I grabbed this from Tor’s free download book club and I’m glad that I did.
This was a quick hit of alternate history. The story is set in the early 1900s where an opening to a realm of magic has allowed the Djinn to become part of everyday society in Egypt. The arrival of these powerful magical beings has changed and shaped the way society flows and moves. In this story Hamed is an experience ministry investigator dealing with supernatural and magic related cases. He is called in with his new partner to deal with a haunted tram car. Simple, right?
I loved the setting and the world building on this. It’s a good story that balances the action, the character and the explanation of things well. There were one or two little things I didn’t expect along the way. It was a fun, quick read. If you can get your hands on a copy I would recommend it. Marketing success – I’ll be looking for more from this author!
I have been side tracked lately with a lot of projects / work stuff that amount to not doing the stuff I really enjoy. One of those things I really enjoy is painting. I have a fair number of acrylic craft paints that come in these little round tubes. They can be a challenge to store in an easy to see and access way.
We had this wire rack system from years ago. My wife saw a video that showed a great way to reuse some of the panels from this “build it yourself” paint rack display. To be honest, we still have a number of these in use – they are shaky, but standing and holding some lighter weight things. We did have some leftover panels. Time to make a paint rack!
I watched a couple of videos that gave variations on how to connect the two wire bits in a way that made sense for hanging or mounting the rack on the wall. I don’t consider my art supplies to be art in and of themselves most days. I wanted a “floor mounted” model if you will. I was also not a fan of finding properly sized plastic pipes in white, finding matching caps or any of a list of other things. I wanted this to be something I could do at home with what I had on hand.
I needed a spacer that was about the right size and stumbled onto a video where the woman making her version of the rack used a child’s alphabet blocks. I didn’t have alphabet blocks anymore, but I did have a scrap chunk of lumber. I grabbed the saw and cut some little blocks (about 1” or 2.5cm). How to hold them? Zip ties of course. I drilled a single hole through one corner of each block and fastened it once in each direction (up/down, left/right) for stability. Spacing achieved!
Sanding and painting would probably help the blocks
Next up was the other side. My initial thought was to make a solid wood piece, but my woodworking skills and tools have a very low limit. Cutting and drilling was about as far as that was going to go… BUT I have XPS foam! A-ha!
So I carved up 2 slabs of foam and cut grooves into one side. This is one of those times when I wish I had a hot wire cutter for the foam. Doing this by hand with a hobby knife was rotten. It’s gouged, uneven and not pleasing to the eye. I wasn’t overly worried as the grooves should be on the side you wouldn’t normally see. I painted them up and waited for them to dry. I still hate waiting.
A hot wire tool would have made this so much better!
Next step – attach the foam. What to use? Hot glue. It’s what I have and it shouldn’t need to stand up to a ton of abuse. I should just need to make sure the top edge stays in place. Once the glue was dry, done!
I should work on my glue gun aim too…
In practice, when my wife started filling the paints in the rack fell over. She was not pleased. The position as shown in the picture is less than effective for actually standing up while holding paints. Solution? Turn it over. So, the smooth black painted foam is now on the desk acting as the stable foot and showing off all the nasty glue work, the parts of the foam that didn’t get painted right and the unfinished side of the wood block. In the end it is not about the look of the this rack, it’s about the function. Now I’ve got a pair of paint racks that will hold the majority of my paint collection at almost no cost ~ and I didn’t have to leave the house.
Right side up – as intended, not as in use LOL
Onward to the next project! What are you working on?
This was previously published in Watch The Skies fanzine – October 2020
It’s October and ‘spooky’ season is here. This year is looking like it’s going to play out differently than years past. I suspect there will be a greater number of folks than normal staying in and looking for some entertainment that matches the spirit of the season.
I happily recommend the horror / comedy Vampires vs. the Bronx. This movie is the story of three friends living in a neighborhood that is rapidly changing. They’re faced with routine challenges of daily life combined with the encroachment of a corporation that is trying to buy out all the business and people they know. The heroes are attempting to save the local shop they’ve grown up in from being pushed out. While canvasing for an upcoming party they discover the truth – vampires are behind the big business and need to be stopped!
The story is a fun romp. The villains are clearly the villains, the hero is clearly the hero. The issues kids deal with are part of the story as well. It’s nice to see a horror story that doesn’t immediately discount the use of cell phones and their place in our current society. It is reminiscent of Stranger Things, but on a lighter, shorter story arc. There is danger not just from the vampires, but also from day to day life. If you’ve got a tween or an early teen this is definitely a film that should be checked out for the Halloween season.
