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Skin and Bones (London Love #3)
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Hugo Burrows has life under control. He has a decent job, a long-term relationship and a flat in...
Contemporary MM Romance Hurt/Comfort Grumpy/Sunshine Eating Disorder
Hadley (567 KP) rated The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein in Books
Apr 6, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
The most amazing thing about classic horror stories is how they still influence many writers today.
To read 'the Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein,' you don't have to know anything about Mary Shelley's original creation. No, this book seems to take the story of Dr. Frankenstein in a completely different direction than what was known 200 years ago. I, personally, haven't read Shelley's book, but after reading this one, I certainly want to now. Victor Frankenstein is the most interesting character I have read about in a long time.
'The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein' takes us to Victor's childhood, where we observe him becoming the insane doctor that he was in 'Frankenstein' - but this one doesn't pass Victor's 21st birthday, and his creation of a 'creature' is much earlier than in Shelley's version. This book was still very enjoyable,even if it doesn't line up with the classic. But instead of following Victor's descent into darkness, we follow Elizabeth's ascension from darkness through her need to be taken care of for the remainder of her life - 'And if Victor did not seem to respond to my sweetness,I would simply cry. He never could stand it when I cried. It would hurt him. I smiled in anticipation, letting the meanness at my core stretch like ill-used muscles' Another interesting part of this book is seeing how well the author, White, creates a sociopathic lead female character, who has tailored herself to wearing the right faces and acting a certain way to get what she wants.
We enter the book with Elizabeth and her good friend, Justine, on a trip to find Victor, who has stopped writing from school some months before - Victor's mother had died before he left, and now Elizabeth was questioning whether or not his father was going to keep her around. We get flash backs here and there of Elizabeth and Victor as children together. The reader is shown that Elizabeth is the only person who can calm Victor during his 'rages,' and she seems to be the only person he allowed inside his world. We're led to believe that Elizabeth truly cares for Victor,but quickly we are told that she only cares if she has a roof over her head or not. Eventually, Elizabeth finds Victor, but he is in the midst of a fever - an ailment he falls under quite often whenever his studies would keep him from eating, drinking and sleeping - he whispers in a fever state 'Do not tell Elizabeth.' and 'It worked.' The horror quickly takes place when Elizabeth explores his surroundings to find a makeshift lab with body parts,both human and animal.
The book spends a lot of time with Elizabeth waiting on Victor, usually for him to return home to the Frankenstein estate. Although White does an amazing job of bringing back words and writing that was of 200 years ago, sometimes it seems she's too busy concentrating on that rather than paying attention to consistency. The story had me glued to the book from part one, but what really kept me going was the character, Victor. If this entire story had been from his point of view, I would have put this book at the top of my favorite books list. This also should have been titled 'the Dark Descent of Victor Frankenstein,' because it's Victor who seems to slowly descend into madness, not Elizabeth, she seems to know what he is going to become, but because she is so occupied with keeping her place at the Frankenstein household, she does nothing to stop it.
Victor, by today's standards, is a murderer in the making:
"The deer stopped keening. It did not die as Victor tugged the knife through the skin over its stomach. I had imagined it parting like the crust of a loaf of bread,but it was tough, resistant. The sound of tearing made me sick. I turned away as Victor strained to make progress with blood coating his hands and making the knife slippery."
Elizabeth takes great measures to keep Victor out of trouble,even when he nearly severs the arm of his little brother out of curiosity. She focuses on keeping the little brother alive, then placing blame on the nursemaid by planting a pair of scissors from her sewing supplies. Elizabeth was not only a good liar, but she was also an antagonist. When Victor seems to not be able to cope with what he did to his little brother, she quickly tells him what they will say to his father: " ' We know what happened. It was the nursemaid's fault for leaving out her sewing supplies. She is stupid and lazy and still sleeping. She will be punished and relieved of her duties. Ernest will be fine.' I paused to be sure Victor understood that this was our story,no matter what. 'And we are fortunate that she is stupid and lazy and convenient, and nothing like this will happen again. Will it?' " She may have very well been the reason Victor did the things he did.
