTok

A review of Fatherland by Robert Harris. Gripping and immersive alternate history thriller in an early 1960s Berlin in which Nazi Germany won the Second World War. #booktok #alternatehistory #ww2

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Further thoughts about the marketing of Mr Beast’s novel. Cynical cash grab by a man who’s disingenuous about the degree to which his audience is kids? Or am I a literary snob railing against a book that might be targeting adults who struggle at literacy? #booktok #mrbeast vm.tiktok.com/ZN82PX94W/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

A review of James Herriot, the life of a country vet, by Graham Lord. An autobiography of vet and writer Alf Wight, who wrote first-person, semi-autobiographical fiction featuring a vet character called James Herriot, under the pen name James Herriot. #booktok #yorkshire vm.tiktok.com/ZN82fQkx9/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A review of The Sands of Mars by Arthur C. Clarke. Early 1950s SF that, while now very dated, had a story I loved as a teenager. Also the novel where the man who’d invented the geosynchronous communications satellite failed to invent the word processor. #booktok #sf #mars vm.tiktok.com/ZN8229nKx/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

A rather shameful purchase, but it’s for review purposes, honest! The Most Dangerous Games by Mr Beast and James Patterson. #booktok #mrbeast vm.tiktok.com/ZN8Y7bQMB/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

First roll with my new dice. (Actually I bought them at the spring Dragonmeet but then forgot about them).

A metal twenty sided dice rolled to 20 on top of a D&D character sheet.

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Game night. Discussing last session. Have realised my problem. I’m a method roleplayer who suffers from session amnesia. So it’s terribly important to me that there be a story, but I can’t remember what it is.

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

A review of Inverted World by Christopher Priest. Imaginative SF novel set on a geometrically strange world. #booktok #sf vm.tiktok.com/ZN8YPhMnK/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I'm not saying this is the worst line I've ever written, but I've just been reading back over something I wrote last week in my current WIP and found this: Gideon Booth leaned out of the booth in which they were ensconced Name change, I think.

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

A review of Alternities by Michael P. Kube-McDowell. Alternate history set in 1970s America in a universe where multiple Earth’s exist, all diverging from 1952, where one of them (not our Earth!) has discovered the other Earths. #booktok #sf #alternativehistory vm.tiktok.com/ZN8Y2Ao4N/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Reposted by Jonny Nexus

James Wallis @jameswallis.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

They'll be playing SE!ZE, the game I co-created with Charles Leclerc last year, as engrossing as chess but faster to learn and faster to play. It's all to promote Chivas 16, a 16yo whisky also co-created with Charles. I wasn't involved with that end of things, alas.

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I played Asteroids at Halifax retro arcade @Blast From The Past Arcade. #arcade #retro #videogame vm.tiktok.com/ZN8FwHyc6/

TikTok - Make Your Day

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

My schedule for the next several months: First weekend in October I will be in Cork for Octocon (Irish National SF convention). First weekend in November I will be in Plymouth for Armadacon (if they can sort of their venue issues).

100

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I think every festival should just put up a massive sign saying, "All items (tents, sleeping bags etc) left behind will be bulldozed and sent to landfill". And then do just that. All of it. Every single item. No exceptions.

A field fall of discarded tents and other detritus.

100

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

A review of Lunar Descent by Allen Steele. Gritty 1990s SF set in the then future 21st century. A mining colony on the moon experiences industrial unrest that spirals out of control. #booktok #sf #moon #spaceexploration vm.tiktok.com/ZN8FbGwYL/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I know I’m probably sounding like a crazed @mytholder.bsky.social fanboy at this point, but I saw this in the @waterstones.bsky.social at Manchester Deansgate and thought it was very cool!

Hand written card affixed to a book shelf, with the bottom of a cream-coloured book just visible above, that reads:
The Dungeon Book
An incredible dungeon fantasy epic set inside the magical floors of the labyrinthine dungeon!
An absolute must read!

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Just saw a bloke in Manchester “busking” by sitting next to a ghetto blaster with a donation cup in front of him. Is this the busking equivalent of an “AI artist”?

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

A review of the Orange County Trilogy / Triptych ("The Wild Shore", 'The Gold Coast", and "Pacific Edge") by Kim Stanley Robinson. Three alternative views (post-apocalyptic, hyper urban dystopia, and solarpunk) of California’s Orange Country. #booktok #sf vm.tiktok.com/ZN8FHMfeh/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

A review of Code Three by Rick Raphael. Early 60s SF. Part of the “New Wave” style. A 500 mph jet powered police cruiser and its crew on the 5 mile wide highways of a then imagined future. #booktok #sf vm.tiktok.com/ZN8FD3dV8/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I will never for the life of me understand spectators at a cricket match who put umbrellas up when it starts raining while play is still proceding. Do they want the umpires to stop play? Surely the crowd should be trying to collectively gaslight the umpires?

Crowd in a stand. Some have umbrellas up.

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Here's a philosophical question for you. If someone replaces every single element that makes up a thought experiment, such that where it was once a reference to a ship, it's now a reference to a broom, is it still the same thought experiment?

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

A review of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Entertainingly bizarre and imaginative alternative history / comic fantasy novel set in a world where our high-culture is its low-culture and the Crimean War is still raging 150 years on. #booktok #fantasy #alternativehistory vm.tiktok.com/ZN8FFK2d2/

Jonny Nexus on TikTok

A review of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Entertainingly bizarre and imaginative alternative history / comic fantasy novel set in a world where our high-culture is its low-culture and the Crimean War is still raging 150 years on. #booktok #fantasy #alternativehistory

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Currently watching today’s cricket highlights (England vs Pakistan) and this came up. Former England wicketkeeper Jack Russel and Emilio Gay’s brother, apparently (Emilio Gay is currently out there batting). In a world of AI slop, two men painting a cricket match as it happens brings me joy.

Two men sat behind canvases on easels, painting.

Reposted by Jonny Nexus

Geoff Engelstein - The Universe Explained with Cookie out now! @gengelstein.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

One of my all-time favorite rules, from Pea Ridge (1980). The designer's great-great-grandfather fought in the battle, and if his unit takes damage you roll a die to see if he survives. If he dies, the designer is never born, and the game doesn't exist, and so automatically ends in a draw.

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

A review of Just a Geek: Unflinchingly Honest Tales of the Search for Life, Love, and Fulfillment Beyond the Starship Enterprise by Wil Wheaton. Thoughtful and humorous memoir written in 2004. #booktok #memoir #startrek vm.tiktok.com/ZN8NwwLKR/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000

Jonny Nexus @jonnynexus.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

A review of A Dream of Wessex by Christopher Priest. 1970s SF set in grim and failing near future Britain in which researchers travel into an imagined future utopia (in which Wessex is an island separated from the mainland). #booktok #sf #dorset vm.tiktok.com/ZN8NGNa6y/

TikTok - Make Your Day

000