Relatively Insubstantial
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Reaper’s Gale, by Steven Erikson The least interesting part of Erikson’s epic epoch are the dragons, and there are a lot of scheming dragon siblings/offsprings flapping their wings and gums. I prefer humanoid, ghost and recently Ascended schemes, frankly. The Letherii battles and long, long leadup to the Rhuald/Karsa Orlong duel make up the difference! |
I’ll Be Re-Watching
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Watchmen Jaw-droppingly gorgeous and engaging, Watchmen succeeds despite the influence of the comic (the plot was recycled in Heroes). Recreating the alternate-1985 culture was a winning gamble. The best of the literalist comic adaptations because it adds depth to most characters instead of simply presenting them (though it’s light on Ozymadias). |
Solo Excursions
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Race for the Galaxy, by Thomas Lehmann This resource- and phase-management game is as unified and intricately designed economy as I’ve seen, but the Race is essentially a game of four-handed solitaire. There’s no way to directly affect your opponents’ actions save by not playing a specific phase card – which they’d undoubtedly choose themselves. Intricate, not replayable. |
The Force is Strong in this One
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Lego Star Wars II: The Original Series Ben’s introduction to Star Wars – he thinks Vader and Luke are friends because they dress the same in Jedi. Keeping Vader locked until the end is a great way to encourage players to finish Free Play mode – I had to know what treasures were behind those Dark Force-locked doors! |
Oldest/Newest RPG Purchases, Part 2*
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Legend of the Burning Sands RPG, from Alderac Entertainment Not a direct conversion of CCG characters, like the benchmark Waves of Blood for 7th Sea. Instead, this advances the story 30 years and looks to the future. Represents most factions, save the Moto, Ivory Kingdoms and, inexplicably, the Jinn. Though I want more, I’m delighted this book finally exists. |
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The World’s Largest City, from Alderac Entertainment Yes, it’s a city with a Spire, but this is a city, not a cosmology. Most locations are given a trio of adventure hooks, and each section has a set of suggested quests, plus there’s surprising variation among the dens of iniquity (though perhaps too many half-elf shopkeepers). Masterwork quality. |
* The second of a two-part theme.
The Crazy Girl and the Broken-Hearted Fool
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Ida Maria – Fortress Around My Heart Oh my God, indeed! From her videos, she’s a librarian with a secret punk past under those bangs and tweed; from her album, she sounds more Concrete Blonde than Blondie, but there’s an angry pop vibe. Ida Maria is something else, but you can definitely dance and drink to her. |
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Kanye West – 808s and Heartbreak A groovy breakup album that sounds much better than power ballads, but is about as deep. The standout track is definitely Robocop, because that’s about the last metaphor for a bad girlfriend that I could imagine, and yet somehow he makes it work – including the whirr-click of the holster effect. |
A Different World
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Star Trek Collective: Alternate Realities After time travel, mirror universe /Elseworlds stories are my favourite Trek episodes. The Voyager Elseworlds tales were better than I remembered, the DS9 mirror universe were much worse, Picard’s alien life history was moving, and the Enterprise mirror universe was darkly fantastic. Too bad The Menagerie didn’t make the cut. |
Lean. Mean.
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Quantum of Solace A short story, not a novel. The villains, the despots, the explosions, the arrests, the assassinations and assignations (though excellent) are cover for Bond’s real mission and the film’s true storyline – Bond’s search for the man responsible for Vesper’s death; a man, like Bond, too charming and dangerous to know. |
The Bond Finale
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James Bond: Casino Royale Either the art or the reproductions are rougher in this volume of the earliest Bond strips. Bond wreaks havoc at the card table in Casino Royale and Moonraker. It’s as difficult to make baccarat and bridge suspenseful on the page as it is onscreen – I’m glad Daniel Craig played poker. |
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James Bond: Dr. No My very first exposure to James Bond – after the For Your Eyes Only movie poster – was this comic adaptation of Dr. No. The memory of Bond squeezing through the vertical pipes stayed vivid for years, and I was not disappointed on re-reading…but I can’t believe I forgot the giant octopus! |
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James Bond: The Spy Who Loved Me The Bond comic strip concludes the Fleming canon and then goes off in its own direction. The Spy Who Loved Me, unlike the novel, reads like two distinct tales, each of middling value. The Harpies is sci-fi lunacy equivalent to the Roger Moore movie era, except Bond is the straight-man. |
The Second Mark
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X Omnibus Vol. 2 Ancient assassins, government super-villains, gansters and inexplicable monsters plague X, but the real trouble in the second half of the series is a fearless DA who calls his bluff. Except it’s not a bluff. X and Ziggurat’s origins are revealed, but are best forgotten. X is better feared than understood. |
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