Victor, of course, ends up making a monster, but White didn't try to retell the Shelley novel, instead she tried to give it a different spin from a different perspective. As a storyteller, White did an impressive job with wording and flashbacks. For die-hard fans of Shelley's 'Frankenstein,' I wouldn't recommend ' the Dark Decent of Elizabeth Frankenstein' unless you are willing to read it with an open mind. I only wish there had been more scenes with Victor - an unforgettable character.
To read 'the Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein,' you don't have to know anything about Mary Shelley's original creation. No, this book seems to take the story of Dr. Frankenstein in a completely different direction than what was known 200 years ago. I, personally, haven't read Shelley's book, but after reading this one, I certainly want to now. Victor Frankenstein is the most interesting character I have read about in a long time.
'The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein' takes us to Victor's childhood, where we observe him becoming the insane doctor that he was in 'Frankenstein' - but this one doesn't pass Victor's 21st birthday, and his creation of a 'creature' is much earlier than in Shelley's version. This book was still very enjoyable,even if it doesn't line up with the classic. But instead of following Victor's descent into darkness, we follow Elizabeth's ascension from darkness through her need to be taken care of for the remainder of her life - 'And if Victor did not seem to respond to my sweetness,I would simply cry. He never could stand it when I cried. It would hurt him. I smiled in anticipation, letting the meanness at my core stretch like ill-used muscles' Another interesting part of this book is seeing how well the author, White, creates a sociopathic lead female character, who has tailored herself to wearing the right faces and acting a certain way to get what she wants.
We enter the book with Elizabeth and her good friend, Justine, on a trip to find Victor, who has stopped writing from school some months before - Victor's mother had died before he left, and now Elizabeth was questioning whether or not his father was going to keep her around. We get flash backs here and there of Elizabeth and Victor as children together. The reader is shown that Elizabeth is the only person who can calm Victor during his 'rages,' and she seems to be the only person he allowed inside his world. We're led to believe that Elizabeth truly cares for Victor,but quickly we are told that she only cares if she has a roof over her head or not. Eventually, Elizabeth finds Victor, but he is in the midst of a fever - an ailment he falls under quite often whenever his studies would keep him from eating, drinking and sleeping - he whispers in a fever state 'Do not tell Elizabeth.' and 'It worked.' The horror quickly takes place when Elizabeth explores his surroundings to find a makeshift lab with body parts,both human and animal.
The book spends a lot of time with Elizabeth waiting on Victor, usually for him to return home to the Frankenstein estate. Although White does an amazing job of bringing back words and writing that was of 200 years ago, sometimes it seems she's too busy concentrating on that rather than paying attention to consistency. The story had me glued to the book from part one, but what really kept me going was the character, Victor. If this entire story had been from his point of view, I would have put this book at the top of my favorite books list. This also should have been titled 'the Dark Descent of Victor Frankenstein,' because it's Victor who seems to slowly descend into madness, not Elizabeth, she seems to know what he is going to become, but because she is so occupied with keeping her place at the Frankenstein household, she does nothing to stop it.
Victor, by today's standards, is a murderer in the making:
"The deer stopped keening. It did not die as Victor tugged the knife through the skin over its stomach. I had imagined it parting like the crust of a loaf of bread,but it was tough, resistant. The sound of tearing made me sick. I turned away as Victor strained to make progress with blood coating his hands and making the knife slippery."
Elizabeth takes great measures to keep Victor out of trouble,even when he nearly severs the arm of his little brother out of curiosity. She focuses on keeping the little brother alive, then placing blame on the nursemaid by planting a pair of scissors from her sewing supplies. Elizabeth was not only a good liar, but she was also an antagonist. When Victor seems to not be able to cope with what he did to his little brother, she quickly tells him what they will say to his father: " ' We know what happened. It was the nursemaid's fault for leaving out her sewing supplies. She is stupid and lazy and still sleeping. She will be punished and relieved of her duties. Ernest will be fine.' I paused to be sure Victor understood that this was our story,no matter what. 'And we are fortunate that she is stupid and lazy and convenient, and nothing like this will happen again. Will it?' " She may have very well been the reason Victor did the things he did.
