Post-Secondary Wizard Education
For those who missed it, The Magicians is a fully completed television series with a satisfying ending (unlike some other fantasy series we could mention). In a nutshell, it’s Harry Potter for the college crowd. While that sounds like a minor change, it’s really not,...
A Premise Without a Plot
I have ideas in my scrapheap that aren’t exactly the worst notions in the world. In fact, some of them might turn into something great someday–but probably for someone else. Because the problem with ideas is that ideas aren’t stories. A book that’s just a bunch of...
You Like Weird Games, Right?
Point & click mysteries are a guilty pleasure. They’re cooperative, so my wife and I don’t need to be opponents. They’re not timed, so they’re totally chill. And without the element of action involved, you find developers who lean into puzzles and story to make...
Books don’t exist until you buy them
Before the nitpickers arrive, some books still sit on shelves in dusty, musty, boxy warehouses waiting for shipment to a bookstore or your house. However, more and more commonly these days, at the moment you buy a paperback book, it does not physically exist.This is...
Worlds We Just Need More Of
Fantasy fans are nothing if not obsessed with worldbuilding. No one makes it through thousands of pages of text without becoming invested in the fictional realms they’ve spent so long enjoying. Sometimes, you get to the end and breathe a sigh of relief, satisfied that...
Sick of Superheroes?
By now, most people have probably forgotten about it, but for a brief period in 2017, DC had a superhero comedy starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alan Tudyk. Or rather, it had a comedy about non-superheroes in its comicbook universe.The premise was an insurance company...
Year 9 of my 5-10 Year Plan for Overnight Success
Well, 2021 was a year. Frankly, it was not the year I (or anyone else, safe to say) was expecting, and if I’d bought 2021 at a store, I’d be looking seriously at their return/exchange policy. However, that’s behind us. 2022 is here, and with it comes an update to be...
Is stubbornness a virtue?
Sometimes an idea is vast and complicated, sometimes it’s not. And often, that’s the problem keeping a concept from getting off the ground. There’s not enough to carry a story. That’s the main issue with today’s refuse from the scrapheap.Stubborn Shields: 300-inspired...
Tired of Good Always Winning?
Boss Monster is a game where you are the evil ruler of a stereotypical fantasy dungeon. You preside over a lair composed of cards you play, each equal parts deadly and alluring. Because like any good dungeon, yours is filled with treasures to lure greedy...
Real estate without the “Real”
Back in 2019 (in the "Before" time), fed up with losing 5 months of the year to cold weather and snow, my wife and I decided to move cross country in search of warmer climes. As anyone who’s familiar with the process can tell you, this involves two key steps.Finding a...