Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov

Anyone else ever find they have books that they have no recollection of buying? I have this in hardcover, new, and don't remember when I bought it or for how much. I've never heard of Alexey Pehov (website here) before and as I was cleaning through my various stacks of unread books, came across this. The thing that moved it to the top of the pile?  "Reminiscent of Michael Moorcock's Elric series, drawn from the great heart of Russian folklore, Shadow Prowleer is the first work to be published in English by the bestselling new-generation fantasy author Alexey Pehov."

Elric? Alright then!

After reading it, no, not quite. There isn't a spellcaster whose doomed to slay his own people. There isn't a magical sword that drinks souls. There isn't travel to other planes and times. Those are some of the hallmarks of Elric at least to me. Oh, and short. Relatively short novels too. In terms of Russian folklore? I'm not learned enough in that field to say yea or nay but I didn't see a lot of the common tropes poking out like any visits from a certain Hut.

I don't know if it's a translation problem or something else but Shadow Prowler didn't make it up to the heights that other books I've read this year have. It's not bad by any means, and its more 'serious' than I consider 'popcorn' fiction like the various Magic the Gathering novels I read. But I'm not interested in it enough to buy the next book in the series when I'm still running through dozens of other books that need to go to make some room in the cramped apartment.

Part of it may be the naming conventions. The main hero is Shadow Harold. His mentor is For. One of the guides he speaks with it Bolt. The names are a little off to me which may be part of the translation or may just be common names in the native tongue.

The book has a nice nesting doll structure. The characters have to go to the Hall of Bones to retrieve the Ogre's Horn to fight the dark magic of 'The Nameless One' but along the way Harold winds up exploring a magically locked off part of the city, fighting assassins and goat men and using magic left and right. It has its up moments and is high fantasy with some questing thrown in for good measure along with a handful of interesting characters.

I'll be discussing some of the specifics below and how they might apply to a role playing game.

Racial Reimaginings: In this setting, orcs are the firstborn. They are the oldest race in the series. Elves have fangs and are not the creatures of beauty that other settings have them as. Gnomes and dwarves hate each other, and gnomes, while still shorter than dwarves, are the ones that have beards and cannons while dwarves have no beards but are still master craftsmen.

Background Dumps: Harold finds himself learning things through extrasensory methods three times in the book. The first is when he enters the forbidden zone of the city. The magic of that section overhwhelms him with the origin of the sector and how it came to be. The second is when he is mystically attuned to a magical key and learns how that key was forged. The third is when sleeping in a field and he learns how all of the bones came to be in that field. These methods of providing an information dump on the characters might be overwhelming but if the GM can provide the players with some pregenerated characters, the players can actually be the ones doing the fighting and determining how the story worked out. This may steal some time away from their regular characters but the investment may show them how it all went down in a way that the history books don't talk about.

Magic For Money: One of the things about the setting that reminded me of D&D, is that Harold is able to buy magic items and even use scrolls. The magic items are all locked up and take time to get to to prevent easy loss or theft and cost an arm and a leg but in a high fantasy setting, they are available for purchase. If your setting should logically support such commerce, there should be a good reason, perhaps a social or religious one, why it is not.

The Gods: One of the things I enjoyed about the setting, is that when a thief agrees to do something and is bound to it, not through magic, but tradition and the watching eye of the god of thieves, it's called a Commission. This provides a solid reason why anyone would trust a thief to do something that they might normally not want to do. By entering into these contracts, both parties can be sure that the other will hold to their end of the deal. The Forgotten Realms had something similar with mages and their unique sigils where Azuth would curse someone who copied the moniker of another mage. When looking at things that bind people to causes and duty, having the active hand of the gods be one of them, is an easy way to insure that word given, word kept.

Shadow Prowler is available at amazon in hardcover, for $19.24, mass market paperback for $7.19, and kindle for $6.83. The physical copies are prime eligible.

For those who've read other books by Alexey Pehov, is the series worth continuing into? Any recommendations in that vein?

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

I read the Hobbit in the early 80s when I was a young lad. I honestly can't same I remember that much about it save for broad themes and character arcs. I remember the old carton, and some great comics that game about thanks to the fantastic source material.