Victor, of course, ends up making a monster, but White didn't try to retell the Shelley novel, instead she tried to give it a different spin from a different perspective. As a storyteller, White did an impressive job with wording and flashbacks. For die-hard fans of Shelley's 'Frankenstein,' I wouldn't recommend ' the Dark Decent of Elizabeth Frankenstein' unless you are willing to read it with an open mind. I only wish there had been more scenes with Victor - an unforgettable character.
Elizabeth (1521 KP) rated The Alchemist in Books
Apr 24, 2019
I struggled through the first half of the book. It wasn't bad, just not what I was expecting after all of the positive reviews I'd heard or following an interview I had seen with Paulo Coelho that had me intrigued.
Despite my apprehension, I kept reading and I'm glad I did. Once the boy set out on his adventure and began to learn and understand the language of the world, I understood what all the fuss was about. This is one of those books, that if read at the right time in your life, can have a profound impact. I found myself bookmarking every other page at one point, for some pearl of wisdom or a lesson that I had only recently learned myself and held so much relevance in my life.
I can relate to the boy because I feel like I'm on a similar sort of journey right now, learning the same lessons about life and being open and aware of what it is trying to tell us. It is not always easy to listen to our hearts or follow our dreams. Many of us go through life like the shopkeeper, holding on to our dreams to motivate us to get through the mundane lives we live, but never having the courage to go after them for fear of having nothing left to live for once the dream is reached or perhaps even fear of failure.
Even after I got past the first half, I took my time reading, letting the words sink in. Too often, I fly through books and months later if someone asks me about a particular scene I have trouble recalling it. I wanted to retain what I was reading. And for the first time in my life I wanted to buy the book just so that I could highlight passages and make notes in the margins. I had always thought of this as defamation before, like it was a sacrilege to mark up a book like that.
I would recommend this book to anyone that is feeling like there has to be more to life; someone who feels the potential of their destiny but is at a loss as to how to achieve it. The book doesn't have all of the answers, but it helps you understand that the only thing truly standing in your way is you.
Despite my apprehension, I kept reading and I'm glad I did. Once the boy set out on his adventure and began to learn and understand the language of the world, I understood what all the fuss was about. This is one of those books, that if read at the right time in your life, can have a profound impact. I found myself bookmarking every other page at one point, for some pearl of wisdom or a lesson that I had only recently learned myself and held so much relevance in my life.
I can relate to the boy because I feel like I'm on a similar sort of journey right now, learning the same lessons about life and being open and aware of what it is trying to tell us. It is not always easy to listen to our hearts or follow our dreams. Many of us go through life like the shopkeeper, holding on to our dreams to motivate us to get through the mundane lives we live, but never having the courage to go after them for fear of having nothing left to live for once the dream is reached or perhaps even fear of failure.
Even after I got past the first half, I took my time reading, letting the words sink in. Too often, I fly through books and months later if someone asks me about a particular scene I have trouble recalling it. I wanted to retain what I was reading. And for the first time in my life I wanted to buy the book just so that I could highlight passages and make notes in the margins. I had always thought of this as defamation before, like it was a sacrilege to mark up a book like that.
I would recommend this book to anyone that is feeling like there has to be more to life; someone who feels the potential of their destiny but is at a loss as to how to achieve it. The book doesn't have all of the answers, but it helps you understand that the only thing truly standing in your way is you.
Kyera (8 KP) rated The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle, #2) in Books
Jan 31, 2018
The Dream Thieves was definitely a more engaging novel than the first book in the series. It was a combination of a more interesting plot, the magic system being developed more and having spent time with these characters that we finally have formed a connection to them. As this is the second book in the series, there may be minor spoilers for events or aspects of the first book in this review but not for the second book.
The main characters were developed a little bit more in this book than they had been in the previous. You start to understand their motivations and dreams, which was really nice because I felt a disconnect from them in the first book. I liked seeing events that happened in the past that made them who they are today or the way actions they took in the first book are now affecting them.
Having become familiar with the author's writing style, I understood more that she wasn't just including characters or storylines just to take up a few more pages but because for whatever reason they were a very important aspect of the story. In the first book, the character we kept jumping back to had an impact on the story but not until the very end. His scenes just dragged the book and made it significantly less enjoyable. The character we jump to in the second book has a more interesting plot (and less of a propensity to incessantly whine about his life) and more immediately becomes interwoven with our characters.
