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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5699627" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Magazine Issue 249: July 1998</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 4/8</p><p></p><p></p><p>Bookwyrms changes reviewers again. Well, at least the editorial staff are delegating a bit more instead of piling this on their plate on top of everything else. Course, whether it'll be proper reviews again or just recommendations remains to be seen. </p><p></p><p>Giant bones by Peter S Beagle is a collection of short stories set in his established world. But it manages to hit that balance of being accessible to people who haven't read the previous stuff, while still providing useful supplemental material to those who have, and making it clear that there's solid worldbuilding behind them. Sounds like another good prospect for gaming in. </p><p></p><p>The gratitude of kings by Marion Zimmer Bradley is another follow-on book, this time giving a full book to someone who'd only appeared in short stories (and is ironically her last appearance before the author died). Her big secret is under threat, and of course she has to find a clever and unorthodox solution. Most plot threads are resolved, but a few are left open for a future that would never come. Oh well. That's the nature of life. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /> </p><p></p><p>The gift by Patrick O'Leary involves the Arabian nights technique of telling a story within a story, which then turn out to be linked together and all add up to a coherent whole. Maybe it wraps things up a little too neatly actually, but it still examines the nature of storytelling while also telling a good story. You'll probably learn about craft more easily than reading a dry technical book on how to write. </p><p></p><p>The stars dispose by Michaela Roessner is a historical fantasy in the relatively low-key mold, keeping it's magic and villains subtle, it's characters non stereotyped, and it's history unbowdlerised. And it's cooking recipes included in an appendix at the back. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /> Well, a little cheese to help the healthy brainfood go down rarely goes amiss. </p><p></p><p>Trader by Charles de Lint sees him do a take on the old body-swapping plotline. The people involved act with more common sense and personal agency than certain movies I could mention, and the ending is better than most of his books, but it's not completely without flaws. Still, this is another recommendation, so that makes it 5 for 5 again, which I'm not happy about. And indeed, quite a few other people must feel the same, because this is the last appearance of this column. So it looks like book reviews have gone out with a whimper, being watered down until they were of very little merit to the discerning reader. Which goes to show that taking the safe seeming path is not always the route to success, because if you don't stand out, you can just fade away and be forgotten, which is a failure in media terms. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Giants in the Earth returns! This is a turn up for the books. Lets hope the characters are a little less overpowered this time around. </p><p></p><p>And the answer is … yes. In principle, this is no different from the modern Rogues Galleries, since it involves an author statting out his own characters, which recently appeared in the magazine. The only difference is that it isn't a D&D property. So here we get to find out out a little more about J. Gregory Keyes' world of the Waterborn. They have an animistic cosmology that's in trouble because one spirit is trying to kill all the others and establish a monotheistic world with it in charge, and creating scary spirit-blooded to serve as it's mortal agents. Meanwhile, most shamen don't have the magical power to deal with spirits from a position of strength, having to rely on cunning and making deals instead. It's an interesting setup, and one that has humanity at a bit of a disadvantage. Which leaves people like Fool Wolf working hard for their heroism. </p><p></p><p>Perkar Kar Barku is the upright young hero of the Waterborn book, trying to do right by his goddess, and ruin the life of the big bad river god. He has a magic sword that has another little god bonded to it, which of course means he always has someone to banter with. And his stats are considerably less bloated than the average Forgotten Realms NPC. I think I might like to read about his adventures. </p><p></p><p>Hezhi Yehd Chadune is a good example of the power of the Waterborn. Only 13, she's already an incredibly powerful shaman with a whole load of spirits bonded to her. Not that she has it all good, with a strength of 4, and imperfect control over her still growing powers. Having a few fighty sorts around would probably be good for her health. </p><p></p><p>Tsem is her Half-Giant bodyguard, and is a good deal smarter than he seems, but still hardly a genius. Still, you don't really want a bodyguard to be too smart, just loyal, and he has that in spades. Once again he has fairly balanced ability scores, and skills that are chosen for flavor rather than twinkitude. So I think I can safely say I like this collection.