I know there’s not really that much to spoil in The Philosopher Kings, but in the unlikely event that revealing some of the minor details that are not well-foreshadowed in the previous book might be upsetting to the broader community, here’s a thread for such discussions.

On sale yesterday in hardcover and ebook in North America, on August 6 in ebook in the UK and associated markets, and sometime later in the UK as a trade paperback.

Excerpt here.

Author’s remarks about it on her own website:

The Philosopher Kings is the sequel to The Just City. Read that first! […]

It is my twelfth published novel. I wrote it betwen 20th June and 28th November 2013, in 28 writing days, and then revised it in early 2014. It’s set twenty years after the end of The Just City.

The Philosopher Kings is about…love and excellence. And responsibility. And art. And it’s about Apollo and his daughter Arete and Ficino and some other people going on a boat trip that leads them to end up somewhere you’d never have expected. The Just City uses the myth of Apollo and Daphne. The Philosopher Kings uses the myth of Apollo and Marsyas.

First line is “Not many people know that Pico della Mirandola stole the head of the Winged Victory of Samothrace.”

Read The Just City first, did I say that already? It seems to work for people reading it without, but it’s full of spoilers for the first book.

Some reviews

“[T]he gathered characters, their philosophical and practical discussions, and their character-driven decisions, along with Walton’s plain, declarative, and crystal-clear style, and the straightforward and probing dialogue (in both the Socratic and the fiction-writing senses), familiarize the high concept and make it seem plausible. […] Another of the reading pleasures here, and in all of Walton’s writing, is the intimate scale. Much as I love the more-is-more rush of [Neal] Stephenson’s work, Walton’s economical method is just as effective. The characters are just as complex, and perhaps more distinctive because they are not lost in the overwhelming detail about their environment. The environment in the Atlantean novels is detailed enough for us to supply the rest, and if we don’t know exactly how the robots work or how the ships are constructed, we still get the idea. This economy, along with the harmony among characters, events, and ideas, keeps her novels of ideas from seeming wooden or boring. Walton knows what to leave out as well as what to include. “
—Joan Gordon, Los Angeles Review of Books

“[T]he science it deals with is moral science: it’s a science fiction of philosophy, as much argument as adventure, and its nature is such as to invite the reader to participate. That’s half the fun. More than half, over and above Walton’s agreeable prose and solidly believable characters—even Apollo is believable, and I have high standards for fictional gods, though that might be hubris. What does it mean to strive for excellence, as a person, and as a person among other people? What does it mean to be a hero, or a philosopher? What’s just? […] The Philosopher Kings is a very entertaining novel. It’s even more entertaining as an argument.”
—Liz Bourke, Tor.com

“Audacious … The end result is a satisfying conclusion, with room for more if desired.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“One of my favorite parts of this book is the characters running into the rest of the world and having it be something of a shock, after all these years, that there are people who are not in any way attempting to recreate Plato’s Republic. It has come to seem utterly, indisputably normal to them. And…I think we can all come up with aspects of our unique lives that feel totally normal until we compare them with the outside world and remember. It’s done really well, the shock of the new coming from an unexpected direction and yet feeling entirely in-character.”
—Marissa Lingen, Novel Gazing Redux

“The ending is a knock-out, tongue-in-cheek deus ex machina twist explicitly stating that no matter how much The Philosopher Kings departed from The Just City, the third and final book, Necessity, will move exponentially farther away — both literally and figuratively. If there’s one thing Walton is brilliant at — and there are roughly 1 million of those — it’s not letting you know quite what kind of story you’re in, and leading you to relish the discovery.”
—Amal El-Mohtar, NPR.org

The Philosopher Kings, sequel to The Just City, will be followed by Book Three of Thessaly, Necessity, slated for summer 2016. Follow Jo Walton’s blog for updates.

Held: The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State.

In 27 days, Martin and I will celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary. He’s been married longer than he was alive and unmarried; I reach that balance of my days in December of next year. We formed one another as adults and as people within the context of marriage.

And the legal advantages of marriage have formed our lives as well. Being married to a British citizen meant that I could live in Europe and obtain my own UK passport. The entirety of society is set up to make it easy for us, from inheritance rights to taxation, from law courts to social conventions.

And all these things were a great big door slammed in the faces of our friends and family, if the paths of their lives and the ways of their hearts led them to try to form this tremendous bond with someone of the same gender as themselves.

I have watched these restrictions ebb away over time. I remember when the UK passed civil partnerships, and I wanted to dance in the streets. I delighted in moving to a country where gay marriage is unremarkable. I rejoiced with my home state when it got rid of Proposition 8. I grinned when I tried to explain the laws against same-sex marriage to my kids and was met with fascinated horror.

