Monthly Archives:
sG.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is one of those titles that you can either hang with, or it’ll drive you nuts. Unless you don’t care one way or the other. (THANKS FOR THE JOKE MITCH!) Debuting in 1983, it told the stories about an elite team of counter-terrorism soldiers—drawn from every branch of the […]
Sensor Sweep: Maal Dweb, Beastmaster, Federation & Empire, and John Carter RPG
Monday , 15, January 2018 Sensor Sweep 4 CommentsWriters (DMR Books): “This date marks the one hundred twenty-fifth anniversary of the birth of Clark Ashton Smith. Readers of this site should require no introduction, as Smith was one of the “big three” writers for Weird Tales, along with Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft. It only seems appropriate that we should honor this […]
I had heard about the anthology The Book of Swords sometime last year before its publication. The cover looked good but I was not filled with any great enthusiasm. I have read anthologies edited by Gardner Dozois and George R. R. Martin starting with Warriors (Tor Books, 2010). I wrote a review of the anthology […]
Fantasy and Adventure New Release Roundup – 13 January 2018
Saturday , 13, January 2018 Just Released Leave a commentThis week’s roundup of the newest releases in fantasy and adventure follows a wandering gnome into the depths of an abandoned mine, the heir of the Minamoto Clan as he tries to prevent war, and a Marine Corps pilot as he crashes into Greek myths come back to life. The Monster of Mordwin (The School […]
A Binge at Brinkley is the first issue in the RIGHT HO, JEEVES series, which tells of the travails of the inimitable Bertie Wooster, who is summoned from the comforts of #3A Berkley Mansions, London to Brinkley Manor by his imperious Aunt Dahlia. Love is in the air and Wodehousian shenanigans are afoot, as Wooster is not the […]
Short Reviews – The Man the Sun Gods Made, by Gardner F. Fox
Friday , 12, January 2018 Uncategorized 1 CommentThe Man the Sun Gods Made, by Gardner F. Fox appeared in the Winter 1946 issue of Planet Stories. It can be read here at Archive.org. I don’t really need to go into what a legend Gardner F. Fox is, but I will remark that the man has shown impressive range in the few stories […]
Castalia House Blog Picks of 2017
Thursday , 11, January 2018 Comics, Computer Games, Fiction, Games 13 Comments2017. It was the year where the wild west of indie science fiction, building on the momentum of previous years, surpassed the traditional publishers. It was the year when Marvel Comics collapsed, shuttering comics shops in its fall. It was the year when Disney divided Star Wars enthusiasts. When passion project games scored big and […]
The sixth book of Jay Allan’s Blood on the Stars series flies into the heart of danger. The pulsar…an ancient weapon of unimaginable power, one that threatens the Confederation with total destruction. The Union is preparing for the final invasion, one that cannot fail with the great artifact at the head of their fleet. The […]
WARGAME WEDNESDAY: Avalon Hill’s The Battle of the Bulge (1981) – Part VI
Wednesday , 10, January 2018 Wargames Leave a commentConclusions The Germans either win the Battle of the Bulge early, or they lose. Much of the midgame can easily be the Allies curb-stomping the krauts. This is because the Strategic Bombing that takes place as soon as the weather clears. Once the weather clears up, the Allies will get way more planes, and if […]
Every miniature wargamer well knows the thrill of the hunt for the illusive “Perfect Skirmish Game”. While the bulk of the sci-fi wargaming population contents itself with the 40,000-pound gorilla, or chases the latest big-box set with a two-year lifespan from one of its challengers, some of us are content to noodle around the edges […]
New Release Spotlight: SEVEN FOLD SWORD: NECROMANCER
Tuesday , 9, January 2018 Just Released 1 CommentThe fourth book in the Seven Fold Sword series by Jonathan Moeller rises! The quest of the Seven Swords has put terrible power in the hands of madmen. Ridmark Arban is the Shield Knight, but he is the only Swordbearer in the realm of Owyllain. That means he is the only warrior capable of defending […]
So I bought a Kindle Fire, and here’s my verdict: The Kindle Fire is a heap of crap. It’s cheap, it’s shoddy, and it’s slow. It does a lot of the same things an Apple iPad does, but worse. It’s meant for people who either don’t know they bought a heap of crap, or don’t […]