Euryale and the Deck of Destiny

Wheel of Fortune
Pompeii Mosaic from Naples National Archaeological Museum

I've been thinking about Euryale for a couple of weeks, but it was only last night while incubating upon my bed that the pieces came together for me.  In the ancient world, the decrees of Fate where absolute.  Even the head of the pantheon was subject to Fate's decree. Thus Fortuna or Fate's rule over the destinies of gods and men was absolute.  That Gygax (and Kunz?)'s inspiration for the Deck of Many Things comes from the Tarot as well as the general idea of a magic deck of cards is obvious. What then do we find when we look at the symbolism of the cards?  Archetypal human figures, heavenly bodies, two elements, two states (I note, aligned neutrally and chaotically), four objects, one location, and two with mythological personages.  The latter two cards are the Fates and Euryale.  The only specific individual, the only proper name among the cards, is Euryale.

Elements & Alignments brought to bear: The Rod of Law

Ephesians 2 
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (KJV)

or a queen?

A prince?

Ending a big week in my personal RPG acquisitions

Back when I had a subscription to Paizo's Pathfinder miniatures (and the discretionary income to support such a habit), a big week in acquisitions would have been the arrival of a giant box of minis, carried to me by a smiling blue (purple?) golem.  Those days may be gone forever, but this past week of Free RPG and Support your FLGS acquisitions were also joined by a larger than usual Paizo delivery and the coincidental delivery of a Kickstarter.  So...feast your eyes on more show-n-tell (that's what we called it in the old days, before everything became "porn") below!

From the top: Reign of Winter Monster Encounter Pack, #4 of the Mummy's Mask AP, City of Secrets #1, The Crusader Road, and Analog Games' Deck of Many Things.  A really nice haul, making for an inspiring week for future gaming!  I'm planning on reviewing recent items in future posts.  Also, have you noticed how much nicer my recent photographs are!?

A Fantastic Story of Emotional Dread

I have a story recommendation to make for people who like stories about magic-users (in this case, "witches"), atmospheric stories set in fantastical versions of England, and -- well, I'm not sure how much of the most important thing about the story for me is my own personal reaction to it.  I found K. M. Ferebee's "Seven Spells to Sever the Heart" to be effective story-telling, and above all deeply affecting.  Few are the stories I've read or heard that after captivating me, filled me with emotional dread in the way that Ferebee's short tale of Samuel Crewe (5020 words in just under 39 minutes). I with I had a better phrase than "emotional dread" to describe my reaction. The transformation of the character was heart-gripping. The audio narrator chosen by Fantasy Magazine (podcast version still available on iTunes) is also first rate. I wish I could find out who he was.

As you can see, the story is not new, but I just ran across it and though Ferebee has plenty of credits to her name, she's still new to me, and might be to some my fellow ramblers as well.

Check her out -- especially this dark gem. I'l be returning to it for entertainment and for inspiration in creating atmosphere, emotional dread, and how to portray magic-users.  After reading the story, you might also enjoy this interview.

Support Your Friendly Local Game Store

My old game store (such as it was) when I lived in the Metroplex was Lone Star Comics & Games.  The one nearest me was not big, but it was something: a store crammed with stock for its tiny size, with a friendly and fairly knowledgeable staff.  It was a welcoming, clean place and even had a free miniatures painting night that I always planned to join (but never did).  Today, Lone Star has no physical stores -- it's a web store.  I've also been in plenty of stores that were less than friendly, so I sympathize with those who have no store, or have a store that provides unpleasant experiences or poor selection.

With a quality store like Dragon's Lair in my area, providing me with Free RPG Day goodness, I'm aware of how important it is to keep a healthy physical store in my area.  Not only does it give out those lovely freebies, but it provides a community center for gamers and local services in a way that an online store cannot match.  Yes, we can almost always find a way to get our materials cheaper, but the place of the store for things like these must be supported.

So after I picked up what I blogged about yesterday, I went on to make some purchases.  Find them below.

