News

Got a new Suvudu column up, in which I ruminate about the nature of religion in your average fantasy novel.

A few minutes ago, I was washing dishes.

Not, for the most part, a particularly hazardous activity. Except when a plate decides, without warning and without obvious cause to suddenly shatter into four pieces.

There was no impact; I didn’t drop it. The water wasn’t that hot; my hands were in it. I was simply holding it in one hand, scrubbing with the other, and then suddenly I was holding only one part of it, and I was bleeding. A lot.

They are, thankfully, all minor cuts. Like, "band-aid and ointment" minor. It could have been a lot worse. But there are several of them–thumb, wrist, forearm–and they were all pretty free-bleeders. (Especially the thumb. Thought that one would never stop.) And this was a dirty dish that had been sitting in the sink, so antibiotic ointment was not optional.

There are, of course, those would say that I probably shouldn’t be aggravating them by typing up this entry. Such people are clearly neither authors nor bloggers. 😉

So, yeah, it hurts–again, the thumb especially–but I’ll be fine. It was certainly rather a bracing experience, though.

It’s been a while since I’ve foisted new reviews for The Conqueror’s Shadow on you. So I figure I’m due. 😉

Just click on the links.

From the Saturday Serial blog.

From Alec Austin’s blog. (This entry also includes his ruminations on several other books, and on his tastes in fiction in general.)

And, most interestingly, from NewsOK, which is an actual online news site and not a sci-fi/fantasy-specific hub. Always cool to get reviewed in something that borders on the mainstream.

…sitting around watching old Justice League cartoons and trying to figure out which role (controller, defender, leader, or striker) each character would fill in a 4E D&D game.

I wish I was making this up.

Holy crap, Lolth is nasty! 😯

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page – Article (Lolth)

Just as a sample, I give you:

Dominating Rebuke (charm) * At-Will
Trigger: An enemy hits Lolth.
Effect (Immediate Reaction): The triggering enemy is dominated until the end of the enemy’s next turn.

Holy crap, Lolth is nasty in 4E! 😯

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page – Article (Lolth)

Just as a sample, I give you:

Dominating Rebuke (charm) * At-Will

Trigger: An enemy hits Lolth.

Effect (Immediate Reaction): The triggering enemy is dominated until the end of the enemy’s next turn.

(Any group that missed or ignores the "one immediate action/round" rule is going to die of apoplexy…) 😉