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Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated The Ill-kept Oath in Books
May 16, 2018
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars
Set in the early 1800s, The Ill-Kept Oath is a cross between historical fantasy and paranormal romance, though it leans heavily in the latter of the two genres for the majority of the novel. Prudence Fairfeather and her brother Edward are orphans taken in by Lord Middlemere. Raised as nobility, Prudence has nothing to her name and must wed well for her future. Her cousin, Josephine Weston, is Lord Middlemere’s only child and, a couple years younger than Prudence, also finds herself in the path of a relationship that, though she desperately wishes, is beneath her. As if the stress of needing to marry wasn’t enough, the two discover that they have the Inheritance, which is, more or less, magic that has been passed on through the generations. Both girls are also recipients of Talismans that once belonged to their mothers and these items appear to have a gravitational pull that neither girl can withstand, which lands them in trouble on more than one account. In addition to romance and magic, there are trolls, rebellious magic users, and a very real reason for Prudence to fear for her very life, lending a sense of urgency to the book.
That sense of urgency is not dealt with in a timely manner though, it seems. While I adored reading The Ill-Kept Oath, I can’t help but feel that there were moments in which the book simply dragged on. Granted, I’m not much of a fan of romance and what truly piqued my interest in regards to this book was the idea of magic and rebellion, two topics that I am most definitely a large fan of. These two subjects, though largely used in the book’s description, are almost minor elements in comparison to Prudence’s debut for the London Season. In fact, the main conflict of the book itself seems to take a backseat to the romance side of the story which, while bittersweet in its telling, might strike the reader as something that ought to come second to the fact that there are trolls rampaging around the countryside.
It isn’t until near the end of the book that things begin to pick up and start falling into place. Here we learn that the romance side of things play a very important, unseen role in a vile plot to rebel against laws put in place several years prior. Without giving away spoilers, the parts of the book that we slag through are all, despite how mundane they appear, vital to the situation that unfolds. Every element finds a way of coming together, and there are certainly moments that, as I read them, I was able to appreciate the earlier, seemingly pointless interactions of characters. In that regard, I must commend C. C. Aune’s ability to implement small pieces of seemingly pointless knowledge that are, in fact, pivotal to the story. With that in mind, even without being a fan of romance, I was able to at least appreciate Prudence’s involvement in the Marriage Mart.
One of the things I actually liked about The Ill-Kept Oath is the depth to each of its characters. Unlike many of the books that I’ve read lately where the characters are one-dimensional with no point of existence except to fill a certain role and none other, the characters that Aune has breathed life into are colorful and real. Josephine is sixteen, on the cusp of adulthood, and bears the qualities of a teen-aged girl, soon to be woman, that we expect to see, from immaturity to accepting the changes in her own feelings and emotions. Prudence has just crossed into adulthood, and as a reader I was able to sense and truly feel her reluctance to accept a marriage out of necessity, rather than love. Her frustration, and her way of deflecting offers, are not merely glazed over, but written with depth. Even Edward, Prudence’s brother, shows the awkwardness to be expected of a young man still in university that has, unfortunately, developed some less than favorable emotions.
I really wish that more had been explained about the Inheritance and that there wasn’t so much left open to guessing. I assume this is something that will be more fully addressed later on, assuming there will be a sequel, and if that is the case I certainly look forward to reading it. What The Ill-Kept Oath gives us is a mere glimpse into a dark, dark world with many secrets left to be uncovered. A place where things happen with little care for the results, as long as an end is obtained. Overall, I enjoyed the book, though I feel that the story could have had a heavier focus on the magical side of things, along with a quicker pace.
Finally, I would like to offer a heart-felt thanks to Netgalley, Wise Ink Creative Publishing, and C. C. Aune for an advanced copy of The Ill-Kept Oath in exchange for an unbiased review.
Set in the early 1800s, The Ill-Kept Oath is a cross between historical fantasy and paranormal romance, though it leans heavily in the latter of the two genres for the majority of the novel. Prudence Fairfeather and her brother Edward are orphans taken in by Lord Middlemere. Raised as nobility, Prudence has nothing to her name and must wed well for her future. Her cousin, Josephine Weston, is Lord Middlemere’s only child and, a couple years younger than Prudence, also finds herself in the path of a relationship that, though she desperately wishes, is beneath her. As if the stress of needing to marry wasn’t enough, the two discover that they have the Inheritance, which is, more or less, magic that has been passed on through the generations. Both girls are also recipients of Talismans that once belonged to their mothers and these items appear to have a gravitational pull that neither girl can withstand, which lands them in trouble on more than one account. In addition to romance and magic, there are trolls, rebellious magic users, and a very real reason for Prudence to fear for her very life, lending a sense of urgency to the book.
That sense of urgency is not dealt with in a timely manner though, it seems. While I adored reading The Ill-Kept Oath, I can’t help but feel that there were moments in which the book simply dragged on. Granted, I’m not much of a fan of romance and what truly piqued my interest in regards to this book was the idea of magic and rebellion, two topics that I am most definitely a large fan of. These two subjects, though largely used in the book’s description, are almost minor elements in comparison to Prudence’s debut for the London Season. In fact, the main conflict of the book itself seems to take a backseat to the romance side of the story which, while bittersweet in its telling, might strike the reader as something that ought to come second to the fact that there are trolls rampaging around the countryside.
It isn’t until near the end of the book that things begin to pick up and start falling into place. Here we learn that the romance side of things play a very important, unseen role in a vile plot to rebel against laws put in place several years prior. Without giving away spoilers, the parts of the book that we slag through are all, despite how mundane they appear, vital to the situation that unfolds. Every element finds a way of coming together, and there are certainly moments that, as I read them, I was able to appreciate the earlier, seemingly pointless interactions of characters. In that regard, I must commend C. C. Aune’s ability to implement small pieces of seemingly pointless knowledge that are, in fact, pivotal to the story. With that in mind, even without being a fan of romance, I was able to at least appreciate Prudence’s involvement in the Marriage Mart.
One of the things I actually liked about The Ill-Kept Oath is the depth to each of its characters. Unlike many of the books that I’ve read lately where the characters are one-dimensional with no point of existence except to fill a certain role and none other, the characters that Aune has breathed life into are colorful and real. Josephine is sixteen, on the cusp of adulthood, and bears the qualities of a teen-aged girl, soon to be woman, that we expect to see, from immaturity to accepting the changes in her own feelings and emotions. Prudence has just crossed into adulthood, and as a reader I was able to sense and truly feel her reluctance to accept a marriage out of necessity, rather than love. Her frustration, and her way of deflecting offers, are not merely glazed over, but written with depth. Even Edward, Prudence’s brother, shows the awkwardness to be expected of a young man still in university that has, unfortunately, developed some less than favorable emotions.
I really wish that more had been explained about the Inheritance and that there wasn’t so much left open to guessing. I assume this is something that will be more fully addressed later on, assuming there will be a sequel, and if that is the case I certainly look forward to reading it. What The Ill-Kept Oath gives us is a mere glimpse into a dark, dark world with many secrets left to be uncovered. A place where things happen with little care for the results, as long as an end is obtained. Overall, I enjoyed the book, though I feel that the story could have had a heavier focus on the magical side of things, along with a quicker pace.
Finally, I would like to offer a heart-felt thanks to Netgalley, Wise Ink Creative Publishing, and C. C. Aune for an advanced copy of The Ill-Kept Oath in exchange for an unbiased review.
Mothergamer (1568 KP) rated Puppeteer in Video Games
Apr 3, 2019
I was perusing games on Amazon when the game Puppeteer was suggested to me. I was intrigued by the cover and looked at the game description to see what it was about. It sounded interesting and it was on sale so I purchased it. I started playing the game and I was blown away by it because it's not like any game I've played before. The whimsical aspect of it is charming and it made me think of Little Big Planet which is also a fun and whimsical game. If you're a fan of Little Big Planet like I am, you will enjoy Puppeteer.
