Tag: Collections

Campaigns & Companions by Andi Ewington and Rhianna Pratchett, Illustrated by Calum Alexander Watt

Grab your dice and pencil, sit your pets down, teach them to play… and immediately regret your choices.

Hilarious collection of Dungeons & Dragons-themed pet jokes by acclaimed comics creators Andi Ewington, Rhianna Pratchett, Calum Alexander Watt and Alex de Campi

What if your pets could play D&D? And what if they were… kind of jerks about it?

If there are two things all geeks love, it’s roleplaying games, and their pets. So why not fuse the two? It’s time to grab your dice, dust off that character sheet, and let your cat or dog (or guinea pig, or iguana, or budgie) accompany you on an epic adventure! It’ll be great!

…unless your pets are jerks. (taken from Amazon)

Thank you to Rebellion Publishing for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Campaigns and Companions will be available on September 14th, although everyone really should go ahead and preorder it.

If you have played Dungeons and Dragons for long, you’ll notice that there are those things that just sort of go along with it. First, there were comics. The humor found in Dork Tower or Order of the Stick totally encapsulated the funny side of D&D. Later on, the guys at Penny Arcade starting bringing D&D into their own work. Well, make room next to your D&D sourcebooks: all ttrpg fans need to own Campaigns and Companions. It’s genius.

What would happen if cats, dogs, hamsters, and other critter companions picked up some dice and decided to go on a gaming adventure? Simply put, hilarity. This book is clever and snarky. It had me laughing out loud and showing my favorite pages to everyone in my house. Authors Andi Ewington and Rhianna Pratchett perfectly captured the attitudes our animal friends show on a daily basis. From the cat who has a theologically-charged experience with a protection from evil circle, to the dog who gets…um, held up in a narrow passageway, each page offered a new laugh and more than a few knowing nods.

Of course, I have to talk about the art. The hilarious illustrations from Calum Alexander Watt elevated Campaigns and Companions to a whole new level. There’s something altogether too fitting about seeing a berserker rabbit. This book was everything I was hoping for and then some. I’m planning on buying this for some friends who I know will appreciate it as much as I did. Basically, I got a Nat 20 with Campaigns and Companions (those who know me know that I never roll 20s, so this is a momentous event).

This is perfect for pet owners as well, although the full brilliance behind the humor will be more fully appreciated by D&D players. In fact, I guarantee that by this time next year, Campaigns and Companions will be mentioned in regular conversation around many a gaming table. I can’t recommend it enough.

American Fairy Tales by L. Frank Baum

American Fairy Tales by L. Frank Baum, Fiction, Fantasy, Fairy ...

From the vivid imagination of L. Frank Baum, the visionary who created the legendary Wizard of Oz series, comes American Fairy Tales, a collection of 12 modern fables and fantasies. These magnificent stories are doorways into fantastic settings beyond the dreams of most. Baum took us over the rainbow into the wonderful land of Oz; now join him on other fantastic adventures including The Box of Robbers, The Glass Dog, The Queen of Quok, The Girl Who Owned A Bear, The Enchanted Types, The Laughing Hippopotamus, The Magic Bon Bons, The Capture of Father Time, The Wonderful Pump, The Dummy that Lived, The King of The Polar Bears, and The Mandarin and The Butterfly. They are fantastic, one-of-a-kind fairy tales that could only come from the mind of this renowned storyteller. (taken from Amazon)

Confession time! I don’t like the Oz books, and I hate the Wizard of Oz movie. I’ve never had any desire to read anything else by Baum at all. I wouldn’t have even considered picking this collection up, except that it was assigned for my Children’s Literature class. I am so, so glad that it was!

This book is chock full of odd, fun little stories. Each tale has a little “moral” added to the end, which made it so very charming. The stories are short, with just enough detail to leave room for the reader to fill in the gaps. Baum did a wonderful job of writing about the fantastical as if it were everyday experiences he was recounting.

I loved all of the short stories, but my favorite was The King of the Polar Bears. I loved the cross between natural animalistic behavior, and the behavior of a monarch. The way the story ended was perfect. I also really enjoyed The Capture of Father Time. I’ve read several books over the years that involved the capture of Death, but this is the first I’ve read that discussed the ramifications of time standing still. It was such a cool idea!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book and plan to read it again in the future. I recommend this story collection for the young and the young-at-heart.

