Smashbomb

I played this at game night a few nights ago and actually enjoyed it much more than I expected to. It's a small box and there's not much to the cards. But there's more to how you think about your actions, you only have 5 per round. Each round has valuable supporters you are trying to collect and you vie for the top selections among them. the art on the cards is good and doesn't interfere with the graphic design and the cards information which is key. I saw the older design which was a bit cleaner, but less pretty. Anyway, back to the game play, you start off with 5 cards and those are what you have to work with. Each turn you can draw a card, or play a card.... simple, but when you run out of cards you run out of options so there is a balancing act to it. But this makes turns relatively quick, which I love in larger player counts. There is some interesting intrigue with card being played up or down, up for the action, down for secrecy. Also the ability to swap out supporters by one clan or double up on pulling them with another makes for some interesting jostling, and a bit more take that..... It would be perfect at a Game of Thrones themed game with just a bit more depth.

Kudos

Ande Thomas (69 KP) rated The Name of the Wind in Books

May 30, 2019

The Name of the Wind

Patrick Rothfuss | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry

9.2

(74 Ratings)

Book Rating

The Name of the Wind is a great start to a promising series. The world of Temerant feels rich and full and unpacking the histories it holds feels like it could go on forever. Sometimes I can get a bit weary of ubermensch protagonists, but Kvothe, despite being a virtuoso lute player, a prodigy arcanist, and a deft actor to boot, doesn't ever come off as invincible. He's relatable, likable, and awkward at times, in the most lovable way possible.
I don't consider myself a high fantasy fan. I generally tend to prefer a more grounded world, even just loosely, to the limitless possibilities of magic. But I love the way it's presented here. I love how physical Temerant's magic is. There's a tangibility to it. Not only does it require physical material, but it inflicts a physical toll on the caster. There are real consequences to it, and it relies more on quick thinking and an alchemy-like knowledge over spell memorization and gestures.

One of the only things I can hold against the author is how many times we, the reader, simply "can't understand." Never been poor? You can't understand. Not a musician? Can't understand. If you've never been in a dark cave, if you've never seen Denna, if you've never been on stage. It's a very lazy way to explain something. Make us understand. It's why we read. So we can reach outside of our own experiences. I can only hope he moves past his crutches in the next book because I'm really enjoying Kvothe's story.

Kudos

David McK (3731 KP) rated Battlefront II: Inferno Squad (Star Wars) in Books

Jan 30, 2019

The second 'Battlefront' tie-in novel (based on a series of games themselves based on a series of novels) which, I have to say, I found to be far more enjoyable than the previous ([b:Twilight Company|25455901|Twilight Company (Star Wars Battlefront, #1)|Alexander Freed|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440781979s/25455901.jpg|45222133]).

I don't know whether that because, this time around, the source online shooter game actually (and finally!) has a single-player campaign, meaning the author can actually concentrate on proper chatacters instead of the expendable cannon-fodder of the previous, or if it's because this time aroudn it's told from the point of view of the 'bad guys': that is, from the PoV from dyed-in-the-wool Imperials.

This picks up towards the end of the first Star Wars film (Episode IV, retroactively entitled 'A New Hope'),w ith the attack on the Death Star occuring in the opening pages of the novel and with the central character of Iden Versio actively participating in the defense of the Space Station, before crash-landing on the planet of Yavin IV and making her way back to Imperial Space (that bit told in passing).

This also ties into Rogue One, with an offshoot of Saw Garrera's violent Partisan group - naming themselves The Dreamers - providing the antagonists rather than The Rebellion, allowing the story and the characters to go undercover into that group without breaking with the commonly-held lore - lets face it, since Inferno Squad is meant to be the best of the best it would be hard to place them in Leia / Han's / Luke's path without somehow having to wave the explanation away!

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2506 KP) rated Lost Light (Harry Bosch #9) in Books

Jan 26, 2019

Lost Light (Harry Bosch #9)

Michael Connelly | 2003 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry

8.8

(6 Ratings)

Book Rating

Bosch Shines Light on a Cold Case

It's been several months since Harry Bosch retired from his job as a homicide detective in Los Angeles. He's attempting to adjust to life as a civilian, but he can't resist when another former cop mentions a cold case they'd both worked on. Angella Benton was strangled in the entrance to her apartment building. Just as Bosch was beginning to investigate, the heist of two million dollars from a movie set gave the case a bigger profile, and the robbery homicide division took it over. Four years later, the murder remains unsolved and the money has not been found. But Bosch has barely begun poking into it again before he is warned off. Is someone still interested in this case? Can Bosch solve it without his badge to open doors for him?

I enjoyed seeing Bosch working without his badge, overcoming the added obstacle of not having any official business looking into this case. While he may not be a cop, we still did get cameos by many of the series regulars, and it was great to check in with them. The characters are strong as always, with Bosch leading the pack. I was surprised to find that this book was narrated first person, something I always enjoy. I hadn't run across that in a Harry Bosch book yet. The case itself was gripping with plenty of twists and turns to keep us engaged up until the end. I listened to the audio version narrated by Len Cariou, who does a great job except for one character. Fortunately, that character isn't a major player in the action of the book.