Puppeteer is a side scrolling platform game and you play as a boy turned into an animated puppet who loses his head named Kutaro. Kutaro gains a variety of puppet heads to replace his own throughout the game. You have three puppet heads and when you lose a head, you have thirty seconds to grab the head and put it back on or you lose it forever. Your heads are basically like lives so when you lose all three heads/lives it's game over.
The story takes place in a fantasy world representing Earth's moon which is inhabited by a myriad of folklore style characters and they are all puppets as well. The game is set up to look like a faux stage with red curtains and you can hear an audience reacting to the events that happen in the story along with commentary from the narrator. It adds to the charm of Puppeteer, making it feel like a complete theater experience while playing a video game. The first half of the game is on the dark side of the moon while the second half is on the Earth side. When Kutaro's story begins, the narrator explains that the Moon Goddess was overthrown by by her servant Little Bear who then seized her black moonstone and the scissors called Calibrus and dubbed himself the Moon Bear King.
Kutaro exploring the first level of the game.
The Moon Bear King is the main villain, but there are several villains you have to battle before you get to him; twelve of his generals based on the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Each of them has a piece of the Goddess' white moonstone which Kutaro must get from them. Kutaro does get tools that can help him and eventually he does get Calibrus which are essentially a weapon for him. There are creative ways in which they are used besides as a weapon such as jumping to cut clouds to get to a high ledge or cutting seams to move faster while battling an enemy. They are also used to free the other animated children like Kutaro by cutting the puppet strings so they can return home.
There are other tools that are used as well such as ninja bombs which can open pathways for you and a pirate hook which can hook items or secret doors. They are smartly and creatively used with simple puzzles in various levels of the game which makes the game play entertaining and interesting.
Talking with Ezma Potts, one of the many characters in Puppeteer.
The environments in Puppeteer are bright, colorful, and filled with beautifully done imaginative things. They're fun to explore and you can go back and play previously beaten levels because there are so many puppet heads and bonus items to collect. A couple of levels were my favorites such as the pirate one and the Halloween one because they put a smile on my face while playing and the Halloween one gave a Nightmare Before Christmas vibe that I loved. There are a few moments of frustration here and there with a couple of the boss battles and depth perception issues in a couple of levels, but it's not a huge deal because the execution of how the game plays and how well the story flows makes Puppeteer worth playing.
Avast! Hanging out with pirates.
The game is about nine or ten hours of story and if you really want to explore to get every single puppet head out there, all the trophies, and bonus stages that can add a little more extra time and keep you pretty busy. The voice acting and music for the game is superb and there are even moments of humor that will cause you to laugh. It's quite clear that the developers of Puppeteer loved this game and enjoyed designing it and their imaginations really shine throughout the entire game; making Puppeteer a wonderful gem for gamers like myself who appreciate the fun and whimsy.
While some of the art can be dark and spooky like the Halloween level, there's plenty of light and fun levels making the game enjoyable for people of all ages. Overall, Puppeteer is a delightfully charming game and so much fun to play. It is worth buying and playing more than once because it doesn't take itself seriously, celebrates all things whimsical and fun, and is a terrific game.
Puppeteer is a side scrolling platform game and you play as a boy turned into an animated puppet who loses his head named Kutaro. Kutaro gains a variety of puppet heads to replace his own throughout the game. You have three puppet heads and when you lose a head, you have thirty seconds to grab the head and put it back on or you lose it forever. Your heads are basically like lives so when you lose all three heads/lives it's game over.
The story takes place in a fantasy world representing Earth's moon which is inhabited by a myriad of folklore style characters and they are all puppets as well. The game is set up to look like a faux stage with red curtains and you can hear an audience reacting to the events that happen in the story along with commentary from the narrator. It adds to the charm of Puppeteer, making it feel like a complete theater experience while playing a video game. The first half of the game is on the dark side of the moon while the second half is on the Earth side. When Kutaro's story begins, the narrator explains that the Moon Goddess was overthrown by by her servant Little Bear who then seized her black moonstone and the scissors called Calibrus and dubbed himself the Moon Bear King.
Kutaro exploring the first level of the game.
The Moon Bear King is the main villain, but there are several villains you have to battle before you get to him; twelve of his generals based on the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Each of them has a piece of the Goddess' white moonstone which Kutaro must get from them. Kutaro does get tools that can help him and eventually he does get Calibrus which are essentially a weapon for him. There are creative ways in which they are used besides as a weapon such as jumping to cut clouds to get to a high ledge or cutting seams to move faster while battling an enemy. They are also used to free the other animated children like Kutaro by cutting the puppet strings so they can return home.
There are other tools that are used as well such as ninja bombs which can open pathways for you and a pirate hook which can hook items or secret doors. They are smartly and creatively used with simple puzzles in various levels of the game which makes the game play entertaining and interesting.
Talking with Ezma Potts, one of the many characters in Puppeteer.
The environments in Puppeteer are bright, colorful, and filled with beautifully done imaginative things. They're fun to explore and you can go back and play previously beaten levels because there are so many puppet heads and bonus items to collect. A couple of levels were my favorites such as the pirate one and the Halloween one because they put a smile on my face while playing and the Halloween one gave a Nightmare Before Christmas vibe that I loved. There are a few moments of frustration here and there with a couple of the boss battles and depth perception issues in a couple of levels, but it's not a huge deal because the execution of how the game plays and how well the story flows makes Puppeteer worth playing.
Avast! Hanging out with pirates.
The game is about nine or ten hours of story and if you really want to explore to get every single puppet head out there, all the trophies, and bonus stages that can add a little more extra time and keep you pretty busy. The voice acting and music for the game is superb and there are even moments of humor that will cause you to laugh. It's quite clear that the developers of Puppeteer loved this game and enjoyed designing it and their imaginations really shine throughout the entire game; making Puppeteer a wonderful gem for gamers like myself who appreciate the fun and whimsy.
While some of the art can be dark and spooky like the Halloween level, there's plenty of light and fun levels making the game enjoyable for people of all ages. Overall, Puppeteer is a delightfully charming game and so much fun to play. It is worth buying and playing more than once because it doesn't take itself seriously, celebrates all things whimsical and fun, and is a terrific game.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Raccoon Tycoon in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
ALERT! This game has railroads! ALERT #2! This is NOT a train game! That makes ME feel lots better. Right now in my life train games and war games scare me. I don’t have the time, and frankly I do not think I am quite smart enough for either. But then this game comes along and it looks intimidating at first. Like games I am not smart enough to play, and that’s a huge compliment. Not because I think I am smart, but because this game seems like it would be way more complex than it actually is.
Technically, the players are these cute little Victorian-era anthropomorphized animals trying to become the wealthiest of all Astorians (the city is called Astoria). This is measured by Victory Points. You gain VPs in several ways and the actions you take on your turn are limited.
What are these actions you can take on your turn? You may take one action on your turn: play a card from your hand to receive commodities (in really great meeples) and increase the price of commodities to be sold, sell commodities from your supply and decrease the price of the commodities by the number sold, purchase a town card using commodities, purchase a building using money earned, or begin an auction of a railroad using money. Each of these actions ultimately affects your opponents as they either adjust the market price of commodities, removes certain coveted assets from the offer, or otherwise depletes their resources. Also, there are mission cards in the box that are just not referenced in the rulebook, but two are to be dealt to the players and one chosen as a hidden goal for endgame scoring.
I will be honest. I would not normally be attracted to this style of game, and I may not have ever purchased it in the wild based on the box. I have zero games like it in my collection, and have not really played many that are similar. BUT, I absolutely love this game. Once you get the hang of the different actions you can really start planning ahead and creating your strategy based on what your opponents are doing and how the commodity market is shaping up. You can block opponents from monopolizing similar types of railroads, preventing them from scoring bulk points. You can just concentrate on liquidating assets for maximum return. All of this can be done by completing just one action on your turn, and it keeps you interested in what your opponents are doing as well. That is a mark of a great game. This isn’t just multiplayer solitaire at all.
