starsofsamarkand.bsky.social
@starsofsamarkand.bsky.social
Samarkand, 1445. Where the stars reveal the future and the shadows hide a blade. 🌙✨ Author of 'The Stars of Samarkand.' Read the research & chapters: samarkandstars.substack.com
A small hill I will happily die on: the sidekick is the most undervalued man in literature. Holmes gets the glory, but every case we know, we know because Watson wrote it down. The genius gets the deductions; the sidekick gets the last word.
August 24, 2026 at 7:35 AM
A small hill I will happily die on: the sidekick is the most undervalued man in literature. Holmes gets the glory, but every case we know, we know because Watson wrote it down. The genius gets the deductions; the sidekick gets the last word.
Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.
— Shunryu Suzuki
— Shunryu Suzuki
August 19, 2026 at 8:46 AM
Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.
— Shunryu Suzuki
— Shunryu Suzuki
Reposted by starsofsamarkand.bsky.social
Reposted by starsofsamarkand.bsky.social
"Some people are so poor, all they have is money"
- Jack Kerouac
- Jack Kerouac
July 25, 2026 at 12:07 AM
"Some people are so poor, all they have is money"
- Jack Kerouac
- Jack Kerouac
Reposted by starsofsamarkand.bsky.social
📹| In a funny incident, two people tried to enter a movie theater screening [The Odyssey] without buying tickets after hiding inside a miniature model of the Trojan Horse in a comedic reenactment of the famous story.
July 19, 2026 at 3:27 PM
📹| In a funny incident, two people tried to enter a movie theater screening [The Odyssey] without buying tickets after hiding inside a miniature model of the Trojan Horse in a comedic reenactment of the famous story.
Having seen the Nolan film on opening day, I watched Pasolini's The Return (2024) today. Focusing on that part of the story alone, I find the Pasolini infinitely more convincing, human and poignant. In particular, it brings viscerally home the societal plague represented by the suitors.
July 19, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Having seen the Nolan film on opening day, I watched Pasolini's The Return (2024) today. Focusing on that part of the story alone, I find the Pasolini infinitely more convincing, human and poignant. In particular, it brings viscerally home the societal plague represented by the suitors.
In 1449, months after Ulugh Beg's murder, religious conservatives demolished his Samarkand observatory. The instruments were smashed. The underground marble sextant, survived intact. Found by a Russian archaeologist in 1908. The Stars of Samarkand is set 4 years before this.
July 2, 2026 at 5:40 PM
In 1449, months after Ulugh Beg's murder, religious conservatives demolished his Samarkand observatory. The instruments were smashed. The underground marble sextant, survived intact. Found by a Russian archaeologist in 1908. The Stars of Samarkand is set 4 years before this.
Reposted by starsofsamarkand.bsky.social
BREAKING: Greenland and 86 other countries have announced they are two weeks away from a nuclear weapon. Willing to negotiate settlements with Trump.
June 17, 2026 at 10:04 AM
BREAKING: Greenland and 86 other countries have announced they are two weeks away from a nuclear weapon. Willing to negotiate settlements with Trump.
June 17, 2026 at 9:06 AM
The bazaar of Samarkand in 1445 was a covered district — vaulted lanes, domed trading halls, caravanserais. Not a market but a quarter of the city. Clavijo, visiting in 1404, was staggered. A new post on the world Al-Shirazi walks through every morning: samarkandstars.substack.com/p/a-city-wit...
June 15, 2026 at 3:42 PM
The bazaar of Samarkand in 1445 was a covered district — vaulted lanes, domed trading halls, caravanserais. Not a market but a quarter of the city. Clavijo, visiting in 1404, was staggered. A new post on the world Al-Shirazi walks through every morning: samarkandstars.substack.com/p/a-city-wit...
Scene 1 of "The Stars of Samarkand" opened in a murder chamber: a body, a strange scent, a shadow vanishing into the Samarkand night. Scene 2 opens with the detective singing in bed. That contrast is rather the point.
June 2, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Scene 1 of "The Stars of Samarkand" opened in a murder chamber: a body, a strange scent, a shadow vanishing into the Samarkand night. Scene 2 opens with the detective singing in bed. That contrast is rather the point.
In 1445, three civilisations were at their peaks simultaneously: Florence (Brunelleschi, the Medici), Beijing (Forbidden City, Zheng He's fleet), and Samarkand. The least-known of the three is the one at the centre. New post on all three - and why they belong in the same sentence.
May 27, 2026 at 3:21 PM
In 1445, three civilisations were at their peaks simultaneously: Florence (Brunelleschi, the Medici), Beijing (Forbidden City, Zheng He's fleet), and Samarkand. The least-known of the three is the one at the centre. New post on all three - and why they belong in the same sentence.
Substack note on the engineering prompt used in my latest post on Creating an AI Team "for fun and profit ;-)"
substack.com/profile/3490...
substack.com/profile/3490...
Jolyon (@therealjolyon)
Some readers have asked for the Prompt Engineering prompt I mentioned in the recent post, Build Your Own AI Team — the one from which the rest of my AI team flows. Sharing it here in case it's useful ...
substack.com
May 22, 2026 at 9:41 AM
Substack note on the engineering prompt used in my latest post on Creating an AI Team "for fun and profit ;-)"
substack.com/profile/3490...
substack.com/profile/3490...
The standard AI setup puts your agents in a separate silo — away from where you actually work. Wrong files, outdated data, lost context. The fix is simpler than you'd think: put the AI inside your existing project repository. Everything in one place. Your place.
May 20, 2026 at 1:18 PM
The standard AI setup puts your agents in a separate silo — away from where you actually work. Wrong files, outdated data, lost context. The fix is simpler than you'd think: put the AI inside your existing project repository. Everything in one place. Your place.