Above are two copies of Pathfinder: City of Secrets #2, a pack of Reign of Winter minis, and some new purple dice to go with my new Crown Regal bag.

What have you, esteemed ramblers, picked up lately at your store?  Or do you have further thoughts on keeping the FLGS healthy?

Survival Tips for the Frustrated Fantasist

“Life is what happens to you when you are trying to game and blog.”   
Th. the Obscure, D.M. (Doctor Mythopoeiae)

So, long-time readers already knew I was having an academic year that was consuming my life.  I added a new home and everything that goes with that into the mix and recovering from an injury, and all blogging and gaming pretty much disappeared from my life.  (I might could have squeezed in a little gaming, if similar things hadn’t happened to the members of my little group.)  The flame would have gone out over here if it were not for Mike Welham and Craig Johnston (thanks, guys!).  So, how have I been surviving this challenge to La Mitopoietica Vita?  I have to read.

Part of this is just my personality.  Recreational reading helps me to retain my humanity and my sanity.  I must read.  (Feel free to google for escapsim quotes by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, then come back.)  I need fantastical fiction.  My primary recourse in these months as been to the ever-reliable Steven Brust.  I have read seven Vlad Taltos novels (see picture above) and two of the Khaavren romances (see picture below). 

Damn, Brust can write.  Dense, complex plots for this genre, but not so much that you choke on them.  Intriguing characterization that makes me care about characters that I can't imagine caring about if all I had was a bare-bones character sketch of them.  And while he's not my favorite world-builder, he does a lot in his under-stated way.  And the things that stand out (the Houses, the Orb, the Cycle, the reversals or twists around "humanity" are enjoyable and make the world alien).  When it comes to food, he's the Patrick O'Brian of fantasy food.

If you haven't treated yourself to Brust, I'm telling you he is on my required reading list and you don't have to give me anything in return for the recommendation, though your comments are always appreciated.  If you haven't heard Atomic Array's interview of him, I recommend that, too.  He's done a fantastic job of keeping me fed as a Mythopoet under pressure and short of leisure.  How will it inform my gaming when I return?  I think that Brust's swashbuckling in particular will be an excellent inspiration when I can return to Swords & Wizardry in Waterdeep, and the politics among the Dragaeran houses could give me fuel for what to do with the noble houses of Waterdeep.  All this will be in the cooker when I can return to gaming.

So, what I am reading while I'm taking a break from my Brustian bacchanal?  An Elric reread: I'm closing in on the end of volume 3 in Del Ray's excellent definitive collection.  After that, I may read Paths of the Dead or stretch things out a little more by inserting a collection of Peter S. Beagle's short stories.  I picked it up here in San Antonio when The Last Unicorn tour came to town.  (While the first leg of the tour is done, keep an eye on the website for future developments in your area which will be forthcoming.  Seeing Rone Barton in action and having a conversation with Peter are worth the price of admission alone, but I was impressed by how clean the copy of the TLU is.) Well, that's it for this Tomeful Tuesday.  Baby steps back to blogging, my fellow ramblers, baby steps.

Bewitched by a Winter's Tale

No, not Shakespeare's, but Elaine Cunningham's.  Recently the recipient of a less-than-pleased review, I am happy to report that this is not the case with the author's Winter Witch.  In fact, I am enjoying this book even more on the second read.  And check out the awesome Advance Reader Copy with the beautiful Jesper Esjing cover!  I won that from an Atomic Array contest, and have been meaning to give it to my daughter ever since.  Yeah...it's not easy letting go -- maybe after this reading, since I did the first one out of the mass market paperback that came with my subscription.  I'll wait to give my final grade once I finish, but for now, I'm loving the setup and lots of little details that I did not notice in my first reading, when I gobbled the story up.  I can't help but think that there's a lot of little Easter eggs and nods in here.  Oh, and some fellow named Dave Gross apparently chipped in.  Maybe you've seen him around.  So, thanks to this Pathfinder Tale, I'm coping with all the crazy warm weather down here in South Texas that keeps it from feeling like winter.