Components. The box has really really great artwork on it. In fact, the whole game LOOKS incredible. I have seen some remarks that the artwork on the building tiles is in a different style from the rest of the game and it detracts from their enjoyment and immersion. I disagree. When we played the first time I asked if my opponent noticed the difference in art style and if it detracted from the enjoyment of the game. Nope. The game board is good quality and laid out well. The commodities tokens are really great. I do wish, however, that the meeple shape matched that of the icon shown throughout the game. This is apparent in coal and iron, specifically. The others are fine and they match well enough, but there is a missed opportunity. The town and railroad cards are of good quality, and the building tiles are very thick and chunky – and ultimately not necessary to be so since you don’t really handle them much, but it’s always nice to have deluxe-feeling components. The paper money is of good quality – for paper money, that is. The best component of the game – the 1st player marker. I didn’t get it in the shot below because it just woodent (I did that on purpose) fit! It is a HUGE brown raccoon meeple and it’s marvelous. Know what else I really appreciate? THERE IS NO INSERT. Nothing to throw away as soon as you open the box because undoubtedly once you punch everything and try to put it in the useless insert there is no way so you just throw it away anyway and are left feeling like maybe they could have saved some time and money not worrying about an insert that is actually pointless and detrimental to setup and teardown (I’m looking at you, pointless Fantasy Flight box-space-eater inserts).
I don’t know if you can tell from my verbosity in this review, but I adore this game. It is sleek, it is well-produced, and ultimately it is incredibly fun to play. We at Purple Phoenix Games give this one a VERY enthusiastic 14 / 18.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/03/01/raccoon-tycoon-review/
Technically, the players are these cute little Victorian-era anthropomorphized animals trying to become the wealthiest of all Astorians (the city is called Astoria). This is measured by Victory Points. You gain VPs in several ways and the actions you take on your turn are limited.
What are these actions you can take on your turn? You may take one action on your turn: play a card from your hand to receive commodities (in really great meeples) and increase the price of commodities to be sold, sell commodities from your supply and decrease the price of the commodities by the number sold, purchase a town card using commodities, purchase a building using money earned, or begin an auction of a railroad using money. Each of these actions ultimately affects your opponents as they either adjust the market price of commodities, removes certain coveted assets from the offer, or otherwise depletes their resources. Also, there are mission cards in the box that are just not referenced in the rulebook, but two are to be dealt to the players and one chosen as a hidden goal for endgame scoring.
I will be honest. I would not normally be attracted to this style of game, and I may not have ever purchased it in the wild based on the box. I have zero games like it in my collection, and have not really played many that are similar. BUT, I absolutely love this game. Once you get the hang of the different actions you can really start planning ahead and creating your strategy based on what your opponents are doing and how the commodity market is shaping up. You can block opponents from monopolizing similar types of railroads, preventing them from scoring bulk points. You can just concentrate on liquidating assets for maximum return. All of this can be done by completing just one action on your turn, and it keeps you interested in what your opponents are doing as well. That is a mark of a great game. This isn’t just multiplayer solitaire at all.
Components. The box has really really great artwork on it. In fact, the whole game LOOKS incredible. I have seen some remarks that the artwork on the building tiles is in a different style from the rest of the game and it detracts from their enjoyment and immersion. I disagree. When we played the first time I asked if my opponent noticed the difference in art style and if it detracted from the enjoyment of the game. Nope. The game board is good quality and laid out well. The commodities tokens are really great. I do wish, however, that the meeple shape matched that of the icon shown throughout the game. This is apparent in coal and iron, specifically. The others are fine and they match well enough, but there is a missed opportunity. The town and railroad cards are of good quality, and the building tiles are very thick and chunky – and ultimately not necessary to be so since you don’t really handle them much, but it’s always nice to have deluxe-feeling components. The paper money is of good quality – for paper money, that is. The best component of the game – the 1st player marker. I didn’t get it in the shot below because it just woodent (I did that on purpose) fit! It is a HUGE brown raccoon meeple and it’s marvelous. Know what else I really appreciate? THERE IS NO INSERT. Nothing to throw away as soon as you open the box because undoubtedly once you punch everything and try to put it in the useless insert there is no way so you just throw it away anyway and are left feeling like maybe they could have saved some time and money not worrying about an insert that is actually pointless and detrimental to setup and teardown (I’m looking at you, pointless Fantasy Flight box-space-eater inserts).
I don’t know if you can tell from my verbosity in this review, but I adore this game. It is sleek, it is well-produced, and ultimately it is incredibly fun to play. We at Purple Phoenix Games give this one a VERY enthusiastic 14 / 18.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/03/01/raccoon-tycoon-review/
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in Books
Aug 3, 2018
It doesn’t hurt me to say that I have watched the movie before I read the book. What hurts me to say is that even though I loved the book, I enjoyed the movie way more. But I am not here to compare the book and the movie, because I loved them both in a different way.
‘’I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.’’
Jacob was raised by his grandfather, who told him stories about the amazing house he used to live in, and all the children that lived with him, that had amazing abilities and were different than ordinary people. Grandpa Portman would even show Jacob pictures of the children and their peculiarities - he would tell him stories about the invisible boy, the girl that could float if she didn’t have iron boots, the girl that could breath out fire and the children that could easily lift the heaviest rocks. He would also talk about the danger and the big monsters that the children were so scared of.
And Jacob believed and loved these stories - he shared an amazing bond with his grandpa. Until, of course, he grew up. Suddenly, he was old enough to know this isn’t true, and stopped believing. His grandpa would try to convince him, and warn him that the monsters are coming, but the only conclusion he had is that his grandpa lost his marbles.
But then his grandpa dies, and Jacob sees the monsters himself. Despite everyone believing that he is crazy, just like his grandpa, Jacob now has no choice but to find these strange children - and get answers to all his questions.
The book moves quite slow, and it is not until half of the book that we actually get to meet the children. As a person that watched the movie, this was extremely frustrating, as I kept waiting and waiting, and nothing special happened for 90 pages.
The author puts photographs in the book, and they are perfectly put in the book to explain how a character looks, and to describe the scene better. This was the strawberry to my cake in this book. I immensely enjoyed the beautiful photographs and how perfectly well they fitted with the book and detailed the characters. The only character that I couldn’t imagine was Miss Peregrine - her picture is not at all what I expected. At first, I thought about sharing some of those pictures here - but then, I assumed you might enjoy them more if you explore them yourself while reading the book, as they come - as I could never be able to do that as well as Ransom Riggs did.
For the ones you watched the movie first - the movie is not at all the same as the book. So lower your expectations, otherwise you will be disappointed. The movie seemed to have put three books into one, and swapped people’s abilities, and made up some scenes and places.
The book, however, had parts that you wouldn’t see in the movie, and its own magic of detailed descriptions to your favorite stories and characters.
I hated Jacob. Not just at the beginning, but all the way through. Mister ‘’I-am-too-good-for-everything’’ , Mister ‘’My-family-is-so-rich-I-will-try-my-best-to-get-fired-from-work-because-my-uncle-owns-the-shop’’. No - Just no. As much as I enjoyed his story, his character is very egocentric and unlikeable. I actually liked Grandpa Abe so much more, even though he was only partially and ghostly present in the book.
Miss Peregrine didn’t reveal much of her character as she does in the movie. We don’t get to read a lot about her to be honest, and she was the one person I expected to see more of.