Normally I’d have notes and various preparation bits that I’d share along with a link to the new video, but this is not about me. It was fantastic to hear from these women. Hopefully we’ll have more of this in the future!
A magical door opens. The space on the other side is clearly someplace… else. Could be in a summoning circle, could be in an ancient basement or it could be at the back of an old closet behind the coats. I’m not always a fan of portal fantasy, but they can be very enjoyable.
I saw the movie title “Monster Hunter” pop up the other day and I was interested. I have been a fan of the Monster Hunter International book series by Larry Corriea. There are guns and tough guys (and tough women) that stomp out and blow up the bad guys. They’re a fun romp.
The movie I saw the trailer for was not for that. It’s a video game adaptation. Video game adaptations are usually pretty weak, but they’ve been striving to get better in recent years. The film makers are likely banking on the draw of Mila for this one. She’s in charge of a military unit that gets drawn into a mystery portal and end up going toe to toe with all the video game monsters. I will likely find this one when it comes to some streaming service.
The next one I saw… I know a number of Nick Cage fans, but this movie looks like it’s begging for a mystery science theater type set up. Really. I can’t see how this will be anything other than a Saturday afternoon kung-fu flick. Having said that, on some distant Saturday afternoon I suspect I’ll grab this off some streaming service, grab some popcorn and prepare myself to be stunned…
This last one can only loosely be called a portal fantasy. Crossing over from life to death is certainly going someplace “else” as stated above but is generally not the same as the two movies listed above. It IS a Pixar movie, so I’ll be watching this one when it comes out as well. Definitely worth checking out the new trailer for this one too.
I grabbed this one off the shelf as part of my YouTube chat about fantasy works that inspire folks playing Dungeons & Dragons. I had every intention of just glancing through the pages to get a quick refresh on things.
I ended up rereading the entire thing. There are a few things in this series that have become “tropy” at this point, but the book itself came out back in 1979 or 80. Given the way things have changed in our current political environment I’m certain there are a number of my female friends that would not enjoy many aspects of these stories… but that’s one of the very best things about this book. There are multiple stories. The thieves’ world series is shared world. It’s the same setting with shared characters over a series of short stories. Don’t like the one your on? Skip to the next one, just don’t be shocked if you’re missing something that happened in another story.
This book also brings up the question of taking art as something separate from the artist. One of the first people on board and one of the stories in this book is by somebody lately accused of abuse. I don’t know all the details, but there is enough out there to make even the most staunch fans cast aside all this author’s works. It’s a tough question that has no clear answer.
IF you’re a fan of old school fantasy you should grab this book and take a look at what a city of villains, killers and schemers can be.
This part did not go up into the Goodreads review, but for those who question the abuser I reference was the author Marion Zimmer Bradley. I will reiterate that I don’t know all the details. Her time in the science fiction convention scene was well before my time. Her husband died in prison where he was after being convicted of molesting a child. I struggle to feel good about recommending something that includes the work of an accused child rapist and enabler of a pedophile. I don’t think we’ll ever know all the details since the author died back in 1999, but I felt it was important to point out.
Take it for what you will – I still recommend the work as a whole. It’s worth doing some reading to get deeper into the subject if you’re a fan of the work that Bradley did over the years to push women’s rights and the feminist movement. It’s simply more important to go into things knowing and understanding rather than blindly.
Art and it’s influence on Dungeons & Dragons for me – It’s fantastic to sit and talk about all the parts that have kept me on board with this hobby for all these years. You can check out the video here:
My notes on it all ~
Art has always been an important part of the D&D experience. Even from the earliest days when some of the production was created (clearly) using a typewriter and blurry copies there were sketches. I am a super visual person. In fact, the entirety of my day job right now is creating three dimensional representations of building designs. Design, drawing, art, aesthetic considerations are the core of what I do.
I have always been drawn to, and absolutely love the visuals of this amazing and wide ranging fantasy game. It is a constant source of inspiration to me, even now, in my current game and world building. I back very, very few Kickstarter campaigns, but when I saw that there was one about the art of D&D I went as high as I could afford on it right away. It matters that much to me. IF you have the chance, go out and grab a copy or watch via your streaming service the film “Eye of the Beholder – The Art of Dungeons & Dragons”. I Highly recommend this film.
