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Surtac.bsky.social

@surtac.bsky.social
132 followers 246 following 54 posts

Reader of SF/F and other stuff. Eclectic taste in music. Drinker of red wine and lover of Asian food. Faraway in time was one of #The10000.

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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Do I dare add a copy to The Pile? I recall reading Ken Alibek's Biohazard back in the day (his memoir of working inside the Soviet bioweapons programmes) and ending up shit-scared of the phrase 'airborne anthrax'. Instead of lemsip - mirowave some lemon juice, honey and cheap whiskey together.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
The Spirits of Place anthology edited by John was one of the steps I took on the journey that eventually led me to #Hookland.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
John Prine for the win. Now I have to find my cd copies ...
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Finished a first reading of my kindle copy today. (Physical copies will be here in a few days.) Quite emotional in a way to have someone else's childhood memories resonate so strongly with my own here on the other side of the world. Do ley lines run between Essex and southern Tasmania?
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
I'm really looking forward to this. Congratulations.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Another name to add to my search lists. Thank you.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Hey @projekt.bsky.social, USD25 sounds like a good price for 4 CDs, but wanting another USD100 for shipping to Australia turns it into nothing but a cruel joke and a way to deliberately shed previous repeat customers. Well played.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Amazon Australia has been doing this for a while now too. It is extremely annoying, particularly so when they don't warn you beforehand.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Cyteen, CJ Cherryh Kolymsky Heights, Lionel Davidson Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
'Listen' by Michel Faber, mentioned by Steven Wilson in one of The Album Years music podcasts he does with Tim Bowness. Likely to be my non-fiction book of the year, even if it is only May right now.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
@hutchinsondave.bsky.social Finally read The Essence and loved it. Got the pb from Amazon Aus as I still haven't received my pre-ordered hc from the UK. Happy Dave gets an extra sales royalty but disappointed that what Amazon suppled was a locally-manufactured print-on-demand object.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Would definitely come to a show if you played here in Canberra and I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that. How about considering a gig here in future?
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Yowie, or bunyip if near water.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
A re-read of these is also on my 2026 reading plan. Will probably start as soon as i finish my current re-read of Le Carre's Karla trilogy.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
I have, and will be doing so again.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Don't let that stop you. I'm happy to wait. After all, I'm still waiting for my pre-ordered copy of The Essence to get here. :(
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
Looks like a gateway into Hookland.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
With the instructions 'make it look like an accident, 007.'
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
and any such book and list that includes one of my favourite film-makers (Almodovar) is always going to get my immediate attention, so off to the bookstore for me.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
Every time I hear her voice I'm still gutted that we lost her so young and I was never able to see her perform live. Still, I was lucky enough to see Billy Bragg sing Kirsty's version of 'A New England' here in Canberra a few years back.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
I blame the Trumpenfuhrer's tariff shenanigans.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Yeah, the old Hawkwind and Tangerine Dream CDs I've been getting from Burning Shed over the last couple months are taking 12-14 calendar days on average but they're much lighter weight packages.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
I'd pre-ordered the ltd hc and I understand it was shipped on December 16. I suspect it's the usual Xmas mail chaos.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Sadly, still waiting for my pre-ordered copy to make it here to Canberra. I'm sure it will get here eventually ...
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Still waiting for my copy to get here...:(
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Still waiting for my copy to get to the Antipodes ;(
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
I'll have to find a copy. Also I now have to go find my copy of A Complete Dagg to re-read. I'll get back to you shortly.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Clarke was an absolute genius. Their show 'The Games' about the Sydney Olympics was astonishingly good satire of its time.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
still waiting for mine to arrive ... :(
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
i'll believe in (Christmas) miracles if my physical copy gets here in the next three days ... does that count?
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Same, but alas it has not yet made to sunny Canberra ...
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Very impressed with the level of detail and potential stories implicit in this entry. Is there some sort of central repository of Hookland lore accessible to those of us who want to explore further? This example has me particularly intrigued.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
I do ...
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
That sounds to me like a job for bsky.app/profile/susi...
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
What's the book? That might give some context ...
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
I thought it was excellent. Classic Hartley in all respects. Full disclosure, I was a kickstarter backer of the film who has watched it via my reward package Blu-ray copy. I'm not holding my breath waiting for it to turn up on a cinema screen here in darkest Canberra any time soon, sadly.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Had the same album on earlier this week. I'd had a need to play 'Russia On Ice' very loudly.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
I'd read that. And pay actual money for it.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
Camille Bacon-smith, Jane Fancher, CJ Cherryh
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Agreed. It was one of my favourite reads of 2024. Nailed the characters imo. Btw Dave, when can we expect your next book, hmmn?
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
You might be too young to remember the classic old Hawkwind album Hall of the Mountain Grill which celebrated the Legend of BeanzOnToast (iirc).
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Cherryh is still my all time favourite SF writer.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
As another such barnacle, I'd like to know which book?
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
The Apollo 11 moon landing for me. In combination with the 2001 A Space Odyssey movie the previous year, it made me a lifelong SF fan.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Pre-ordered on kindle.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
It's day 3 of the Gabba test.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
One of my absolute favourite books of 2024.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
I've followed Hookland both here and at the Bad Place for years because it's somewhere I want to be and to explore. The combination of its spirit of place and depth of history (whether real or not) have melded in my imagination into a three-dimensionality I've rarely found before and I love it.
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
One of the delights of the current migrations from the Bad Place is seeing some old favourites make their way in here and being able to follow them again. Welcome in to all such!
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Surtac.bsky.social @surtac.bsky.social · 11/11/2024
Most excellent news indeed!
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