 

Awenydd and Conversations with a Country Boy by J.R. Maston

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“Awenydd” is an exploration of the self, growth, and measuring our internal perspective against the world around us. “Conversations With A Country Boy” is a collection of memories, recollections and thoughts on the culture and lives of the people growing up in rural Northern California.From the author of “Velvet” and “The Jar Curse.” (taken from Amazon)

I don’t often review poetry, probably because it’s such a personal medium. I find poetry to either be beautiful and real, or trite and annoying. There’s really no in-between for me. J.R. Maston’s poetry is of the beautiful and real variety.

What I loved about this collection was how incredibly raw it was. There was no holding back, or shying away. This isn’t a book about happy trees, or cute bunnies. It’s more like a conversation held late at night, when people are too tired to quiet themselves and their hidden thoughts and fears come out. Some of the poems felt so brutally honest that they were tough to read. I loved them, though.

This collection felt like a journey: you can walk it with the author. Themes of nostalgia, love, regret, loss, and healing can be found throughout. I can’t really say that I had a favorite poem: more like lines and snippets that stuck with me. At the moment,  parts from “Little Gray Dove” are circling though my mind.

“You know sometimes grief is like a little gray dove
we take him into the cup of our hand
we take all the time we need
whisper into him our sorrow”… (excerpt from “Little Gray Dove”)

I highly recommend this book, as well as the other collections by Maston: Velvet, and The Jar Curse.  

Being Sherlock: A Sherlockian’s Stroll Through the Best Sherlock Holmes Story by Ashley D. Polasek- ARC Review

Image result for being sherlock by ashley d. polasek

Being Sherlock shares the best collection of Sherlock Holmes stories fans have never had, until now. Shared by Sherlockian Ashley D. Polasek, she nimbly sets the stage for each story and shares interesting Sherlockian tidbits about the incredible evolution of this iconic character. Famous former and current Sherlocks include: William Gillette, Basil Rathbone, Christopher Lee, John Cleese, Robert Downey Jr., Sir Ian McKellen, and Benedict Cumberbatch among others. Featuring lesser-known photography and behind the scene shots, this book is for every Sherlock Holmes fan bookshelf. Unlike other Sherlockian guides, this book attempts to answer why the Sherlock narrative is so popular and decree the best and worst representations. (taken from Amazon)

                            I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available on October first.

For those who don’t have the dubious pleasure of knowing me personally, let me say: I love Sherlock Holmes. I have read the Complete Sherlock Holmes multiple times. I’ve  enjoyed many different works in the Holmes pastiche, including (but not limited to) Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Anna Waterhouse, the Charlotte Holmes books by Brittany Cavallaro, and The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

This book is a superb addition to the list of Sherlockian books. It added a new angle to the lore and many iterations of Conan Doyle’s famous detective that have sprung from his original works.

I loved the addition of the photos and the author’s viewpoints, as well as her reasoning behind what she included in the book. She points out aspects of Conan Doyle’s writing that I’ve taken for granted up until now. It’s given me an even greater appreciation of the genius of his writing.

My only suggestion would be to read the full original works before picking up this book, simply because it will cause you to appreciate this introspective stroll through Sherlock even more. If you love Holmes, this book is for you.

Fairy Tales for Fearless Girls by Anita Ganeri- ARC Review

This inspiring collection of 15 stories from around the world showcases narratives that celebrate strong, independent women. These heroines aren’t reduced to being wives or witches! They run free and possess the qualities we would hope for in our daughters and friends: self-confidence, strength, wits, courage, fearlessness, and independence. They live freely, happily ever after, without restraint or narrowly defined roles. (taken from Amazon)

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I adore fairy tales. I grew up on them, and firmly believe that you’re never to old for them. So, of course I was excited to read this collection. Some of the stories I already knew, such as Feng Mian, the Head of the Family, but many were new to me.

Alas, while I liked this book, I didn’t love it. I think the reason I enjoyed it but don’t feel the urge to gush is simply the arrangement of the stories in the book. The first two or three are incredibly similar, which diminished my enjoyment a bit. If they’d been spread out among other, different types of tales, I would have liked each one much better.

There were a few tales that I felt were much more interesting than others: Unanana and the Elephant being one. It follows a mom, first of all, and she’s both clever and determined. I could relate to her willingness to do anything to protect her kids. I also really liked Tatterhood and Dacia, which teaches a lesson about the importance of personality over looks.

Where this book really shines is in the gorgeous illustrations. After I finished the book, I went back through just to see them again. Khoa Le captured the feel of each story in a fascinating and original way.

Even though I didn’t love it, this book is still a worthy addition to any fairy tale collection.