On the finished front, I've now read through the three Waterdeep books in the first Ed Greenwood Presents omnibus.  Blackstaff Tower, Mistshore, and Downshadow.  All are quite enjoyable, in spite of the setting later than I prefer and all the Spellplague business (more prominent in the last two novels).  I'm not sure I'm going to grade these.  For now, let me just say that it is hard to choose between Blackstaff Tower and Downshadow, but all were pretty strong on character, which seems to me one of the pitfalls of the genre, and my annoyance with timeline and Spellplague were overcome by the characterization and plots.  The latter, while not particularly ambitious, ranged from serviceable to more than serviceable.  So, I'll be on the lookout for the second Waterdeep series.   All fodder for future Tomeful Tuesdays.  Happy reading!

Recent Finds in HPB

Special Late Bonus Edition!
A recent trip to HPB (15% coupon firmly in hand) found the two above books: a Zelazny I had never heard of (which worked out well last time when I found Changeling) and the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide.  I didn't have the latter back during my AD&D days, and it was a good deal to expand my collection.  It also may provide some inspiration for Undermountain in my Swords & Wizardry in Waterdeep campaign.

Happy hunting, bibliophiles, and may all your Tuesdays be tomeful.

A Splendid Start in Waterdeep Ends Sourly

Targete's dramatic cover illustration

There are times when one takes joy in giving a bad review: when one feels oneself or something closely connected to one's self wronged by the author; it's a sort of joy in holy destruction.  But I doubt that anyone of goodwill who has had interactions with Ed Greenwood and Elaine Cunningham could enjoy delivering a bad review of one of their books.  Their interactions with me online -- just one fan among so many -- shows them as gracious as they are imaginative.  So I've been in no hurry to write this review, and even thought about not writing it.

There's a special kind of pain as a reader when one has gotten drawn in by a book and seduced by its attractions, only to find the ending disappointing.  City of Splendors paints the best portrait of Waterdeep that I have found in fiction so far -- even more so than Cunningham's enjoyable first two Songs & Swords novels.  I cared about the characters.  The villains were interesting.  I ogled the setting like a hungry tourist.  What soured me on the book was the twist ending, which I found unbelievable on the level of characterization, as well as a bait-and-switch of my readerly sympathies.  To compare it to the two novels I just mentioned, it has a lot more going for it up to the point where two of the main noble characters switch identities, but this critical misstep means that, as a whole, it squanders the advantage it has for the majority of the story on the surprise twist.

While I will continue to recommend it as a introduction to Waterdeep, it will be with the warning that an unpleasant twist lies ahead to soften the jar the reader will suffer.  A denouement that undoes so much of what the novel previously accomplished must greatly effect my assessment of it as a novel.  Since I can still see a use for it apart from plot resolution, I will soften the harshness with which I grade it.
Grade: C-

Looking for Lilith

Folks may remember my interest in Lilith.  (See here, here, and here.)  I love George MacDonald's novel named after her.  I remember seeing a Lilith collection at Lucky Dog Books (back when they were Paperbacks Plus) a couple of years back, and when I went back for it, it was gone.  Wondering what I missed, I went looking for the book online, and found Elaine Cunningham's Lilith Unbound.  I thought that must have been the book, but when I saw it was published in 2011, I figured that it is unlikely that this was only a year ago and that it must have been at least two.  So, anybody have any ideas what I was looking at?  Or want to recommend anything else in the Lilith category?

It's so nice to have moments to relax and even blog a little note.  I hope everyone else is soon in this place.  If it were not for the holidays, I'm not sure how those of us in academia would keep going.