The magic system in relation to the Welsh King/Cabeswater still didn't feel entirely real to me. It felt like more of a nebulous idea than a physical one because it wasn't explained very much. The aspect of it that was explained more fully was the dream abilities. There isn't much I can say without spoiling things in the second book, but that development made the book infinitely more interesting and entertaining. I was fascinated to learn, slowly, how it worked and the limits.
There may have been scenes that dragged, but overall I found the plot of the Dream Thieves to be most fast-paced with intriguing reveals that helps to draw the reader in and keep them enamored. I hope that the series continues on this upward path of improvement because it has become a much more enjoyable read.
The main characters were developed a little bit more in this book than they had been in the previous. You start to understand their motivations and dreams, which was really nice because I felt a disconnect from them in the first book. I liked seeing events that happened in the past that made them who they are today or the way actions they took in the first book are now affecting them.
Having become familiar with the author's writing style, I understood more that she wasn't just including characters or storylines just to take up a few more pages but because for whatever reason they were a very important aspect of the story. In the first book, the character we kept jumping back to had an impact on the story but not until the very end. His scenes just dragged the book and made it significantly less enjoyable. The character we jump to in the second book has a more interesting plot (and less of a propensity to incessantly whine about his life) and more immediately becomes interwoven with our characters.
The magic system in relation to the Welsh King/Cabeswater still didn't feel entirely real to me. It felt like more of a nebulous idea than a physical one because it wasn't explained very much. The aspect of it that was explained more fully was the dream abilities. There isn't much I can say without spoiling things in the second book, but that development made the book infinitely more interesting and entertaining. I was fascinated to learn, slowly, how it worked and the limits.
There may have been scenes that dragged, but overall I found the plot of the Dream Thieves to be most fast-paced with intriguing reveals that helps to draw the reader in and keep them enamored. I hope that the series continues on this upward path of improvement because it has become a much more enjoyable read.
Marylegs (44 KP) rated Heir of Fire in Books
Aug 14, 2019
So this is the third installment in the Throne of Glass series, following straight on from Crown of Midnight, we pick straight back up with Celeana and how she is still devastated from the loss of her close friend.
This review will have spoilers in, its impossible to talk about a 3rd series book without them!
<spoiler>
So I’ll start with what I thought I wouldn’t like. Rowan. And Celeana.
When I started this book I was completed all about Chaol and Celeana… I probably still am deep down. But I can see something beautiful and different blossoming with Rowan. I feel like Chaol saved Celena in ToG but in HoF it is Celeana/Aelin who saves Rowan. And I think after all that happens in HoF Celeana/Aelin needs to not feel like she has been saved. She needs to be the hero of her own story.
But yes for a good third of the book I could kind of see Chaol being pushed aside and I was not happy about it.
Dorian’s love life filled me with such hope…. Then utterly shattered me. I actually applaud the author for that. To often in these types of books you can see the love interests playing out in a very samey samey kind of way. Not with this one. I am still raw and broken from it. I had to put the book on my lap for a few mins to really absorb what was happening.
I loved the flash backs to Aelin’s past and hope we get to see more of these in future books. I feel the story is becoming very intricate now and has really found its way. I know a lot wont like it because of the changes in direction but realistically for Aelin to get done what is needed, big changes needed to happen and the changes in her in this book to me, seem realistic and purposeful.
I also really enjoyed the character shift to Manon, the Blackbeak Witch. Hers in a very interesting storyline and I look forward to seeing it develop and how it links to Aelin’s story overall. For me this was a good solid read which once I got over the whole Chaol issue,</spoiler> I found that I enjoyed it immensely and look forward the book number 4!
This review will have spoilers in, its impossible to talk about a 3rd series book without them!
<spoiler>
So I’ll start with what I thought I wouldn’t like. Rowan. And Celeana.
When I started this book I was completed all about Chaol and Celeana… I probably still am deep down. But I can see something beautiful and different blossoming with Rowan. I feel like Chaol saved Celena in ToG but in HoF it is Celeana/Aelin who saves Rowan. And I think after all that happens in HoF Celeana/Aelin needs to not feel like she has been saved. She needs to be the hero of her own story.
But yes for a good third of the book I could kind of see Chaol being pushed aside and I was not happy about it.
