The story of Csorwe, the bride of the Unspoken god and sentenced to die is a fantastic journey. I found it refreshing to hear the story of a character with tusks. I know this seems like a small detail, but the smallest diversity struck me as important. I enjoyed the journey from priestess to sacrifice to warrior, assassin, spy and so much more. There was real character growth through the course of the book.
I could have stopped at a couple of points in the story. It felt like there might have been more than one “book” in here… or maybe it could have been broken out into novellas or serialized somehow. It was a minor distraction, but it was there.
I was put off by the list of names up front, but I am always put off by those so this was not unique to this book. I made up my own names for characters as the fantasy names just didn’t hang together for me. Csorwe became Crow – visually close and an easy to keep the flow of the story – is just one example. Some people will struggle with that, some won’t – but I think the ability to actually say the name of the main characters matters.
I enjoyed the world building. Having various worlds connected by the maze was an interesting concept. There wasn’t a ton of detail about the ships, the gates or how the various parts worked but it was enough to spark the imagination and make the story / journey flow.
I’ve been away from here for a while. It happens. There’s probably some kind of wave pattern here, but I’m not going to find it. I have had a lot of feelings about so called “productivity” and what that means. I’ve been working hard at doing the things that I’m moved to do as I feel like doing them. Sometimes I practice niksen. Niksen is the Dutch art of doing nothing. Sounds silly, but it matters. Taking time and just letting my mind wander. Staring at the screen saver on the TV and just watching the fish swim. Breathing, closing my eyes and listening. Trying to get all the junk signals to quiet down and focus on the ones that matter.
I recall posting about this before, but I’m going to say it again in case there are folks that have missed it in the past. At one point I was reading a regular column from a local new source. This is someone holding the job of writer at an actual news source. Yes, writing the “local view” type columns, but still a pro. Then this writer filed an entire column that said, “I have nothing to say. Seriously, there was a deadline and I came up empty…”
I was furious. This person could have relinquished the weekly spot to somebody with something to say. Could have put in anything at all and it would have been better than “I got nothing”. I stopped reading that persons work (yes, still employed at that new source) and constantly question the managerial choice of keeping this person on board.
I will never do that here. IF I’ve got nothing to say, guess what? There won’t be a post here.
The biggest issue for me here is that I have things I want to say frequently but they tend to be time sensitive type things and by the time I get the chance to type something up it feels like the moment is past. So, for right now – I’m riding the wave. There maybe be a flurry of posts, there may be a gap. Perhaps I’m trying to change the wave pattern of my production by going to stare at some fish.
This was previously published in Watch The Skies fanzine – April 2021 issue.
Boss Level – Hulu
For folks that have loosely monitored things in the film industry over the past decade or so will know that Mel Gibson has had some rough sledding. Of course, when the “rough” is based on who you are and how you act toward your fellow humans it won’t garner a lot of sympathy. I have been just fine with Mr. Gibson dropping out of prominence and staying off the screens I watch for entertainment. Then I bumped into this Looper article that said he was having something of a resurgence to his career. I’m not a fan of that, but I wanted to listen to the reasoning. What I did not expect was praise, and was more shocked at the film that was being heralded as something positive for him. Boss Level is a Hulu original film – and yes, Mr. Gibson is in this movie. I decided based on this positive review that I needed to at least check out a science fiction/action film to see for myself.
In this movie Frank Grillo (you may remember him from his stint as Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) plays Roy Pulver, a former special operations soldier who is caught in a time loop. He wakes up every morning to the same thing. He moves through his day hitting the same beats and changing up little parts in order to see what happens. It is every bit the same concept as any other time loop movie ~ think Ground Hog Day (Bill Murray) or Edge of Tomorrow (Tom Cruise), just add more crazy violence. As the name implies there are a lot of video game like things going on in this movie. There are other notable characters (played by the likes of Michelle Yeoh and Ken Jeong) but Frank Grillo is the main focus. He carries the movie and does it well. This kind of action is exactly the sort of film somebody would expect to see him in. It was tight, the clues and keys to the loop were clever and the action just didn’t stop.
As for the previously mentioned Mr. Gibson, yes, he was in the movie. I won’t deliver any spoilers on the part he plays (it’s very obvious, very quickly) but it does seem to be a fitting part. It’s not a long acting stretch from the days when he starred in a movie called Payback, but he does it well. The reviewer from Looper seemed to indicate that he should have been given more to do or that his role should have been expanded. I disagree. I think we got just enough of him, and that might be too much as far as I’m concerned.
You know what else? I have to recommend this movie. There’s a ton of video game level crazy violence. Yes, it’s a time loop story. I still recommend it! If you have a way to connect with a friend on a Saturday night, grab a cold one, sit down and check out this film ~ you’ll have a good time!
I know that being a pro in the field of writing – any writing – requires the ability to write on demand. Deadlines must be met. Words must be produced. Nobody will pay you for the fanciful ideas floating in your head until you write them down (or draw them, or paint them, or build them). Waiting for inspiration is the direct path to never selling anything. Writing takes practice. It means repetition and expansion and edits among many other things.
