he's built on HOW many points?

[reverancepavane]

Just as an exercise to show how prodigeously bad my reading habits are I think I shall attempt to journal my reading of new books this year. I might even do old books that I reread, but probably won't make a habit of it, since I normally just pick them up casually amd just reread them. Besides, my last attempt at the 50 book challenge failed miserably when I got bored to tears by Book 15 ("Riboscides to Rubber"). [I was beginning to suspect that it was one of those series that lacked an overarcing plot and would probably end with the sory of "the butler did it" ending that I so detest. I must say, it did do wonders for my taxonomic skills (at least for those species covered in the first 14 books), and I shall probably be insane enough to finish one of these days (so please don't tell me and spoil how it ends).] BTW I still reserve the right to bore you all to tears by selecting quotes that amuse me, in my more traditional reviews. Anyway, on to the moment at hand. The first new book of the year [1] was Dragonfrigate Wizard Halcyon Blithe by James M. Ward. Now there are two reasons why I might pick up a book by this author, and they are, respectively, the original edition of Metamorphosis Alpha and the "Monty Haul" series of dungeon-delving stories in very very early Dragon magazine. Not exactly a high art literature reccomendation, I'll admit. However, this was needless, as it is in fact the second book in the stories of the intrepid Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe, so I knew what I was getting into, having already read his first adventures in Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe. To those of you who were expecting a story on the level of your standard trashy D&D novel, well, you won't be disappointed. This is not to say it's bad, just that it's not great example of literature and definitely wouldn't win the Booker Prize. It's kind of Horatio Hornblower in a fantasy universe tribute, if you can imagine Horatio as a charismatic but inexperienced seventh son of a seventh son of an aristocratic Naval family, skilled in the arts of wizardry and sorcery, knowledgable in the arts of the enemy, who is an expert fencer able to beat the best of the Fleet in the salle, and who almost always ends up saving the day (several times over). Actually, now that I think about it, it's closer to Harry Potter than Horatio Hornblower. The addition of fantasy elements to the world of napoleonic naval warfare is an interest of mine. Still, I think that most novellists have a while to go to catch up with the role-players in this area of endeavour, although the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik comes close. My favourite universe of this type is still the one detailed (exquisitely) in Furry Pirates from Atlas Games. The idea of capturing Sea Dragons and building a ship on top of them is interesting, although filled with a few technical inconsistencies and flaws. Some of the innate talents, such as "ropespeaker" and "dragon speaker" are interesting from a role-playing persepective, especially considering my other major project of the moment. [1] Anyway, nothing exceptional. Still I enjoyed reading it, but you have to realise that I often enjoy these light and fluffy young adult pieces at times. Your mileage will vary. [1] I lie. The first book of the new year was the playtest copy of Swashbucklers of the 7 Seas by chadu, which I shall probably tell you something about in a later entry when I see how my playtesters struggle against the nefarious plots that I shall unleash against them later tonight (provided I actually get around to finishing the NPCs). And provided that I can stop distracting myself with "doing research" (Captain Alatriste, At Sword's Point, The Prisoner of Zenda, The Myth, Jade Warriors, and The Court Jester just to name a few elements of "research" I performed whilst recovering from the latest attack earlier this week).

Comments

[molokov-au.livejournal.com]

The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon?

[reverancepavane.livejournal.com]

The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true! Actually I think my favourite scene is the initiation ceremony for the new knights, which was shot at normal speed (and not using a slower speed camera like most people assume). Once you realise that it becomes very impressive. I also tend to favour the "<snap> swashbuckling" scenes, especially the witty repartee (not quite up to that of Roger Colman in The Prisoner of Zenda, but close).

[finella-c.livejournal.com]

...you have to realise that I often enjoy these light and fluffy young adult pieces at times.

'Light and fluffy' is underrated.