Dorian’s love life filled me with such hope…. Then utterly shattered me. I actually applaud the author for that. To often in these types of books you can see the love interests playing out in a very samey samey kind of way. Not with this one. I am still raw and broken from it. I had to put the book on my lap for a few mins to really absorb what was happening.
I loved the flash backs to Aelin’s past and hope we get to see more of these in future books. I feel the story is becoming very intricate now and has really found its way. I know a lot wont like it because of the changes in direction but realistically for Aelin to get done what is needed, big changes needed to happen and the changes in her in this book to me, seem realistic and purposeful.
I also really enjoyed the character shift to Manon, the Blackbeak Witch. Hers in a very interesting storyline and I look forward to seeing it develop and how it links to Aelin’s story overall. For me this was a good solid read which once I got over the whole Chaol issue,</spoiler> I found that I enjoyed it immensely and look forward the book number 4!
The Swimming Pool
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Peril in Paris
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Lady Georgiana Rannoch and her dashing husband, Darcy, are awaiting a bundle of joy, but an...
Debbiereadsbook (1472 KP) rated The Demon Bodyguard in Books
Apr 20, 2025
Zeke flips from stalker to protector on a penny.
Independent reviewer for BookSirens, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This book is about Zeke, who is Mal's brother from The Demon Undertaker. I would recommend that you read that book before this one. While not strictly necessary, I think it will give you a better picture of the relationship between Mal and Zeke.
Zeke takes a job that will net him a million Euros. But watching Rory is boring, until Rory catches Zeke watching him and Zeke's demon half shouts MINE! Then it becomes a matter of keeping Rory and his daughter safe. The danger, however, is not all it seems!
What I loved most about this, was that while there was that MINE moment, it is a while coming. And once it comes, Zeke flips from stalker to protector on a penny. His whole self upends itself at that realisation, and I loved that he had to talk to Mal, who pretty much laughed his head off! How Zeke was with Mal in The Demon Undertaker is so far removed from how he now feels, it's uncanny.
The danger never really lets up for Rory and his daughter. And I loved that Rory *TRIED* to give his father in law the benefit of the doubt, but it was thrown back at him. I did like that they let it play out, without Carlotta ever knowing the truth about her grandfather.
Dante, from The Devil's Dilemma pops up, as well as Mal and Jason. I loved how Adams has seemlessly joined three books, from 2 different series, but somehow managed to follow them on from one another!
The story line is dark here, but there are some lighter moments, mostly with Mal winding Zeke up. Steamy and smexy, but deeply emotional in places. Rory has a lot on his shoulders and he needs Zeke but doesn't want to disrespect his dead wife.
I quote directly from my review about The Demon Undertaker:
Adams is an author I have followed from the very beginning. I can honestly say, I'm loving the newer stuff she writes, as she continues to hone her craft. THIS book was no exception. THIS is my favourite book so far. I'm fairly certain, I'll be saying that for the next one too!
5 full and shiny stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This book is about Zeke, who is Mal's brother from The Demon Undertaker. I would recommend that you read that book before this one. While not strictly necessary, I think it will give you a better picture of the relationship between Mal and Zeke.
Zeke takes a job that will net him a million Euros. But watching Rory is boring, until Rory catches Zeke watching him and Zeke's demon half shouts MINE! Then it becomes a matter of keeping Rory and his daughter safe. The danger, however, is not all it seems!
What I loved most about this, was that while there was that MINE moment, it is a while coming. And once it comes, Zeke flips from stalker to protector on a penny. His whole self upends itself at that realisation, and I loved that he had to talk to Mal, who pretty much laughed his head off! How Zeke was with Mal in The Demon Undertaker is so far removed from how he now feels, it's uncanny.
The danger never really lets up for Rory and his daughter. And I loved that Rory *TRIED* to give his father in law the benefit of the doubt, but it was thrown back at him. I did like that they let it play out, without Carlotta ever knowing the truth about her grandfather.
Dante, from The Devil's Dilemma pops up, as well as Mal and Jason. I loved how Adams has seemlessly joined three books, from 2 different series, but somehow managed to follow them on from one another!
The story line is dark here, but there are some lighter moments, mostly with Mal winding Zeke up. Steamy and smexy, but deeply emotional in places. Rory has a lot on his shoulders and he needs Zeke but doesn't want to disrespect his dead wife.
