Cower not, fierce reader! This fine day we have a fine selection of adventure sure to chill the heart of truefen. Iced desserts are popular, are they not? Let us see our buffet of thoughtcrime! Please note: I'm now including Amazon links to each book(I am an affiliate now, I might as well, as many books as I review).
Noble Man by William Miller- Mr. Miller is one of the writers behind the Literary Rebel page, and I thought I should read at least one book from them. This is solid spec ops style fiction(I can't speak to realism, only entertainment). How solid? Do you like John Ringo's Ghost series, but not the sex in them? Yeah, we are near that territory. Major crimes: Christians with resolve, corrupt politicians and many more. 8 of 10 fell deeds
Escape on Venus by Edgar Rice Burroughs- I've not yet reached that sad day when I will be done with the Carson Napier books, though this is a bit weaker than the others. The reason being that it is a series of escapes, though the last one is truly excellent. I've had to order a physical copy of the next book as there's no Kindle edition as yet. Major crime: further poking holes in the narrative against pulp writers 8 of 10 fell deeds
Sudden Rescue by Jon Mollison - I thought it was high time I read Mr. Mollison's fiction, especially as I'd heard good things from folks I respect. How good is it? Closest I can come to in a sensical statement is this: Imagine if you will, Edgar Rice Burroughs first book after watching Big Trouble in Little China. That's not quite right either, but I can't get any closer. Major crime: We got a guy becoming a proper hero, a beautiful princess to rescue, what more do you need? 9 of 10 fell deeds
Scavengers by David J. West- I bought this hoping it was a weird western. Well, it's still a pretty good Western, though I found the dialogue had way too many "g"s at the ends of words. There's a good amount of history involving the early Mormon movement, and some of the violence to and for, sometimes to the detriment of the story. All in all, still a good story. Major crime: Acknowledging some of the bad on every side in the West works for me. 7 of 10 fell deeds
Days of Future Past Part Two: Present Tense by John Van Stry- If you did read the first book, you don't want to miss out. We're back in the war for a future where faerie came back following some great calamity. This time, the pacing is better, the action keeps going, and there's plenty of intrigue in the slower parts. Major crime: Grudging respect for someone you hate. 8 of 10 fell deed
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Pulp Comics: Rocketo: Journey to the Hidden Sea by Frank Espinosa
Today, I'm going to make some of you scramble to find this. It's fun, it's beautiful, it's pulpy as all getout. These were cowritten by Frank Espinosa and Marie Taylor, with Espinosa doing the art. Warning: I will be putting in some plot spoilers here and there.
Vol 1:
This is the start of a journey past the edges of civilization, where none have returned from. We open with a side tale told in issue 0 that had a little added to make it fit the mold of the rest of the story. Great move, and it gets the reader involved. This may or may not be our Earth, there's been great disasters and interventions from monsters and something close to gods. The world has been reshaped, and man has changed, to include (l to r on the cover) Mappers(Rocketo Garrison is one), Earth Men(Epiku is a such), Dogmen(Spiro Turnstile), Inventors(Doc) and Silent Men(Boaz), with Birdmen, Tigermen, and the Lucerne filling roles as allies and adversaries. Also, monsters.
Plenty of Monsters. Rocketo Garrison is a Mapper, the son of a long line of Mappers. Once their compass alights, they have an unerring sense of direction, vital in a world that has lost its magnetic field. Mappers explore, add to the knowledge of men, and fight monsters. Rocketo's compass awakens when his parents are killed by a monster known as the Omerylla Coil, which disappears suddenly with his compass lighting.
He gets fostered by another Mapper, and shirks the Guild when he grows up, to face adventure. In a war, he chooses sides, and ends up captured and providing a weapon for his enemies, the Lucerne. After the war, he takes over a lighthouse, only to be interrupted by his old friend, Spiro, who's putting together a crew, and also fleeing the Hand, a criminal organization with operations over large parts of the world. Said adventure happens(not spoiling more here), their ship is attacked, and Spiro, Doc, and Boaz end up meeting the first mapper, and Rocketo and Epiku are lost.
Vol 2
Rocketo is lost. He starts wandering amidst a sea of wrecked ships. His friend Epiku is hurt, and Rocketo collapses trying to get him to help. Rocketo awakens to a mysterious woman. Yes, this book does have a strong woman, but she is no fighter, nor is she nearly as strong as Rocketo. She has her own strengths, and this book does not play copy paste or gender swap.
Rocketo is brought to the city within the Hidden Sea, where he meets his lifelong hero, the First Mapper. The leader of the Hand is leading the Lucerne to them, and Rocketo leads the fight, before his compass lights again, and once relit, destroys the enemies of the people of the Hidden Sea.(Yes, I'm keeping it short. I've got an appointment.)