We get to hang around with the children a lot though, and meet Emma, the girl that has fire powers, and that used to be Grandpa Abe’s lover and now Jacob - which is more than weird, but oh well…
‘’She moved to pinch me again but I blocked her hand. I’m no expert on girls, but when one tries to pinch you four times, I’m pretty sure that’s flirting.’’
We get to meet Millard, the invisible boy, Olive, the girl that can float without her iron boots, Fiona, who can make plants and trees grow in seconds and many other lovely children with even lovelier abilities.
This is an amazing story about extraordinary people, children who will amuse you with how cute they can be, a bit of (well, a lot of) time travel and a great valuable lesson that everyone in this world is peculiar and extraordinary in their own way! A must-read to all of you that love some fantasy stories and different worlds.
‘’I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.’’
Jacob was raised by his grandfather, who told him stories about the amazing house he used to live in, and all the children that lived with him, that had amazing abilities and were different than ordinary people. Grandpa Portman would even show Jacob pictures of the children and their peculiarities - he would tell him stories about the invisible boy, the girl that could float if she didn’t have iron boots, the girl that could breath out fire and the children that could easily lift the heaviest rocks. He would also talk about the danger and the big monsters that the children were so scared of.
And Jacob believed and loved these stories - he shared an amazing bond with his grandpa. Until, of course, he grew up. Suddenly, he was old enough to know this isn’t true, and stopped believing. His grandpa would try to convince him, and warn him that the monsters are coming, but the only conclusion he had is that his grandpa lost his marbles.
But then his grandpa dies, and Jacob sees the monsters himself. Despite everyone believing that he is crazy, just like his grandpa, Jacob now has no choice but to find these strange children - and get answers to all his questions.
The book moves quite slow, and it is not until half of the book that we actually get to meet the children. As a person that watched the movie, this was extremely frustrating, as I kept waiting and waiting, and nothing special happened for 90 pages.
The author puts photographs in the book, and they are perfectly put in the book to explain how a character looks, and to describe the scene better. This was the strawberry to my cake in this book. I immensely enjoyed the beautiful photographs and how perfectly well they fitted with the book and detailed the characters. The only character that I couldn’t imagine was Miss Peregrine - her picture is not at all what I expected. At first, I thought about sharing some of those pictures here - but then, I assumed you might enjoy them more if you explore them yourself while reading the book, as they come - as I could never be able to do that as well as Ransom Riggs did.
For the ones you watched the movie first - the movie is not at all the same as the book. So lower your expectations, otherwise you will be disappointed. The movie seemed to have put three books into one, and swapped people’s abilities, and made up some scenes and places.
The book, however, had parts that you wouldn’t see in the movie, and its own magic of detailed descriptions to your favorite stories and characters.
I hated Jacob. Not just at the beginning, but all the way through. Mister ‘’I-am-too-good-for-everything’’ , Mister ‘’My-family-is-so-rich-I-will-try-my-best-to-get-fired-from-work-because-my-uncle-owns-the-shop’’. No - Just no. As much as I enjoyed his story, his character is very egocentric and unlikeable. I actually liked Grandpa Abe so much more, even though he was only partially and ghostly present in the book.
Miss Peregrine didn’t reveal much of her character as she does in the movie. We don’t get to read a lot about her to be honest, and she was the one person I expected to see more of.
We get to hang around with the children a lot though, and meet Emma, the girl that has fire powers, and that used to be Grandpa Abe’s lover and now Jacob - which is more than weird, but oh well…
‘’She moved to pinch me again but I blocked her hand. I’m no expert on girls, but when one tries to pinch you four times, I’m pretty sure that’s flirting.’’
We get to meet Millard, the invisible boy, Olive, the girl that can float without her iron boots, Fiona, who can make plants and trees grow in seconds and many other lovely children with even lovelier abilities.
This is an amazing story about extraordinary people, children who will amuse you with how cute they can be, a bit of (well, a lot of) time travel and a great valuable lesson that everyone in this world is peculiar and extraordinary in their own way! A must-read to all of you that love some fantasy stories and different worlds.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated The Dead Sagas, Volume I, Part I in Books
Aug 21, 2018
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The Dead Sagas: Volume I, Part I by Lee Conley is a dark fantasy novel, a horror saga unlike any other. This is not a book for the weak. This is the book for the bravest, the ones who dare to read it, and the ones who can handle to continue living with what they now know.
<b><i>Book description:</i></b>
In a land called Arnar, where brave warriors fight for glory, a great evil comes alive.
The secrets of which the scholars were writing about in the past years, the scary stories that were being told in families throughout the generations are becoming true.
Creatures we thought were dead are now walking through the streets, spreading their disease, killing innocent people, and are about to take over Arnar.
The brave warriors are prepared to die defending their lands, but how can you fight creatures that barely feel pain? Are the warriors strong enough?
<img src="https://gipostcards.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/result_1529522968460.jpg?w=510"/>;
<b><i>My Thoughts:</i></b>
A story that will leave you breathless until the very end, a story that will push you into anxiety and make you bite your nails. A story that speaks about evil, and good, love, bravery and survival, a book that will sit on your shelf after reading it, and you’ll give it a look once in a while, and say: Ahh.. that was good!
In The Dead Sagas we have the chance to follow the stories of many characters. We will meet scholars and apprentices, we meet warriors and lords, we meet people from the street, doing everything they can to survive, we meet survivors that have seen things and we will meet sailors that are dying.
From chapter to chapter, the story goes from one character to another, and we slowly see the progression of the evil creatures, the spreading pace by pace. While it starts with sailors getting sick and dying afterwards on a ship, it slowly continues to become more and more intense, as we see people literally transforming into dead walkers right after they die, right in front of our eyes.
You will meet Bjorn, who escaped a tribe that cooks and eats people, you will meet Arnulf, who sees unimaginable things will being a lord of the watch. You will see him go through the greatest pain in life, you will see him afraid and brave, you will see him fighting, even though he wants to go and cry in the corner and die.
You will meet a girl that sells her body, so she can buy food for her and her little brother. You will meet a woman warrior, and learn about her amazing and brave story, you will watch how people see their loved ones die right in front of their eyes, and sometimes, they even have to be the ones to kill them in order to survive.
Even though we learn so much about the characters and their stories, it was hard for me to really connect with any of them, as the chapters moved fast from one character to another. This is probably the reason to why I also found the beginning quite slow. It took me around 90 pages, to start realising what is happening.
There will be a lot of violence in this book, a lot of swearing, and scenes that might upset or offend you. This book is not for the weak ones, that is for sure. And while for some of you this might put you off this book, I do have to say that if the book didn’t have a strong language and violent scenes like it does, it wouldn’t have been the same.
The biggest ''flaw'' I had was the ending. I won’t say anything spoiler-ish , as I don’t want to ruin the book for you, but let’s just say that I didn’t expect it to end the way it did.
Even though this is a story about the dead people walking around and killing everything in front of them, this is actually a book about the survivors, the ones that managed to retell this story - the ones that lost anything and everything to be where they are now. This is for the lives of the brave souls, the mighty warriors, that were noble and tried to protect their lands.
A massive thanks to the author, Lee Conley, who managed to find me in the deep waters of Twitter, and who agreed to send me a paperback copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
The Dead Sagas: Volume I, Part I by Lee Conley is a dark fantasy novel, a horror saga unlike any other. This is not a book for the weak. This is the book for the bravest, the ones who dare to read it, and the ones who can handle to continue living with what they now know.
<b><i>Book description:</i></b>
In a land called Arnar, where brave warriors fight for glory, a great evil comes alive.
The secrets of which the scholars were writing about in the past years, the scary stories that were being told in families throughout the generations are becoming true.
Creatures we thought were dead are now walking through the streets, spreading their disease, killing innocent people, and are about to take over Arnar.
The brave warriors are prepared to die defending their lands, but how can you fight creatures that barely feel pain? Are the warriors strong enough?
