CERAMIC DM March 2012

[Hellefire]

Congrats to you both for your stories! Congrats to UselessTriviaMan for moving forward.

Does this mean that it is time for the next round?

Eeeeeeeeasy killer.
One round at a time!
I am merely wounded, but not yet down!!

 

[Deuce Traveler]

But what will I read until then...

 

[Hellefire]

But what will I read until then...

Armor? Guardians of the Flame? Legend? Some Myth adventures? War and Peace? JavaScript Bible? Some of that toilet paper with jokes written on it? The Art of War? Hop on Pop?

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Nah. Read them all. I'm down to reading pdfs of old adventure modules.

 

[Mirth]

Nah. Read them all. I'm down to reading pdfs of old adventure modules.

Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy?

Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles?

Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword At Sunset? Eagle Of The Ninth? (Really, any Sutcliff is good Sutcliff...)

 

[Deuce Traveler]

I can't get any further with the Kingslayer Chronicles until he gets around to writing a new book, so I have gone onto Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms". I read through old pulp books like Robert Sheckley's 'The Status Civilization' while I'm working out on the bike at the gym.

I also finished reading the Labyrinth Lord adventure, "Wheel of Evil", and am reading through "Death Frost Doom" for kicks. I am using DosBox to play fan mods of the Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventure packs so I can play solo through Gary Gygax's old TSR modules and...

Oh god, I am so sadly bored here in Qatar.

 

[Piratecat]

Oh god, I am so sadly bored here in Qatar.

You're in Qatar? SO COOL. Sometimes the Internet amazes me.

I have the problem that I'm a literary sponge, so I can't read extensively when doing Ceramic DM. Last time i was re-reading the Travis McGee books and I started to write like John D. McDonald. Same thing with George Macdonald Fraser, Donald E. Westlake, Scott Lynch... It actually screwed up my own style a bit.

 

[Mirth]

If George RR Martin's Game Of Thrones series is the Citizen Kane of modern fantasy, then Abercrombie's trilogy is Pulp Fiction -- gritty, raw, clever, and unfiltered. Highly recommended.

Sutcliff's Sword At Sunset is her Arthurian masterpiece and I would put it in equal steading with Bradley's Mists Of Avalon and White's Once And Future King. I have a Master's in Literature, specializing in Celtic and Arthurian Studies, so I don't say that lightly, either

Try either of those and I swear you won't be bored...

 

[Deuce Traveler]

I'm in Qatar for one more month, then I am done with this assignment and can return to the land of beer and chili burgers. There is a free book library here and I've used it to catch up on pulp from the 1970s and prior. Some of it has been good, but I haven't read anything I have been wowed by since I finished Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War" a few months back, and Tanith Lee's short story, "The Dry Season" from Lin Carter's Flashing Swords #5: Demons and Daggers. I was blown away by Tanith Lee's grittiness, and so recently picked up her "Storm Lord" novel from the free bin here at base.

First I have to get through Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms", and I am only on chapter 3. But I can already see why he is considered a genius. The man breaks the laws of the English language, writes in simple words, but weaves such complex and beautifully flowing paragraphs.

 

[UselessTriviaMan]

Thank you judges for what turned into kind of a nail-biter for me! (If anyone drops out of the next round, I'd be happy to step in. ) Congrats to my worthy opponent, UselessTriviaMan - you must go forward and win for both of us now, my son...

maxfieldjadenfox, I will try my very best to win for us both. You were a wonderfully fun rival, and you taught me that elderberries are actually quite a pleasant scent!


And a big thank you to the judges for your time, your critiques, and your incredible fashion sense.