Review: Gabriel Hunt at the Well of Eternity

Gabriel Hunt at the Well of Eternity Gabriel Hunt (James Reasoner) Leisure Books, 2009 First Line: Gabriel Hunt tugged at the tight collar around his neck and grimaced as he failed to loosen it. Leisure Books is of course an imprint of Dorchester Publishing the same publishing house responsible for the Hard Case Crime imprint. [...]

On Roleplaying

It’s time to Ramble On. -Led Zeppelin As I sat in a comfy chair last night, wearing my free Dragon Age t-shirt acquired at PAX ’07, and playing through the opening scenes of Mass Effect 2 (my Mass Effect t-shit was, unfortunately, in the laundry) I cringed as a notice popped up about earning +4 [...]

Review: Arms-Commander by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Arms-Commander L. E. Modesitt Jr. Tor, 2010 First Line: In the late afternoon on the Roof of the World, the guards stood silent on the practice ground, their eyes fixed on the blackness rising just above the western horizon as Istril stepped out of the main door of Tower Black and crossed the causeway. As [...]

Review: Nyphron Rising by Michael J Sullivan

Nyphron Rising Michael J Sullivan Ridan Publishing, 2009 First Line: Amilia made the mistake of  looking back into Edith Mon’s eyes. Nyphron Rising is the third book in Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations following both The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha.  The first novels set the bar rather high and I’m happy to report that Nyphron Rising manages [...]

Review: The God Engines by John Scalzi

The God Engines John Scalzi Subterranean Press, 2009 First Line: It was time to whip the god. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that, despite being something a genre fanatic, that this is the first John Scalzi book I’ve read.  I’ve always had every intention to read Old Man’s War but that intent has never [...]

Review: Redemption Ark by Alistair Reynolds

Redemption Ark Alistair Reynolds Ace, 2003 (mmpb, Ace, 2004) First line: The dead ship was a thing of beauty. Redemption Ark is the third book in Reynolds Revelation Space series.  I inadvertently skipped the second novel Chasm City but thankfully Reynolds’ fiction, despite being part of a larger overarching story, manages to stand well enough [...]

Gaming in 2010

2009 was a bad year for me and game.  A year measured by inability to commit and finish just about every game I’ve started.  I’m still working on Dragon’s Age, dabbling into Torchlight, and cautiously exploring the jungles of Crysis: Warhead. Regardless, there is still a bevy of titles I’m looking forward to in 2010. [...]

Review: First Lord’s Fury by Jim Butcher

First Lord’s Fury Jim Butcher Ace, 2009 First Lord’s Fury is the sixth and final book in Jim Butcher’s Codex Alera.  Set in a Roman inspired world whose citizens control powerful elementals called furies the Codex Alera is a fast-paced action intensive series.  In First Lord’s Fury both speed and action are ratcheted way past [...]

Slight Change of Plans

Don’t worry I still plan on my look at hardboiled detective fiction (in I read The Simple Art of Murder this weekend) but I think I’m going to take it slower then my other “projects.”  In the meantime I’m going to work through a backlog of fiction that has slipped through the cracks of my [...]