Maybe they should've picked "Bunnies and Burrows"...

Hey,

I can't go to prison. Not only will I have to be Rico's bitch, I won't get to play D&D.

Apparently it a "promotes gang formation". Yeah, me and the d20 crew back in high school were always rumbling with the Sharks and the Jets.

later
Tom

Maybe they should've picked "Bunnies and Burrows"...

Hey,

I can't go to prison. Not only will I have to be Rico's bitch, I won't get to play D&D.

Apparently it a "promotes gang formation". Yeah, me and the d20 crew back in high school were always rumbling with the Sharks and the Jets.

later
Tom

Oh, The Onion...

...why do you have to write the headlines I most want to see in real-life?

later
Tom

Oh, The Onion...

...why do you have to write the headlines I most want to see in real-life?

later
Tom

The Spirit Review

Hi,

So last night, I hustled through the end of The Sprit Lens by Carol Berg. This was so I could pass it off to someone who saw me reading it and said "me next"?

I gotta say, this book loses a full letter grade for the ending. It's a mystery in which the mystery is solved but not resolved -- it's clearly the first book in a series, but picks a very poor stopping point. Also, a couple of the central dynamics in the book, part of what made the book so interesting to me, get undone near the end and it makes me less interested in the follow on books.

All of this is really way too bad because up until the last few chapters The Spirit Lens is a really wonderful book.

The basic premise is that in the Kingdom of Sabria, magic and sorcery is slowly giving way to rational science. Portier de Savin-Duplais, a distant cousin of the science-loving King, works as a librarian in the College of Magic because his blood is too weak to do magic. But his royal cousin calls him to service after a botched assassination attempt unveils a slew of potent and forbidden magics. To aid Portier's investigations, the King pairs him with Ilario de Sylvae, the Queen's brother and a total fop and Dante, a mysterious wizard who stands apart from the Collegium. Together, the three will investigate sorcerous murders and uncover a conspiracy against the Crown and Kingdom.

It's all very well done. Portier and his assistants are all incredibly well-rendered and a treat to see bouncing off one another. Because magic is involved, the mystery could easily suffer from "here's something about magic in this world you couldn't possibly know about but which provides a central clue" or "I'll make a stupid magic rule that provides an easy solution", but none of those things happen. There's a nice cast of suspects and potential conspiracy members so you're always left guessing at the motives of people you meet.

I had a lot of fun reading it and it was only the last few chapters where I felt let down. If you're not as picky about these things as I am or if you're looking to start up a new series, I'd totally recommend this to you. Oh, and if you played/enjoyed Ars Magica, this would definitely be in your general area of interest.

later
Tom

The Spirit Review

Hi,

So last night, I hustled through the end of The Sprit Lens by Carol Berg. This was so I could pass it off to someone who saw me reading it and said "me next"?

I gotta say, this book loses a full letter grade for the ending. It's a mystery in which the mystery is solved but not resolved -- it's clearly the first book in a series, but picks a very poor stopping point. Also, a couple of the central dynamics in the book, part of what made the book so interesting to me, get undone near the end and it makes me less interested in the follow on books.

All of this is really way too bad because up until the last few chapters The Spirit Lens is a really wonderful book.

The basic premise is that in the Kingdom of Sabria, magic and sorcery is slowly giving way to rational science. Portier de Savin-Duplais, a distant cousin of the science-loving King, works as a librarian in the College of Magic because his blood is too weak to do magic. But his royal cousin calls him to service after a botched assassination attempt unveils a slew of potent and forbidden magics. To aid Portier's investigations, the King pairs him with Ilario de Sylvae, the Queen's brother and a total fop and Dante, a mysterious wizard who stands apart from the Collegium. Together, the three will investigate sorcerous murders and uncover a conspiracy against the Crown and Kingdom.

It's all very well done. Portier and his assistants are all incredibly well-rendered and a treat to see bouncing off one another. Because magic is involved, the mystery could easily suffer from "here's something about magic in this world you couldn't possibly know about but which provides a central clue" or "I'll make a stupid magic rule that provides an easy solution", but none of those things happen. There's a nice cast of suspects and potential conspiracy members so you're always left guessing at the motives of people you meet.

I had a lot of fun reading it and it was only the last few chapters where I felt let down. If you're not as picky about these things as I am or if you're looking to start up a new series, I'd totally recommend this to you. Oh, and if you played/enjoyed Ars Magica, this would definitely be in your general area of interest.

later
Tom