But now I’m just crying with happiness, borrowed from all of my loved ones who have wanted this for so long, fought for it, marched in the streets for it. I thought I was elated when Obamacare was not overthrown (another cause I care deeply about). I was wrong.

This is elated.

From the New York Times, 24 June 2015:

COLUMBIA, S.C. — It has been quite a few years since the lost cause has appeared quite as lost as it did Tuesday. As the afternoon drew on and their retreat turned into a rout, the lingering upholders of the Confederacy watched as license plates, statues and prominently placed Confederate battle flags slipped from their reach. […]

“You’re asking me to agree that my great-grandparent and great-great-grandparents were monsters,” said Greg Stewart, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the executive director of Beauvoir, the last home of Jefferson Davis.

TAPS SOUNDED FOR ANOTHER VETERAN OF THE SOUTHERN CAUSE.

James S. Hayden Dies at His Home at West Louisville—Born in Nelson County.

James S. Hayden, one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of Daviess county, died suddenly of heart trouble Wednesday afternoon at his home in the West Louisville neighborhood. His death was entirely unexpected, as he was apparently in good health.

Mr. Hayden, for many years, was a resident of Daviess county and a valuable citizen. He was [born] in Nelson county, Ky., August 23, 1836, and was a son of Joseph Hayden, deceased, a native of Washington county. He came to this county in 1852. He enlisted in Company K, Fourth Kentucky Infantry, Confederate army. He was in many battles and never lost a day’s service while in the army. He was married to Miss Mary D. Hayden, on January 28, 1868, his first wife, and eight children were born to them. He is survived by his second wife and five children, four sons and one daughter. Mr. Hayden was a member of the Catholic church and was a Christian gentleman.

The funeral will take place at 2 o’clock this afternoon from St. Alphonsus chuch, and the interment will take place at the church cemetery.

From the New York Times, 24 June 2015:

In Austin, Tex., a tall bearded man went into the tattoo parlor where Kelly Barr works with a request: the removal a 10-year-old tattoo of the Confederate flag.

He told Mr. Barr that he had decided to get the flag removed when he saw the pained look on a middle-age black woman at his gym on Monday.

“‘If South Carolina can take theirs down,’” Mr. Barr recalled him saying, “‘I can take mine down.’” I told him, ‘Right on.’”

On 31 Jan 1899, the second-to-last of those, Sarah Frances “Fannie” Newton, married Clarence Eugene Hayden, the second son of Confederate veteran James S. Hayden. Fannie lived to 1970. I met her more than once.

We’re not monsters because we say or do the wrong thing. We’re monsters when, later, we refuse to learn.

After over 3000 messages and nearly two and half months of discussions, we have put together a simple Hugo Award nomination system that meets our primary goal:

No group — whoever that group may be — should be able to absolutely prevent nominees from having the chance to be considered for the Hugo Award.

This works both ways. Not only should a slate not be able to force all other nominees off the final ballot, but just because a nominee appears on a slate, it should not be disqualified from appearing on the final ballot. No “shadowy cabal” should be able to prevent a nominee from being considered, either. All nominees deserve a fair chance. E Pluribus Hugo accomplishes this goal.

The system was developed by fans with a wide range of interests in science fiction and fantasy, including those who prefer the genres supported by the Sad Puppies 3 slate. We hope that it will truly meet the needs of all varieties of SFF fans.

The purpose of this proposal is explicitly not to change the rules so as to prevent the “new voices” of 2015 from being heard. There is no shadowy cabal here. All discussions, including our missteps and paths not taken, have been conducted in a completely open forum. You can find all of those discussions in the following threads:

On voting systems: a guest post from Bruce Schneier
Discussing Specific Changes to the Hugo Nomination Election: Another Guest Post By Bruce Schneier
Discussing Specific Changes to the Hugo Nomination Election: A Post Not By Bruce Schneier
E Pluribus Hugo: Out of Many, A Hugo

This thread is for questions and answers (and hopefully voices of support!) from the community about the system. We hope that the FAQ attached to the proposal will answer many of your questions, but we want to be available for any other questions that may arise. We sincerely hope that you will give this proposal a thoughtful and fair hearing. In this effort we are not Social Justice Warriors, we are not Puppies, and we don’t hate anyone. We are simply fans who want to save the Hugo from sinking into irrelevance as a result of the flaw in the nomination system that has been pointed out this year.

