Category Archives: Books

Popcorn Literature

Posted on by Henry

mj-popcorn

MJ loves his popcorn.

My recent reading has reminded me of a category of books that I read when I was much younger.  There was a while when I would pick up a book around noon and be done with it by the evening, often already moving on to the next one (I’m looking at you, Animorphs).  I went through such books so quickly, and those books had so little additional substance, that my mother started to call them “popcorn books.”  They were tasty, and could be consumed compulsively with little to no thought required.  They were appealing without being nutritious, and I would quickly turn to them if given the option.

I hadn’t really thought more about those books.  But recently…

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By Heresies Distressed, by David Weber

Posted on by Henry

There’s an obvious joke or three to make here about being distressed by David Weber, but he doesn’t really deserve them.  The fact is, I continue to like his Safehold series, even if it is pretty predictable at this point.  Like I mentioned last time, Weber is serving up a recipe that is tried and true, and despite being well known and familiar it still tastes pretty good.

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By Schism Rent Asunder, by David Weber

Posted on by Henry

In By Schism Rent Asunder, Weber continues the Safehold series that he started with Off Armageddon Reef.  He returns to his burgeoning Age of Sail adventure that pits a lovable and clearly heroic pseudo-England against a corrupt and controlling Mother Church, in what will soon become a holy war.  This recipe has been tried before, and it turns out that it tastes just fine.

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Off Armageddon Reef, by David Weber

Posted on by Henry

Do you like Arthurian legend, religious war motivated by politics, and the burgeoning Age of Sail?  If yes, then try Off Armageddon Reef.  This book will feel abundantly familiar to anyone who has read a moderate number of David Weber‘s other works.  Not only is he recognizable by his language (and especially by his descriptions of violence in naval combat, which bear a striking resemblance to those used in the Honor Harrington series), but the story itself is often assembled from elements which he has already used in other books.  It speaks well for him that he’s found another way to combine those pieces, and used them to explore new topics and themes.  With naval battles and wonderful Arthurian parallels, I’m sold on this series.  Maybe I’ll change my mind six books from now, but I suspect that much like with the Honor Harrington series I’ll continue to be drawn in by the story being told here.  I happily anticipate gorging myself on the next book posthaste.

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Movie Review: World War Z

Posted on by Jason "Zeeblee" Leonard

Zeeblee

I recently saw World War Z at a local Carmike theater, and while it was fun I ended up feeling like I had just watched a generic zombie film, and not a World War Z film.  Where the book is one of the greatest pieces of zombie media ever made, the film instead missed the mark on what makes the whole zombie genre interesting.  In a way this will be a double review as I will discuss what features made the book special, and how the loss of those features made the film feel generic.

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Goddess of the Ice Realm, by David Drake

Posted on by Henry

Once again I have grabbed hold of a David Drake book by the lapels, roughed it up, and shaken it until all the delicious story-bits come out.  Goddess of the Ice Realm continues the formula that David Drake has found so successful previously, returning to his excellently conceived Roman / Greek / Atlantean setting and pitting the heroes against multiple enemies serving one greater terrifying threat.  There are few innovations in this addition to the series, and most of the storylines will feel familiar to those who have read the previous books of the series, but if you like the characters and enjoyed the previous books you’ll almost certainly like this one too.

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The Daylight War, by Peter V. Brett

Posted on by Henry

The Daylight War is the third installment in Peter V. Brett‘s slowly growing Demon Cycle.  I enjoyed it, though my reading of it was rudely interrupted by HPMoR rearing its really rather fetching head.  While not as horrifyingly addictive as its fanfic competitor, The Daylight War does offer a great deal of demon fighting, moderate doses of political intriguing, and a few dashes of vaguely awkward sex scenes.  Oh, and I guess I wasn’t paying attention when I read the first two books several years ago, but there’s a decent helping of weird cultural stuff going on too.  Maybe I’m not being fair?

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HPMoR: Its Appeal is Surprisingly Reasonable

Posted on by Henry

Early last week I finally gave in to the steadily building pile of recommendations and started reading Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.  By Friday I had barely managed to keep up with my other commitments and had forcibly redistributed my sleep cycle; but I finished all 87 chapters that are presently out, and was left wanting more.  I hadn’t understood why so many other people had thought that I would like the story: I’m not normally attracted to any sort of fanfic, and while I enjoyed the Harry Potter series I didn’t think it was the alpha and omega of wizardly fiction.  But now…

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Mistress of the Catacombs, by David Drake

Posted on by Henry

Mistress of the Catacombs is the fourth book in David Drake‘s Lord of the Isles series.  Published in 2001, it continues to deliver on the promise of the first few books.  I’m not sure I have new words to describe the delightful admixture of classical influences that form this heady concoction of Roman and Greek culture and technology, Sumerian religion, and ancient Mediterranean magic.  Suffice to say that it comes across with an appropriately Atlantean feel, and *itty bitty spoilers* that the various wanderings through other worlds never break the feeling of the world(s) that Drake has created.  Magic is powerful and scary, and this is made clear not just by the ways in which people react to it but also through the consequences of people’s use of magic.  And more than ever before in this series, Drake makes clear his own thoughts about violence as a solution to your problems.

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Gamer Typology a la Robin Laws

Posted on by Henry

We’ve been talking a lot about improvisation and working with your players, but we haven’t given you nearly enough background for the topic.  There’s a book that I found years ago called Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering, and I lend or recommend it to every one of my friends who asks me for tips on how to be a good storyteller.  I like it so much that when I started looking through my old copy again while I was starting this article, I had to stop myself from simply quoting the book word for word.  It’s more than just a good place to start; the book has an impressively down-to-earth approach that will give you a basis for campaign and adventure design, for preparing easy improvisation, and for reading and managing your gaming group’s social (and problem solving) dynamics.  It also offers a very simple gamer typology that should allow you to identify what drives you and your players and what rewards them most in the realm of RPGs.  If you’re interested in gaming or in group dynamics, I couldn’t recommend a better read.

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