Category: Books and Literature

Bronchial Adventures

Well, this is fun. I’ve had a dry, itchy cough since before Christmas. This week it decided it would be better accommodated by my lungs, moved downwards and turned into bronchitis. On the plus side I’ve got a few days off work. On the downside my body seems to have decided that the best method to get rid of the infection is to get rid of my lungs entirely, and is attempting to cough them up on a regular basis.

I’ve been to the docs (happily I had booked an appointment to get the dry, itchy cough looked at before it went feral on me) and have been prescribed rest and a five day series of antibiotic pills the size of twenty-sided dice, so I should come up smiling on Tuesday morning.

In the meantime I’ve been working on painting my Cyclops Demolition Vehicle and watching a rather good documentary on H.P.Lovecraft up on ABC iView, so all’s well that ends well (assuming I do end up well – if not, I’ve got a repeat script on the giant pills).

Oh yeah, this is new. I bought a copy of the Game of Thrones board game. Hopefully I can introduce the guys to it soon, so Fabian can wipe the floor with us all. I’ve got a half a mind to try playing as the Starks, as it looks like an interesting challenge… I’ve also read my way through the first three books, and am now onto part II of Storm of Swords. I found Part I hard going at a few points, but it picked up at the end and I can’t wait to see just how awful the Martells turn out to be (just about everyone in Westeros is awful, it’s merely a matter of degree ;))

That’s it for now. Got some coughing to do…

Douchiest. Prince. Ever.

Hodor!

Having just finished reading A Game of Thrones I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with the last panel of the Oatmeal’s I tried to watch Game of Thrones and this is what happened comic (note: extremely creative adult language ahoy).

Looking forwards to the next book immensely. I may even buy that bundled set of all of them.

Um…. Hodor!

Winter is Coming

Earlier this week I had the singular pleasure of playing the Game of Thrones board game with a bunch of Paula and Bek’s friends. It was a fun afternoon, made even more fun by the fact that I – as House Tyrell – stumbled my way through to winning. I ascribe my victory to the following factors…

1: Keeping a low profile and not attacking any of the other players until well into the game.
2: It was the first time any of us had played, so we were all learning the rules as we went along.
3: A very opportune Westeros card came along at just the right moment to break House Baratheon’s defensive strategy and let me grab Kings Landing.

If we play again I don’t expect to win so easily 🙂

I have been thinking about the game since however, and have come up with what could be an interesting variant (or a horrible, horrible travesty). The game as it stands doesn’t do anything with the seasons of Westeros. I think it could be interesting to play a game where Winter is most definitely coming…

New Rules

* These rules come into effect at the start of Turn Six or (OPTIONAL) as soon as a “Winter is Coming” Westeros card is revealed.
* At the start of every Westeros Phase, before the cards are drawn, the Wildling track is automatically advanced by one.
* Territories with Supply and Consolidate icons lose them at a rate of 1 per turn (if a territory has both Supply and Consolidate icons, it loses one of each).
* Supply is recalculated at the end of every Westeros Phase.
* Players may pay Power Tokens to prevent their supply counter from being moved down the Supply track at a rate of 1 Token for 1 level. For example, if House Lanister’s Supply Counter is going to be moved three places down the track, they can pay three Tokens to leave it where it is, two Tokens for it to move down one place, or one Token for it to move down two places. Tokens CANNOT be used to move the counter up the track.
* OPTIONAL RULE: At the start of the Westeros Phase, all counters are moved one space down the King’s Court influence track. Counters moving off the bottom of the track are removed. The Raven is retained by the holder of the highest position on the track, until only two counters are left on the track, at which point it is removed from play. Bidding for position on the track is played as normal, but bidding cannot place a counter higher than the current maximum (ie: if the tokens have moved down two spaces, then the winner of the bidding places their token on space 3).

These rules would ensure that once winter sets in, everything will go completely to hell in the most entertaining fashion 😀

Back to work on Monday. Blech.

Excuses, Excuses…

I know I promised a review of The Hobbit, but we’re currently on the sixth day in a row with temperatures exceeding 37 degrees, so brain no working good so much not yus.

In the meantime here’s some Lord of the Rings content to tide you over…

With Apologies to Mitchell and Webb…

Thorin and Company are trapped at the top of a bunch of burning pine trees, surrounded by Goblins and Wargs…

Thorin Oakenshield: Right! This is a bad situation, but I have a plan! On my word, everyone leap down, weapons drawn, on the nearest warg. Go for the throats first, then turn your axes on the goblins. Not all of us will make it, but we’ll make a damn good accounting for ourselves!

Gandalf: Yes… yes… Or I could just summon a flock of giant eagles to come to our rescue..?

Thorin Oakenshield: ……ok.

Gandalf: EAGLES COME FORTH!!

Gandalf and Legolas have been trapped on the highest pinnacle of Orthanc by Saruman the white wizard…

Legolas: Alright! We’ll wait until the next time Saruman comes up to gloat at us. I’ll climb up on the statuary and loose a rain of arrows upon him, while you blind him with a sorcerous flash. Then we’ll take the stairs and fight our way down, grabbing the palantir on the way out!

Gandalf: Yes… very good… Or I could just summon a flock of giant eagles to come to our rescue..?

Legolas: ……ok.

Gandalf: EAGLES COME FORTH!!

The army of Gondor stands before the Black Gate. The forces of Sauron are in disarray, the ground shakes and ash falls from the sky as the One Ring is consumed in the fires of Orodruin…

Aragorn: The Ringbearer has completed his quest! The power of Sauron is broken forever! Assemble the most skilled riders and the fastest horses – if there is any hope that Frodo and Sam yet survive, we must ride for Mount Doom with haste!

Gandalf: That would work… Or I could just summon a flock of giant eagles to fly to the mountain and rescue them..?

Aragorn: ……ok.

Gandalf: EAGLES COME FORTH!!

(Saw The Hobbit last night. I’ll post my thoughts later but in the meantime I couldn’t get this ridiculous parody out of my head :))

Y’ha-nthlei is Deeper than they know…

The festive season is definitely upon us – I can’t get It’s Beginning to look a lot like Fishmen out of my head.

Still, I suppose it’s better than getting earwormed by the original version…

World War Dud

One of my fav0urite books of the last few years is Max Brooks’ World War Z. It’s an amazing example of both storytelling and world building, and so enjoyable that I’ve read the entire thing four or five times.

The trailer for the movie adaption was released a few days ago… Oh dear…

Running zombies? RUNNING ZOMBIES!? I don’t know what book they’ve been reading, but it ain’t World War Z.

Well, at least that’s one less movie I’ve got to make time to see…

Hitting the Heights

It seems odd to me that AD&D’s Ravenloft setting never included a version of Wuthering Heights.

Think about it. You’ve got the perfect Dark Lord in the form of Heathcliff, torturing his household and tormented by his memories of Catherine. Catherine would actually be a ghost, tapping on the windows at night and increasing Heathcliff’s torment. The Domain would consist of the bleak, high moors, with a few scattered houses and a single village, and the borders would be sealed when necessary by raging sleet and hail storms.

It’s such a natural fit that its lack boggles the mind. Were there no English Majors at TSR?

While on the subject of Wuthering Heights, I don’t believe that it’s possible for any human being to sing as high as Kate Bush does in the first few bars of her song based on the book. Her pitch is either a post-recording effect, or she is some kind of alien masquerading as a human being.

(I know where I’m putting my money… :D)

Oh, can I also mention Kate Beaton’s brilliant take on the book?

Wuthering Heights: Part 1
Wuthering Heights: Part 2
Wuthering Heights: Part 3

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