I often quote a very famous author who has a slick statement about inspiration. “I don’t have a muse, I have a mortgage…” is a great quote. It’s easy to say. It’s hard to back that up.
I am far more attached to my mood than is good for anyone who wishes to be successful as a creative artist of any kind. The combination of creative drain from my day job, my inability to focus on a single kind of creativity and the things that happen in my day to day life often mean I am drained and just have no creative juice left to flow when I get to the keys.
I want to include some kind of declaration here about how I intend to do more, be better or whatever would fit, but the truth is that mood matters. I have made many declarations like this in the past and none of them have ever pushed me past certain barriers. Schedules, task lists, extensive notes are all wonderful and helpful things but none of those produce inspiration. There’s no spark. I’m going to keep struggling along in the best way I can. I’ll keep looking for that moment when a story leaps fully formed from my head, into my fingers and directly through the keys. Mood matters.
I have edged my way into the time of life when I start to lose people. The simple fact is that people get older and eventually they die. The longer you go, the more it happens. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.
I found out this past Friday that another of my friends had died. He was 50. Same age that I am as I write this. He attended the same high school my wife did. I can’t say we were super close, but we were friends and I had known him for years. We hung out. We went to lunches, we played games. I’m not adding specifics about things because I believe sharing those things are the family’s choice, and they didn’t share any of those details in his obituary.
One way people can go on is if we remember them. I’m going to share this very short story because it is my favorite.
Many years ago, Bryan was in the navy. He was a diver and he was training to use underwater demolitions. One of the explosives he was working with detonated too early. Among other injuries this seriously damaged his hearing. He medically retired from the service. He wore hearing aids from that point forward.
While we were at lunch at a busy restaurant one day he expressed his difficulties in hearing immediate conversations when there was so much background noise around him. I know others with hearing aids and understood. Then I remembered this cartoon:
Funny because it’s true…
I leaned in and said to him, “You’re at the doctor’s office and the doc said ‘Yes sir, that was very loud! Now I need to hear your heart!’”
He was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. “You have no idea how true stuff like that is!” was all he could muster between laughing bouts. This is how I will remember him. I will miss him. Rest well Bryan.
I once heard a very famous author state that he wanted nothing to do with the internet. He based this (I vaguely recall) on the idea that people would then be able to go back, digging into past comments or opinions he had posted from years ago, dragging them out and trying to judge them by some current standard. It was a prescient commentary from a science fiction author. We are now seeing what can happen when people go digging into the past, looking for any scrap of conversation made by (fill in person of choice) in years gone by. Once on the internet, out in public forever… I try to be mindful of this. Part of this past author’s comments were based around the idea that a person can learn, change and grow. The things that once were a passionate position may have been challenged and defeated. Education can happen. Changes in how a person lives, works, acts or presents themselves are common. This is true of anyone.
It’s also true that technology, truly successful technology, will find it’s way into your life. What was once edgy and new will move into the realm of the commonplace. Exceptional will become expected. Delivery methods of said technology will become streamlined and efficient. I place e-reader (Kindle specifically) in this category.
This amused me
I saw that cartoon and it made me wonder how my opinions on certain things have aged. So I went digging (I am in no way known or popular enough to have people trying to dig things up on me). I was fearful that when I went to look at my posted blog comments they would contain the sort of statements that seem outlandish or desperately funny (or worse).
I was most shocked to discover that it has been 10 years since I first wrote about the Kindle. I got my first e-reader back at the end of 2010. It was a stand alone device. I remember my own hesitance toward the device. I occasionally argued against them. I didn’t like certain aspects, but the convenience very quickly won out. In the decade since the stand alone device has merged into phones and tablet tech. The e-book is ubiquitous and somehow the paperback survives. If you have a deep seeded need for nostalgia, you can check out my original post HERE and then check out the follow up a few months later HERE. The second one would definitely be a different vibe today. I don’t think most people would have any issues letting somebody peruse their book collection, but I don’t know anyone that would unlock their device and just hand it over to a coworker to check out… but that’s a topic for another day I suspect.
What’s on your bookshelf right now? Is it virtual?
We cruised into a second episode for our Beyond The Supernatural role playing game. It was a fun week, even if I struggled with move forward with my character. I made one spectacularly bad roll and earned a new nickname behind the scenes. I am now Mr. 114, however briefly.
If you’re into checking out the game, we’re live on Twitch when we play and then the videos get posted up to the YouTube channel. You can check out the latest episode here:
I’m still sitting clearly in the amateur section when it comes to my miniatures and crafting hobbies. It has taken me longer than it really should to make any sort of tangible progress, but I am in fact making progress. I’m also learning and enjoying finally digging into my giant pile of shame (all those unpainted minis that have been sitting around for sooooo long).
This fine fellow will likely be raging out of the earth during some Dungeons & Dragons campaign in the near future:
Given the amount I focus on table top gaming, book reviews, writing and art here on The Pretend Blog you might believe that I don’t stray outside my chosen genre. While it’s true that I tend to spend my available time on the things I enjoy the most, I do in fact stretch and get outside the genre from time to time. This particular out of genre experience was brought on when my wife… emphasized to me a non-zero amount of times… that I, in fact, needed to see a movie called Moxie.