<img src="https://gipostcards.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/result_1529522968460.jpg?w=510"/>;
<b><i>My Thoughts:</i></b>
A story that will leave you breathless until the very end, a story that will push you into anxiety and make you bite your nails. A story that speaks about evil, and good, love, bravery and survival, a book that will sit on your shelf after reading it, and you’ll give it a look once in a while, and say: Ahh.. that was good!
In The Dead Sagas we have the chance to follow the stories of many characters. We will meet scholars and apprentices, we meet warriors and lords, we meet people from the street, doing everything they can to survive, we meet survivors that have seen things and we will meet sailors that are dying.
From chapter to chapter, the story goes from one character to another, and we slowly see the progression of the evil creatures, the spreading pace by pace. While it starts with sailors getting sick and dying afterwards on a ship, it slowly continues to become more and more intense, as we see people literally transforming into dead walkers right after they die, right in front of our eyes.
You will meet Bjorn, who escaped a tribe that cooks and eats people, you will meet Arnulf, who sees unimaginable things will being a lord of the watch. You will see him go through the greatest pain in life, you will see him afraid and brave, you will see him fighting, even though he wants to go and cry in the corner and die.
You will meet a girl that sells her body, so she can buy food for her and her little brother. You will meet a woman warrior, and learn about her amazing and brave story, you will watch how people see their loved ones die right in front of their eyes, and sometimes, they even have to be the ones to kill them in order to survive.
Even though we learn so much about the characters and their stories, it was hard for me to really connect with any of them, as the chapters moved fast from one character to another. This is probably the reason to why I also found the beginning quite slow. It took me around 90 pages, to start realising what is happening.
There will be a lot of violence in this book, a lot of swearing, and scenes that might upset or offend you. This book is not for the weak ones, that is for sure. And while for some of you this might put you off this book, I do have to say that if the book didn’t have a strong language and violent scenes like it does, it wouldn’t have been the same.
The biggest ''flaw'' I had was the ending. I won’t say anything spoiler-ish , as I don’t want to ruin the book for you, but let’s just say that I didn’t expect it to end the way it did.
Even though this is a story about the dead people walking around and killing everything in front of them, this is actually a book about the survivors, the ones that managed to retell this story - the ones that lost anything and everything to be where they are now. This is for the lives of the brave souls, the mighty warriors, that were noble and tried to protect their lands.
A massive thanks to the author, Lee Conley, who managed to find me in the deep waters of Twitter, and who agreed to send me a paperback copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in Books
Oct 26, 2018
It doesn’t hurt me to say that I have watched the movie before I read the book. What hurts me to say is that even though I loved the book, I enjoyed the movie way more. But I am not here to compare the book and the movie, because I loved them both in a different way.
‘’I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.’’
Jacob was raised by his grandfather, who told him stories about the amazing house he used to live in, and all the children that lived with him, that had amazing abilities and were different than ordinary people. Grandpa Portman would even show Jacob pictures of the children and their peculiarities - he would tell him stories about the invisible boy, the girl that could float if she didn’t have iron boots, the girl that could breath out fire and the children that could easily lift the heaviest rocks. He would also talk about the danger and the big monsters that the children were so scared of.
And Jacob believed and loved these stories - he shared an amazing bond with his grandpa. Until, of course, he grew up. Suddenly, he was old enough to know this isn’t true, and stopped believing. His grandpa would try to convince him, and warn him that the monsters are coming, but the only conclusion he had is that his grandpa lost his marbles.
But then his grandpa dies, and Jacob sees the monsters himself. Despite everyone believing that he is crazy, just like his grandpa, Jacob now has no choice but to find these strange children - and get answers to all his questions.
The book moves quite slow, and it is not until half of the book that we actually get to meet the children. As a person that watched the movie, this was extremely frustrating, as I kept waiting and waiting, and nothing special happened for 90 pages.
The author puts photographs in the book, and they are perfectly put in the book to explain how a character looks, and to describe the scene better. This was the strawberry to my cake in this book. I immensely enjoyed the beautiful photographs and how perfectly well they fitted with the book and detailed the characters. The only character that I couldn’t imagine was Miss Peregrine - her picture is not at all what I expected. At first, I thought about sharing some of those pictures here - but then, I assumed you might enjoy them more if you explore them yourself while reading the book, as they come - as I could never be able to do that as well as Ransom Riggs did.
For the ones you watched the movie first - the movie is not at all the same as the book. So lower your expectations, otherwise you will be disappointed. The movie seemed to have put three books into one, and swapped people’s abilities, and made up some scenes and places.
The book, however, had parts that you wouldn’t see in the movie, and its own magic of detailed descriptions to your favorite stories and characters.
I hated Jacob. Not just at the beginning, but all the way through. Mister ‘’I-am-too-good-for-everything’’ , Mister ‘’My-family-is-so-rich-I-will-try-my-best-to-get-fired-from-work-because-my-uncle-owns-the-shop’’. No - Just no. As much as I enjoyed his story, his character is very egocentric and unlikeable. I actually liked Grandpa Abe so much more, even though he was only partially and ghostly present in the book.
Miss Peregrine didn’t reveal much of her character as she does in the movie. We don’t get to read a lot about her to be honest, and she was the one person I expected to see more of.
We get to hang around with the children a lot though, and meet Emma, the girl that has fire powers, and that used to be Grandpa Abe’s lover and now Jacob - which is more than weird, but oh well…
‘’She moved to pinch me again but I blocked her hand. I’m no expert on girls, but when one tries to pinch you four times, I’m pretty sure that’s flirting.’’
We get to meet Millard, the invisible boy, Olive, the girl that can float without her iron boots, Fiona, who can make plants and trees grow in seconds and many other lovely children with even lovelier abilities.
This is an amazing story about extraordinary people, children who will amuse you with how cute they can be, a bit of (well, a lot of) time travel and a great valuable lesson that everyone in this world is peculiar and extraordinary in their own way! A must-read to all of you that love some fantasy stories and different worlds.
‘’I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.’’
Jacob was raised by his grandfather, who told him stories about the amazing house he used to live in, and all the children that lived with him, that had amazing abilities and were different than ordinary people. Grandpa Portman would even show Jacob pictures of the children and their peculiarities - he would tell him stories about the invisible boy, the girl that could float if she didn’t have iron boots, the girl that could breath out fire and the children that could easily lift the heaviest rocks. He would also talk about the danger and the big monsters that the children were so scared of.
And Jacob believed and loved these stories - he shared an amazing bond with his grandpa. Until, of course, he grew up. Suddenly, he was old enough to know this isn’t true, and stopped believing. His grandpa would try to convince him, and warn him that the monsters are coming, but the only conclusion he had is that his grandpa lost his marbles.
But then his grandpa dies, and Jacob sees the monsters himself. Despite everyone believing that he is crazy, just like his grandpa, Jacob now has no choice but to find these strange children - and get answers to all his questions.
The book moves quite slow, and it is not until half of the book that we actually get to meet the children. As a person that watched the movie, this was extremely frustrating, as I kept waiting and waiting, and nothing special happened for 90 pages.
The author puts photographs in the book, and they are perfectly put in the book to explain how a character looks, and to describe the scene better. This was the strawberry to my cake in this book. I immensely enjoyed the beautiful photographs and how perfectly well they fitted with the book and detailed the characters. The only character that I couldn’t imagine was Miss Peregrine - her picture is not at all what I expected. At first, I thought about sharing some of those pictures here - but then, I assumed you might enjoy them more if you explore them yourself while reading the book, as they come - as I could never be able to do that as well as Ransom Riggs did.
For the ones you watched the movie first - the movie is not at all the same as the book. So lower your expectations, otherwise you will be disappointed. The movie seemed to have put three books into one, and swapped people’s abilities, and made up some scenes and places.
The book, however, had parts that you wouldn’t see in the movie, and its own magic of detailed descriptions to your favorite stories and characters.
