A Halloween Treat

Dawn Witzke published a second Halloween story today on her website. Last year, she published one on Liberty Island for their Halloween contest. Please, fierce reader, go and read these treats at your leisure.

For those not in the know, Dawn is working on several books currently. She is however, more known (for now) for the book covers she's been doing, getting a bit better each time. She's done a fair number of covers for Declan Finn's work, including the new Codename: Unsub, which I'll get to as soon as I'm done with Nick Cole's new book. Yes, I'm telegraphing some reviews. I DON'T CARE.

Dawn, I love these little treats.  Please keep them up; I have a hard time passing on a new take on an old story that works.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Injustice Book Review: Discovery by Karina Fabian

Cower not, fierce reader! This is my first reading of any of Karina Fabian's works, but this will not be my last. I know that some others have been raving about this book, and it's past time that the dark acts of Injustice contained herein were exposed!

Firstly, this book is Catholic. Not just "It was written by a Catholic.", or "It has some Catholic ideas in it.". No, this tale makes no qualms about the fact that faith is central to the lives of many of the characters. There is redemption, reconciliation, and repentance in this book.

Second, there is a presentation of an atheism that has no comprehension of Christianity in general. Like most versions of atheism, this has evolved into a legalistic religion, with sex and ego as the central fixtures. Don't be worried, no such acts are presented herein, though the characters of such orientation clearly have similar acts in their past.

Thirdly, there is a Protestant faith here that has great misunderstandings of Catholicism. There are multiple reasons for this reflection of the truth. Firstly, a great many misunderstandings take place from use of the same word, with different doctrine. Secondly, many people these days do not study the history, but take the word of others on faith. Third, there are indeed those that lie maliciously about the Catholicism, many even in good faith. This is not to excuse these occurrences, merely to explain the reality reflected within this tale.

This is in several ways an old school SF romance. By that I mean the romantic era, with tales full of adventure, though not adventure stories. Stories with religion, but not religious texts. Stories, yes, with romance, but largely not a story about romance. This is a proper smorgasbord of storytelling, with complex characters of all stripes, and proper passions throughout the tale. 8 of 10 fell deeds.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

A Cautionary Tale

Last night, a new reader posted a comment regarding the Betrayal at the House on the Hill expansion that I covered here. I'm going to post most of the comment here, so if you've read the post, don't feel the need to visit it to check it out.

From Dave and Liz, a couple I'm guessing that just found this blog:

We love the game, and bought the expansion... I didn't know it was socjus tainted.
The first new haunt we played was so poorly worded, that even as avid veterans, we couldn't figure out what was supposed to be occurring. I had to correct the scenario's rules as we went along. Most of the flavor text was devoted to gushing about how stunning and brave and respected the beautiful female monster was.
Seeing authors grabbing attention under the haunts was new- and didn't seem like a welcome development... And, of course, Zoe's haunt- haven't played it yet- was titled "Make America Disintegrate Again." 
Because that's why we play a haunted house game- to get politics shoved in our faces. 
The whole thing reeks as being more focused on fulfilling a millenial circle-jerk than actually focused on good gameplay.
Hopefully some of the haunts are actually decent, but so far it's awful. Wish I would have done some research instead of just trusting the company producing it.

This is a big part of why I call my self the Injustice Gamer. Yes, I post more book reviews than game posts these days, but I do try to keep up with the boardgaming world. Please note prime marks of Social Justice referred to: bad writing and editing, bad rules, false courage clichés, celebrity name-dropping, and tired versions of politcal ideals.

If WotC/AH/Hasborg had been actually interested in putting out a good expansion(they should have been, the game's plenty popular), it would have happened years ago, and you'd have to struggle to find out who wrote what. This was a pure money/SocJus play. Yes, there are enough SocJus people in gaming to make money that way. Don't trust the big companies inherently.