For those interested in the visual rather than having me stumble over trying to describe the film in short hand without giving anything away, check out the trailer.
Last night I plopped myself onto the couch with my wife and we flipped the movie on. She had seen it before and insisted that it was worthy of a second viewing. I shrugged and we got on with it.
I didn’t have high expectations going into the film. I had not seen the trailer before the movie. I knew that Clark Gregg was in the movie as he’s a favorite of my wife’s, but beyond that I was unaware of any other things about this movie. I tend not to like ‘slice of life’ films and I didn’t really believe I was somehow going to connect with a teenage girl as a protagonist. I’m also not a fan of punk rock and the movie leans into that musical style. It didn’t add up to a warm, fuzzy feeling for me.
As is often the case, going in not expecting a lot seems to have worked to this films advantage. It had sharp dialog, characters that were real and felt like high school kids that my daughter would hang around with, and moved at a pace that didn’t ever lag. Vivian gets fed up with the toxic nature of things in her school. She digs up a bunch of things from her mother’s box of memories that inspire her to push for changes… and she does. She pushes and spurs others to do the same.
We watched it. No, I still don’t relate to a teenage girl… but my daughter IS one and she really enjoyed this movie too. There was good stuff in there. The circle of friends around Vivian is a diverse bunch. They relate the problems in the system and lay out so many of the reasons that change is needed. The supporting cast is really excellent. Clark Gregg plays a smaller role than I initially thought he might. The shining light deserving of attention is the boyfriend, Seth, played by Nico Hiraga (nope, I never heard of him before this). He digs into the role of ally and makes it work. He’s supportive without being dramatic about anything. He’s sensitive, but not overly so. He’s also not a pushover, standing up for himself when he feels he needs to. One of the best examples of an ally I’ve seen portrayed.
I really enjoyed this movie. Normally I would take something like this and write it up for the “you should be watching” column over at Watch The Skies, but as the subject of this post might have given away, it’s not even distantly related to science fiction. It’s still a great film. If you get the chance, you should check it out too.
I was super happy to be part of another Attack Of Opportunity! It was a great time taking a movie apart and turning it into an adventure for a D&D game. I had a number of things to say about it, and you can check out the video here:
When I was getting ready for this video I (maybe) went a little overboard with things. I had this feeling that we were telling people to be inspired by movies, but what precisely does that mean? I’m inspired, what do I do with that? So I sat down and really dove into doing what we were suggesting. I mean, we’re talking about a fantasy classic here – but can I actually use it?
Most of the time I wouldn’t lift whole plots, characters or concepts. I like having complete control over my creations and the ability to use them across multiple media formats. Stuff I’ve snatched from other people does NOT fit into that category. I will however be inspired by many and varied things, lifting bits and pieces out for my use. Even the things that get lifted are mashed, molded and ultimately adjusted to be a good fit with the story and the rules of the world I am working with.
If you’re grabbing parts from a movie be sure to tweak things just enough that the players don’t immediately recognize it. It can be a total bummer when one of the players recognizes exactly where you got something from. It’s a bummer, that is, IF you haven’t prepared. If you’ve prepared then you rejoice. Seriously. The player thinks they know and that’s a fantastic tool to use against them. If the player “just knows” that the lead villain keeps his pet monster in the pit and therefore they don’t climb down there, move the pet. It’s a super easy fix that will have them second guess choices like that. The can overhear the guards say something like, “Oh, it’s Reggie’s day out again…” or “I’m really glad I’m not on cleaning detail now that they’ve moved Reggie…”. Take that sort of knowledge and use it to your favor.
For folks that really wanted to dig in, here’s a short list of some of the things I thought needed some prep ahead of time.
NPCs: King (Osric), Doom, high level warrior/priests, witch/oracle
Political groups: religious cult, rival kingdom, slave market / pit fighters
Treasures: Atlantian Sword, cult gem (eye of the serpent), jade medallion, father’s sword, assassin’s dagger, snake arrows, random bowl of gems
Maps: City w/ cult location, cult tower interior, battleground near stone monuments, temple w/ great stair and fountain, and of course – cultist HQ with orgy room, kitchen and secret cave entrance.
The map part has always been something that has driven me in the past. I’m a very visual person. I really went after trying to create what I would need to make this an adventure. We didn’t have much of a chance to see these on screen during the video (and some weren’t really there at the time) so I wanted to post a few of them here. YOUR game does NOT need to have all this stuff. You should make the game your own and use your own talents to create the amazing world your party will adventure in.
Here are a few of the things I put together for maps / visualization.
Started with good old graph paper and just sketched stuff.
After the sketch I made the map “fancy”
Past what you see in the film, you’ll have to make some of the spaces up for the party
This is where I started to go off the rails. I modeled the whole tower in 3D
How’s the view from the top or YOUR cult’s tower?
Whatever level of detail you’re willing to dive into, make it yours. In the end your passion and joy for the story will make the game great. What other movies would you break down like this? What are the best concepts you’ve used in a game (or had used against you) before?