I hated Jacob. Not just at the beginning, but all the way through. Mister ‘’I-am-too-good-for-everything’’ , Mister ‘’My-family-is-so-rich-I-will-try-my-best-to-get-fired-from-work-because-my-uncle-owns-the-shop’’. No - Just no. As much as I enjoyed his story, his character is very egocentric and unlikeable. I actually liked Grandpa Abe so much more, even though he was only partially and ghostly present in the book.
Miss Peregrine didn’t reveal much of her character as she does in the movie. We don’t get to read a lot about her to be honest, and she was the one person I expected to see more of.
We get to hang around with the children a lot though, and meet Emma, the girl that has fire powers, and that used to be Grandpa Abe’s lover and now Jacob - which is more than weird, but oh well…
‘’She moved to pinch me again but I blocked her hand. I’m no expert on girls, but when one tries to pinch you four times, I’m pretty sure that’s flirting.’’
We get to meet Millard, the invisible boy, Olive, the girl that can float without her iron boots, Fiona, who can make plants and trees grow in seconds and many other lovely children with even lovelier abilities.
This is an amazing story about extraordinary people, children who will amuse you with how cute they can be, a bit of (well, a lot of) time travel and a great valuable lesson that everyone in this world is peculiar and extraordinary in their own way! A must-read to all of you that love some fantasy stories and different worlds.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Best Horror of the Year Volume 1 in Books
Apr 30, 2021
56 of 250
Book
The Best Horror of the Year Volume 1
Edited by Ellen Datlow
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments!
I will post in comments a short comment on each story!
An Air Force Loadmaster is menaced by strange sounds within his cargo; a man is asked to track down a childhood friend... who died years earlier; doomed pioneers forge a path westward as a young mother discovers her true nature; an alcoholic strikes a dangerous bargain with a gregarious stranger; urban explorers delve into a ruined book depository, finding more than they anticipated; residents of a rural Wisconsin town defend against a legendary monster; a woman wracked by survivor's guilt is haunted by the ghosts of a tragic crash; a detective strives to solve the mystery of a dismembered girl; an orphan returns to a wicked witch's candy house; a group of smugglers find themselves buried to the necks in sand; an unanticipated guest brings doom to a high-class party; a teacher attempts to lead his students to safety as the world comes to an end around them...
What frightens us, what unnerves us? What causes that delicious shiver of fear to travel the lengths of our spines? It seems the answer changes every year. Every year the bar is raised; the screw is tightened. Ellen Datlow knows what scares us; the twenty-one stories and poems included in this anthology were chosen from magazines, webzines, anthologies, literary journals, and single author collections to represent the best horror of the year.
Legendary editor Ellen Datlow (Poe: New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe), winner of multiple Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy awards, joins Night Shade Books in presenting The Best Horror of the Year, Volume One.
1. Cargo by E.Michael Lewis
So chilling and so sad! This is short I dedication to the families of those children in Jonestown and the men and women who brought the bodies home.
2. If Angels Fight by Richard Bowes
This is about a man searching for his friend who was possessed by an Angel. On this journey you see and find out that this Angel left his friend and left a trail behind him to follow. His family never gave up he managed to find his friend and Angel Michael and return him to his home one last time. Only question was did he bring him home to find his sister to posses or to say goodbye to his mother?.
3. The Clay Party by Steve Duffy
A group of settlers embark on a journey for a new life in California in 1846, the journey does not go as expected. I was a bit bored at the beginning but certainly had a twist at the end.
4. Penguins of the Apocalypse by William Browning Spencer
This is brilliant! A man fighting his personal battles with alcohol! Now is the pulka and penguin freedom movement real or a fragment of his imagination while under the influence? Either way it was entertaining!
5. Esmeralda by Glen Hirshberg
This is a very strange little story involving the end of all books,pens and paper! Very odd!
6. The Hodog by Trent Hergenrader
A good old fashioned urban legend!
7. Very Low Flying Aircraft by Nicholas Royle
Not one for me didnt really grip me.
8. When the Gentlemen Go By. By Margaret Ronald
This was a bit chilling and I would love to have read more about these “Gentlemen” who come at night to make bargains!
9. The Lagerstatte by Laird Barron
Grief does strange things to our minds and body! This was quite chilling.
10. Harry and the Monkey by Euan Harvey
This really plays on every fear a parent has when their kids go missing especially in a place and time where children are vanishing!
11 Dress Circle by Miranda Siemeinowicz
12. The Rising River. By Daniel Kaysen
This was strange and after reading it I’m still not sure what’s happening 😂😂
13 Loup-Garou by R.B. Russell
I enjoyed this strange litte story set in my hometown of Birmingham. A little french film causes a little drama in this mans life.
14. Girl in pieces by Graham Edwards
This was my favourite! So far fetched into a world of monsters a detective helps a Golum save a girl cut to pieces! So much fun
15 It washed up by Joe R. Lonsdale
Wow how to pack a punch in 2 pages! Loved it!
16 The Man from the Peak by Adam Golaski
Brilliant short full of mystery blood and gore! Very well written.
17. The Narrows by Simon Bestwick
This actually chilled me I’d hate sending my child to school and have something like this happen which of course is totally possible.
I loved this book of small tales and discovering those writers I wouldn’t normally be exposed too!
Book
The Best Horror of the Year Volume 1
Edited by Ellen Datlow
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments!
I will post in comments a short comment on each story!
An Air Force Loadmaster is menaced by strange sounds within his cargo; a man is asked to track down a childhood friend... who died years earlier; doomed pioneers forge a path westward as a young mother discovers her true nature; an alcoholic strikes a dangerous bargain with a gregarious stranger; urban explorers delve into a ruined book depository, finding more than they anticipated; residents of a rural Wisconsin town defend against a legendary monster; a woman wracked by survivor's guilt is haunted by the ghosts of a tragic crash; a detective strives to solve the mystery of a dismembered girl; an orphan returns to a wicked witch's candy house; a group of smugglers find themselves buried to the necks in sand; an unanticipated guest brings doom to a high-class party; a teacher attempts to lead his students to safety as the world comes to an end around them...
What frightens us, what unnerves us? What causes that delicious shiver of fear to travel the lengths of our spines? It seems the answer changes every year. Every year the bar is raised; the screw is tightened. Ellen Datlow knows what scares us; the twenty-one stories and poems included in this anthology were chosen from magazines, webzines, anthologies, literary journals, and single author collections to represent the best horror of the year.
Legendary editor Ellen Datlow (Poe: New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe), winner of multiple Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy awards, joins Night Shade Books in presenting The Best Horror of the Year, Volume One.
1. Cargo by E.Michael Lewis
So chilling and so sad! This is short I dedication to the families of those children in Jonestown and the men and women who brought the bodies home.
2. If Angels Fight by Richard Bowes
This is about a man searching for his friend who was possessed by an Angel. On this journey you see and find out that this Angel left his friend and left a trail behind him to follow. His family never gave up he managed to find his friend and Angel Michael and return him to his home one last time. Only question was did he bring him home to find his sister to posses or to say goodbye to his mother?.
3. The Clay Party by Steve Duffy
A group of settlers embark on a journey for a new life in California in 1846, the journey does not go as expected. I was a bit bored at the beginning but certainly had a twist at the end.
4. Penguins of the Apocalypse by William Browning Spencer
This is brilliant! A man fighting his personal battles with alcohol! Now is the pulka and penguin freedom movement real or a fragment of his imagination while under the influence? Either way it was entertaining!
5. Esmeralda by Glen Hirshberg
This is a very strange little story involving the end of all books,pens and paper! Very odd!
6. The Hodog by Trent Hergenrader
A good old fashioned urban legend!
7. Very Low Flying Aircraft by Nicholas Royle
Not one for me didnt really grip me.