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Vol 1:
This is the start of a journey past the edges of civilization, where none have returned from. We open with a side tale told in issue 0 that had a little added to make it fit the mold of the rest of the story. Great move, and it gets the reader involved. This may or may not be our Earth, there's been great disasters and interventions from monsters and something close to gods. The world has been reshaped, and man has changed, to include (l to r on the cover) Mappers(Rocketo Garrison is one), Earth Men(Epiku is a such), Dogmen(Spiro Turnstile), Inventors(Doc) and Silent Men(Boaz), with Birdmen, Tigermen, and the Lucerne filling roles as allies and adversaries. Also, monsters.
Plenty of Monsters. Rocketo Garrison is a Mapper, the son of a long line of Mappers. Once their compass alights, they have an unerring sense of direction, vital in a world that has lost its magnetic field. Mappers explore, add to the knowledge of men, and fight monsters. Rocketo's compass awakens when his parents are killed by a monster known as the Omerylla Coil, which disappears suddenly with his compass lighting.
He gets fostered by another Mapper, and shirks the Guild when he grows up, to face adventure. In a war, he chooses sides, and ends up captured and providing a weapon for his enemies, the Lucerne. After the war, he takes over a lighthouse, only to be interrupted by his old friend, Spiro, who's putting together a crew, and also fleeing the Hand, a criminal organization with operations over large parts of the world. Said adventure happens(not spoiling more here), their ship is attacked, and Spiro, Doc, and Boaz end up meeting the first mapper, and Rocketo and Epiku are lost.
Rocketo is lost. He starts wandering amidst a sea of wrecked ships. His friend Epiku is hurt, and Rocketo collapses trying to get him to help. Rocketo awakens to a mysterious woman. Yes, this book does have a strong woman, but she is no fighter, nor is she nearly as strong as Rocketo. She has her own strengths, and this book does not play copy paste or gender swap.
Rocketo is brought to the city within the Hidden Sea, where he meets his lifelong hero, the First Mapper. The leader of the Hand is leading the Lucerne to them, and Rocketo leads the fight, before his compass lights again, and once relit, destroys the enemies of the people of the Hidden Sea.(Yes, I'm keeping it short. I've got an appointment.)
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Late March 2017 Kickstarter look
Yes, I'm taking another look at KS projects, because there's been some interesting books and games launched. Just so everyone knows, I've not backed any of these yet, though I am
looking at some pretty seriously, and will likely back the books(unless
offered them for review). You may know about these, you may not, but here they are:
So, books first, some authors I'm friends with have mentioned Powers of the Earth, by Travis J I Corcoran. Now, I've not read any of this man's work, but reading the page, he seems to evoke the best of Heinlien and Niven adventure, hopefully without the degenerate parts. (Heinlein juveniles, not the Lazarus Long books). In the about the author section, there are some great negative quotes from Daily Kos and Warren Ellis(who has written some great comics, but is a leftist loon).
Now, sff humor luminary Robert Kroese has a trilogy up called The Saga of the Iron Dragon. This, however, is more of a straight alternate history sf book, and not a comedy. Kroese is a great humorist, and skillful writer. I have no doubt he'll deliver, and I have great hopes for this. However, Rex Nihilo in Out of the Soylent Planet comes first.
On to boardgames! I do encourage watching videos of gameplay and reading the rules before backing.
Brother, I'm not big into party games, but I gotta tell ya, Smack Talk Showdown looks to be the real thing for getting people hamming it up and laughing. This is yes, a party game of wrestling promos with random names and odd settings. You don't want a physical copy? You'll get print files for $5.
Carl Chudyk is the king of shared action games, starting back with Glory to Rome, Innovation and now, there's a 2nd edition of Impulse(and expansions) coming. This is not the Asmadi artwork, but instead is more stylized art from the company that printed the Polish edition. It's a bit of a fast 4x style game, but more on the Euro side, so it may or may not be for you.
Do you like 3D boards with some functionality? Are you nostalgic for some old Mattel game with marbles? Yeti Mountain is looking to recreate Fireball Island, a game with a large following on BoardgameGeek.
Academy Games is at it again with 878 Vikings. This is a 2-4 player game about the Viking invasion of England. They knocked it out of the park with the new edition of Mare Nostrum, and the fact that there's a mini of Alfred the Great kinda clinches it for me. My experience with Mare Nostrum says the board is likely plenty large unless you want to run it at conventions, in which case you MAY want the giant map.
A few years back, AEG had a cooky little game that's coming back: The Island of Doctor Necreaux. I can't attest to the game's quality, but I will say the flavor is plenty pulpy, with CyberSharks, Psychic Amplifiers, Diabolical Research Labs, Escape Shuttles, and lots more.
Lastly, a couple of roleplaying projects.
