Graeme Davis (2)Reseñas

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This is a lovely little adventure. I suspect it would be quite tricky, I think there are lotsof ways for the players to come unstuck here. But it is very characterful, quite horrific, and full of the trademark silliness for which WFRP1 was known.

This Arkham Horror Files novella introduces Roland Banks, agent of the Bureau of Investigation on his first assignment to Arkham, Massachusetts. He is rueful from a recent misadventure in law enforcement where he was stymied by local corruption, and it seems like he's been given a punitive errand in sorting out an explosion and mass-death that has stumped the local police. This story not only details his initial encounter with paranormal monstrosity, but also the degradation of his "Boy Scout" ethic, along with his first active involvement in a cover-up.

Fittingly, the tone of this narrative is more X-Files than HPL. Settings range from the Arkham woods to the Nightingale Club speakeasy to the Miskatonic University campus to a patient visit at the Arkham Asylum. Other regular characters from the Arkham Files featured in the tale include Leo De Luca and Professor Warren Rice. The illustrated end-matter consists of handwritten correspondence, a police report, magazine articles, news clippings, and scholars' notes within the frame of the story. These are all convincingly assembled, and the clues dropped here suggest that author Davis has followed up on the lead of Cthulhvian expert Robert M. Price in identifying Azathoth with the Mana-Yood-Sushai of Lord Dunsany. Lovecraft's own "daemon sultan" references to Beckford's Vathek are faintly traceable in the Tell La'anat archaeological remains from northern Mesopotamia which inspired the composer Oliver Haldane in the musical project that was interrupted by the catastrophe Roland is investigating.

As with other novellas in this series, this one includes an alternate-art character card and two "replacement" signature cards for use in Arkham Horror: The Card Game. Roland Banks is a character in the original core set for the game, so there's nothing new about the character but the art--which is rather nice, with Roland backlit by flames like he is on the book cover. The signature cards are quite interesting, though. The replacement for Roland's .38 Special asset is a clue-finding event called Mysteries Remain, which rather pales by comparison to the gun. But the replacement signature weakness is the titular Dirge of Reason, which can actually be helpful in the use of Roland's .38 Special and in dealing with his original signature weakness Cover Up. My next Roland deck is sure to use the double-signature option to add the replacement cards without removing the original signatures.

I stumbled across this on Amazon – I can’t remember what I was actually looking for – and as soon I saw I knew I had to have it. It’s a faux non-fiction book which takes the whole Nazis at the South Pole Who Went To The Moon mythology as fact. It’s a clever melding of the various nutjob theories, and impressive in the way it presents it all absolutely straight-faced. It even takes the piss out of Iron Sky at one point by pointing out that Swastika-shaped buildings would be a bad design for the lunar surface. However, when it sticks to the interstices of known history, that grey area populated by the mythology, then it comes across as almost plausible. But the book has a tendency to push a little bit too far and declare as real something that plainly cannot be… Um, I’m explaining that badly. It’s suspension of disbelief, basically. UFO and Nazi occult science mythology exist in the shadows of science and history, and part of the reason for their longevity and pervasiveness is that they can fit in those dark spaces and the lack of illumination works in their favour. But when they step out of the shadows, the whole edifice collapses. And at several points in Nazi Moonbase, it threatens to do just that. As someone who has themselves stitched an invented history – more than one, in fact – into real history, I’m aware of the difficulties and sensitive to the techniques used. Nazi Moonbase is not entirely successful in that regard, although I did find it very amusing.

A summary of lycanthrope history, the different types of werewolves (including people, animals, etc interpreted as werewolves), and the people who hunt them. The author interweaves both fact and fiction in an entertaining guide. The book also provides a few explanations about historical werewolf encounters. There's a bibliography and a brief filmography listed at the end for further research.

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Pros: thorough, entertaining, educational, lots of illustrations

Cons: mentions religious reconstruction using archaeology but doesn’t give much information about what’s been discovered, drawings of some Viking artefacts rather than photographs

This is a great introduction to Norse mythology on the whole and an excellent one if you’re interested in Thor in particular. There’s a one page rundown of important characters and another with places. The source materials of the myths are briefly discussed, specifically the Poetic and Prose Edda, and during the retellings the author often pauses to explain cultural and situational material necessary for understanding what’s going on.

The stories themselves are quite entertaining, though while Thor’s exploits against the giants are referred to, there’s little description of those battles.

There are a good number of newly commissioned and older artworks illustrating the stories. I would have liked to see some photographs of archaeological finds rather than drawings though.

The author mentions that the sources are light when it comes to how the Norse gods were worshiped but that archaeology has started shedding light on this issue, but doesn’t mention any of the finds or what we’ve learned about their religious practices from them. The author does, however, mention information about religious practices that have survived in written form (eg. Tacitus).

The final chapter deals with how myths of Thor have been used in modern times, like how they were co-opted by the Nazi party when trying to create a sense of nationalism for Germany after World War I. It also goes into Thor’s portrayal in comics and movies.

If you don’t know much about Norse mythology or Thor, this is an excellent book to get you up to speed.

Thor: The Viking God of Thunder by Graeme Davis

Thor: The Viking God of Thunder is an excellent read for all mythology lovers. It is also an easy to understand resource for Norse Mythology.

Whether you are a lover of mythology or in need of a reference book, Thor: The Viking God of Thunder, is a great book. Not only does it cover all things Thor, but it gives an overview of Norse mythology and history that are easy to comprehend.

ARC provided publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A brief but intelligent history of the Knights Templar. The work also includes some info on other groups that have been associated with the Templars. Great pictures, illustrations, timeline, and selected bibliography make this book a must-have for any new Templars enthusiast. Also suggested for young history lovers.

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[author:Graeme Davis|73831]
[book:Knights Templar: A Secret History|17288805]

A great introduction to all things Thor. The book includes history, myths, pop culture, and a bit of religious history. Wonderful illustrations and a helpful glossary at the end. Recommended for any Thor enthusiast.

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Incarner un fieffé coquin le jour de son épreuve d'entrée à la Guilde des Voleurs ? Voilà qui a le mérite de changer de l'aventurier qui part affronter le sorcier-maléfique-assoiffé-de-pouvoir.

Quand en plus l'auteur a le soin de pimenter le jeu en introduisant des compétences (dont certaines peuvent être remplacées par des objets glanés en cours d'aventure), de nous faire chercher des indices à travers la ville de Sable-Noir pour trouver le lieu où est dissimulé l'Oeil du Basilic, il en résulte qu'il n'y a pas grand-chose à jeter dans cet opus.½