But movies? Especially when the book was so small and has been spread out over three films?

As a fantasy fan first, I thought it was a hell of a movie. I'll be pinging various things from it and there will probably be spoilers. But seeing as how I'm so late in seeing it, those of you who would be offended by spoilers have probably seen it well before me.

Soundtrack? I felt it added greatly to the film. Moments of tension and danger highlighted by the score.

Visuals: There could be several things to point out. When Bilbo emerges from the Mirkwood Forest and is surrounded by butterflies and enjoys the sunlight after the oppression of the forest? The costume designs on both the heroes and the villains? The variety of scarring and wounds that the orcs proudly bear to indicate their fierceness? The destroyed city which is proclaimed the desolation of Smaug when the Company sees it from above?

One of my favorite bits is when Gandalf confronts Sauron. I don't care if it was in the book or not. The imagery here, of a burning orb with a black pupil, one that resembles Sauron's armored from and yet is instantly recognizable as the Great Eye from the Lord of the Rings trilogy? It works on many levels and serves as a great tool to tie the two franchises together.

In terms of visuals for player characters, the make up crew did a great job in insuring that the dwarves, despite the shared origins, have little in common. They do this by making their beards distinguished from one another with different styles.

They make the beards of different lengths.

They make the beards braided or combed.

They make some taller than others and some fatter than others and some bald.

the ability to bring quick defining visuals to the dwarves makes them more individualistic and stand out more than they would if they were just a merry band as I tend to recall them from the book all those many years ago.

Scope: Similar in theme to visuals, but a bit more in setting the mood, is how grand some of the things are. For example, the dwarven home has a huge dwarf statue outside of it. Other elements continue to showcase a grandeur missing from the previous movie. For example, Smaug himself. Nothing in the Lord of the Rings compares to Smaug's screen presence. His movements, his facial gestures, his power. Bilbo's flattery of Smaug seems more apt than mere flattery to gain a few moments.

Screen shots from the movie would make great role playing aids. They could easily lend themselves to a wide variety of setting and help showcase how wide and diverse the world is.

Mood: One of the things I didn't enjoy about the first mood was I though it a touch too silly.I'm not saying all fantasy has to be 'grimdark' or anything like that, but the Brown Wizard for example? Yeah, way too much for my personal taste and the second movie essentially has the Brown Wizard perform a cameo before departing.

Do I think the movie without flaws? I'm a little unimpressed with Bard, one of the men from Lake Town. Not because he doesn't have a great introduction, but because his apparent skill is an archer. By having the elves feature so much in this film, the mere act of archery in and of itself is squat.  Legolas proves to have archery as well as swordplay. Bard doesn't have too much presence though in the movie and I'll be curious to see what they do with him in the third film.

I also though the dwarves captured a little too often and released a little too easily. After a while you can only wonder why on earth they thought they could succeed in their mission.

For role playing games, there is a lot that could be taken.

Titles: Smaug boldly claims the title "King Under the Mountain" which is normally a dwarf honorific. Others have their own titles but some of these are for deception. For example, Sauron doesn't name himself as such but rather goes by The Necromancer. This prevents his foes from knowing that he has returned and grown in power and ability. Players could be searching out an old foe never aware that he has taken a new guise and name.

Chance Encounters: One of the things that can be difficult to do in role playing games, is the introduction of a new character. Here when the dwarves are in danger of being overwhelmed by the spiders of Mirkwood, they are helped by the elves. A quick method of allowing a new player to join or replacing a character that has died, is to have the characters encounter one another against common enemies.

Skills Tests instead of Combat: There are several encounters in the movie that I think would play out better as skill challenges as opposed to pure combat. For example, when they dwarves escape from the elves, they are beset upon by orcs. Mind you, the dwarves are in the river, in barrels. The whole chase scene has a touch of humor to it, but relies on some quick thinking and physical prowess that move beyond the realm of hack and slash.

In addition, the encounter with Smaug the dragon? It reminded me of some video games I've played where the point isn't to cast spells and hack at the enemy, but to set up a scenario or maneuver the enemy into a position where he'll be destroyed. If the players are facing, at the GM's design, some creature that is far beyond their power, if they are meant to overcome it, design the meeting or location or nearby locations in a way that augment the encounter and have the players talking about luring the dragon into the cave so it couldn't fly or poisoning the well water so that it couldn't breath fire or allowing the players some other method that could work, to actually work.