What Last Month's Halloween Reading Did

I posted very briefly about last month's Halloween reading: Anno Dracula and 'Salem's Lot.  They reminded me of an important lesson I learned, at least back when I read Bram Stoker's original novel, if not earlier.  As Van Helsing realized, he was dealing with a manipulative genius, who for most of the novel proved himself a mastermind always one step (at least!) ahead of his opponents.  In Kim Newman's novel, it is easy to believe that this is how he rises to become Royal Consort and de facto ruler of the British empire (I could say more, but I'll avoid spoilers).  The vampire in Stephen King's modern classic is of the same stamp as Dracula -- a fact which the Van Helsing analogue among the latter-day vampire hunter characters explicitly acknowledges.

Vampires in fiction and gaming should follow this line if they want to evoke the same kind of responses.  The vampire should be more than a feral undead predator of the living.  The ghoul is more on this level, and Nosferatu starts to tilt in that direction.  For myself, I intend to work harder the next time I use a vampire to portray the villain as a creature at least as intelligent as it is evil -- a planner, a manipulator, a strategist of the highest order.  A GM should be thinking about how the vampire could reasonably anticipate players and keep them reactive.  There should be enough cat-and-mouse where the players understand that they are the mice and they are in real peril -- even if they prevail, some cruel suffering on their part would seem unavoidable.

I'd love to hear any stories or tips of effective use of the vampire.

Dave Gross, King of Paths

The end of last week brought me my Paizo subscriptions box, and among the contents was the newest volume of the Pathfinder Tales: Dave Gross' Queen of Thorns.  Even with a lot to do, I gobbled it up over the weekend.

This, the third offering from Gross in the PF Tales line crowns him as the undisputed king of the line, and should secure a wider reading for the Jeggare/Virholt novels. (Be sure to start with the "Pawns of Hell" serial fiction that introduced the characters in The Council of Thieves Adventure Path.)  What is it that fuels my bold claims?  Perhaps Gross has some competition when it comes to energetic plots and world evocation, but when it comes to character development that is satisfying and sophisticated, there is no beating the arc of development that he has traversed so far with Varian Jeggare and Radovan Virholt.  It is hard to beat in any contemporary fantasy of which I am aware -- in a class with James Enge in Blood of Ambrose, Zelazny in the first Amber series, and Howard Andrew Jones in The Desert of Souls.  (A couple of Vance's characters in the Lyonnesse series get close and perhaps Vlad Taltos in Steve Brust's novels will rise to this level -- I've only made it through the first set of the Taltos series, so I'm undecided in that case.)

If you have been holding off from Pathfinder Tales, dive in and read these three together first.  If you have been looking for a fantasy series that will take you on a varied ride with compelling characters and amazing changes of scenery, look no further -- Gross will take you from Golarion's analogue of silverscreen Transylvania to its fantasy Orient (major martial arts films homages) to its Faerie in this last volume.  Just try and beat that.

I keep trying to think of something to be more critical of, but I'm afraid Gross has pulled an A+ on the Mythopoeic Obscura grading scale.  Disputers are directed to the paladin below.

Happy Halloween!

Yes, I've been crazy busy and having trouble finding time for posting.  I did find time to finally read two contemporary vampire classics that I'd been planning on for this Halloween: 'Salem's Lot and Anno Dracula.  The former hit my horror button harder and the latter hit my Victoriana fanboy button harder, but I enjoyed and recommend both if you haven't gotten around to them.  I am Legend will just have to wait for some other year.  What did you sink your teeth into this year, my blood-thirsty ramblers?

Paizo and the Art of Book Covers

 The older Planet Stories covers above are awesome.  Above is a selection from my library.  Most of the covers are by Andrew Hou.  The Kline covers are by Daryl Mandryk and Brandon Kitkouski, respectively.  The Moore cover is by Arnold Tsang.  Sadly, at this point, I'm still missing from my PS collection Brackett's wonderful Skaith books.  James Ryman did the covers for Paizo.  Let's not deprive ourselves of the pleasure.  Below is his illustration for Hounds of Skaith.