What are my top ten art pieces from D&D? That was both a simple and a massively complex question all in the same breath. I can see them in my head. I remember the feeling when I first saw them. I have many of them collected up in their original book covers, box art, and magazines. I have a handful of prints from conventions that are from product production runs showing the art without the text added in. I’m not a hardcore collector, but I can say without question this art surrounds me almost every day in my home.
The real question is where to start?
Love that the plans actually say, “Blue Print”
#1 – Sketchy Art. I do not in any way want this to sound like I’m trying to be down on these pictures at all. Quite the opposite. I found them inspirational simply because they looked like they could be achieved to me. One example (there are many) is this cartoon from Dragon Magazine. It’s funny and it’s clearly hand drawn. I looked at pictures like that in my gaming materials and thought, “I can do this too”. So I started drawing and creating trying to match the cool, funny, fantastic pictures I saw in the gaming materials – and even got some published!
I still cringe when I see this
This piece was part of an actual book of cartoons published by my middle school. I think I was 11 at the time it was published. Little did I know how hooked I’d be on that feeling.
Note how they don’t care about the other characters behind them.
#2 – Cartoons. Particularly in the AD&D 1st edition books. Black and white single line drawings with text below. They were fantasy art AND they cracked me up. Anyone that played then will know them. I can say, “… or it’s a +2 back scratcher” and you’ll know exactly what cartoon I mean.
Artist – David A. Trampier
#3 – Emirikol the Chaotic. Staying in 1st edition, in the DMG there were full and half page art pieces that were just fantastic. One of my favorites was this crazy wizard riding through town just blasting people. It was a snapshot of action. It was proof positive that not everyone was a good guy. It was how you set up an adventure with a single idea and give it location. It’s right there! Start at the Green Griffon and go from there! Love it.
Artist – David A. Trampier
#4 – The cover art for the AD&D 1st Ed. PHB. It told a story. It didn’t stop with a single image, it wrapped around to the back of the book too. There were monsters and maps and gems. There was a ton of ways you could dig into this picture and see what was going on here. An absolute classic.
Artist – Rubin
#5 – The Wizard’s Room. Cover art for the Grenadier miniatures. Wizard’s room I think was the very first set of miniatures I ever got… although it might have been the hirelings box… hazy memory right now. I still have them all. It was art that went beyond the cover. There was actual sculpture in the box that YOU could paint. I wanted any and all that I could get from that series. If I saw the yellow edge of that box in any hobby shop I was going to see what it was and most likely try to buy it.
Artist – Larry Elmore
#6 – Draonlance Art. I could totally put any in here, but I’m going to pick just one. “The Death of Sturm” stunned me. It was character death in a novel. It was art that showed characters took damange and there were consequences to choices made. This is my favorite, but Dragonlance is a total “pick ’em” set. Larry Elmore’s art is amazing. Go look up any of it. Full stop.
Artist – Denis Beauvais
#7 – Dragon Magazine issue #92. Dragon, maiden, wizard. Spells, danger and the knight wasn’t just any knight, he was a centaur. I was all over this. It was such a popular cover that Ral Partha made a miniature of that cover. I still don’t have the nerve to paint it because I’m afraid I can’t live up to that cover.
Artist – Denis Beauvais
#8 – Dragon Magazine issue #86 “Stalemate”. Glowing multi-level chess warriors with some crazy lich in the background? Any cover from the “chess” series was amazing, but this one really worked for me. I tried to emulate that glowing effect in my own art (unsuccessfully) for a really long time. (I didn’t realize how many amazing covers this artist did, nor how much I really admire his art. Check out this stuff here: Dragon Covers )
Still looking for where the promotional art came from…
#9 – Al Quadim (I can’t figure out the name of the painting). I’m picking this piece as a representative of the whole line. This was a limited run, not an ongoing set of world building pieces. It had an exotic look and the bonus of laying out (via the Secretes of the Lamp supplement) the fabled City of Brass as shown on the 1st ed. DMG. There was so much to love here. I wish I could remember how I came to lay hands on a packet of promotional art – but these pieces have been in my collection since the very early 90s and they are fantastic.
The book and packaging are art too!
#10 – Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History. I suspect that some people will consider this “cheating” as many consider two dimensional paintings to be “art” but I disagree. This magnificent book is over four hundred pages of glory. My lovely wife got me the special edition box set with extra art included. It covers everything I’ve talked about here and so much more. There are pictures showing the entire line of handbooks from the earliest all the way up to 5th edition. There are old print ads, module maps and photos from the earliest days. I am happy this was made and delighted that I was able to get my hands on one.
