Bloodthorn's Friends

11:19AM

The Sandman, by Neil Gaiman and various artists. 10 Volume compilation of the comic book series.

Living in the boondocks as I do, I missed these comics when they were originally published-probably the only goth who didn’t read them back then. In one way I’m glad: I would have hated waiting between issues. I devoured these books over the course of a month- I resisted the urge to grab all 10 at once when they showed up at the library, even though I wanted to just scream “All mine!” and run cackling out the door.

These are the most sophisticated comics I’ve ever read. Gaiman mixes his own creations, The Endless Ones (who include Dream, Death, Delirium, Desire, Destiny and Despair), with the pantheons of Greece, Egypt, Norway, the Bible and adds the world of faerie for good measure. Dream’s world is seductive and coming up out of it after a thorough immersion- reading a whole volume in one sitting- requires some adjustment of thought, so total is Gaiman’s world building. These aren’t happy little stories, though. There are no deus ex machine endings here; things come at a cost. Excellent writing; if you like myth you’ll like these, even if comics aren’t your usual reading.

9:51PM

Valente's Under in the Mere was an interesting read. I'm familiar with the source material (well, not the Vulgate Cycle, but Malory and Gawain the Green Knight, which in any case appear to be the primary source here) though I'm no medieval romance expert. It let me "get" the references, which for the Green Knight chapter I think is essential, since the allusions to the seduction/hunting game would probably not make sense otherwise.

I'm not sure I can give much of a critical thought about this book, since for the most part the Athurian framework seems to serve as a canvas for prose-poetry and not much else, though I appreciated the imagery of knights as automata and the Dagonet chapter (more Idylls of the King than Malory, though the specifics are mostly Valente) was my favorite. The rest are a bit hit-and-miss, and my interest flagged entirely while going through Pellinore's and Galahad's sections. I enjoyed the familiar Valente theme of monsters' perspectives (Bertilak, Pellinore, arguably Mordred) and her Morgan is quietly excellent, but on the whole I came away from Under in the Mere a little unsatisfied. I should say, though, that I'm not a reader of poetry: I like pretty language as much as anyone, but without substance to hold it together it's harder to appreciate.

What did everyone else think? I'm especially interested in how people unfamiliar with Malory/et al responded to it.

9:28AM - Hey, Fantasy Readers, a Question For You!

Just out of curiosity, if you exclude Tolkien specifically, and Dungeons and Dragons tie-in fiction, what fantasy works can you name that include creatures recognizable as "halflings"?

I ask this because I had a neat idea for a story involving halflings, and I'm interested in looking around at precedents, if there are any.

So far, again excluding the obvious Tolkien and D&D I've been able to think of three:

• The Wizard of Oz -- I've not read the books, only seen the famous film, but the Munchkins in the movie seem pretty halflingish, if more than a little over-the-top.



• Willow -- The "Nelwin" of Willow are pretty obvious !Hobbits.



• In the '80s there was a series of fantasy novels, of which I've forgotten both the author and title, alas, but which were explicitly "MOAR Lord of the Rings except with the serial numbers shaved off" (as in, the author came out and said as much in a prologue), and which featured a halfling hero. I wish I could remember the name of this series.

Can anybody come up with others?

-The Gneech

EDIT: The Iron Tower trilogy, that's it!

7:52AM - Greg Stolze's REIGN - Digest-Sized Edition Collecting Pledges!

If you've heard about Greg Stolze's fantasy RPG REIGN and have wanted to check it out for cheap, your chance has come!

Arc Dream publishing is collecting pre-orders for a digest-sized paperback of the REIGN rules, called the REIGN Enchirodon.

A $15 pledge gets you a sharp little paperback mailed to your house, along with a free copy of the rules via PDF. Just want the PDF? That's only $10.

You can secure a pre-order via Kickstarter. The pre-order's almost full, though; Arc Dream is only collecting pledges for another 8 days and only taking another $1400 in orders.

If you're not familiar with the crazy cleverness of REIGN, Greg Stolze, or the One Roll Engine (ORE), then check out Stolze's REIGN website or some of the reviews.

(And, yes, I'm in for $15)

9:59PM - Attempted to contact the mods about this.

I haven't heard anything back from them and the auction ends soon. If it is inappropriate please remove with my deepest apologies.

I am auctioning off my gaming collection with the profits going to various different charity organizations. It's a great way to get some gifts for Christmas on the cheap and for a good cause.

http://shop.ebay.com/garagefree4all/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340

Thanks in advance.

3:16PM - Dragon Age RPG pre-Order!