I quote directly from my review about The Demon Undertaker:
Adams is an author I have followed from the very beginning. I can honestly say, I'm loving the newer stuff she writes, as she continues to hone her craft. THIS book was no exception. THIS is my favourite book so far. I'm fairly certain, I'll be saying that for the next one too!
5 full and shiny stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Survive: Escape from Atlantis! in Tabletop Games
Sep 4, 2019 (Updated Jul 2, 2020)
I have never been on a sinking anything. Sure, I have flipped over kayaks, and paddle-boards, and anything else that requires me to balance on top of water. But I cannot imagine the terror of being on an island that just… sinks into the deep. Oh also running out of room and having to swim to safe land. Oh also while sharks, whales, and sea monsters are chasing me. You know what? Maybe I’m cool with being located in the Midwest. I’ll just play this game and live vicariously through the esceeples (escaping meeples? I need a handbook for these -eeple terms).
Survive: Escape from Atlantis! (which I now will call Survive) is an competitive adventure game featuring action points, grid movement, secret unit deployment, dice rolls, and lots of take-that. And little boats. It also can destroy friendships and ruin evenings. Play at your own risk.
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. We ARE including the 5-6 player mini expansion, however. Should we review the others in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. Also, I do not intend to detail every rule in the book, but give our readers an idea of how the game plays and our thoughts on it. -T
To setup a game of Survive, each player will choose a color and take into their supply all the meeples of that color and two boats. Place all the terrain tiles randomly (and face down) within the bolded line on the board to create the central island. Place out the sea serpents on the sea serpent spots as menacingly as possible. Players then take turns placing their numbered meeples on terrain tiles until all meeples have been placed, and their boateeples on any water space near the island they wish. Keep aside the shark, whale, and dolphin meeples for later. Give the die to the first player and you are ready to play.
On a player’s turn they will 1. Play any tiles from their hand, 2. Move meeples, 3. Remove terrain a tile, 4. Roll the die and move creatures. At the beginning of the game nobody will have any tiles in hand to play, so skip this step if there are no tiles in hand. On subsequent turns players may have collected tiles as a result of the #3 action, and now is the time to play those. Typically they are beneficial for the active player or detrimental to the opponents. Next, the active player will move their meeples in any combination three total board hexes. This can be done with one or more meeples on land or in the water. There are movement restrictions that I will not cover here. After movement, the active player will remove one of the terrain tiles with the lowest elevation (sand, forest, then mountain tiles). The player flips over the tile and will play it immediately if it shows an arrow, or keeps it in hand if it shows a hand icon. Finally, the active player will roll the red die and move creatures per the movement table printed on the board.
Creature movement creates the tension in the game (as if fighting over the boats wasn’t enough). You see, when sharks enter the board and are moved, they are hungry for swimmer meeples (obv). Whales are hungry(?) for boats and will destroy them but fling the meeples aboard into the water to become swimmers. Sea serpents don’t care. They will eat swimmers and manned boats… but they’re the slowest movers. So consider that.
Play continues in this fashion until the either all meeples have been removed from the play grid, or a player flips over the volcano mountain tile and ends the game. Any meeples who have made it to the safety of the outer islands are worth the VP printed on their bottoms. Wait, not the butts. The bottom of the meeples. Which I guess are the feet.
Components. To reiterate, in case it was missed, we are reviewing the 2010 Stronghold edition. There is a newer version, and it seems to look a little better but plays the same. However, I love the components of this version too. The meeples are fine, the creatures are cool, the varying thicknesses of the terrain tiles makes for an interesting mini-3D look, and the board is great without being too busy and distracting. I have absolutely no issues with these components and think they are super.
Now, you may have read in my intro that this game may ruin friendships and the evening, and I really am not joking about this. I have played this so many times where at least one person becomes completely angered by the chomping of the shark or the horrible movement of the sea serpent adjacent to their boat. It’s just a game, and it’s inevitable in this one – your meeples will get eaten. It’s gonna happen! When I teach this now I try to make that apparent right away because it is then not viewed as absolutely treachery when it happens to newer players. Should you be playing with sensitive gamers, please instruct them early that it WILL happen or you’re gonna have a bad time.