There is so much art that ten pieces really can’t cover it all. Art and D&D are intertwined at the very core of what the game is. Imagination with a little something to spark it. Nudge your brain with a bit of a sketch or blow it away with some of the masterful works of these dedicated artists. I’m amazed at the variety of art that exists out there now and I intend to keep looking for it for the foreseeable future.
It has become part of the American culture. The Gene Wilder version of Willy Wonka tumbling into our living room as he shows up to give the winners of the golden ticket a tour of his legendary chocolate factory. The contest was simply to purchase a chocolate bar and see if there was a golden ticket inside. Easy. Winner of each ticket gets in, but then only the purest, most well behaved of the children invited to the tour lasts until the end without being ejected in some way for poor behavior. At the end, Charlie learns that it has all been a test and he will inherit the chocolate factory. Very much a “rags to riches” sort of theme that resonates with most Americans.
While that story can give a warm, fuzzy feeling that’s only if you don’t look too closely.
I bring this up because there was a news story (here) about somebody (claiming to be the founder of the Jelly Belly candy company) declaring that he has hidden golden tickets in various places around the US and the ultimate winner will get a candy factory. Not joking – that’s his contest.
There are issues with this.
First and one might think, most importantly, the Jelly Belly company has been forced to come out and explain that this person is not, in fact affiliated with their company and has not been since around 1980 (four decades ago). So this person running this contest is essentially using the name of a famous candy to drum up business for his contest. It’s misdirection and marketing BS right from the start. A flourish to get attention without the substance it claims.
The contest itself is less than clear on the main page. It’s not actually for kids the way the story was. You’re required to be 18 or older to participate. You’ve got to pay a $50 entry fee up front. There’s a series of steps after the entry fee that lead to a treasure hunt that might mean you can be one of the finalists…
but that’s only if enough people sign up. IF they don’t sell enough tickets they bag the whole thing. Yes, it’s in the terms and conditions part.
You’re required to be able to connect to the internet and have a valid e-mail address. It seems like a little thing these days, but to some it’s really not. We’ve seen the disparity between those that have solid internet and those that don’t pretty clearly since the start of the pandemic.
So is there a factory? Sure. The building, the machines and the land with no guarantee of actual value. It does NOT include things like the customer list, the ingredients, the recipe or formulations for the actual candy. You know, little stuff. It doesn’t cover the taxes either. It sounds like an extremely one sided business deal that’s going to unload some weak or undervalued property on somebody else.
This contest is a symbol of what I think is at the core of issues in America today. It’s run by somebody that wants things to be “like they used to be” without any concept of just how out of whack that all sounds today. It shows a distinct lack of clarity about all the criticism that was brought against the original story. This is a shadow of a contest that was designed to keep the money and power in certain hands and not others. There are small barriers that a lot of people “in the right group” wouldn’t even notice. There’s this thought that a magic ticket will solve your problem in some way. That’s not how problems get solved. Problems get solved with work, ingenuity and consistency.
Don’t go looking for the easy way out. This has the look of a trap to me. Another ‘get rich quick’ kind of scenario that really won’t end well.
I’ll be interested to see if any candy comes from this.
I brought this review over here because I like to do that when I’m down on a work that I’ve read. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – it’s hard to get into the published world. It takes a lot of work. Then, after all that work, it is out there in the world where people will judge it.
Three stars is the best I can do for this… and that’s strength of writing over time.
I always try to be positive about whatever review I’m writing. I try, but I am also honest about how I feel when I read these books. I am a fan too. I had some feelings about this one… and as you may have guessed they were not all positive.
Massive spoilers ahead. Do not read more if you don’t want to know.
I picked up this book on the Tuesday when it was released. I had read the first three chapters when they were released on line, so working and all the day to day things that got in the way of my reading only slowed me down a little. I finished the book by Thursday night, just after dinner. It was a typical reading speed for me when I read a Dresden Files book.
Positive stuff: if you want a master class on how to ramp the power and stakes of your story up over time, this series is it. The growth of both of those things has been steady, clear and understandable over all the novels. This is apocalyptic stuff (small ‘a’) and it hasn’t happened until book seventeen. It’s fantastic. The steady change over time is a great way to keep things fresh and the feel of the characters genuine for the long haul. The comparison that jumped to my mind immediately was the Monster Hunter series from Larry Correia. It’s a ton of fun and there are clear cut good guys and bad guys. The hero of the story saves the entire world in book one. Where do you go from there? What can you do in book two to make the stakes feel real? Dresden stops a drug dealer in book one and solves a murder case, but somehow it still feels like saving the world. I can only hope to emulate this in my own work.
