Books I read in August 2015
Note that from here on, these will also be cross-posted to my new Goodreads account. (I'm also porting over the older reviews from this journal.)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Gods, by Sean K Reynolds et al, 4/5 (B+)
An interesting setting sourcebook for Pathfinder, focused on the gods and clerics of Golarion. The main appeal of the book is in the detailed writeups for the 20 core Golarion deities. These are solid stuff, and nearly all of them come off as compelling, worthwhile options for characters. The shorter write-ups for the other deities are tantalizing, too. (And the super-extensive appendix in the back of every deity or deity-like entity a character can worship - down to subdomains! - was extra handy.)
There's also a bunch of new character material, but unfortunately, that's the weaker part. While they do provide a bunch of new feats, traits, and magic items, most of them would probably only be of interest to optimizers. The three prestige classes (evangelist, exalted, and sentinel), the subdomains, and the selection of new spells (including one that lets you play Fix-It Felix) are more interesting, but I'm not sure they make up for the dullness of the rest. The last section deals with specific and generic servitors for each deity, which could be useful in some campaigns.
Overall, I'd say the book is a must-have for Golarion campaigns with clerics. For those not running a game in Golarion (or using Pathfinder), it's still probably worth a read for the neat deity writeups; just skim everything else.
Coral Hare: Atomic Agent, by Clive Lee, 3.5/5 (C+)
One would have expected this novel - about a Japanese-American teenager who becomes a superspy and battles against Japan's atomic program during World War II - to be a light and young-adult-aimed adventure story. Instead, Coral Hare is a very different sort of tale, and very definitely not for teens.
The novel is actually rather hard to classify, as its tone keeps shifting throughout. Sometimes, it's like an 80s action film, with obvious heroes and villains, disposable minions, and scenes of gory yet near-cartoonish violence. Other times, it's a gritty historical thriller, graphically detailing mass destruction, torture, and other wartime horrors perpetrated by both sides. And then there are the scenes where the protagonist becomes an anime caricature, ferociously slaughtering enemies while dressed as a schoolgirl - and sometime wearing roller skates.
Don't expect much from the writing - which is average for the most part - or the characterization - which is extremely straightforward. It does the job, but that's all. However, the author did do an impressive amount of research, which is well-reflected in the novel... to the point that the text is peppered with footnotes. (These footnotes even appear when they don't add anything to the narrative.)
That all said, I will admit that the book can be surprisingly compelling, quite a page-turner. And the author's obvious enthusiasm can be infectious at times. If you go in expecting lots of spy-fi action - and you have the stomach for some nasty scenes in the middle - you may get something out of this.
Nodwick Adventure Log Vol. I, by Aaron Williams, 4/5 (B+)
A collection of the original Nodwick comics from Dragon Magazine (and a few from Dungeon). A fair amount of the humor would be lost on people not familiar with D&D lore (especially the parodies of classic adventure modules), but this D&D fan certainly enjoyed himself!
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Volume 2, by various, 4/5 (B+)
A neat collection of Green Lantern Corps stories from the pre-Crisis era. Most of them are backup strips from the ongoing GL title, and none of them are bad, with standouts including early stories by Kurt Busiek and Alan Moore (the famous "Mogo Doesn't Socialize"). The final story is from the first Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual, an OK adventure teaming up several of the more notable non-Earth lanterns against a cosmic threat. All in all, a good read for fans of the Corps.
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Gods, by Sean K Reynolds et al, 4/5 (B+)
An interesting setting sourcebook for Pathfinder, focused on the gods and clerics of Golarion. The main appeal of the book is in the detailed writeups for the 20 core Golarion deities. These are solid stuff, and nearly all of them come off as compelling, worthwhile options for characters. The shorter write-ups for the other deities are tantalizing, too. (And the super-extensive appendix in the back of every deity or deity-like entity a character can worship - down to subdomains! - was extra handy.)
There's also a bunch of new character material, but unfortunately, that's the weaker part. While they do provide a bunch of new feats, traits, and magic items, most of them would probably only be of interest to optimizers. The three prestige classes (evangelist, exalted, and sentinel), the subdomains, and the selection of new spells (including one that lets you play Fix-It Felix) are more interesting, but I'm not sure they make up for the dullness of the rest. The last section deals with specific and generic servitors for each deity, which could be useful in some campaigns.
Overall, I'd say the book is a must-have for Golarion campaigns with clerics. For those not running a game in Golarion (or using Pathfinder), it's still probably worth a read for the neat deity writeups; just skim everything else.
Coral Hare: Atomic Agent, by Clive Lee, 3.5/5 (C+)
One would have expected this novel - about a Japanese-American teenager who becomes a superspy and battles against Japan's atomic program during World War II - to be a light and young-adult-aimed adventure story. Instead, Coral Hare is a very different sort of tale, and very definitely not for teens.
The novel is actually rather hard to classify, as its tone keeps shifting throughout. Sometimes, it's like an 80s action film, with obvious heroes and villains, disposable minions, and scenes of gory yet near-cartoonish violence. Other times, it's a gritty historical thriller, graphically detailing mass destruction, torture, and other wartime horrors perpetrated by both sides. And then there are the scenes where the protagonist becomes an anime caricature, ferociously slaughtering enemies while dressed as a schoolgirl - and sometime wearing roller skates.
Don't expect much from the writing - which is average for the most part - or the characterization - which is extremely straightforward. It does the job, but that's all. However, the author did do an impressive amount of research, which is well-reflected in the novel... to the point that the text is peppered with footnotes. (These footnotes even appear when they don't add anything to the narrative.)
That all said, I will admit that the book can be surprisingly compelling, quite a page-turner. And the author's obvious enthusiasm can be infectious at times. If you go in expecting lots of spy-fi action - and you have the stomach for some nasty scenes in the middle - you may get something out of this.
Nodwick Adventure Log Vol. I, by Aaron Williams, 4/5 (B+)
A collection of the original Nodwick comics from Dragon Magazine (and a few from Dungeon). A fair amount of the humor would be lost on people not familiar with D&D lore (especially the parodies of classic adventure modules), but this D&D fan certainly enjoyed himself!
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Volume 2, by various, 4/5 (B+)
A neat collection of Green Lantern Corps stories from the pre-Crisis era. Most of them are backup strips from the ongoing GL title, and none of them are bad, with standouts including early stories by Kurt Busiek and Alan Moore (the famous "Mogo Doesn't Socialize"). The final story is from the first Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual, an OK adventure teaming up several of the more notable non-Earth lanterns against a cosmic threat. All in all, a good read for fans of the Corps.