However, this game is great! I love it now as much as I ever have. It’s an older horse for me, but one of which I will never tire. I can and love to play it with new gamers, especially the ones that are hoping to join the inner circle. If you can hang through a game of Survive without being angered and taking it all in stride, you are welcome at my table ANY time. That said, as you can see by our ratings, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a mighty and well-deserved 21 / 24. If you enjoy games that upset your players and want a cool theme on it, check out Survive: Escape from Atlantis!
Survive: Escape from Atlantis! (which I now will call Survive) is an competitive adventure game featuring action points, grid movement, secret unit deployment, dice rolls, and lots of take-that. And little boats. It also can destroy friendships and ruin evenings. Play at your own risk.
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. We ARE including the 5-6 player mini expansion, however. Should we review the others in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. Also, I do not intend to detail every rule in the book, but give our readers an idea of how the game plays and our thoughts on it. -T
To setup a game of Survive, each player will choose a color and take into their supply all the meeples of that color and two boats. Place all the terrain tiles randomly (and face down) within the bolded line on the board to create the central island. Place out the sea serpents on the sea serpent spots as menacingly as possible. Players then take turns placing their numbered meeples on terrain tiles until all meeples have been placed, and their boateeples on any water space near the island they wish. Keep aside the shark, whale, and dolphin meeples for later. Give the die to the first player and you are ready to play.
On a player’s turn they will 1. Play any tiles from their hand, 2. Move meeples, 3. Remove terrain a tile, 4. Roll the die and move creatures. At the beginning of the game nobody will have any tiles in hand to play, so skip this step if there are no tiles in hand. On subsequent turns players may have collected tiles as a result of the #3 action, and now is the time to play those. Typically they are beneficial for the active player or detrimental to the opponents. Next, the active player will move their meeples in any combination three total board hexes. This can be done with one or more meeples on land or in the water. There are movement restrictions that I will not cover here. After movement, the active player will remove one of the terrain tiles with the lowest elevation (sand, forest, then mountain tiles). The player flips over the tile and will play it immediately if it shows an arrow, or keeps it in hand if it shows a hand icon. Finally, the active player will roll the red die and move creatures per the movement table printed on the board.
Creature movement creates the tension in the game (as if fighting over the boats wasn’t enough). You see, when sharks enter the board and are moved, they are hungry for swimmer meeples (obv). Whales are hungry(?) for boats and will destroy them but fling the meeples aboard into the water to become swimmers. Sea serpents don’t care. They will eat swimmers and manned boats… but they’re the slowest movers. So consider that.
Play continues in this fashion until the either all meeples have been removed from the play grid, or a player flips over the volcano mountain tile and ends the game. Any meeples who have made it to the safety of the outer islands are worth the VP printed on their bottoms. Wait, not the butts. The bottom of the meeples. Which I guess are the feet.
Components. To reiterate, in case it was missed, we are reviewing the 2010 Stronghold edition. There is a newer version, and it seems to look a little better but plays the same. However, I love the components of this version too. The meeples are fine, the creatures are cool, the varying thicknesses of the terrain tiles makes for an interesting mini-3D look, and the board is great without being too busy and distracting. I have absolutely no issues with these components and think they are super.
Now, you may have read in my intro that this game may ruin friendships and the evening, and I really am not joking about this. I have played this so many times where at least one person becomes completely angered by the chomping of the shark or the horrible movement of the sea serpent adjacent to their boat. It’s just a game, and it’s inevitable in this one – your meeples will get eaten. It’s gonna happen! When I teach this now I try to make that apparent right away because it is then not viewed as absolutely treachery when it happens to newer players. Should you be playing with sensitive gamers, please instruct them early that it WILL happen or you’re gonna have a bad time.
However, this game is great! I love it now as much as I ever have. It’s an older horse for me, but one of which I will never tire. I can and love to play it with new gamers, especially the ones that are hoping to join the inner circle. If you can hang through a game of Survive without being angered and taking it all in stride, you are welcome at my table ANY time. That said, as you can see by our ratings, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a mighty and well-deserved 21 / 24. If you enjoy games that upset your players and want a cool theme on it, check out Survive: Escape from Atlantis!
