Examining the Writing in the Ultima Series...

I did a series of videos looking at the writing of the famous old CRPG series, Ultima, created by Richard Garriot. I examine the overall quality, worldbuilding, characters, themes, and several great narrative tricks that help to pull the player in and improve immersion.

The Paradoxes of Adaptation

Adapting a work from one medium to another is a difficult and not-necessarily-straightforward task.

The Strange Addresses of Nero Wolfe's Brownstone...

The address of Nero Wolfe's famous brownstone is given several times in the books, and there are even a couple of different addresses attributed to the great old house.

A Reading of my Favorite Lovecraft Short: "Cool Air"

Trying to catch up my blog here with my YouTube shenanigans...

Just a reading of my favorite Lovecraft short, Cool Air. I love this story because, in contrast to a lot of Lovecraft's writings, there is no cosmic horror, no twisting dreamscape, and no ancient evil. That uniqueness is what really makes me love this story.

Fun and Funny Fantasy Goodness! The Thief of Time, by Terry Pratchett

My buddy Justin got me started reading Terry Pratchett's stuff. He let me borrow his copy of The Light Fantastic when we were in high school, and I've enjoyed quite a few Pratchett books since then.

Today's topic is The Thief of Time, a story written in that wonderful period when Pratchett had found a beautiful blend of fantasy and satire, writing stories that were highly creative, mostly standalone, and, above all else, fun.

Better than Expected! Into the Riverlands Review

I really need to remember to put reviews from YouTube up over here... managing multiple sites with different formats is surprisingly easy to screw up!

Setting that aside...

I kind of expected this book to be a demonstration of the unsatisfying path that modern fantasy and science fiction have taken over the last couple of decades. After all, this novella is part of a series that managed to win a Hugo Award, and that whole process has been going downhill for a long time now.

So, it was with a skeptical eye that I began to read Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo. I figured, hey, if it's bad, at least it's short, so why not give it a try?

Deceptively Fun Fantasy! John A. Douglas's "The Black Crown"

I was not impressed with the glossary at the beginning, nor the prologue of this story.

Then, when I got to the third chapter, there was a sudden POV shift and I was terrified!

Would this be another Dragon Wing disaster?