First extract from the novel, live on Substack today. Chapter One, opening scene: two old soldiers on the night shift at Ulugh Beg's Observatory, Samarkand, 1445. One goes to check on the Chief Astronomer. What he finds changes everything.
May 1, 2026 at 9:28 AM
First extract from the novel, live on Substack today. Chapter One, opening scene: two old soldiers on the night shift at Ulugh Beg's Observatory, Samarkand, 1445. One goes to check on the Chief Astronomer. What he finds changes everything.
No tomatoes, no chillies, no potatoes — all post-1492 New World crops. A kitchen in 1445 Samarkand was built from a completely different pantry. This week's post reconstructs what Parvin actually cooked at the Crescent Inn, with two period-authentic recipes.
April 18, 2026 at 12:22 PM
No tomatoes, no chillies, no potatoes — all post-1492 New World crops. A kitchen in 1445 Samarkand was built from a completely different pantry. This week's post reconstructs what Parvin actually cooked at the Crescent Inn, with two period-authentic recipes.
The Silk Roads didn't run East to West. That's just the view from the edge. Stand in Samarkand in 1445, and everything flows in all directions at once. Timur engineered it that way — and it's why the city works as the setting it does. New post: open.substack.com/pub/samarkan...
April 1, 2026 at 11:13 AM
The Silk Roads didn't run East to West. That's just the view from the edge. Stand in Samarkand in 1445, and everything flows in all directions at once. Timur engineered it that way — and it's why the city works as the setting it does. New post: open.substack.com/pub/samarkan...
Three days ago, 300 million people celebrated Nowruz — timed to the exact moment of the spring equinox. In 1445 Samarkand, the world's greatest observatory could tell you when it began to the minute. Knowledge and celebration were the same act.
March 23, 2026 at 7:44 AM
Three days ago, 300 million people celebrated Nowruz — timed to the exact moment of the spring equinox. In 1445 Samarkand, the world's greatest observatory could tell you when it began to the minute. Knowledge and celebration were the same act.
In 1404, Clavijo watched Timur's chief wife — a Chinggisid princess — arrive at a Samarkand feast with 300 attendants in red silk, then challenge the Spanish ambassador for not drinking enough. Not quite the image of medieval Central Asian women most people carry.
March 21, 2026 at 8:07 AM
In 1404, Clavijo watched Timur's chief wife — a Chinggisid princess — arrive at a Samarkand feast with 300 attendants in red silk, then challenge the Spanish ambassador for not drinking enough. Not quite the image of medieval Central Asian women most people carry.
How does a retired English professional on a Greek mountainside research 1445 Samarkand well enough to write a serious historical novel? The honest answer: I assembled a team. New post introducing the five people who make this project possible.
March 13, 2026 at 9:13 AM
How does a retired English professional on a Greek mountainside research 1445 Samarkand well enough to write a serious historical novel? The honest answer: I assembled a team. New post introducing the five people who make this project possible.
The chief astronomer of samarkand has been murdered. The grand vizier needs an investigator who owes nothing to any faction. He sends for a physician — An outsider named al-Shirazi.
March 7, 2026 at 7:02 AM
The chief astronomer of samarkand has been murdered. The grand vizier needs an investigator who owes nothing to any faction. He sends for a physician — An outsider named al-Shirazi.
Outside isfahan in 1387, Timur built towers of skulls from the city's dead. Then he went home and built samarkand — Azure domes, The greatest mosque in the islamic world. Same man. Same decade. He was not a contradiction. He was a deliberate synthesis.
February 27, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Outside isfahan in 1387, Timur built towers of skulls from the city's dead. Then he went home and built samarkand — Azure domes, The greatest mosque in the islamic world. Same man. Same decade. He was not a contradiction. He was a deliberate synthesis.
Why 1445? Why Samarkand? Timur built his empire through conquest and slaughter. His grandson, Ulugh Beg, inherited it — and chose to spend his reign measuring the stars. That contrast is where the novel begins. 🧵
The Stars of Samarkand | Jolyon | Substack
A historical thriller set in 1445 Samarkand, where astronomy, power and conspiracy collide. Click to read The Stars of Samarkand, by Jolyon, a Substack publication. Launched 5 days ago.
samarkandstars.substack.com
February 19, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Why 1445? Why Samarkand? Timur built his empire through conquest and slaughter. His grandson, Ulugh Beg, inherited it — and chose to spend his reign measuring the stars. That contrast is where the novel begins. 🧵
Samarkand, 1445. A city of Silk Road secrets, Timurid science, and lethal intrigue. 🌙✨
I’m deep in research for my thriller, 'The Stars of Samarkand.' Join me as I uncover the Timurid Renaissance—where the stars reveal the future and the shadows hide a blade. 🔭📜
🔗 samarkandstars.substack.com
I’m deep in research for my thriller, 'The Stars of Samarkand.' Join me as I uncover the Timurid Renaissance—where the stars reveal the future and the shadows hide a blade. 🔭📜
🔗 samarkandstars.substack.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Samarkand, 1445. A city of Silk Road secrets, Timurid science, and lethal intrigue. 🌙✨
I’m deep in research for my thriller, 'The Stars of Samarkand.' Join me as I uncover the Timurid Renaissance—where the stars reveal the future and the shadows hide a blade. 🔭📜
🔗 samarkandstars.substack.com
I’m deep in research for my thriller, 'The Stars of Samarkand.' Join me as I uncover the Timurid Renaissance—where the stars reveal the future and the shadows hide a blade. 🔭📜
🔗 samarkandstars.substack.com