Justin Pyke
@justinpykehistory.bsky.social
MA in History. Studies intelligence, sea power, air power, and the Asia-Pacific War. Researching U.S. intelligence assessments of Japanese air and sea power, 1919-1941. Andor appreciator and PC gamer.
Pinned
A sincere welcome to all of my new followers! I don't claim to be anyone important, but I mostly post about my research, the Asia-Pacific War, Star Wars (mainly Andor... let's be real), PC gaming, tabletop, and the brunches that will probably stop my heart one day.
Reposted by Justin Pyke
Bannerlord got a new expansion that adds Naval Warfare, a new Faction and a new campaign.
I got sponsored to provide historical commentary, be sure to check it out here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfAx...
I got sponsored to provide historical commentary, be sure to check it out here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfAx...
War Sails: Bannerlord’s New Naval Expansion
YouTube video by Military History Visualized
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Bannerlord got a new expansion that adds Naval Warfare, a new Faction and a new campaign.
I got sponsored to provide historical commentary, be sure to check it out here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfAx...
I got sponsored to provide historical commentary, be sure to check it out here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfAx...
Making the first real snowfall of the year a decent-sized blizzard preceded by freezing rain is certainly one way to cause anarchy. Snow + poor visibility + layer of solid ice underneath + almost every driver can't remember what driving on snow is like.
November 24, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Making the first real snowfall of the year a decent-sized blizzard preceded by freezing rain is certainly one way to cause anarchy. Snow + poor visibility + layer of solid ice underneath + almost every driver can't remember what driving on snow is like.
I'm so close to my annual rewatch of Tora! Tora! Tora! that I can almost taste it.
Tora! Tora! Tora! is amazing. The aircraft stunt work gets plenty of well deserved praise, but so much else is excellent too. The film is methodical and ends up being a time capsule of 1970's understanding of the attack on Pearl Harbor. "Third wave" nonsense and apocryphal Yamamoto quote aside.
November 14, 2025 at 7:49 PM
I'm so close to my annual rewatch of Tora! Tora! Tora! that I can almost taste it.
Ruby's Rebalance mod for Halo CE is great. Very tasteful.
November 9, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Ruby's Rebalance mod for Halo CE is great. Very tasteful.
Reposted by Justin Pyke
another darling bites the dust
November 7, 2025 at 1:21 AM
another darling bites the dust
Reposted by Justin Pyke
Publication day in 🇬🇧 #AdvanceBritannia
November 6, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Publication day in 🇬🇧 #AdvanceBritannia
Getting back to some of the combat footage from Rabaul in NHK news reels. There isn't tons of it, but what is there is quite striking.
November 6, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Getting back to some of the combat footage from Rabaul in NHK news reels. There isn't tons of it, but what is there is quite striking.
Chris got to walk and crawl around a beautifully restored B-29A!
youtu.be/lIBtpED-vUw?...
youtu.be/lIBtpED-vUw?...
B-29 Superfortress: Inside America's Ultimate WW2 Bomber
YouTube video by Military Aviation History
youtu.be
November 6, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Chris got to walk and crawl around a beautifully restored B-29A!
youtu.be/lIBtpED-vUw?...
youtu.be/lIBtpED-vUw?...
Reposted by Justin Pyke
Being released this Tuesday, 4 November. Also available as E book, and through Amazon as both hardcover and on Kindle.
November 2, 2025 at 5:37 AM
Being released this Tuesday, 4 November. Also available as E book, and through Amazon as both hardcover and on Kindle.
It's wild how load-bearing Halo 2 is narratively for the franchise. CE had a very simple story that leaned heavily on mystery. It worked well, but Halo 2 had the far harder job of expanding the universe in a satisfying way. If it had failed, CE's story would have fallen apart by association.
