Victor Hugo Kebbe
It is, without a doubt, an excellent start. Conan's first tales that appear on Savage Tales are pretty cool, especially Red Nails (1973) and The Lurker From the Catacombs (1974), but I confess that I don't like Barry Windsor Smith's art. I understand that it was an editorial decision to take forward the Conan publishing project on Marvel Comics, but Smith's style annoys me a lot. In this sense, it is a volume of very uneven quality, in my opinion, with excellent stories alongside poor ones, accompanied by an artistic quality that is sometimes exquisite (Gil Kane's art is awesome) and those by Barry Smith, Jim Starling and Al Milgrom, which are not my favorite at all. In my opinion, The Secret of Skull River (1974) is the worst story in this collection.
Ir's a nice way to begin in Symbaroum.
It is a campaign whose adventures are loosely connected, which allows the narrator and players to experience the rules, new archetypes, in addition to gradually absorbing the ambience. I believe that, for that reason alone, it is already worthwhile.
The adventures are uneven and several important information about the setting are hidden in a paragraph here and there, something that deserved to be revised more carefully.
Definitely the last adventure, Tomb of Dying Dreams, is the most interesting, as it is the one that finally introduces the players to the Forest of Davokar.
What I like most about Symbaroum, despite sometimes seeming to be a flaw in the text, are these little pieces of setting that are scattered throughout the books released in the series, which creates this huge aura of mystery. I understand that all of this information could be better organized and arranged in a more efficient way (especially if we consider the work that the narrator has to do when reading, studying and taking notes on all of this).
Ir's a nice way to begin in Symbaroum.
It is a campaign whose adventures are loosely connected, which allows the narrator and players to experience the rules, new archetypes, in addition to gradually absorbing the ambience. I believe that, for that reason alone, it is already worthwhile.
The adventures are uneven and several important information about the setting are hidden in a paragraph here and there, something that deserved to be revised more carefully.
Definitely the last adventure, Tomb of Dying Dreams, is the most interesting, as it is the one that finally introduces the players to the Forest of Davokar.
What I like most about Symbaroum, despite sometimes seeming to be a flaw in the text, are these little pieces of setting that are scattered throughout the books released in the series, which creates this huge aura of mystery. I understand that all of this information could be better organized and arranged in a more efficient way (especially if we consider the work that the narrator has to do when reading, studying and taking notes on all of this).
I just read #StarWars TIE Fighter, after reading Alexander Fred's Alphabet Squadron. It was a “cross event” marketing campaign by Marvel Comics and Del Rey, which I expected to fill some gaps regarding the book.
While Alphabet Squadron has an amazing story and it is such an amazing homage to X-Wing book series, TIE Fighter is quite dull and reminded me why I wasn't reading mainstream comics anymore (by the way, if you want to read some Star Wars comics, go to Dark Horse titles instead of Marvel; they did know what they're doing).
TIE Fighter has this story, it seems written with haste. It's impossible to feel connected or to sympathize with any of its characters, which is a shame. And I'm really sad to say this, but it has also an inconstant art, ranging from beautiful covers to low budget comic book publishers.
It's a great book and such an improvement, considering the previous installment. It has several tips for novice and seasoned DMs and the best parts are the checklists for every chapter or main topic.
I do not consider myself a “Lazy DM”. I spare several hours preparing my campaigns and adventures and I really do like all the process of getting everything ready beforehand. But I believe this concept of “Lazy DM” is just a fuzzy concept of explaining the Game Mastering experience. In this sense, every RPG DM/GM should try this book. It's the kind of content I'd wished in the 1990s' and it can help a lot new DMs.
Maybe this is the best part of this series. The problem is everything happens too fast and hides the full dimension of what's happening with the Andromeda Initiative. Maybe I'm giving too much credit for this comic book series, but this final installment links the amazing Mass Effect Trilogy to Andromeda in such a great way that it's better the the game itself. Unfortunately, the comic book doesn't do it right, it lacks something.