8. When the Gentlemen Go By. By Margaret Ronald
This was a bit chilling and I would love to have read more about these “Gentlemen” who come at night to make bargains!
9. The Lagerstatte by Laird Barron
Grief does strange things to our minds and body! This was quite chilling.
10. Harry and the Monkey by Euan Harvey
This really plays on every fear a parent has when their kids go missing especially in a place and time where children are vanishing!
11 Dress Circle by Miranda Siemeinowicz
12. The Rising River. By Daniel Kaysen
This was strange and after reading it I’m still not sure what’s happening 😂😂
13 Loup-Garou by R.B. Russell
I enjoyed this strange litte story set in my hometown of Birmingham. A little french film causes a little drama in this mans life.
14. Girl in pieces by Graham Edwards
This was my favourite! So far fetched into a world of monsters a detective helps a Golum save a girl cut to pieces! So much fun
15 It washed up by Joe R. Lonsdale
Wow how to pack a punch in 2 pages! Loved it!
16 The Man from the Peak by Adam Golaski
Brilliant short full of mystery blood and gore! Very well written.
17. The Narrows by Simon Bestwick
This actually chilled me I’d hate sending my child to school and have something like this happen which of course is totally possible.
I loved this book of small tales and discovering those writers I wouldn’t normally be exposed too!
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Fantastiqa in Tabletop Games
Jul 30, 2021
Ahh yes, Fantastiqa. Another to add to the list of, “I once owned, then I got rid of it, then missed it so much I had to reacquire it.” My wife loves when I do that… In any case, Fantastiqa gives players a very strange slant on deck building adventure games. Some would say the theme and its implementation will make or break it for players. Upon which side of the line do we fall?
Fantastiqa is a fantasy rock-paper-scissors style deck building adventure game. Now each of those mechanics individually can make for a wonderful children’s game. Looking upon the art in Fantastiqa will also nudge players towards that of a children’s game. Alas, Fantastiqa is not a children’s game and players will be scratching their heads for multiple reasons whilst playing it.
To setup, follow the instructions of the rulebook. There are just too many to list and explain here. Once setup, the game should look something like the photo above. Each player will have their draw decks identical to those of their opponents, and the play area is essentially a map of six locations with a statue at each location and decks of cards from which players will be drawing on their turns.
A typical turn will allow players to complete one of three different actions: Go Adventuring (where players will be using cards from their decks to subdue and recruit creatures between locations), Visit a Statue (where players can draw cards from the different decks for Beast, Artifact, and Quest cards to add to their discard piles, or pay gems to exile cards from their hands out of the game, or even pay gems to teleport to the matching statue on the other side of the board), or Complete a Quest (by discarding their appropriate cards that fulfill the quest requirements).
Turns can be very quick, or long and drawn out as players carefully choose which tactics to apply to the board on the table, while weighing the need for more powerful cards in their decks, and keeping up with the Joneses as they compete for VP on Quest cards. This is a deck builder, after all, so improving one’s deck is always the first consideration, but should a player oust those dang tea-drinking lazy dragon cards, or attempt to commit cards to a quest? The choices are quite numerous as play continues, and players realize that, again, this is no child’s game. Play continues in this fashion of players taking turns completing actions and quests until one player gains enough VP through completed quests to win the game.
Components. Every component in Fantastiqa is Fantastiq! I feel like the entire game is linen-finished, save for the little plastic gems and large statueeples. This game feels quite deluxe, and that will always be a big stamp of approval from me. One thing that can jar some players is the choice of art used between the player placards, card art, token art, and other components. They certainly don’t match at all, but I believe this tracks with the quirky nature of the theme and game overall, so I quite enjoy it. I can indeed understand why some would be opposed, but that is not how I feel at all.
I kinda bled into my final thoughts there, but I do love Fantastiqa. The theme is super weird: players answer a Help Wanted ad and long story short they meet a crazy old man who gives them a rucksack full of ordinary items: toothbrush, helmet, bat, and a dog. The dog runs away across the street and players find themselves in another world where these ordinary items are now transformed into magic wands, rams (the animals), clubs, and a dog, among other items. Players I have played with cannot accept that a spatula is a sword in the game and that just breaks immersion for them. I quite like it and the game’s wacky theme.
But the gameplay itself is also quite engaging. Traveling all over this new world subduing (and subsequently recruiting to your cause) Knights with spatulae and Giant Spiders with cat’s teeth is interesting and a fresh way to incorporate a theme into a deck builder as opposed to simply generating purchasing power and buying the cards that are wanted. The statue interactions are great ways to build up your deck as well, and keeping an eye on what quests others are gunning for as well as their personal hidden quests adds a bit of race-game feeling that some other deck builders lack. I can’t say enough great things about Fantastiqa, but completely understand how the theme may break the game for others’ enjoyment. That said, Purple Phoenix Games give this one a well-traveled 10 / 12. It’s weird, I’ll give you that, but it’s a good kind of weird. Check it out.
Fantastiqa is a fantasy rock-paper-scissors style deck building adventure game. Now each of those mechanics individually can make for a wonderful children’s game. Looking upon the art in Fantastiqa will also nudge players towards that of a children’s game. Alas, Fantastiqa is not a children’s game and players will be scratching their heads for multiple reasons whilst playing it.
To setup, follow the instructions of the rulebook. There are just too many to list and explain here. Once setup, the game should look something like the photo above. Each player will have their draw decks identical to those of their opponents, and the play area is essentially a map of six locations with a statue at each location and decks of cards from which players will be drawing on their turns.
A typical turn will allow players to complete one of three different actions: Go Adventuring (where players will be using cards from their decks to subdue and recruit creatures between locations), Visit a Statue (where players can draw cards from the different decks for Beast, Artifact, and Quest cards to add to their discard piles, or pay gems to exile cards from their hands out of the game, or even pay gems to teleport to the matching statue on the other side of the board), or Complete a Quest (by discarding their appropriate cards that fulfill the quest requirements).
Turns can be very quick, or long and drawn out as players carefully choose which tactics to apply to the board on the table, while weighing the need for more powerful cards in their decks, and keeping up with the Joneses as they compete for VP on Quest cards. This is a deck builder, after all, so improving one’s deck is always the first consideration, but should a player oust those dang tea-drinking lazy dragon cards, or attempt to commit cards to a quest? The choices are quite numerous as play continues, and players realize that, again, this is no child’s game. Play continues in this fashion of players taking turns completing actions and quests until one player gains enough VP through completed quests to win the game.
Components. Every component in Fantastiqa is Fantastiq! I feel like the entire game is linen-finished, save for the little plastic gems and large statueeples. This game feels quite deluxe, and that will always be a big stamp of approval from me. One thing that can jar some players is the choice of art used between the player placards, card art, token art, and other components. They certainly don’t match at all, but I believe this tracks with the quirky nature of the theme and game overall, so I quite enjoy it. I can indeed understand why some would be opposed, but that is not how I feel at all.
I kinda bled into my final thoughts there, but I do love Fantastiqa. The theme is super weird: players answer a Help Wanted ad and long story short they meet a crazy old man who gives them a rucksack full of ordinary items: toothbrush, helmet, bat, and a dog. The dog runs away across the street and players find themselves in another world where these ordinary items are now transformed into magic wands, rams (the animals), clubs, and a dog, among other items. Players I have played with cannot accept that a spatula is a sword in the game and that just breaks immersion for them. I quite like it and the game’s wacky theme.
But the gameplay itself is also quite engaging. Traveling all over this new world subduing (and subsequently recruiting to your cause) Knights with spatulae and Giant Spiders with cat’s teeth is interesting and a fresh way to incorporate a theme into a deck builder as opposed to simply generating purchasing power and buying the cards that are wanted. The statue interactions are great ways to build up your deck as well, and keeping an eye on what quests others are gunning for as well as their personal hidden quests adds a bit of race-game feeling that some other deck builders lack. I can’t say enough great things about Fantastiqa, but completely understand how the theme may break the game for others’ enjoyment. That said, Purple Phoenix Games give this one a well-traveled 10 / 12. It’s weird, I’ll give you that, but it’s a good kind of weird. Check it out.