October 31, 2025 at 3:17 PM
It's wild how load-bearing Halo 2 is narratively for the franchise. CE had a very simple story that leaned heavily on mystery. It worked well, but Halo 2 had the far harder job of expanding the universe in a satisfying way. If it had failed, CE's story would have fallen apart by association.
I thought the worst Halo-related thing I'd have to handle would be the internet discourse around a mediocre Halo CE remake. US politics keeps reminding me that my bar is never low enough.
October 27, 2025 at 11:06 PM
I thought the worst Halo-related thing I'd have to handle would be the internet discourse around a mediocre Halo CE remake. US politics keeps reminding me that my bar is never low enough.
Reposted by Justin Pyke
A cartoon from 1941 ridiculing American efforts to project air power -- the stuff of carriers -- from the rugged reaches of China
October 27, 2025 at 10:31 PM
A cartoon from 1941 ridiculing American efforts to project air power -- the stuff of carriers -- from the rugged reaches of China
My take on the Halo CE remake so far is I don't feel too strongly one way or the other. On the technical side, I can see all the UE5 issues with stuttering, artifacts, generic look (as a result of the ubiquity of the engine in modern games) on display.
youtu.be/hSjbIM0iegY?...
youtu.be/hSjbIM0iegY?...
Halo: Campaign Evolved | The Silent Cartographer – 13 Minute Gameplay Demo
YouTube video by HALO
youtu.be
October 25, 2025 at 5:16 PM
My take on the Halo CE remake so far is I don't feel too strongly one way or the other. On the technical side, I can see all the UE5 issues with stuttering, artifacts, generic look (as a result of the ubiquity of the engine in modern games) on display.
youtu.be/hSjbIM0iegY?...
youtu.be/hSjbIM0iegY?...
Every once in awhile I'm a bit sad that interest in my areas of study is relatively modest. Then I look at what people studying the European Theatre in the Second World War have to frequently put up with and conclude my niche knowledge kiddie pool over here ain't so bad after all.
October 22, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Every once in awhile I'm a bit sad that interest in my areas of study is relatively modest. Then I look at what people studying the European Theatre in the Second World War have to frequently put up with and conclude my niche knowledge kiddie pool over here ain't so bad after all.
Reposted by Justin Pyke
Only until 27th October!
20 % off on all our books and 25 % off on our new Stuka Book: www.lulu.com/spotlight/mhg
ACHTUNG!
Achtung Panzer?, Mythos Stuka & StuG are ONLY in German.
All other books are in English or English & German.
20 % off on all our books and 25 % off on our new Stuka Book: www.lulu.com/spotlight/mhg
ACHTUNG!
Achtung Panzer?, Mythos Stuka & StuG are ONLY in German.
All other books are in English or English & German.
October 21, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Only until 27th October!
20 % off on all our books and 25 % off on our new Stuka Book: www.lulu.com/spotlight/mhg
ACHTUNG!
Achtung Panzer?, Mythos Stuka & StuG are ONLY in German.
All other books are in English or English & German.
20 % off on all our books and 25 % off on our new Stuka Book: www.lulu.com/spotlight/mhg
ACHTUNG!
Achtung Panzer?, Mythos Stuka & StuG are ONLY in German.
All other books are in English or English & German.
Reposted by Justin Pyke
Thrilled to announce the publication of my article "The Invention of the Kamikaze: Dissent and Resistance in the Japanese Military" in the October issue of the Journal of Military History!
October 20, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Thrilled to announce the publication of my article "The Invention of the Kamikaze: Dissent and Resistance in the Japanese Military" in the October issue of the Journal of Military History!
Reposted by Justin Pyke
There are few books I've more eagerly anticipated than Andy Bernstein's magisterial new biography of Mt. Fuji.
Ten plus years in the making, its now out in the world.
I had the chance to read the entire manuscript and, friends, it's a stunner. See for yourself:
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Ten plus years in the making, its now out in the world.
