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Loose Bones

Loose Bones

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The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, The Wizard of Earthsea and The Warlock of Firetop Mountain introduced me to science fiction, fantasy and roleplay gaming before senior school. I continue to enjoy these genres, though I've read literary fiction, popular science and philosophy books since then too. Sandman and V for Vendetta got me into comic... more »
  • Bristol, UK
  • member since March 30, 2012

Reviews

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  • Dark Eden
    • Rated 4 stars

    A gripping and in some sense hopeful and uplifting survival story (making it plausible that humans could get by on a very alien world if they have a bit of luck with the local life). But it is also quite dark and depressing in its exploration of the negative aspects of the human condition - frustration, jealousy, desperation, recklessness, egomania, suicide, murder and aggression. The positive existential philosophy of Jerry and negative proto-spiritualism of Lucy Lu is a nice touch, but perhaps a bit shallow and heavy-handed. The revelation about the companions is unsurprising, and it is a bit disappointing that this book is not self-contained.

    Loose Bones wrote this review Monday, February 18, 2013. ( reply | permalink )
  • Fairyland
    • Rated 4 stars

    A rich and strange world is conjured by this novel. Fairytale creatures and subjective points of view are created by quite plausible but roughly sketched genetic engineering, bioinformatics and nanotechnology innovations. It is populated with dark and nasty characters, and others who are ambiguous but subjected to extreme privations, a bit like those in the Quiet War. Through them you're only given flickering oblique snapshots of a grand narrative (the creation of Fairyland by greater powers, locked in their own struggles), whilst their own struggles form the page-turning plot. This makes for a complexity that can be rewarding, but also left black areas of misunderstanding and confusion for me.

    Loose Bones wrote this review Monday, February 18, 2013. ( reply | permalink )
  • Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space
    • Rated 3 stars

    This seems to have been created with a endearing love for the setting (specifically for the 9th and 10th Doctor with Rose, Martha and Donna, emphasising the wild pacifist protector role), with good storytelling emphasis over mechanics (e.g. with positive and negative traits, and story points for luck or to tweak plot). I wasn't sure the Doctor would ever be a balanced PC though, and treating PC advancement informally seems weak for an RPG. I was surprised at how little in-universe material there was (14 alien types, frequent but only light passing references to times and places, strictly from broadcast episodes), though the brief chapter on adventure (and campaign) design was sound. It didn't make me desperate to find a group to play this. The same publisher's weightier Starblazer system maybe a richer foundation for fun science fiction fantasy gaming.

    Loose Bones wrote this review Monday, February 18, 2013. ( reply | permalink )