After the redesign of the Planet Stories line,  Kieran Yanner appears to have gotten a lock on the series.  I struggled a bit to get decent shots of them, so I took doubles.

Leaving aside any judgment on the two different formats (I'm truly torn on which I like best), the suspended series did a wonderful job of taking inspiration from the past and producing new, attractive art that generally was well-grounded in the contents.  When Paizo started its Pathfinder Tales line, it faced the new challenge of providing quality covers for the much smaller mass market paperbacks.  I guess it is not surprising that a line of new fiction, tied to the RPG setting would go with totally different artists than those used for the reprint line named for a classic pulp periodical.  But while I enjoy most of the illustrations, and they aren't bad, I generally haven't loved them like I have most of the PS covers.  Check out the line so far below.

 Of these, the best so far of PF Tales seem to me to have the same kind of feel as the best PS covers.  Those would be Lucas Graciano's for Master of Devils, Kekai Kotaki's for Death's Heretic, J.P. Targete's for City of the Fallen Sky, and Tyler Walpole's for Nightglass.  The latest volume, Blood of the City, unfortunately has the weakest PF Tales cover so far.  (While the colors are nice, and the attempt to at a high action scene is laudable, I don't think Adam Danger Cook pulls it off here.  Hopefully, this remains an anomaly in the series.)

So, this is my question for Ramblers who are more skilled in the criticism of art than I: what is that I am drawn to in these Paizo cover illustrations?

Random Rambles of Late

Picture Linked

Went shopping this evening after the first day of school to replenish my depleted larder.  I ran across the above, BLAECORN UNIDRAGON Russian Imperial Stout (for clearer picture, see here).  At over twelve dollars for 1 & 3/8 pint, it's a little rich for my blood.  Anybody ever try it?

I picked up James Enge's Blood of Ambrose.  I remember it was getting a lot of great buzz a few years back when it came out, but there is something stubborn in me that resists new books in a way that I do not resist new movies.  So I know I'm late to the party, but so far, this book is a first rate piece of sword and sorcery -- well-written, attention grabbing and holding, interesting characters.  It seems that the good buzz was justified.  I'm pretty sure this is going to turn out to be a "Strongly Recommend."

When the hell did summer get so short and school years get so long?  Happy Mythopoeic Monday, all!

Have Game, With Travel

Ah, summertime.  As I write this, my summer is rapidly coming to an end.  I look back on the past three weeks (short summer, huh?), and the gaming gear and reading that I brought with me, along with some acquisitions I picked up during these weeks, and I realize I brought more than enough to keep me entertained.  I only wish I had another three weeks to spend with it and interested parties!  So before I pack it up, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures to share.  So, what are the essentials you have to take with you, or the cream and timely stuff you would take with if you had room, when going away for an extended time?  It's sharing time!

A Glass Darkly

The latest entry to the Pathfinder Tales line is Nightglass by Liane Merciel.  As you can see from the image, the cover is beautifully illustrated by Tyler Walpole.  But Nightglass is really only the first part of the novel, ending on page 157.  However the fault is to be divided between Merciel and the editor, this addition lacks the level of cohesion required of a novel.  There is an admission of this fact in the formatting and division of Nightglass into Book I: Monsters and Book II: People, but the lack of development will not let Book I stand alone and, as it stands, it does not achieve unity with what follows. 

Book I: Monsters is grim.  Exceedingly grim: over 100 pages of growing up and coming of age at the mercy of a dark god and his twisted minions.  I can appreciate it as an exercise in world building, but this exceeds my tolerance for treatment of children in this kind of jeopardy of evil and of fundamental lostness on the part of the protagonist.  While it hints of more horrors than it actually details, the thoughtful reader with a vivid imagination may still find themselves disturbed.