Animosity: When looking at role playing games that have alignments, one of the harder elements to juggle is why good races allow other good races to fight alone. For example, when  Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the dwarves, speaks with Thrandui, the elf king, the dwarf accuses the elf of leaving his people to rot and die while the elf replies that he warned the dwarves what would happen and could not prevent it. The  elves here come across as fairly xenophobic and wish nothing to do with those outside their borders. Even Legollas himself bears many of these features initially so I imagine we'll see a bit more of a character arc for him in the third movie that expands his capacity for empathy.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug may not win any awards for theme, plot, acting, or other bits, but I hope it can only shine a light to hollywood that there is a lot of potential money to be made from the fantasy genre that falls outside of A Game of Thrones.

Kindle Monthly Deals for Feb 2014 that Caught My Interest

So every month, in addition to their Kindle Daily Deals and their Gold Box Deals and their 'Big Deals', Amazon also does some odd 100 books for under $3.99

I review the list every month to see if there's anything on there that I'm going to wind up reading later on. Makes it easier to look them up since there isn't a physical book involved that requires me to store it somewhere in the meanwhile.

So for February 2014, here are some I'm looking over. Since these prices are good till the end of the month, I'm not too worried about picking them up RIGHT NOW but have it bookmarked and reminder to myself to review later.

The Norman Conquest: The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon England: An upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. An invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought. This new history explains why the Norman Conquest was the most significant cultural and military episode in English history. Assessing the original evidence at every turn, Marc Morris goes beyond the familiar outline to explain why England was at once so powerful and yet so vulnerable to William the Conqueror’s attack; why the Normans, in some respects less sophisticated, possessed the military cutting edge; how William’s hopes of a united Anglo-Norman realm unraveled, dashed by English rebellions, Viking invasions, and the insatiable demands of his fellow conquerors. This is a tale of powerful drama, repression, and seismic social change: the Battle of Hastings itself; the sudden introduction of castles and the massive rebuilding of every major church; the total destruction of an ancient ruling class. Language, law, architecture, and even attitudes toward life itself were altered forever by the coming of the Normans.

Uh... wow. That's it.

Now quite true. There are a few I actually already own and a few in the genre I'm just not interested in. Some non Herbert books in the Dune saga for example.

Looking over it further, these don't reach out to me like The Norman Conquest does but may bear further investigation.

The Last Secret of the Temple: In the year 70 AD, as the Romans sacked and destroyed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, a young Jewish boy was hidden away and chosen as the guardian of a great secret. For seventy generations this secret remained safeguarded. But in present day Israel, a Jewish radical threatens to reveal this hidden truth and use it to rend apart the fragile Middle East—and only an unlikely duo of hardened detectives of very different origins and a young, enterprising Palestinian journalist can unite to ward off disaster.

A relentless and fast-paced thriller that moves from Egypt to Jerusalem to the Sinai Desert, that spans the millennia and involves Cathar heretics, Nazi prisoners, and modern-day suicide bombers, Paul Sussman’s The Last Secret of the Temple is a thrilling, roller-coaster adventure that brilliantly examines the participants on both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Timely, important, and completely absorbing, it marks Paul Sussman as one of today’s great thriller writers. 

The whole shift to Modern day kinda makes it blah for me and I have enough books that anything that doesn't jump out at me is put on the backlist. I guess we'll see as the month wears on.

Katharine of Aragon: For the first time in paperback—all three of Jean Plaidy’s Katharine of Aragon novels in one volume.

Legendary historical novelist Jean Plaidy begins her tales of Henry VIII’s queens with the story of his first wife, the Spanish princess Katharine of Aragon.