Firstly, I'd like to say if you have a question about a boardgame or boardgame expansion,  PLEASE contact me. Twitter/Gab.ai: @aelfredwessex . If I don't have any idea, I know where to research it, and I might just turn it into a post. I'm here to help. Secondly, if you want a game with stories that are interesting(I have NO CLUE as to the SocJus stance of the writers), I commend Above and Below by Ryan Laukat, and his upcoming Near and Far.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Bye, Crazy Lady. Please, get better.

So, the blogger at gomakemeasandwich has decided to hang up her keyboard, at least for awhile. We do know Vox's first law here, and will not trust her to stay silent, but will take the blessed peace while it lasts.

She has cited mental health reasons, as well as the cost to her reputation due to being "controversial". Our dear blogger apparently obsesses over the amount of words each week people write about what a terrible person she is. She states that "anxiety is my life now". She states that she kept blogging out of a sense of obligation to her daughter, to make gaming a "safe space" for her to exist and play in.

And so on. I'm not even going to continue through this. Vox mentioned it a few days ago at Alpha Game, and I was a bit saddened for a loss of future material.

Anna Krieder, our dear blogger, has many of the wrong ideas. First, she cares what her opponents think about her, kind of like the "respectable Republicans"(I've never considered myself respectable). Second, she thinks that blogging about what she thinks are the problems in gaming will help her daughter. NO, being a parent and playing with your daughter will help her. Third, you believe women have to have the same conclusions for success as men, and that they can and should do everything the same. Fourth, you experience severe anxiety, and you put yourself forward as a leader?

Anna, please stop hating. Stop hating men and God and society. Stop playing Social Justice, and perhaps actually do some. Get some help. Play with your daughter, and let her have her own dreams.

Goodbye Anna. Know that the Injustice Gamer is praying for you and yours.



When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Reading's been slow, so: All hallow's eve suggestions

So I'm still not adjusted to how much my new job has slowed down my reading and my energy levels. That said, it's good to be working.

So, in the interest of perhaps keeping a few people interested in what I have, I'm going to make a few entertainment suggestions to occupy any who dare follow them for awhile. I should have posted these much earlier in the month, as they'd be more reasonable, but they're still entertaining, so here goes.

Ray Bradbury Theatre: Because this is my original October binge. Here's the first episode:

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Because murder, intrigue, and violence belong in the home. Great teleplays, and here's a sample:

The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's masterpiece. Don't even bother with the newer version; it's dead without him. And here's one of the best:

Kolchak, The Night Stalker: This is a wonderful series with Darrin McGavin. Cheesy effects(they all were), but put that aside and fall into the story.

There are of course, other entertainments you might try this with. Boris Karloff's Thriller or Beyond the Veil; The Outer Limits; One Step Beyond; and more. But these are some I recommend binging on first.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Throwback Comics: Lords of the Ultra-Realm

So about a week ago, I found a complete run of a miniseries, with the subsequent special, called Lords of the Ultra-Realm. This book was published in 1986, and has largely amazing art and writing. Here's one of the covers:

Pretty awesome cover, right? Well, the interior artwork is much the same. Lots of lines, details, and of course, 80's styling.

Honestly, when I started reading this, I was blown away. There's layers of story; characters that are complex, even if they are stereotypes of the age; and a plot that isn't lazy. I felt like I was experiencing something akin to what Jeffro did with his Appendix N research: an overlooked, undervalued and unjustly dismissed story that should be held as an example of good storytelling.

Now, the story does drift into left New Age directions here and there, but even then, it doesn't come across as preachy. Even in being derivative, it's more original than most comic books today, even the science fiction and fantasy being done today. It was an age for miniseries, great creativity, and what killed it? Watchmen, apparently. It succeeded too well, and comics followed those examples instead of pursuing the type of work that made it happen in the first place.

Now, I think I want to track down some more from this era. I'm going hunting for Sonic Disrupters next.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.

Music blog: I never drink...wine

A few years back, Philip Glass wrote a new score for the Bela Lugosi starred Dracula. This is an excellent and creepy soundtrack. Listen as much as you like, or go find the movie backed by this.

When you play Social Justice, the world loses.