Archived from groups: alt.games.whitewolf (More info?)
Deathstalker, by Simon R. Green: Space Opera as it was *meant* to be,
and damn realistic science, full warp ahead! This book is so gleefully
over-the-top in pouring it on, that it's not even funny. Except it is,
because it has a great sense of humor about itself. The Deathstalker
universe actually *feels* like an RPG, so much so that it takes an
effort to avoid stating up character class templates. Bad points: It
does get a bit repetitious, his "homages" are obvious to the point of
theft (my favorite are the Alien-style Sleepers from the Giger-esque
city), there are some glaring inconsistencies that appear to result
from shoddy editing (characters say one thing in one chapter,
contradict it in the next, then make the original assertion again)...
Despite all this, however, it's still great fun, and the scheming among
the nobility is must-reading for those who want some pointers on an
Exalted Dragon-Blooded campaign...
The Beekeeper's Apprentice, by Laurie R. King: "Sequel" of sorts to the
Sherlock Holmes stories, that finds an elder Holmes partnered with an
independent-minded young woman almost as sharp as he is. This is
probably the closest thing I've ever read to a Mary Sue story in
professional published fiction. And it's nowhere near as bad as it
sounds, proof that Mary Sues *can* be done well, I suppose (too bad
Mycroft Holmes doesn't get his own novel series)...I'm actually
surprised at how well I can perfectly see and hear Jeremy Brett
"acting" Holmes in the book (tho I admit to amusing myself by
occasionally imagining Basil, the Great Mouse Detective in the role,
along with various furries...^^).
Shatterpoint, by Matthew Stover: I don't normally expect much from
spin-off fiction (except from the excellent Doctor Who novels!), but
the Clone Wars series has been surprisingly pleasing so far. This is
the story of Mace Windu's attempt to track down a rogue Jedi (his
former Padawan) on his home planet. It's a very violent, bleak look at
war and what it does to people, much darker than any of the movies. The
real draw here, however, is Mace as the main character. Stover must
have done a crash course in Sam Jackson movies, because he has
*perfectly* captured the rhythms of his voice, esp. when we read the
first-person entries in his journal.
Wicked, by Gregory Maguire: The Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch of
the West's POV. I'd be interested to know why Maguire's books, which
are clearly Fantasy, are in the General Fiction section. Knowing
something of the original books by Baum, it's interesting (and a little
confusing) to see Maguire try to blend elements of the books with the
much more popular movie, and it's an awkward fit (for instance, the
Witch's green skin, a major part of her character in the book, isn't
mentioned at all in the original book). Still, it's interesting, though
it'll take some doing to see how the future Wicked Witch and Glinda go
to become enemies from being college roommates and sort-of friends;
yes, that's right, college roommates and it's not as stupid as it
sounds, he does pull that off at least. Almost makes me want to get the
musical soundtrack...
Naked Empire, by Terry Goodkind: I've read all of Goodkind's Sword of
Truth novels up to this point, though the last one nearly put me off
for good. He seems to have recharged his creative batteries, however,
and is off to a strong, if slow, start with this one. Still too early
in to say anything for sure, but I've yet to run into any of the
psychosexual material that seems to obsess him so...
So, what are you reading right now?
Dex,
who stayed up way too late last night leafing through Dracula...^^;;
Deathstalker, by Simon R. Green: Space Opera as it was *meant* to be,
and damn realistic science, full warp ahead! This book is so gleefully
over-the-top in pouring it on, that it's not even funny. Except it is,
because it has a great sense of humor about itself. The Deathstalker
universe actually *feels* like an RPG, so much so that it takes an
effort to avoid stating up character class templates. Bad points: It
does get a bit repetitious, his "homages" are obvious to the point of
theft (my favorite are the Alien-style Sleepers from the Giger-esque
city), there are some glaring inconsistencies that appear to result
from shoddy editing (characters say one thing in one chapter,
contradict it in the next, then make the original assertion again)...
Despite all this, however, it's still great fun, and the scheming among
the nobility is must-reading for those who want some pointers on an
Exalted Dragon-Blooded campaign...
The Beekeeper's Apprentice, by Laurie R. King: "Sequel" of sorts to the
Sherlock Holmes stories, that finds an elder Holmes partnered with an
independent-minded young woman almost as sharp as he is. This is
probably the closest thing I've ever read to a Mary Sue story in
professional published fiction. And it's nowhere near as bad as it
sounds, proof that Mary Sues *can* be done well, I suppose (too bad
Mycroft Holmes doesn't get his own novel series)...I'm actually
surprised at how well I can perfectly see and hear Jeremy Brett
"acting" Holmes in the book (tho I admit to amusing myself by
occasionally imagining Basil, the Great Mouse Detective in the role,
along with various furries...^^).
Shatterpoint, by Matthew Stover: I don't normally expect much from
spin-off fiction (except from the excellent Doctor Who novels!), but
the Clone Wars series has been surprisingly pleasing so far. This is
the story of Mace Windu's attempt to track down a rogue Jedi (his
former Padawan) on his home planet. It's a very violent, bleak look at
war and what it does to people, much darker than any of the movies. The
real draw here, however, is Mace as the main character. Stover must
have done a crash course in Sam Jackson movies, because he has
*perfectly* captured the rhythms of his voice, esp. when we read the
first-person entries in his journal.
Wicked, by Gregory Maguire: The Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch of
the West's POV. I'd be interested to know why Maguire's books, which
are clearly Fantasy, are in the General Fiction section. Knowing
something of the original books by Baum, it's interesting (and a little
confusing) to see Maguire try to blend elements of the books with the
much more popular movie, and it's an awkward fit (for instance, the
Witch's green skin, a major part of her character in the book, isn't
mentioned at all in the original book). Still, it's interesting, though
it'll take some doing to see how the future Wicked Witch and Glinda go
to become enemies from being college roommates and sort-of friends;
yes, that's right, college roommates and it's not as stupid as it
sounds, he does pull that off at least. Almost makes me want to get the
musical soundtrack...
Naked Empire, by Terry Goodkind: I've read all of Goodkind's Sword of
Truth novels up to this point, though the last one nearly put me off
for good. He seems to have recharged his creative batteries, however,
and is off to a strong, if slow, start with this one. Still too early
in to say anything for sure, but I've yet to run into any of the
psychosexual material that seems to obsess him so...
So, what are you reading right now?
Dex,
who stayed up way too late last night leafing through Dracula...^^;;
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