As a teenager, Katharine leaves her beloved Spain, land of olive groves and soaring cathedrals, for the drab, rainy island of England. There she is married to the king’s eldest son, Arthur, a sickly boy who dies six months after the wedding. Katharine is left a widow who was never truly a wife, lonely in a strange land, with a very bleak future. Her only hope of escape is to marry the king’s second son, Prince Henry, now heir to the throne. Tall, athletic, handsome, a lover of poetry and music, Henry is all that Katharine could want in a husband. But their first son dies and, after many more pregnancies, only one child survives, a daughter. Disappointed by his lack of an heir, Henry’s eye wanders, and he becomes enamored of another woman—a country nobleman’s daughter named Anne Boleyn. When Henry begins searching for ways to put aside his loyal first wife, Katharine must fight to remain Queen of England and to keep the husband she once loved so dearly.

I like historical bits but this seems a little more romance to me. Some of the reviews give it thumbs up for it being a good time piece though so again, I'll wait and think about it.

1492: The Year the World Began : 1492: The Year the World Began is a look at one of the most fascinating years in world history, the year when many believe the modern world was born. Historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, author of Millennium, covers such iconic figures as Christopher Columbus and Alexander Borgia and explores cultures as diverse as that of Spain, China, and Africa to tell the story of 1492, a momentous year whose lessons are still relevant today

And yeah, that's about it. 1492 sounds more promising than the rest except my first choice of Conquest.

What's everyone else looking at in terms of sales? I know Barnes and Noble has a good science fiction fantasy sale going on over here that was still active last time I looked. Anything else from the February kindle sale that is outstanding?

The Coffee Trader by David Liss: Round 2!

David Liss writing impresses me. He's able to distil the dozens of books and events he uses for research and condense it down into a historical novel that rings authentic with characters that are not perfect and who do not escape their machinations unscathed.

I would heartily recommend anyone looking for a well written historical to pick up any of his books and if they were interested in how commerce of this era worked, to give The Coffee Trader a read.

I'll be discussing specific spoilers below and how they might influence a role playing game so if you'd read none of those, look no further.

Scenario Reversal: 

The main character of the novel, Miguel Lienzo, is motivated by many things. For example, he doesn't want to be poor. He wants to be a good Jew. He wants to avoid being entangled in the webs of others who may wish him ill. For the most part, these motivations and desires don't cross the border into wishing others ill save when they cross him.

This leads him, while pursuing his goals, to, unknowingly mind you, to crush a woman who might have been his friend, to have a former ally crippled, and to turn away the friendship of a man he'd wronged in the past. It also sets him in a villainous light as his deeds, while indeed making him a small fortune, destroy the fortunes of his brother, and indeed, were set up to damage a man who sought to be his friend.

The depths of his being manipulated are thought provoking for me. For example, while he speaks to Hendrick, a burly enforcer, about handling some violence for him, the price offsets him which works for the better. The man he would have had beaten instead winds up turning Miguel's fortunes around and they part as friends.

Until Hendrick needing money does the deed anyway and demands the payment. This crippling beating he puts on Migel's associate costs Migel the associate, who flees the city, as well as a high cost that was initially discussed.

His involvements in other fields are also turned around so that many of the 'good' things he thought to do, to be virtuous, to be the 'hero' are turned in a negative fashion. So much so that the ending is a downer of sorts even as it has its ups.

It's complex layers can be difficult to bring to a role playing game.

I guess my rambling would boil down to, if the heroes don't enjoy success in all of their endeavors, find the ones that matter most to them and allow them victory there, but not without cost in other venues that their character motivations have treasured in the past.

Religion

Much of the novel involves the lives of the Jews in Amsterdam.  As I mentioned last post, there is not a single unity in the Jewish community, but for the most part, one ruling body.

But it doesn't control everything. For example, when someone is excommunicated from the main body, there are still some small groups that will allow the services and prayers to be done as long as they are not in the spotlight. These schisms can be small but eventually become their own religion.

Languages

Most role playing games use Trade Tongue to make things simple. They use it because it allows all of the players to start the game on essentially equal footing and not have to use precious character resources to spend on something that is essential to all of the players in order to communicate.

The novel takes place in Amsterdam. Here there are several languages spoken but because of arrogance and thinking less of others, sometimes people would speak their mind without knowing that those around them can understand their schemes.

If your setting has multiple languages, which most do, occasionally have the NPCs speak in those different dialects when they wish to keep things secret from the characters. Those who don't speak the language may remember a word or phrase but miss out on the meaning while those who do may either show their hand that they do speak the language, or in future dealings have a translator around whom they trust, perhaps one who is not introduced as such to give them a hand in future dealings.