There's a new pair of supplements for the Adventurer Conqueror King System(ACKS), which has been pushed by both Jeffro and Vox. They've even agreed to a Dark Lord class, and Vox hinted at another cool thing if there's enough support. I think I need to start looking into the books for this game.
Noir World is a game of hardboiled crime fiction powered by the Apocalypse Engine. I have some friend that love the simplicity of the system, though this one is designed to be GM-less, which makes me a little wary and intrigued at the same time.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
So, books first, some authors I'm friends with have mentioned Powers of the Earth, by Travis J I Corcoran. Now, I've not read any of this man's work, but reading the page, he seems to evoke the best of Heinlien and Niven adventure, hopefully without the degenerate parts. (Heinlein juveniles, not the Lazarus Long books). In the about the author section, there are some great negative quotes from Daily Kos and Warren Ellis(who has written some great comics, but is a leftist loon).
Now, sff humor luminary Robert Kroese has a trilogy up called The Saga of the Iron Dragon. This, however, is more of a straight alternate history sf book, and not a comedy. Kroese is a great humorist, and skillful writer. I have no doubt he'll deliver, and I have great hopes for this. However, Rex Nihilo in Out of the Soylent Planet comes first.
On to boardgames! I do encourage watching videos of gameplay and reading the rules before backing.
Brother, I'm not big into party games, but I gotta tell ya, Smack Talk Showdown looks to be the real thing for getting people hamming it up and laughing. This is yes, a party game of wrestling promos with random names and odd settings. You don't want a physical copy? You'll get print files for $5.
Carl Chudyk is the king of shared action games, starting back with Glory to Rome, Innovation and now, there's a 2nd edition of Impulse(and expansions) coming. This is not the Asmadi artwork, but instead is more stylized art from the company that printed the Polish edition. It's a bit of a fast 4x style game, but more on the Euro side, so it may or may not be for you.
Do you like 3D boards with some functionality? Are you nostalgic for some old Mattel game with marbles? Yeti Mountain is looking to recreate Fireball Island, a game with a large following on BoardgameGeek.
Academy Games is at it again with 878 Vikings. This is a 2-4 player game about the Viking invasion of England. They knocked it out of the park with the new edition of Mare Nostrum, and the fact that there's a mini of Alfred the Great kinda clinches it for me. My experience with Mare Nostrum says the board is likely plenty large unless you want to run it at conventions, in which case you MAY want the giant map.
A few years back, AEG had a cooky little game that's coming back: The Island of Doctor Necreaux. I can't attest to the game's quality, but I will say the flavor is plenty pulpy, with CyberSharks, Psychic Amplifiers, Diabolical Research Labs, Escape Shuttles, and lots more.
Lastly, a couple of roleplaying projects.
There's a new pair of supplements for the Adventurer Conqueror King System(ACKS), which has been pushed by both Jeffro and Vox. They've even agreed to a Dark Lord class, and Vox hinted at another cool thing if there's enough support. I think I need to start looking into the books for this game.
Noir World is a game of hardboiled crime fiction powered by the Apocalypse Engine. I have some friend that love the simplicity of the system, though this one is designed to be GM-less, which makes me a little wary and intrigued at the same time.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
So, yeah, here's a little branding for folks
To reward my faithful audience, and make myself a little money, I've setup a store on TeeSpring. Cover artist and author Dawn Witzke graciously made the first design, and I'm hoping to get at least two more in the near future.
Here's the shirt:
and a hoodie:
And yes, I have one of the tees already. It's cozy and does look that good in real life. Go ahead, give some SJWs panic at cons.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Here's the shirt:
and a hoodie:
And yes, I have one of the tees already. It's cozy and does look that good in real life. Go ahead, give some SJWs panic at cons.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Yep, I gotta try to monetize
You might notice a couple of buttons on the left side that are new. I need to start at least trying to get something out of the blog, especially the book reviews. This is not a complaint, but a simple statement of my fiscal reality.
I do low paying grunt work for a living. HR people in IL consider me unskilled labor, because the market is so oversaturated that they don't have to worry about a person's ability to acquire skills, just the experience they already have. Wages are also depressed to the point that most factories and warehouses barely pay over minimum wage, unless they have a reputation for treating people badly.
I've been called a professional reviewer a few times, and I really should try to get something out of any book sales I help induce. So, if you are so inclined, please, use either the donate button or the poor looking injustice books button on the left. I'll see if I can pretty it up, but it'll do for now. I'm hoping to get an affiliate account for tfaw and possibly miniature market as well.
Authors, if you're reading this, I'll gladly have my book purchasing reduced, though being given a copy is no guarantee of a review, nor do I have mercy on what I perceive to be bad writing. New to the blog? Check out a couple of book reviews first, that's what the tabs are for.
I hope I can give a good return on any monies granted. I'm not up for a regular payment setup, as life happens, and I will occasionally have slow times. That said, the more comes in, the more I can give to the blog. And possible other writing, but no guarantees there.
