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Yes. Plenty. No, medieval romance is a specific genre, out of which modern fantasy has directly grown. And medieval romance was a lot more than just "feel good fiction." It involves specific tropes that are now staples of fantasy. This is not exactly a hot take; it's pretty obvious. "Medieval...

D&D achieved long term sustainability long ago, but I certainly agree that DDB is already a game-changer for WotC, not only because it give them a strong platform for direct sales, but it allows them significant control over 5e by letting them gatekeep who has access. It basically gives them...

Obviously. My point is that their statement doesn't really tell us anything - they are glossing up the positives and ignoring the negatives. It's PR, not information.

I'm a big proponent of the updated rules and a massive fan of DDB. I'm not shocked that it seems to be doing well. At the same time, I'm not sure that these vague statements really tell us much of anything. You'll note, for example, that they make a point of glossing up the positive impact of...

I disagree. Mainstream fantasy is pretty obsessed with tropes and plots inspired by medieval romance. Heroes on quests, mythical creatures, kingdoms to be won, magic, etc.

There are plenty of fantasy series that aren't backwards looking. They just aren't the ones that are focused on pseudo-medieval and mythic archetypes (most of the genre, but not all of it). Not sure I agree about Abercrombie - his books are graphic and dark, but he's still writing about kings...

My very first favourite science fiction TV series was Logan's Run, but I was pretty little and I fear that if I watched it again I would have very different feelings. So I'm not going to watch it again! Same goes for Buck Rogers (Erin Gray will always have a special place in my heart as one of...

1. Sunset/Sunrise/Midnight trilogy. Mannahnin already covered these well, and you have to be in the mood for an intimate character study, but these are, to my mind, basically perfect films. The only other trilogy I could say that about is... 2. Toy Story 1-3. There is not a wasted frame in any...

Just finished this. I liked it quite a lot, though maybe not as much as the first season, which had a more complete arc. A lot of fun moments (my favourite was toxic masculinity), and Cena is used incredibly well. My absolute highlight was Adebayo and her wife realizing that they couldn't be...

I agree. It's usually when people have time to be ideological that they get terrible, at least at a systematic level.

My most perfect trilogy, in terms of having almost no notes, is Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight. I'll have to think about the others.

I'm pretty sure we're still on 5e because I updated the books on DDB without telling my players (who don't care about such things) and most never noticed, aside from having a few new character options (which some still haven't bothered with). If folks are calling games like Level Up 5e, then it...

If a player wants to work diabetes management into their character, I'm definitely not going to tell them "no, a cleric or paladin just cures it." I'm presuming that this is important to them - maybe they manage it IRL and want to bring that experience into their fantasy world. For example, I...

I'm reevaluating my Star Wars is fantasy/western in sci-fi drag thesis. In terms of story and themes, I'll stand by that assertion all day long. But, given that this is a film discussion, I should be giving more weight to the look and sound of the movie. So I asked myself, "given that SW is a...

For me, 5e felt like a very comfortable return to D&D for someone who played the heck out of 1e, played a little 2e here and there, and dabbled in 3e. I basically took 4e off - it feels like the outlier, to me. For some folks in a good way, and it has a lot to recommend, but it wasn't my jam and...

And lair actions.

I debated Alien because horror is its first genre, but it definitely falls into the speculative fiction category, as well, in ways that Star Wars does not. The genre distinction is important for me because, for me, sci-fi and fantasy are very different experiences. Sci-fi wants to make you...

I've just started Anathem, by Neal Stephenson. I normally love his books, but the premise of this one just didn't grab me, and it's a bit of a beast. However, I've read everything else he's published and this was on for like 3 bucks or something on Kindle, so I figured I should check it off the...

My top 5: 1. Alien 2. Bladerunner 3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 4. Children of Men 5. The Iron Giant

Agreed. Star Wars (Andor possibly excepted) is far more fantasy in terms of both content and, especially, themes and narrative structure, than it is sci-fi. Probably more Western, as well. I would call it a Fantasy Western with a sci-fi aesthetic.