Golden Anvil

There has been some mention around here about a website called Fantastic Fiction, and I wanted to put in my own plug for a book related website. So, I figured I'd post comparison links, using the recently mentioned Salamandastron book so that you could see what each site has to offer. Then I'll provide some running commentary on a comparison of features of the two sites. I will warn you ahead of time though, that I'm likely to prefer LibraryThing, as I'm already biased.

First off, the main pages... LibraryThing and Fantastic Fiction. Now, it may be just me, but I really do prefer the general color scheme and layout of LibraryThing. It's easier on the eyes, and just looks a little more polished.

Hero in the Shadows by David Gemmell

This is a Gemmell book in the Drenai series. It focuses on the recurring character, Waylander, who is (or rather, was) an assassin. He no longer assasses, but he can't seem to keep himself from protecting those around him. Unlike others of Gemmell's books in this series, the plot is more complex than "man inspires others to hold out against impossible odds". This time there are a number of other things going on admidst a backdrop of an ancient evil seeking to enter the world through a breaking down magical gate.

Gemmell always writes intense (though usually brutal) action scenes, and this book is no exception. There's plenty of action here, and a relatively straightforward plot that is carried forward by very compelling characters.

The Legend of Deathwalker by David Gemmell

Rainbows End by Verner Vinge

This is a book about a guy who is healed of alzheimer's and is trying to adjust to a world that's different from what he remembers. Except, it's really more of a book about cool, plausible sci-fi, and what kinds of dangerous things can happen in such a world. The alzheimer recovery bit is really just a vehicle to allow the reader to adjust to the new world at the same time as the character.

This book does start off a little rough. It's very disjointed in spots, and the plot, which is introduced in the first chapter, seems to go on hiatus for a good chunk of the book. I can't quite tell if the disjointed bit is intentional, but it certainly can make spots a bit confusing as you try and figure out exactly what's happening.

That title is Og-speak for the name of tonight's adventure: "We Go Hunting". This is the caveman game where everyone only has 3-8 words they are allowed to use off a list of 18. You can explain what you are doing, but all conversation must be in character, using only your list of words.

The game started off with everyone deciding that the clan was low on food, so they were going to go find some food. A run in with a "big big thing" left one of their members (derk) unconscious, so they dropped him off back at the cave, and brought derk's son (derk derk) along for more food hunting. After more looking around for food, they came back to the cave again, and found that derk was missing.

Well, I'm the last one to post a blog this month. In my mind, the GaBloPoMo challenge was a resounding success. Much to my surprise (and delight), every single blogger here on the site managed to post a blog entry every single day! Congratulations! I know that's definitely a challenge!

Part 1 of the prize is already live (the little badges under the avatar). This was the reward for those who managed 4 posts each week. Part 2, for those who posted every day, will be forthcoming.

Now that I have those badges active, I'm definitely going to have to contemplate badges for other purposes as well. After all, they're kind of cool! Perhaps I'll do some kind of ranking badge for those who post a lot. Of course, that'll put Kent and Sareth and I way up at the top of the list, since our years of forum posts would count for that. Let's see, what other badges can I think up that will primarily be awarded to me?

I receive a monthly roleplaying magazine called Pyramid released as PDF by Steve Jackson games, the ones who publish my roleplaying game of choice (GURPS). They articles are usually not dependant on any particular roleplaying system although they sometimes include stats appropriate for GURPS. This month's issue was themed around post-apocalyptic adventuring. You know, after the nuclear bomb kind of stuff, or zombie survival. That kind of thing.

In general, it was a fairly good issue, but there was one article that just got my creative juices flowing. The article present a number of equations that would be useful in doing statistical modeling of populations. It talked about birth and death rates, reproductive rates, age distributions, growth limits, short and long term effects of things like wars, etc. It also provided links to online resources for furthering your own research.

Well, I wasn't planning on extending yesterday's post another day, but I kept thinking of other things I wanted to mention about the game, so I figured maybe having a follow up post would work well. For this post, I just want to list a couple of things I really like about the game. These are in no particular order, but I'll try to provide some context to each so that they make some kind of sense.

I promised a review of Arkham Horror, so I'd better get to it. Before I get sidetracked and forget.

Arkham Horror is a cooperative game for anywhere from 1 to 8 players. The game is set in the 1920s, and the general theme and concept is that some vast alien monstrosity is trying to force it's way into our world. Once here, it will destroy everything. Each player has a character who is trying to prevent this unfortunate event.

Icebones by Stephen Baxter

This book is the last of the trilogy, and takes place some unknown number of years in the future after the first book. It is set on a partially terraformed Mars. How mammoths get there I'll leave unmentioned to avoid spoilers. Baxter likes to tie all of his stories together into one common setting, and this is the book that ties the whole trilogy in. Of course, since it's all from a mammoth's perspective, the connection is not a strong one, and you are left to infer some things yourself.