I had the chance to read the entire manuscript and, friends, it's a stunner. See for yourself:
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
October 21, 2025 at 3:42 PM
There are few books I've more eagerly anticipated than Andy Bernstein's magisterial new biography of Mt. Fuji.
Ten plus years in the making, its now out in the world.
I had the chance to read the entire manuscript and, friends, it's a stunner. See for yourself:
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Ten plus years in the making, its now out in the world.
I had the chance to read the entire manuscript and, friends, it's a stunner. See for yourself:
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Reposted by Justin Pyke
Excited to dig into Hannah Shepherd's new book, out in December from UC Press:
www.ucpress.edu/books/the-na...
www.ucpress.edu/books/the-na...
October 17, 2025 at 5:58 AM
Excited to dig into Hannah Shepherd's new book, out in December from UC Press:
www.ucpress.edu/books/the-na...
www.ucpress.edu/books/the-na...
Corey's Datapad is easily among my favourite Star Wars lore YouTube channel these days.
youtu.be/Z9nqvS4shuw?...
youtu.be/Z9nqvS4shuw?...
Fascism and the Empire | The Politics of Star Wars
YouTube video by Corey's Datapad
youtu.be
October 16, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Corey's Datapad is easily among my favourite Star Wars lore YouTube channel these days.
youtu.be/Z9nqvS4shuw?...
youtu.be/Z9nqvS4shuw?...
I finished everything in Ghost of Tsushima outside of the Iki Island DLC and the little collectable stuff. It was a really fun game and consistently beautiful to look at. It's a shame that the narrative, while serviceable, didn't quite live up to the rest of the presentation.
Ghost of Tsushima is a great example of art direction easily beating out games that are better graphically on a technical level.
October 16, 2025 at 5:05 PM
I finished everything in Ghost of Tsushima outside of the Iki Island DLC and the little collectable stuff. It was a really fun game and consistently beautiful to look at. It's a shame that the narrative, while serviceable, didn't quite live up to the rest of the presentation.
Reposted by Justin Pyke
A Japanese "science warrior" rampages through NYC (in Oct. 1943), blending healthy doses of tradition, modernity, and delusion
October 16, 2025 at 5:39 AM
A Japanese "science warrior" rampages through NYC (in Oct. 1943), blending healthy doses of tradition, modernity, and delusion
Reposted by Justin Pyke
A Japanese cartoon from Oct. 1941, ridiculing Londoners during the Blitz
"Don't worry," reads the caption, dripping in sarcasm, "We are blessed with an abundance of supplies."
"Don't worry," reads the caption, dripping in sarcasm, "We are blessed with an abundance of supplies."
October 15, 2025 at 11:28 PM
A Japanese cartoon from Oct. 1941, ridiculing Londoners during the Blitz
"Don't worry," reads the caption, dripping in sarcasm, "We are blessed with an abundance of supplies."
"Don't worry," reads the caption, dripping in sarcasm, "We are blessed with an abundance of supplies."
I have a few of my books facing out to make it easier to insert new arrivals into the relevant part of my shelves. This always hits me as a great title.
October 14, 2025 at 8:59 PM
I have a few of my books facing out to make it easier to insert new arrivals into the relevant part of my shelves. This always hits me as a great title.
Ghost of Tsushima is a great example of art direction easily beating out games that are better graphically on a technical level.
October 11, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Ghost of Tsushima is a great example of art direction easily beating out games that are better graphically on a technical level.
I've started reading Jennifer Yip's _Grains of Conflict
The Struggle for Food in China's Total War, 1937–1945_ and I can tell it's gonna be fascinating.
The Struggle for Food in China's Total War, 1937–1945_ and I can tell it's gonna be fascinating.
October 10, 2025 at 2:08 PM
I've started reading Jennifer Yip's _Grains of Conflict
The Struggle for Food in China's Total War, 1937–1945_ and I can tell it's gonna be fascinating.
The Struggle for Food in China's Total War, 1937–1945_ and I can tell it's gonna be fascinating.