Search Results for: talon
The sword and sorcery genre has not been well served on film. Some movies get close at times but all too often you get low budget, bad script, bad acting fare to end up on Mystery Science Theater 3000. One movie that is a guilty pleasure for some is The Sword and the Sorcerer from […]
Fiction (Bleeding Fool): ‘Red Nails’ is a novella first serialized in 1936 in the July through October issues of Weird Tales, and the last of the tales of Conan the Barbarian penned by Robert E Howard, as well as one of the best. Some of the appeal of this yarn may be lost on any […]
We need to have a conversation about Lovecraft. Specifically, we need to do away with the idea that talking about Lovecraft signals any sort of deeper understanding of the masters of pulp fiction. In the grand scheme of things, HP Lovecraft’s name serves as a talisman for basic-tier fans of the pulps. His writings are […]
New Release Roundup: Science Fiction, 3 March 2018
Saturday , 3, March 2018 Just Released Leave a commentCharacters from seven bestselling novels meet in a bar, an accident leaves a cruise liner stranded in hyperspace, and assassins rock the the halls of the Lords of Creation in this week’s roundup of the newest releases in science fiction. Assassin (The Four Horsemen Cycle #11) – Kacey Ezell and Marisa Wolf Depik. The race […]
One quality I love about pulps and classic science fiction works is how much physical confrontation is in them. Whether it involves mech suits, killer drones, shooting, swords, fisticuffs, or wrestling, there was heaps of full-blooded action. And it’s seemingly simple, right? Just write about one man punching another! How hard that can be? And […]
Fantasy and Adventure New Release Roundup: 9 November 2017
Thursday , 9, November 2017 Just Released 2 CommentsThis collection of the past two weeks’ new releases features litRPGs, the weird occult, pulp flash fiction, and the conclusion to an epic saga of family, war, and betrayal. * * * * * Black Hat (Afterlife Online #2) – Domino Finn Life’s a Grind Living in […]
SENSOR SWEEP: Mech Pilots, Skull Encrusted Thrones, Exiled Gods, and Fantastic Voyages
Monday , 25, September 2017 Sensor Sweep 8 CommentsAppendix N (Cirsova) More Fafhrd & Gray Mouser Thoughts — “While there were a couple really good 60s stories in Swords Against Death, I think that the few from the 40s were my favorites. They were great short adventures and each stood nicely on its own. Honestly, the weakest parts (despite the excellent writing) of […]
Jim Steranko (born 1938) had a brief career as a painter for sword and sorcery paperbacks in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He came out of the comic book milieu like Frank Frazetta and Gray Morrow. Steranko had started work with Marvel Comics in 1966. In 1969, he had a falling out with Stan […]
SUPERVERSIVE: Why “The Incredibles” is Better than Great
Tuesday , 21, March 2017 Superversive 10 CommentsI’ve already talked about “The Incredibles” once, but I think it’s worth talking more about it. Because here’s the thing. “The Incredibles” is not a good movie. It’s not even a great movie. It is a brilliant film. It’s one of the best movies of all time – and I am dead serious. It really […]
The best thing about Talon from GMT Games is just how easy it is to get onto the table. It’s got a set of twelve scenarios ranging in order of complexity from tutorials to monster space battles. Thus, you never have to hash out just what exactly you’re going to play when you open the […]
Dungeons and Dragons has always suffered under the lack of a simple system for subduing an opponent as opposed to killing them. Many other role playing games as well if it comes to that. Many times in the course of my 36 years of playing D&D a party exacerbates a physical conflict because the mechanics […]
WARGAME WEDNESDAY: The Last One Percent is a Killer!
Wednesday , 5, October 2016 Wargames Leave a commentOver at The Players’ Aid, Grant A. Kleinhenz has a great interview with designer Harold Buchanan. This nugget in particular is of especial interest to aspiring game designers: Grant: What was the hardest part about the design for Liberty or Death? Harold: Finishing the game! Mark Simonitch said: “The last 20% of the game takes […]