Metropolis

Taking place in Amsterdam, the novel makes mention several times of the different faiths and people that meet and do business in the city. This is possible because the people allow the Jews to do their thing, and allow the Catholics, whom they defeated, to remain and do their business as long as they do not go out of their way about it.

This makes the city a melting pot of many cultures and faiths, which stretch across cultures. Most fantasy settings tend to have several large city states that encapsulate the entirety of the setting in a microcosm. Don't be afraid to throw some different things into the setting when it makes sense to do so.

The Coffee Trader is available in Kindle format for $9.99 or in trade paperback for $12.34 and Amazon prime eligible.

The Coffee Trader by David Liss

While I enjoyed Peter V. Brett's novels in the Demon Cycle, I'm loath to order the next book and wait for it in the mail. Especially when I had dozens if not hundreds of books waiting to be read. Especially when there is another book or two after that third novel that hasn't even been released yet!


Among those is The Coffee Trader by David Liss, homepage here. It's worth a look at if you're a fan of historical fiction or comics. Yeah, that's right, David Liss writes comics as well. Sheesh.


I'm mentioned David Liss before, for example, the Whiskey Rebels, and he's a fantastic historical author. I find a lot of things to think about in terms of how the world was, how it is, and how those things can be applied to a role playing game.


For example, while I'm nowhere near finished with the Coffee Trader, there are numerous bits talking about the plight of Jews.


There is the terror of being a hidden Jew. One that has to do everything relating to its religion in secret and fear the Inquisition coming for them. One problem here is that because the Catholic Church gets your property and possessions if you're convicted of being a Jew, that prosperous merchants fall to the Inquisition even when they are not Jewish.


Another problem reveals itself, in talking about who to tell your faith to. I mention this because one of the ladies in the novel doesn't know she's Jewish until she's married off. Her father and family were worried that she would be too much like her mother and have a tendency to gossip which would result in the family being killed. So for her, being a Catholic who hates Jews is all she's ever known her whole life.


That makes an interesting character. Where one's training and background have all followed one path her entire life only to be told, "Well, that's not the truth." Even her 'real' name is different. The potential for character moments are high there.


In addition to the outside persecution though, there is still internal strife. When the characters feel they have a 'safe haven', they are taken in by the Jews of Amsterdam but then have to follow all of the laws of those Jewish tradition holders or be thrown out of the community. This leads some of the merchants and traders to do business in places out of the way, where they will not be seen by members of their community.


Now that's also role playing potential. Not only is there the risk of being spotted by members of your own faith and community and being thrown out for it, there's risk in putting yourself into those situations where no one from your faith or tribe can help you. In those out of the way locations, who knows what could happen.


The Coffee Trader is so far enjoyable and I'll probably have another post about it later. The role of faith and ethnicity and the merchant  background that David Liss brings the reader into are so far compelling and enjoyable while being thought provoking at the same time.

Kickstarter: Februrary Edition

So when it comes to the Kickstarters, I've tried to cut back on posting on them. I think I've been pretty successful. It's been a busy month with a lot of different posts.

But hey, it's almost February so let's look at where we're at.

Tectonic Craft Studios continues to flounder. I can appreciate the promises of "shipping in the next seven days" but since that was like a month ago, again the founder has bitten off way more than he can chew. I strongly suspect that if he is a sponsor at Adepticon in 2014, I'll be talking to him directly to get my stuff. I let it slide last year and at Gen Con but this is nonsense.

Dwimmermount: Remember my talks of nonsense? The guy tried very hard at first but life with twins has kicked his ass. I don't want to say I've 'written' it off as I suspect he's not doing it out of any sense of 'screw you!' as opposed to 'life is kicking my ass!'.

Steampunk Musha: Well, we've heard some stuff and it's been quite for a few weeks but it's still well past a year late.

Imbrian Arts Miniatures: I highlighted this one because partial delivery! Good deal. Fantastic stuff. His work can stand toe to toe with the best of the Confrontation minis when they were good.