You have no idea how excited I am about this. I just got the notice that the Dragon Age tabletop RPG from Green Ronin is now accepting pre-orders, and jumped all over that. If you pre-order, you also get the PDF for free, which rocks my world. Having devoured the video game multiple times over, having the game books to run tabletop adventures in just make my day.

Looking over this, it reminds me an awful lot of the old ICE "Lord of the Rings Adventure Game" boxed set - specifically, its focus on bringing in new players, making it simple, fast, and wickedly fun. I really love what so far looks to be a quick, simple, and intrinsically descriptive dice mechanic in Dragon Age.

Anyone else looked over it yet?

5:09PM - Black Jewels trilogy, Anne Bishop

I offer no excuses: this time I walked right into the trap. I started reading Anne Bishop's The Black Jewels omnibus only because I was looking for something blazingly, idiotically stupid to tear apart. It's great fodder for conversation pieces with other book-geeks. Sort of like sharing horror stories. "Yes, Virginia, her two husbands really do have two dicks and a glowing dick respectively." "Why, old chap, for sure she believes horror writers will burn in hell." And so on. Sometimes it'll get other readers curious and then they'll obtain the book, hopefully through the library or a secondhand store, and then they too will be able to share in the joy. Then you'll be able to rest in the knowledge that you've subjected another person to the same shit you forced yourself--masochistically--through, grinding your teeth all the while and gaping in disbelief. Admit it: it's much funnier to talk about awful books than good ones.

I believe in starting strong. So imagine, if you will, beginning the conversation with this: "It's got dragons and unicorns and they all love her, and then when the cock-ring becomes too much he bites someone's clitoris off."

( Cock-rings, rape, velvet-coated silvery laughter, rape, midnight voices, and... uhm, rape. )

12:25PM - The Silver Skull by Mark Chadbourn

Hello. This is my first time posting here, but I recently discovered a book I think fans of 7th Sea would really enjoy, so I wanted to tell you all about it.

It's called "The Silver Skull" by Mark Chadbourn. This book, set in Elizabethan England, has the following:

-secret agents (including Christopher Marlowe)
-sinister Spanish Agents with a twisted code of honor
-malevolent Faerie lords
-A doomsday weapon recovered in the New World by Sir Francis Drake
-An organization of occult investigators led by Sir Francis Walsingham (including Christopher Marlowe)
-The most famous spy in England (that's just his cover)
-Knights Templar conspiracies
-deathtraps, intrigue and swordplay
-A masquerade ball attended by the worst criminals in London
-A dog whose eyes glow in the dark
-A masked prisoner kept under special guard in the Tower of London
-A LOT of stagecoach chases
-animated living scarecrows

And so far, I'm only halfway through the book!

If you have any interest at all in the 7th Sea RPG, this is a must read, not only for Avalon (English) characters, but excellent inspiration for the secret society Die Kreuzritter as well.

7:54PM - Fox Magic is Out!

My game is finally out!  :)  It took about a year, but we've finally got the book released (in PDF format)!  :)

10:13PM - 69. Red Seas Under Red Skies - Scott Lynch

How sad is it that I've read loads of fantasy this year but only this and its prequel really seem to count as fantasy with bite for me?



69. Red Seas Under Red Skies - Scott Lynch - 640 pages (8.5/10)

This is the second installment of the Gentleman Bastard series. I absolutely adored the first installment and followed suit with the second one as soon as I could. This one is still enjoyable, but not as amazing as the first.

Locke and Jean have left their home country of Camorr and traveled to Tal Verrar and the Sinspire, which is basically the swanky parts of Las Vegas in a tower. It's an amazing initial setting, and I wish more of the novel had taken place in it, to be honest. For two years, they have been slowly cheating and amassing wealth. But, of course, as usual, something has to go wrong and they are caught up in a larger game and forced to be pawns . However, Locke and Jean don't make very good pawns.

Under the threat of a latent poison, they are forced to go on the high seas and pretend to be pirates to upset the stability of Tal Verrar. But this does not go entirely according to plan, either. It is this part of the book I didn't find as exciting. I liked the characters on the boat, but seas and ships and run-of-the-mill port towns are just the same as in so many other fantasy books. Lynch has the talent to make such amazing settings, that it seemed a bit of a cop-out to stick them on the high seas.

That's not to say this is a disappointing book. Overall, I still enjoyed it and I will read the next installment. The dialogue and humour is witty and sharp, the characters strong, and the plotting intricate. I'm still gutted that the next installment won't be out until sometime next year. Lynch is worth reading; just don't expect Red Seas Under Red Skies to be quite as incredible at The Lies of Locke Lamora.