Hadley (567 KP) rated American Gods in Books
Jun 5, 2020
Mad Sweeney (1 more)
Gaiman's writing and descriptions
No character development (2 more)
Dehumanizes women
The ending
The gods of the old world still exist in Neil Gaiman's 2001 novel "American Gods."
A science fiction/ fantasy story set in today's America, American Gods tries to answer the question of what happens when people stop believing in the past gods, and start worshiping new ones?
Shadow is our main character, who we meet while he's attempting to get released from prison after three years of incarceration - - - afterall, he has a job, wife and life waiting for him on the outside. And even though he's built up a strong exterior while in prison, everything comes crashing down after he receives news that his wife and best friend have died in a car accident.
Cue Wednesday, an old, odd man who gives Shadow a job after his release from prison - - - with strings attached: Shadow can't ask any questions, he must protect his employer at all costs, and if people need to be hurt, he must hurt them. Although Wednesday doesn't tell him exactly what is going on, Shadow agrees to his duties and begins a road trip with the eccentric old man, meeting an array of colorful characters along the way. But soon, Shadow begins to realize that his employer may be a mythical god in disguise, yet, oddly Shadow never really questions it or anything in the entire book for that matter.
The novel takes an odd turn early on when Shadow's dead wife, Laura, comes back to life in a zombified way. While Shadow is staying in a cheap hotel room, and Wednesday sharing a room with a young hotel employee in another, Shadow sees his wife in the clothing she was buried in, but he doesn't flinch - - - he carries a very calm conversation with dead Laura, he even goes down to the lobby to buy her a pack of cigarettes, and the next morning, he still doesn't seem bothered by it when he sees her muddy footprints on the floor. Wednesday tries to convince Shadow it was a dream, but makes snarky remarks that tells Shadow that even he knows it wasn't a dream. The two simply move on on their road trip, no questions asked.
But during this road trip, Shadow's suspicions are confirmed. He gets to see not only Wednesday, but two others in their true god-form, and afterwards, Wednesday confirms that he is indeed the Norse god, Odin.
Gaiman's take on mythological gods living in today's society is interesting, but disappointing. From recognizable gods to the forgotten ones, readers with a liking to history would probably enjoy this story most.
American Gods centers on the question of what happens to gods when they are no longer worshipped, and Gaiman merely focuses on male gods, while making all female characters (gods and humans) either prostitutes and/or sexual objects which is really off-putting for me as a female reader. And Gaiman's character development in the novel for gods and humans is nowhere to be seen thus lending very little plot development that is actually believable or enjoyable. I was unable to bring myself to care about our main character, Shadow, nor the plight with his zombie wife.And speaking of Laura, the disappointing character traits makes her not just unlikable, but also an unnecessary character overall.
I just can't recommend this book: the novel is good for the first 100 pages, but you could easily skip the next 450 pages that is just filler, and not miss much of the story. Gaiman also dehumanizes women, introduces characters in a way that would make them seem an important part of the story to only drop them out of it as quickly as they came in, and the ending is just a huge disappointment. All in all, Gaiman had a great idea, but the execution he used was poorly done - - - some parts even seem like Gaiman wrote them in a completely different state of mind, contradicting story lines and character traits altogether.
I did, however, have three favorite characters that weren't utilized enough for me to rate the story higher than I have: Mad Sweeney, Ibis and Jacquel. Mad Sweeney is a giant leprechaun that can pull gold coins out of the air; Ibis and Jacquel are Anubis and Jackel from Egyptian mythology, who run a funeral home in Cairo, Illinois today.
American Gods takes place only over a few months, which is surprising with how long the novel is. But the story is a buildup with no climax. Most characters come and go before readers can even decide if they like them or not,and that paired up with severe lack of character development leaves most of the main characters pretty forgettable. With this special edition containing 1200 more words, the story is still not worth it in the end. Gaiman is still a great writer, but this is not the book to recommend to anyone who wants to begin reading his work.
A science fiction/ fantasy story set in today's America, American Gods tries to answer the question of what happens when people stop believing in the past gods, and start worshiping new ones?
Shadow is our main character, who we meet while he's attempting to get released from prison after three years of incarceration - - - afterall, he has a job, wife and life waiting for him on the outside. And even though he's built up a strong exterior while in prison, everything comes crashing down after he receives news that his wife and best friend have died in a car accident.
Cue Wednesday, an old, odd man who gives Shadow a job after his release from prison - - - with strings attached: Shadow can't ask any questions, he must protect his employer at all costs, and if people need to be hurt, he must hurt them. Although Wednesday doesn't tell him exactly what is going on, Shadow agrees to his duties and begins a road trip with the eccentric old man, meeting an array of colorful characters along the way. But soon, Shadow begins to realize that his employer may be a mythical god in disguise, yet, oddly Shadow never really questions it or anything in the entire book for that matter.
The novel takes an odd turn early on when Shadow's dead wife, Laura, comes back to life in a zombified way. While Shadow is staying in a cheap hotel room, and Wednesday sharing a room with a young hotel employee in another, Shadow sees his wife in the clothing she was buried in, but he doesn't flinch - - - he carries a very calm conversation with dead Laura, he even goes down to the lobby to buy her a pack of cigarettes, and the next morning, he still doesn't seem bothered by it when he sees her muddy footprints on the floor. Wednesday tries to convince Shadow it was a dream, but makes snarky remarks that tells Shadow that even he knows it wasn't a dream. The two simply move on on their road trip, no questions asked.
But during this road trip, Shadow's suspicions are confirmed. He gets to see not only Wednesday, but two others in their true god-form, and afterwards, Wednesday confirms that he is indeed the Norse god, Odin.
Gaiman's take on mythological gods living in today's society is interesting, but disappointing. From recognizable gods to the forgotten ones, readers with a liking to history would probably enjoy this story most.
American Gods centers on the question of what happens to gods when they are no longer worshipped, and Gaiman merely focuses on male gods, while making all female characters (gods and humans) either prostitutes and/or sexual objects which is really off-putting for me as a female reader. And Gaiman's character development in the novel for gods and humans is nowhere to be seen thus lending very little plot development that is actually believable or enjoyable. I was unable to bring myself to care about our main character, Shadow, nor the plight with his zombie wife.And speaking of Laura, the disappointing character traits makes her not just unlikable, but also an unnecessary character overall.
I just can't recommend this book: the novel is good for the first 100 pages, but you could easily skip the next 450 pages that is just filler, and not miss much of the story. Gaiman also dehumanizes women, introduces characters in a way that would make them seem an important part of the story to only drop them out of it as quickly as they came in, and the ending is just a huge disappointment. All in all, Gaiman had a great idea, but the execution he used was poorly done - - - some parts even seem like Gaiman wrote them in a completely different state of mind, contradicting story lines and character traits altogether.
I did, however, have three favorite characters that weren't utilized enough for me to rate the story higher than I have: Mad Sweeney, Ibis and Jacquel. Mad Sweeney is a giant leprechaun that can pull gold coins out of the air; Ibis and Jacquel are Anubis and Jackel from Egyptian mythology, who run a funeral home in Cairo, Illinois today.
American Gods takes place only over a few months, which is surprising with how long the novel is. But the story is a buildup with no climax. Most characters come and go before readers can even decide if they like them or not,and that paired up with severe lack of character development leaves most of the main characters pretty forgettable. With this special edition containing 1200 more words, the story is still not worth it in the end. Gaiman is still a great writer, but this is not the book to recommend to anyone who wants to begin reading his work.