Monthly Archives:
sTHROWBACK SF THURSDAY: John Maddox Roberts’ Conan Pastiches
Thursday , 31, August 2017 Book Review 13 CommentsJohn Maddox Roberts wrote eight Conan books. I have three—Conan the Champion, Conan the Bold, and Conan and the Amazon. He is best known for his SPQR series, historical fiction mysteries set in Rome at the dawn of the empire. Roberts may be the best of the Tor pastiche authors. Robert Jordan may be a […]
ON THE TABLE: Can’t Stop Playing Silent Victory!
Thursday , 31, August 2017 Tabletop Games 4 CommentsThis game is really is an entirely different beast from The Hunters. Compared to the Germans, there’s a much greater chance of pulling an unsuccessful mission. Not only are Americans plagued with a greater percentage of duds, but the encounters in the Pacific are much more spartan. It’s so bad, I’ve taken to targeting the […]
The twenty-first book of Ryk Brown’s ambitious Frontiers Saga races off the press. The year is 3472. The Earth is recovering from 1,000 years of darkness and despair caused by a bio-digital plague that nearly destroyed her entire population. The discovery of the Data Ark, a repository of human knowledge left behind by their fallen […]
The summer’s wealth of fantasy’s riches continues into August. Here is a short collection sampling many of the new titles offered this month. * * * * * Adventure Constant – Jon Mollison Jack Dashing thought being a rocket test pilot was the most exciting career his […]
Wherever you look these days, editors’ submission guidelines are firm: no stories based on your D&D campaign. This is wise for a number of reasons, I suppose, but you do come across interesting variants on the idea of gamers getting stuck in their game, and occasionally they actually are quite good – good enough to […]
Once, the Ibarras saved Earth and all of humanity from utter destruction. Now they are fugitives and traitors hunted by the Terran Union’s mightiest warriors. After fleeing with a stolen armada, the Ibarra family have finally emerged from hiding and are scouring the galaxy for an ancient alien legacy, destroying any who get in their […]
The summer’s wealth of science fiction riches continues into August. Here is a short sample of the many new titles offered this month. * * * * * All These Worlds (We Are Bob #3) – Dennis Taylor Being a sentient spaceship really should be more fun. […]
What Really Happens in a Traveller Game
Tuesday , 29, August 2017 Tabletop Games, Traveller 14 CommentsClassic Traveller’s original three “little black books” are not broken. They are not incomplete, either. They have everything you need to experience countless hours of science fiction themed gaming. And here’s the thing: a lot stuff that has been tacked onto the game actually gets in the way actual play. It’s tragic. Not that the […]
One of the oddest parts of this decidedly odd job (err, “””job”””) is having people make specific requests for reviews. Not in a “I’d really like to know how good this movie is.” sort of way, more in a “I’d like you to subject your brain to hitherto unknown levels of mental abuse for my […]
SENSOR SWEEP: Self-contained Stories, Sub-par Characters, Escapist Fantasies, and Smashingly Good Publications
Monday , 28, August 2017 Sensor Sweep 7 CommentsPulp Revolution (Jon Mollison) Adventure Constant: Exuberant Adventure — “But this book is more about action and adventure and the panoramic setting of Mollison’s parallel Earth: a globe divided into the Red Collective, the Shogunate of the Red Dawn, the Machine Empire of Europe, the Allied States, the Hashishim Moonies, and undoubtedly more not yet mentioned […]
JUST RELEASED: Good to the Last Drop by Declan Finn
Monday , 28, August 2017 Just Released 1 CommentThe final war is about to begin, in this conclusion to the Dragon Award Nominated series Merle Kraft, Marco Catalano and Amanda Colt have battled against the mythical Council, a supernatural conspiracy that monsters fear. This war has brought them up against vampires, minions, and demons from Hell.. Along the way, they have accumulated allies […]
Another solid episode of Geek Gab is here! Meet David J. West! Find out why his Brutal is neither Epic nor Grimdark! Learn how to use Amazon key words to find your audience! Hear his take on why “Indie” publishing is a recapitulation of the pulp era! SPECIAL BONUS DADDY WARPIG RANT ABOUT THE SPACE […]