Maybe this is the best part of this series. The problem is everything happens too fast and hides the full dimension of what's happening with the Andromeda Initiative. Maybe I'm giving too much credit for this comic book series, but this final installment links the amazing Mass Effect Trilogy to Andromeda in such a great way that it's better the the game itself. Unfortunately, the comic book doesn't do it right, it lacks something.
I do really love this setting. For me, Faerûn and Icewind Dale are almost the same thing. It was my second campaign there, considering the huge hiatus of 10 years between them (2006-2016).
It's an adventure module I adapted to be a whole campaign, which took 3 years to be finished (12/2019).
It would be great to DM this one again.
I've just finished Jack McDevitt's Engines of God... it's such a remarkable book (and the first installment of Priscilla Hutchins book series) and I was appalled from the beginning to the end, especially the finale. I came across a list of books similar to the Mass Effect series and was extremely interested in the work of McDevitt. It predates Mass Effect in so many years and it's quite intriguing.
Definitely, it's not one of my favorites. This tale is a typical pulp magazine sci-fi short story with some of the traditional sci-fi tropes from the 1930's, which makes it somehow different from other Lovecraftian classics such as The Call of Cthulhu, Mountain of Madness, etc... Lots of tech! Too much technology and not that cosmic terror feel...
It seems this one lacks from depicting these eldritch horrors as abstract entities, a pivotal mark of the Lovecraftian cosmic horror. But it's ok, it has everything else from the author and I must point out the buzzing and creepy voice... That was really creepy...
We'll never know what or who is the King in Yellow, but the damage has already been done. Just as Mr. Castaigne read the book in his convalescence, I read The King in Yellow during mine and now I must face the misfortune of having known the mysteries of the Yellow Sign... By the stony towers of Carcosa, by the black stars of the sky, by Hastur and the pale lake of Hali...
Excellent work by Editora Intrínseca, with excellent comments from the translator throughout the reading.
It's an interesting graphic novel, with its pros and cons. First, thinking about the main plot, it's quite similar to Sapkowski's work, but somehow inferior. I think Geralt of Rivia is more complex than depicted in this graphic novel. It's not about hack and slash. Geralt has this lonely life wandering around and not being accepted by anyone, which makes him a great character. And here, it's all about some monsters and the need to destroy them all. Kind of.
Nonetheless, it resembles a The Witcher III side quest. That's a compliment! It's a short story, with small and problematic characters and Geralt must solve a weird mystery. That's ok and quite cool, in fact. It has been a while since I don't play The Witcher III and somehow I did feel some of those strange feelings when playing this game. Geralt is some kind of paranormal detective living in a dark fantasy world... and the mystery makes everything wonderful.
About the art, well, I'm not a fan at all. Despite the cover by Mike Mignola (it was not unfair, because I was thinking I was going to read a Witcher story by Mike Mignola and, nah, not the case...), the art is kind of mediocre. Joe Querio could have done something better. In fact, I did love his sketches, what makes me think about the final inking and coloring...
It is extremely upsetting when you finish reading a book so enjoyable as Aaron Mahnke's “The World of Lore” (despite its obvious flaws) and begin a book on the same subject that is dubious and is praised not only by the critics but also by academia. I can say that after three chapters, I find myself exhausted (if not annoyed) at reading Ghostlands. The succession of poor casuistic analysis to support a notorious skepticism depreciate all the interlocutors - already deceased - presented in this book. There is a clear pedantry in treating these people as victims of society or circumstances. At this point I do not even go further to discuss the existence or non-existence of the paranormal: even without resorting to supernatural explanations (because of his manifest skepticism), the author offers a reading that, although it is said to be multidisciplinary and in-depth, is contrastingly reductionist. When trying to debunk the paranormal discourses - seem here as cultural discourses only, socially constructed - the author does the same, creating a new set of cultural discourses which are equally socially constructed.
This is, definitely, one of the best book I read in 2018. The way it's written (and how these spooky and eerie stories are told) is amazing. You feel compelled to read everything and take notes. It's also a successful podcast and an awesome TV show by Amazon Prime, so, it's a great way to learn new things, especially those related to the supernatural. I'm looking forward to read the new upcoming Lore books by Aaron Mahnke.