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5699627, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Magazine Issue 249: July 1998[/U][/B] part 4/8 Bookwyrms changes reviewers again. Well, at least the editorial staff are delegating a bit more instead of piling this on their plate on top of everything else. Course, whether it'll be proper reviews again or just recommendations remains to be seen. Giant bones by Peter S Beagle is a collection of short stories set in his established world. But it manages to hit that balance of being accessible to people who haven't read the previous stuff, while still providing useful supplemental material to those who have, and making it clear that there's solid worldbuilding behind them. Sounds like another good prospect for gaming in. The gratitude of kings by Marion Zimmer Bradley is another follow-on book, this time giving a full book to someone who'd only appeared in short stories (and is ironically her last appearance before the author died). Her big secret is under threat, and of course she has to find a clever and unorthodox solution. Most plot threads are resolved, but a few are left open for a future that would never come. Oh well. That's the nature of life. :( The gift by Patrick O'Leary involves the Arabian nights technique of telling a story within a story, which then turn out to be linked together and all add up to a coherent whole. Maybe it wraps things up a little too neatly actually, but it still examines the nature of storytelling while also telling a good story. You'll probably learn about craft more easily than reading a dry technical book on how to write. The stars dispose by Michaela Roessner is a historical fantasy in the relatively low-key mold, keeping it's magic and villains subtle, it's characters non stereotyped, and it's history unbowdlerised. And it's cooking recipes included in an appendix at the back. :p Well, a little cheese to help the healthy brainfood go down rarely goes amiss. Trader by Charles de Lint sees him do a take on the old body-swapping plotline. The people involved act with more common sense and personal agency than certain movies I could mention, and the ending is better than most of his books, but it's not completely without flaws. Still, this is another recommendation, so that makes it 5 for 5 again, which I'm not happy about. And indeed, quite a few other people must feel the same, because this is the last appearance of this column. So it looks like book reviews have gone out with a whimper, being watered down until they were of very little merit to the discerning reader. Which goes to show that taking the safe seeming path is not always the route to success, because if you don't stand out, you can just fade away and be forgotten, which is a failure in media terms. Giants in the Earth returns! This is a turn up for the books. Lets hope the characters are a little less overpowered this time around. And the answer is … yes. In principle, this is no different from the modern Rogues Galleries, since it involves an author statting out his own characters, which recently appeared in the magazine. The only difference is that it isn't a D&D property. So here we get to find out out a little more about J. Gregory Keyes' world of the Waterborn. They have an animistic cosmology that's in trouble because one spirit is trying to kill all the others and establish a monotheistic world with it in charge, and creating scary spirit-blooded to serve as it's mortal agents. Meanwhile, most shamen don't have the magical power to deal with spirits from a position of strength, having to rely on cunning and making deals instead. It's an interesting setup, and one that has humanity at a bit of a disadvantage. Which leaves people like Fool Wolf working hard for their heroism. Perkar Kar Barku is the upright young hero of the Waterborn book, trying to do right by his goddess, and ruin the life of the big bad river god. He has a magic sword that has another little god bonded to it, which of course means he always has someone to banter with. And his stats are considerably less bloated than the average Forgotten Realms NPC. I think I might like to read about his adventures. Hezhi Yehd Chadune is a good example of the power of the Waterborn. Only 13, she's already an incredibly powerful shaman with a whole load of spirits bonded to her. Not that she has it all good, with a strength of 4, and imperfect control over her still growing powers. Having a few fighty sorts around would probably be good for her health. Tsem is her Half-Giant bodyguard, and is a good deal smarter than he seems, but still hardly a genius. Still, you don't really want a bodyguard to be too smart, just loyal, and he has that in spades. Once again he has fairly balanced ability scores, and skills that are chosen for flavor rather than twinkitude. So I think I can safely say I like this collection. [/QUOTE]
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