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Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author.

@dapperdinobot.bsky.social

180 followers 350 following 930 posts

Author of THE CATAPHRACT OATH, a swashbuckling clockpunk mecha adventure! Ask me about giant robot cartoons or obscure TTRPGs or kung fu movies or food history or sci fi/fantasy novels and I will talk your ear off. He/Him Arguably the best Marc.

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Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · Jul 21

I finally got my act together, so now my swashbuckling #clockpunk #mecha #fantasy, THE CATAPHRACT OATH, is available in paperback!

Wherein a disgraced alchemist and a sword-wielding countess must salvage an ancient war machine, while dealing with scheming nobles and playwrights of dubious talent.

The Cataphract Oath (The Cataphract Chronicles)

The Cataphract Oath (The Cataphract Chronicles) [Best, Marc Edmond] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Cataphract Oath (The Cataphract Chronicles)

www.amazon.com

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Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 5h

If you see this, quote post with your favorite Pokemon.
(Wrong answers only)

Reposted by Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author.

Dates in Movies @datesinmovies.bsky.social · 10h

Oct 15th - Twin brothers Elijah “Smoke” and Elias “Stack” buy a rundown sawmill, and start transforming it into one hell of a juke joint

📽️📅 Sinners (2025)

4 Screenshots from the movie "Sinners" (2025): First, a black screen with the text "Clarksdale, Mississippi October 16, 1932." Second, an interior of a church with attendees in white clothing, a man stands silhouetted in the doorway with a cross visible above. Third, a black screen with the text "one day earlier." Fourth, two men in suits and hats stand beside a vintage car against a rustic building backdrop.

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Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 20h

Just saw a sneak preview of #TheBlackPhone2, despite not actually having seen the first movie.

Even still, going in blind, it's not bad? It's kind of a Stranger Things/Nightmare on Elm Street/The Shining mashup.

This said, I found it a little long, and maybe a little slow in the second act.

Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 1d

Playing some more #HellishQuart. And I keep on getting stuck on the final boss. Big "M. Bison with a Sword" energy.
I may be reading into some nationalism on the part of the game's creators, in that "POLISH SABER IS ULTIMATE STYLE" is kind of a theme?

Alternately I may just be bad at the game.

Reposted by Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author.

Harry Turtledove @hntdove.bsky.social · 1d

Books aren't just what the writer puts in. They're what the reader puts in, too. And some readers are assholes.

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Reposted by Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author.

Doug , Space Wolf @ebonscale.bsky.social · 1d

I fucking hate the warhammer hobby community sometimes

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Reposted by Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author.

Comics in the Spooky Age 🧛🧟‍♀️👻 @comicsinthega.bsky.social · 1d

It me

A man in 17th century clothing sees a sign for a bookstore and exclaims "Hello? A bookshop I haven't been to!"

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Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 1d

LitRPG is the exception to Sturgeon's law in that 100 percent of it is crap.

Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 1d

Oh hey, the Self Published Science Fiction Competition is now open for submissions!

My book is ... vaguely sci-fi flavored (well, non-Victorian Steampunk, specifically), so what the hey, I think I'll give it a shot.

How to Enter SPSFC 5

The fifth Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) has begun taking entries. The authors who’ve been asking us when SPSFC 5 will begin as they get their manuscripts ready can be giv…

spsfc.space

Reposted by Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author.

BOOOOlioraptor, PhD (spooky version) @biblioraptorphd.bsky.social · 2d

Janet saying: Fun fact: Columbus is in the Bad Place
because of all the raping, slave trade, and genocide.

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Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 2d

In other news, I finally got around to nabbing Hellish Quart off of Steam. It's basically "Bushido Blade, but in Poland."

Swordfighting game with basically one-hit kills. 'cause if you get stabbed in the head, you're going down.

I'm pretty bad at it so far.

Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 2d

Also, just for novels, there's The Wolf's Hour, by Robert R. McCammon.

It's basically "What if James Bond was a werewolf who killed Nazis?" It's horny and violent and gory in the best pulpy way.

Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 2d

Well, on the RPG side of things, there's Werewolf: The Apocalypse? It's ... pretty gonzo. Furry ecoterrorism against parasitic capitalism!

The video game that came out a few years ago is kinda shit. And, uh, so is 5th edition. But if you can find a W20 PDF somewhere ...

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Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 3d

The funny thing is, the rulebooks are actually rather well done, with the conceit that it's an "in universe" manuscript, complete with characters from the books giving commentary in the margins.

But as a game, it's just a little too fiddly for my tastes, despite being based on FATE.

Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 3d

Meanwhile, I am making a ... token effort of clearing stuff off my bookshelves. Like, I might have almost a -dozen- books to take to HPB!

In particular, I'm getting rid of my Dresden Files RPG books, despite having never run the game. I'm just not as much a fan of the series as I used to be.

Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 3d

And here I thought the 'risk it all' sentiment was going to be some inspirational bit about, I dunno, dying your hair or starting a band or asking someone out as a teenager.

Go fig.

Reposted by Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author.

Jess Nevins @jessnevins.bsky.social · 3d

Is Drake the Donald Trump of rappers, or is Donald Trump the Drake of presidents?

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Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 3d

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Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 3d

People keep trying to sell me on AI as the "next big thing" without realizing I still go out of my way to watch movies on VHS.

Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 4d

Based on this image alone, I looked up this festival. And yes, Guitar Wolf is the headliner.

I want to go there.

Mondo Mascots @mondomascots.bsky.social · 4d

Shimanekko, the mascot of Shimane Prefecture, made an appearance on stage yesterday at the raucous Shimane Jett Fest, alongside various punk acts.

A yellow cat mascot with a shrine roof atop its head stands on a stage under a pair of inflatable legs wearing fishnet stockings.

Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 4d

This is my dance about how much transphobes suck.

Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 5d

Nice.

Reposted by Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author.

Jess Nevins @jessnevins.bsky.social · 5d

No one's talking about it.

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Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 5d

Name your favorite Asian Horror Film:

Marc Edmond Best, Indie Author. @dapperdinobot.bsky.social · 5d

It's the sort of thing that almost makes me wish I'd actually gone into academia, just so I could direct a production of this play that'd get me kicked off the tenure track.