The rest: Some of the speed of my finish was because I skimmed a few of the battle scenes. This book is a war novel. There is a war and there are eight times I can think of that the author used the same description. I get it. These are beyond human size / comprehension monsters and you pop and squish and go all Jackson Pollack when they catch you. There was a lot of that and I think there could have been less of it. I say that as somebody who writes military science fiction stories too – it’s not that I dislike the battle scenes, I don’t. They’re the core of this book. There’s a huge amount of fighting. The last book was the set up punches, this book was the right cross to the jaw. Sometimes the imagination is better than a description. Consider that a quibble.
Most of the time when I finish one of these novels I’m hungry for more. This time, not so much. I’m disappointed and angry. My excitement for the rest of the story is diminished.
Getting booted from the White Council. Not something I saw coming. Long ago (and may books earlier in the series) I predicted that Harry would become the Merlin. Shows you how well predictions tend to work out. The problem with getting booted is that is breaks the rules that have been set up in the series. IF they really thought that Harry broke rule #1 and used magic specifically against humans the penalty was always immediate execution, right? I mean Morgan and the sword thing just doesn’t matter anymore? Harry is not only guilty of this, but he’s got a track record of doing this in the past… and the council just says, “careful or next time we’ll get really angry…”. They’re a toothless bureaucracy at best if this is how it stands. Worst case is that the author has let the rules of his own world bend / break. I doubt this, but it’s something I noticed. I expect that this is a set up for something that happens in the next set of books, but it was a jarring bit of world building that seemed out of place. Sure I can justify it, but I shouldn’t be thinking about it.
I’ve been a fan of the author for a long time. He’s gone and landed himself in the same category as Joss Whedon now. Some will consider that high praise, but I don’t. Wash died, but it was the end of the series and the Dresden files is not over. And what did Butcher do?
He fucking shot Murph.
NO NO NO NO. NO.
From an intellectual point of view I understand. It’s war. War IS death, destruction and chaos. It is not pretty or organized nor does it make any sense at all. People die all the time in just as sad a manner. Not from some heroic action, but from the panic and terror of others.
I get it.
I hate it.
I know enough about myself at this point to understand that I tend to prefer classic heroics and happy endings. IF I want gritty, senseless death I’ll watch the fucking news. This is NOT why I come to these books. I don’t want gritty reality, I want escapism. This book took that away. Yes, it’s a world where there are supernatural forces at work. Murph will likely come back in much the same way that Valeria did in the 1982 Conan movie. She will be a glittering warrior that will save Harry from beyond at some point – but it’s not the same. There’s just too much of this kind of crap in the world and I don’t want it in my fiction too.
Disappointed and not enthusiastic for more just now.
Army of Darkness still makes me laugh. Faking the words of the ceremony was hilarious. “OK then. That’s it… I said the words, I did!”.
There’s a very small YouTube channel out there called ‘Worlds of Waynecraft”. I stumbled onto the page when I was wandering through videos one day and discovered this fun looking craft. Make YOUR notebook look like the Necronomicon. It’s really a lot easier than I thought it might have been.
I started off by drawing the rough face outline onto the cover of the blank notebook I was setting up.
Freehanded a face!
Once the lines were in place where I liked them it was time for the hot glue.
Hot glue… keyword is still HOT.
I used two or three layers over each line to give some emphasis to where the main portion of the face would be. I forgot to photograph the next bit. Essentially mix up a half and half water and glue wash ( I used regular old school glue) and tap layers of tissue paper over the entire page. Don’t worry about being neat – you’re looking for wrinkles.
Once I was happy with the look I had to let it dry. It took forever… and I’m not patient. As soon as it was even close to dry enough, I took a slightly thinned layer of black acrylic paint over the whole thing.
Once that dried (OMG FOREVER) I mixed up some brown, red and flesh color to paint over the black. I could be pretty loose with the whole thing because if any of the black showed through it wouldn’t be a big deal.
Craft paint!
Let it dry again, then dry brushed a light tan / fleshy mix over the high points and the wrinkles. Once that was dry, a light black wash to get some shadows back in the eyes and other places. I am actually pretty happy with the results.
Ready for notes!
Taking some words from an inspirational friend of mine, “Despite everything, create.”