Many thanks to all,
Alfred Genesson
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
I do low paying grunt work for a living. HR people in IL consider me unskilled labor, because the market is so oversaturated that they don't have to worry about a person's ability to acquire skills, just the experience they already have. Wages are also depressed to the point that most factories and warehouses barely pay over minimum wage, unless they have a reputation for treating people badly.
I've been called a professional reviewer a few times, and I really should try to get something out of any book sales I help induce. So, if you are so inclined, please, use either the donate button or the poor looking injustice books button on the left. I'll see if I can pretty it up, but it'll do for now. I'm hoping to get an affiliate account for tfaw and possibly miniature market as well.
Authors, if you're reading this, I'll gladly have my book purchasing reduced, though being given a copy is no guarantee of a review, nor do I have mercy on what I perceive to be bad writing. New to the blog? Check out a couple of book reviews first, that's what the tabs are for.
I hope I can give a good return on any monies granted. I'm not up for a regular payment setup, as life happens, and I will occasionally have slow times. That said, the more comes in, the more I can give to the blog. And possible other writing, but no guarantees there.
Many thanks to all,
Alfred Genesson
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Music blog: Riders in the Sky
Yee-haw!
Because it's the COWBOY WAY.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Because it's the COWBOY WAY.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
Fun Comics still exist: Future Quest
Fierce readers, I know that Marvel and DC in their main lines have little to offer us but insults, hand wringing, and preachy message fiction. I stopped reading most superhero books because of that.
However, DC does have one book that so far has avoided such things. Maybe it's because it's a nostalgia book, maybe it has fewer editors, maybe the writer is a classier guy than most at the big 2 these days. This book is Hanna Barbera's Future Quest.
Yep, if you haven't looked, all the major Hanna Barbera heroes are there. The Quests, Birdman, Space Ghost, The Impossibles, The Herculoids, and more, sharing one adventure.
Yes, I know there's been some atrocious things done to Archie, the Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo lately. That hasn't happened here. The author has a plan, and he has to: the series is only going 12 issues, so if you go for the trades, it'll be 2 volumes. Unless there's demand for a deluxe edition or the like.
Anyway, back to my point. The characters all feel right. There's two very minor points that could be construed as appealing to minorities, but they're both well written, and feel like throwaway bits as far as I'm concerned. The Quests feel like a family, Race Bannon is most definitely an action hero badass for a non-powered guy.
There's real heroism in the first collection. Sacrifice, so that others can live and fight on against a truly existential threat to everything. The art is dead on, so don't worry about your favorite character getting completely redesigned. Unless Frankenstein Jr. or Mightor was your favorite character, and they had story driven changes.
Why am I taking so much time to point out this comic? Because my friend Jon Del Arroz has recently lamented a lack of fun comics from Marvel, things he can enjoy and share with his children. I honestly can't guarantee kids will get the characters unless you purposely get them watching the old cartoons, but this is good stuff, it's fun, it's clean, and honestly, it's noble.
I'm really hoping DC takes note of how good this is, and steps up with similar material. I don't want copies, but I do like some all ages fun on occasion in my comics.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
However, DC does have one book that so far has avoided such things. Maybe it's because it's a nostalgia book, maybe it has fewer editors, maybe the writer is a classier guy than most at the big 2 these days. This book is Hanna Barbera's Future Quest.
Yep, if you haven't looked, all the major Hanna Barbera heroes are there. The Quests, Birdman, Space Ghost, The Impossibles, The Herculoids, and more, sharing one adventure.
Yes, I know there's been some atrocious things done to Archie, the Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo lately. That hasn't happened here. The author has a plan, and he has to: the series is only going 12 issues, so if you go for the trades, it'll be 2 volumes. Unless there's demand for a deluxe edition or the like.
Anyway, back to my point. The characters all feel right. There's two very minor points that could be construed as appealing to minorities, but they're both well written, and feel like throwaway bits as far as I'm concerned. The Quests feel like a family, Race Bannon is most definitely an action hero badass for a non-powered guy.
There's real heroism in the first collection. Sacrifice, so that others can live and fight on against a truly existential threat to everything. The art is dead on, so don't worry about your favorite character getting completely redesigned. Unless Frankenstein Jr. or Mightor was your favorite character, and they had story driven changes.
Why am I taking so much time to point out this comic? Because my friend Jon Del Arroz has recently lamented a lack of fun comics from Marvel, things he can enjoy and share with his children. I honestly can't guarantee kids will get the characters unless you purposely get them watching the old cartoons, but this is good stuff, it's fun, it's clean, and honestly, it's noble.
I'm really hoping DC takes note of how good this is, and steps up with similar material. I don't want copies, but I do like some all ages fun on occasion in my comics.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
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