The official proposal can be found here once it has been posted by the Sasquan business meeting chair. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now that the proposal has been submitted, we can turn our attention to the other matters that we need to complete. In particular, we need to look at the following items:

• Prepare a “6th place” amendment for handling declined nominations, in the event it is needed
• Discuss swag/ribbons/T-shirts for handing out at Sasquan
• Strategize ideas for the actual proposal presentation at the business meeting itself
• Plan a meet-up for those who will be attending Sasquan
• Discuss places/parties at Sasquan where we can campaign for the proposal

I’ve listed these iems roughly in order of importance, but as long as we are using [TAGS], I think we can multi-task without too many problems.

Let’s get to it!

Kilo

It’s been almost a fortnight since my front brake cable snapped as I cycled behind Centraal Station in the busiest part of the morning. My back brake, which has a history, wasn’t really at its best either. This made for a briefly exciting time. (Because I’m pretty damn good with the bike, no one else was excited. But I found it plenty entertaining.)

Martin pointed out that Emily the Bike has done pretty well. I work about 10km from the office, and I cycle every non-icy day. If she’s done 100km a week for most of the last five years, that’s a pretty low cost per kilometer for a €150 bike, even with another €150-odd of repairs. But there’s no denying the amount of friction she adds to my journeys these days, nor the quantity of other squeaks and rattles she’s picked up over time.

And that’s a problem, because I’m planning a bit of an adventure in the late summer or early fall. I’ve decided to cycle around the IJsselmeer over four days, stopping in hotels as I go. And unlike the warriors of Clan Spandex, who rush by me on the roads like quarrels from crossbows, I shall be doing it on a normal Dutch stadsfiets, comfortably upright and ordinarily dressed.

But not, alas, on Emily.

So allow me to present Grace.

She’s a Dracat, assembled in Zaandam about five years ago on an aluminum frame. I bought her from my local bike shop for €250. She’s got front shocks and 8 gears rather than 3, but she shares Emily’s step-through frame and upright posture.

When I bought her, she had a weak back rack (25kg weight limit) and no front cargo provision at all. In what must comprise a nearly Levitical transgression, I bought steel components to amend these lacks, and she is now fully fitted out.

I tried her out a week and a bit ago on an all-day ride, and even after 8 hours and 114 km (70 miles) in the saddle, I love her with a painless love.

In the current Open Thread, Tom Whitmore announced:

I’m very sad to report that Bruce Durocher, sometime member of this parish, died this morning from (basically) colon cancer. His liver had not responded to recent therapy. Karen and I had visited him on Thursday: he was in good spirits then, and we had an animated discussion about films and other topics. The final turnaround was very sudden.

His wife, Margaret Organ-Kean, wrote on the Book of Face:

My husband, Bruce, died today at 7:00 am from metastatic colon cancer.

I appreciate every one’s sympathies and offers of support greatly. People will hear from me individually, but right now I have been up since 3:00 am yesterday and I am going to sleep.

My family is with me and I am being taken care of.

There will be a funeral in two or three weeks, when I’ve had the chance to make plans.

In the meantime, nothing could make me happier than if you are of an age to have an endoscopy and have not had one, please get your butt into your doctor’s office.

Bruce’s more recent (view all by) history is visible here; his older one is here (he had an email address change). It’s a long record of solid, smart, worthwhile interaction that improved the conversation around him. Even knowing him only through this medium, I’m feeling the loss.

Condolences to Margaret, to Tom and Karen, and to the entire community he gathered around himself in his life. If anyone has memories of him they’d like to share, I’d be interested to read them.

A while back, an Italian cooking blog, Il dolci di Caia, ran a contest for fellow Italian food bloggers: come up with recipes for dolce della tradizione americana — that is, “desserts in the American tradition.” Scroll down the page there for a list of links to the results.

It’s interesting to see them wrestle with the American food thing: cake pops, Naples biscuit S’mores, torta di fango del Mississippi, Whoopies Pie al lemon curd, and a momentarily puzzling panettone americano that turned out to be lemon chiffon cake.

Notable absences: pineapple upside-down cake, dump cake*, icebox cake, Key Lime pie, pecan pie, prune whip, Nilla Wafer pudding. Understandable absences: Grape-Nuts Pudding, Jello Poke Cake, Ritz Cracker Mock Apple Pie.

Biggest divergence from the results an American food blog would have gotten if it ran the same contest: only one of the entries is red-white-&-blue, and none of them are ironic. I have to assume that Italian cooks have less trouble than we would believing in an identifiable tradizione americana.

In this thread we will hammer out the formal language of the proposal, any FAQs we wish to include, and strategize for the presentation at the business meeting itself. At this point, we’ll consider the system itself locked in, so we are really only looking at the language.

Click here for proposed language