Now, I am no opponent of literature's capacity to disturb, but when it comes to entertainment, it must disturb as a part of accomplishing its purpose.  If Book I’s purpose is to create the character and his predicament and Book II is his redemption from the realm of Monsters to the realm of People, then a tighter composition in which Book I is significantly shortened and the protagonist’s redemption begins earlier would bring about greater unity.  Giving into an excess of world-building and extraneous characterization in this case overcame the basic necessities: revulsion from the Nidalese way and sympathy for the main character.  To be clear, I am not saying that Book I as a whole was unnecessary.  On the contrary, Isiem could have appeared with little initial sympathy without the knowledge of how he was victimized by the followers of Zon-Kuthon.  Rather, what is at issue is balance, focus, and integration.

Book II is much more enjoyable.  Isiem the shadowmancer is fleeing the dark grasp of the evil god of he and his people’s slavery.  He struggles to survive in a harsh frontier and come to a life free of the shadows and of relationships twisted by domination and fear. 

In Book II, the classic trope of what is human and what is monstrous finds play as Isiem discovers that the fearsome, inhuman strix (pictured below) are more humane than the peoples he has known previously.  However, his escape from the world of the monstrously evil humans to the presumed, but human-hearted, monsters will only come with struggle, and this redemptive struggle makes Book II more plot-driven and active -- and ultimately, enjoyable.

I'm sorry to have to judge Nightglass as the weakest of the line so far.  In spite of its potential and its good parts, I grade it as it stands as a whole.
Grade: D

Brusting with Artistic Inspiration

If you've been following the MR blog, you know that this has been the year in which I finally got around to reading Steven Brust (or at least, the Steven Brust that everyone else was reading), and enjoyed his work a good deal.  If you are a Brust fan, be sure and catch this interview with him on Atomic Array.

Brust work's has inspired some gorgeous artwork over on DeviantArt that is not to missed.  So, with the kind permission of the artists, please feast your eyes on the these gorgeous and evocative interpretations, and if you aren't familiar with these artists, head on over to their DA sites (linked below) and give yourself an eyeful and them some love.

Vlad Taltos by Ashley Cope

Jhereg by Kerem Beyit

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place ~or~ A Room of One's Own?

Time is not a luxury I have had in the past month.  I had really hoped to get my Ygg PbP going this month, with support from my faithful interested, and while I might have been able to find time to play some, there is no way I could have GMed.  Summer school at the new school is more compact and intense than any other in my career.  Sleep has been an issue, and as you can tell, blogging hasn't really picked up to its pre-move level.  Still, I am planning and preparing for the future in which I and the school will have settled into one another and I have significant free time again for things mythopoeic and luditory. 

First one must create space.  The space in the mind is created, but with space in life unavailable I turned to my physical space.

I have an office space in the apartment, but with a dedicated classroom and an office for all of my academic stuff I have no need to set up an office dedicated to work.  The apartment was set up and it already contained a part of my game collection, so I took the space and tried to make it inspirational for my imagination with the materials I have at hand.
 

Recent finds from Goodwill and Half-Price Books mix with the Free RPG haul and the contents of the lately arrived Pathfinder subscription package.  Not the largest or the most extravagant setting and supply, but plenty here to work from, easily in reach, and a display for the eyes to feed on. 

Good Joss Tomeful Tuesday

Lovely cover art by Rowena Morrill

After my good fú trip to Hole in the Wall Books, I started The Devil Wives of Li Fong (1979) by E. Hoffman Price, one of the pulp writers, who later in life combined his fictioneering skills with his study of Chinese religion and culture (he became known as Tao Fa in San Francisco's Chinatown) to produce this fun novel based on the Legend of the White Snake.  I finished Devil Wives this morning, and it exceeded my already good expectations. Magic, strong female characters, action, religious reflection, and intrigue are served up in this Szechuan hotpot.  I think this is worth a chance even if you are not particularly into Asian fantasy, and a necessary part of any Asian fantasy lover's collection.  While it's not perfectly written and perhaps a little predictable, overall it earns high marks and does a good job of conveying the fantasy reader into the ancient Chinese imagination.  I found it a quick and entertaining read as well.
Grade: A-


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