Assimilation Alien Host: Man, I was excited when these were announced. I was like, "Yeah, Blasters and Bulkheads!" or something. That game has come out with a second edition already while I have no miniatures.

Relic Knights: Yeah, so unimpressed that these figures better knock me out right from the get go.

Cthulhu Mythos Foundry Style: Man, you see someone with vision and talent and you're like, "Hey, this looks awesome." And then basically months of nothing. Never preback another thing this guy does again but if I'm happy with the final product will buy at retail.

Drake is also highlighted but unlike Imbrian, these miniatures did nothing for me. Could just be that there are a ton of components, a lot of flash and some pieces that just don't look good or it could be that everything still isn't ready. M'eh. Maybe when the rulebook hits I'll be a bit more inspired.

Fractured Dimensions: Still waiting on those exclusive figures. The end should be near though.

Tablescapes: Rolling Fields aren't done yet and it's not really late for me but it's on the spreadsheet.

Domains At War: Remember when I mentioned that Dwimmermount guy with the twins? Who knew it could effect ALL of your projects? Like Tavis but never backing another thing he does. This will be three out of four I've backed and all of them late.

Dungeon Crawler: Relic Knights got hit by the China celebration. So did these guys. I didn't spend a ton of cash here but enough that I'm... annoyed at the delays.

Kingdom Death: M'eh? I initially overspent on this one to begin with and my board gaming hasn't been great lately but it looks great, the creator is heavily involved and things look to be moving quickly.

I suppose Cthulhu Wars are way later then I am keeping track of here and I should add it to the list.

I see that others have slowed down their backing of Kickstarters as well. It's hard to maintain enthusasim when cash is lacking and hundreds (or more) of dollars are already out waiting for product.

This doesn't count some that have essentially failed or big delays announced in other projects, including Robotech. Heck, it had Palladium's name associated with it. Who didn't know that was going to be late? Who?

As time goes on, are you backing more kickstarters or fewer? Do you keep track of it in Excel or another spreadsheet program? Still finding lots of new stuff to enjoy?

Project Name	Due Date	Date	Late Days	Late Months
Tectonic Craft Studios	6/1/2012	2/1/2014	-610	-20
Dwimmermount	8/1/2012	2/1/2014	-549	-18
Steampunk Musha	10/1/2012	2/1/2014	-488	-16
Imbrian Arts Miniatures	3/1/2013	2/1/2014	-337	-11
Assimilation Alien Host	5/1/2013	2/1/2014	-276	-9
Relic Knights	5/1/2013	2/1/2014	-276	-9
Cthulhu Mythos Foundy Style	7/1/2013	2/1/2014	-215	-7
Drake The Dragon Wargame	7/1/2013	2/1/2014	-215	-7
Fractured Dimensions	8/1/2013	2/1/2014	-184	-6
Tablescapes	10/1/2013	2/1/2014	-123	-4
Domains At War	10/1/2013	2/1/2014	-123	-4
Dungeon Crawler	11/1/2013	2/1/2014	-92	-3
Kingdom Death	11/1/2013	2/1/2014	-92	-3

THe Desert Spear by Peter V Brett: Book 2 of the Demon Cycle

I enjoyed the Warded Man so much, that I jumped onto The Desert Spear with no hesitation. The book is longer and adds more characters and more magic to the Demon Cycle. But in the hands of a skilled story teller like Peter V Brett, this is a good thing.

The book breaks us into the world of Jadir, the man who in the previous novel, betrayed Arlen, leading that Messenger to become the Warded Man. He did so with regrets as he considered Arlen his friend, and near equal.

The focus on Jadis feels a little like the retelling of one of the old Eternal Champion stories by Michael Moorcock as events we've already seen happen again from a different viewpoint. Mind you, this only happens in a handful of places and the shift in point of view is welcome.

The bad news, is that even though Jadir himself has trama and a disturbing background, his likeability suffers quite a bit due to his role as semi-antagonist. I say semi because if readers don't see an eventually alliance between those of the Desert and those of the North against the demons, we'll, we've all been lied to in how these sorts of stories work out.

