June 14, 2013 / Cape Rust / One comment
In Thunder Forged: Iron Kingdoms Chronicles (The Fall of Llael, Book One)
Ari Marmell
300 pages, Pyr Publishing
Paperback, $18.00
ISBN 978-1616147730
In Thunder Forged is part of the Iron Kingdoms Chronicles, which are stories based on the Warmachine steam-powered fantasy wargame. I have never played Warmachine (sorry, Pedro), so I was not completely familiar with the factions involved in this military fantasy thriller that does double duty as a Cold-War style cloak-and-dagger spy novel.
If you are not familiar with Warmachine, here is the deal: This wargame is filled with steam-powered warmachines (called warjacks), magic, guns, and knights, to name a few elements. Heck, you’ll even see gunmages. Normally I would question how and even why someone would novelize a tactical wargame—but then I read this book. Sure Warhammer did it, but Warmachine? I just didn’t see it coming, but I’m glad that it did.
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June 7, 2013 / Cape Rust / One comment
Myths and Legends 1: Jason and the Argonauts
Neil Smith
80 pages, Osprey Publishing
Paperback, $17.95
ISBN: 978-1780967226
Myths and Legends 1: Jason and the Argonauts is 80 pages of awesome. When I first got my hands on this book, I thought it was a roleplaying game supplement. I love RPGs, so I was drawn to it. After opening the book, I quickly realized that this was much more than just an RPG supplement. Myths and Legends 1: Jason and the Argonauts is, as the title suggests, about the well-known and oft done mythic legend of Jason and his motley crew of Argonauts.
I know the tale of Jason and the Argonauts well, but this book brought it to life for me in a way I have never experienced it before. Rather than being a Cliff’s Notes version of the story, this is more of a highlights reel with spectacular art. The format of this book reminded me of those amazing books I would covet as a child at the annual book fair: It has a great cover, glossy pages, and wonderful page-sized art that would have made you beg your parents to buy it for you. I love a book or product that dredges up memories like that.
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May 24, 2013 / Cape Rust / Comments Off
A Discourse in Steel: A Tale of Egil and Nix
Paul S. Kemp
352 pages, Angry Robot
Paperback, $7.19
ISBN 978-0857662538
A Discourse in Steel: A Tale of Egil and Nix is the second tale of these intriguing “heroes.” The first book, The Hammer and the Blade, introduced our world to Egil and Nix, and A Discourse in Steel makes their tale more epic. This time around, our erstwhile heroes having retired yet again, are wrapped up in a complex plot involving the most powerful thieves’ guild in town, two dear friends, and an ancient civilization. To solve their problems, they decide that kidnapping the leader of the thieves’ guild is a good idea, and high adventure ensues!
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December 11, 2012 / Cape Rust / One comment
Angst
David J. Pedersen
374 pages, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Paperback, $16.95
Kindle, $0.99
ISBN 978-1452824086
In the fantasy genre, turning forty is akin to a death sentence . . . well, it is young for a wizard or a sage, but for someone who aspired to be a knight, you might as well box them up and bury them deep. Angst wants to be remembered for his heroic deeds, not as an archivist working for the queen. Angst knows magic, which would be a good thing if magic wasn’t feared, regulated, and repressed. Just when Angst thinks he has hit bottom, he unexpectedly finds himself wielding an ancient intelligent sword in defense of one of his friends. The ability to wield this sword should make Angst a knight of the land, but instead it gets him involved in a complex plot by the queen designed to see him fail at every turn. In spite of the queen, her trusted advisors, and most importantly the odds, Angst sets out on this fool’s errand in search of adventure and glory and finds himself deeper in that “forty-year-old knight wannabe” hole than he ever could have dreamed. This is a formulaic book that somehow still manages to not feel conventional.
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December 4, 2012 / Cape Rust / Comments Off
Titans Rising: The Calling
D.E. Varni
460 pages, D.E. Varni
Paperback, $15.99
Kindle, $7.99
ISBN 978-0615566955
Eight years after the first intergalactic war, known as the Sol War, unemployment amongst veterans is rampant and that percentage is even higher for troops known as Specials. Specials are a breed of veterans with superhuman powers. Not knowing what to do with these “break open only in case of war” people, the government has chosen to restrict and disenfranchise them. These fallen gods among men sometimes take offense to that treatment and decide to operate outside of the law and societal norms. It is this deviant behavior that draws the attention of the government and forces them to establish a unit full of Specials to hunt down the deviant Specials who have gone off the reservation (for one of them, quite literally).
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In Thunder Forged: Iron Kingdoms Chronicles (The Fall of Llael, Book One)