Using Jadir as a view point character provides the reader with a lot of insight into his people's culture. The need and desire to fight against the demons isn't just for survival, but for religious reasons. Those who do fight gain great honor but die young. This tends to make the culture warrior based with the warriors gaining essentially supreme power over all other caste save for the religious and a few specialists, like the woman who becomes Jadir's wife.

By bringing Jadir's life, who is probably the oldest protagonist in the series, we see a little more of the magic of the south. Unlike the Greenlanders, the wise women of the south are not herbalist, but they do have knowledge. That knowledge though, takes the form of carving demon bones with wards and using other parts of demons for different effects including telling the future.

In addition to Jadir, we also get Renna. This young woman, like Jadir, was introduced in the previous novel and her presence here feels a little like Rojer who I feel still has a ways to go before he gets up to the Warded man's importance or enjoyability. Renna, like almost every character here, suffers some horrific setbacks in her life but by allying herself directly with Arlan, the Warded Man, she starts to take after him and begins to ward herself and learn his ways.

The original trio of characters are here and continue their story arcs, continuing to grow in knowledge and experience. It's a great set up and provides a lot of tense moments as the characters learn that many of the demons they've been fighting, and humanity as a collective whole has been losing against, are not the worst that the 'core' has to throw at them.

I'm going to hunt through Half Priced Books for the next volume, but if they don't have it, it'll be a quick trip to the Barnes & Nobles for me as Peter V Brett's writing continues to engage.

On a separate note, just because I found it entertaining, Peter V Brett has a Dungeons and Dragons character sheet on his website. In addition, his bio talks about his enjoyment of the game. His books have also been optioned for movies. Keep an eye on this guy peeps!

Below I'm going to talk a little about role playing game applications and their potential.

1. Rival Cultures: I read Raymond Feist's Magician when I was a young man. It featured a clash of cultures. This is not the only time such has happened but it does set a nice precedent of cultures with different ethos, weapons, styles, and technology levels meeting and battling.

2. Special Abilities with Limits: Initially Arlen's special training and abilities lead him to be a great demon slayer. But when his friend betrayed him, well, he learned that those special abilities had a limit. In role playing games like Hero, abilities can be bought with limitation like Range Killing Attack, Only Works Vs Demons. This allows the characters to shine against demons and other monsters, like arrows of dragon slaying, but still not rise above every fight and every encounter.

3. Power With A Price: Arlen has warded himself so much and absorbed so much energy from demons, that he feels himself slipping away from the world and literally being called to the 'Core' where the demons come from. In exchange for great physical power, Arlen is perhaps going to die a horrific death. In role playing games, this can be difficult to achieve. Not impossible mind you. In some games like Legends of the Five Rings, it would be a high point disadvantage that the GM could call in when he wanted to. In most cases though, it's probably best to have a player who can role playing such a character to fit the mood. If the GM and players both initially talk about a doomed champions ala Elric and the player winds up running around in a completely different fashion, the sheer power of such a character can be unbalancing at best and campaign wrecking at worse.

4. Gifts: One of the problems a lot of gamers have, is when they don't have to fight tooth and nail for their treasures. They feel 'cheated' or that they didn't earn them. Most characters in fiction don't necessarily go through fighting to gain their special weapons. Elric and King Arthur for example, have to be in the right place at the right time. The hero from the Horselords tale, is gifted his sword, the Widowmaker. The same happens here as the Warded Man passes out weapons with purpose to those who can best wield them.

5. Time Flies: One of the things I think Peter V Brett does great here, is keeping things moving. The book starts in 305 and ends in 333. But it doesn't feel like those years have flown by. It feels like things have happened but that the author has keep them moving at a great clip and pace.

6. Character Motivation: What drives a character. Each of the characters here have different things that drive them, that they are part of. For Leesha, she would rather never kill a human being, even if it means that she herself with suffer. For Jadir, it's leading the world down the path of the righteousness in the holy war as its deliverer. For Arlen, it's fighting for people that will fight for themselves. When designing your character, as you write down stats and statistics, think about why he does what he does. Why did she decide to become a mage? Why did you decide on making a half orc?

Peter V Brett's writing provides a lot of potential hooks and plot lines for those delving into fantasy settings.

The Desert Spear is available from Amazon as an e-book for $5.99 or as a mass market paperback for $7.19