I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Legend of the Five Rings book The Flower Path by Josh Reynolds, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.
So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
So let’s crack on with a review then!
What is Legend of the Five Rings
L5R as it’s often known is a fantasy setting for a series of card games and RPGs originally published by AEG, but now taken care of by Fantasy Flight.
It’s set in the empire of Rokugan which is heavily feudal Japan influenced, with a bit of other East Asian influences, like China and Korea thrown in as well.
It’s a fantasy setting with the usual fantasy tropes of goblins and rat men, but also oni and kitsune too.
The Story
This is the third of the Daidoji Shin mysteries and returns to the City of the Rich Frog as the theatre troupe Shin became patron of in the first book, face their opening night at the brand new Firefox Theatre, built to be the finest theatre outside of the Imperial Capital to Shin’s exacting specifications.
In his efforts to ensure success, Shin has recruited the most famous actress in all of Rokugan, Noma Etsuko, to lead the troupe since its original lead actress has left after the events of the first book.
But she doesn’t make fast friends, rather she makes many enemies amongst the cast and crew of the troupe, many of whom curse the day she joined them.
But as the curtain rises, and she walks the Flower Path of the Firefox Theatre for the first time, she collapses on stage, and subsequently dies backstage.
Knowing the killer must still be in the theatre, Shin seeks to uncover the mystery of her death as it soon becomes clear, that she had enemeies beyond the cast.
The clock is ticking and can Shin find the killer, before the show ends!
Conclusion
This is a bit of a slow start, there is a huge cast, and there is a big need to establish exactly how hated the victim is, so there is a lot of exposition as the great and good of The City of The Rich Frog descend upon the theatre for the first performance.
Yeah the initial start is a bit slow, but its overall well paced and very entertaining.
Daidoji Shin is a wonderful character, a Rokugan Sherlock Holmes but with his own distinctive qualities.
I would really recommend reading the first two books first, but thats not a bad thing because both Poison River and Death’s Kiss are excellent books!
It might not appeal to all readers, this is a book that I think would struggle to stand on its own as so much of the cast made appearances in the first two books and this story kind of expects you to have a lot of background knowledge already.
Anyway I loved this book and cannot wait for Three Oaths, the next in the series!
5 out of 5 Stars
The Flower Path is out now as a paperback, eBook and audiobook!
I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Twilight Imperium book The Veiled Masters by Tim Pratt, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.
So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
What is Twilight Imperium
Twilight Imperium is a much beloved strategy board game published by Fantasy Flight Games that’s currently in its 4th Edition.
First thing to know, it’s very long, my pal Drew, one of the owners of the amazing Meeple Perk, tells me it’s an 8 hour game as a minimum!
Secondly it’s an epic space opera, set in the power vacuum left behind by the decline and collapse of the Lazax Empire, as various races and factions vie for dominance and to become the new galactic superpower.
The Story
In this story we return to much of the recurring cast that Tim has developed over his previous two books, The Fractured Void, and Necropolis Empire, starting with Federation of Sol agent Amina Azad as she rescues a Hacan diplomat being held on suspicion of the murder of a close friend of his.
Very quickly other factions are drawn into the investigation specifically Captain Dampierre of the Barony of Letnev and Felix Duval of the Mentak Coalition.
Soon a vast galaxy wide conspiracy is unveiled, with secret unknown forces seeking to destabilise the major factions and plunge them into war.
Conclusion
I was really looking forward to this book and it did not disapoint, Tim Pratt writes a wonderful space opera and makes the world feel so full and alive, taking snippets from the game and building them into deep and meaningful lore that feels so fantastically well estabalished.
This book isn’t dependent on reading the previous two entries, but you are missing out if you haven’t.
This story is really good and the story is extremely intriguing a real page turner and the morally ambiguous characters add so much realism to the story, with there being no straight up good guys, with everyone having their own agenda.
This book is one I would highly recommend for sci-fi fans, and is so much more than simple tie-in fiction, but is really the kind of thing, I could see nominated for a Hugo award.
To be honest, if Aconyte don’t win a Hugo in the next decade, I would be very surprised!
I have to give this amazing book, 5 out of 5 stars!
Megan spoke to me and Lindsay the other week about how she has been feeling since we moved, anyway long and short we are adopting a pair of rabbits!
Currently known as Harvey and Hudson, they are being renamed Perrigrin Took and Angron Eater of Cables!
So this past week and a bit has been taken up with the task of rabbit proofing, rabbits are utter hoodlums and will chew any fucking thing.
So all the cables are being sheathed in protective coverings, the board game units are getting doors for the bottom shelves and a couple of extension cables are going into boxes.
Tomorrow Megans mum is coming round and the cage will be built!
I like bunnies, but they are pains in the bum, just so bloody naughty!
What I Am Modelling
I started the week by painting the Lord Castellan for Shadows Over Hammerhal and his trusty Gryph-Hound.
Followed by the Darkoath Warchief, I love the whole Darkoath aesthetic and I tell you, if they ever made a whole army of Darkoath, I would be on it like a tramp on chips!
Played a game of Horus Heresy against Graham on Tuesday, it was a close game and I must admit my Dreadnought killing his Sicaran Punishers was beautiful!
This shouldn’t be controversial, but I know some people will choose to unfollow/unfriend me for this, but it needs to be said.
No one should buy or play Hogwarts Legacy, if you claim to be an LGBTQ+ ally.
If you buy the game, or play it, then please, stop describing yourself as an ally, because when it comes down to brass tacks, you ain’t.
JK Rowling has a verifiable and blatant history of transphobia and she uses her money and influences to spread hate and bigotry against our trans friends.
If you are asking for examples, well I am gonna be honest, fuck off, they are super clear, there are numerous articles and examples and if you can’t see that, then most likely you are a piece of shit yourself.
Any purchases or streaming of the game, only benefits her, it makes her richer and allows her to do more evil.
And no, donating money to charity doesn’t make it ok, because you still give her publicity and money.
Listen to your trans and queer friends, do not buy the fucking wizard game!
You might wonder why I care, given that I am not trans, well simple I have a lot of trans friends, and I care about them.
Also, if you take Joke Rolling and her dreadful GC posses proposals, that makes me not a man.
My sez chromosomes are not XY, they are XYY, I am, to be blunt, not a standard cis male
And under the arguments put forward by the GC lunatics, I wouldn’t be allowed to use men’s toilets, because my DNA isn’t “normal”.
But there are a lot of bodies out there that don’t fit the XY/XX binary, not all of our DNA matches what we feel we are, it know ourselves to be.
If we were to mandate ridiculous DNA based classifications of gender, what happens to women with Turner Syndrome (XY) or Swyer Syndrome?
Or if we start down the inspection of peoples gender characteristics, where does a lass with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia go to take a leak?
The truth is, that there are no perverts wanting to go through the process of attaining a GRC to assault anyone, why, that’s an utterly ridiculous idea.
If a sexual predator is going to attack you, they don’t need a GRC to enter the women’s toilets, this isn’t Hogwarts where men will be magically blocked from entering without a GRC.
Just give you head a wobble, either be an ally, or don’t be.
Don’t try and dress up your decision to buy a game which contributes to transphobia and helps the creator of the IP work to against LGBTQ+ rights.
Oh and the other argument, the devs got paid a salary, they aren’t waiting hungry having worked for years with no pay, they got paid.A
And frankly, if they are happy having their name in the credits of this game, knowing the harm that she does, well, I have little sympathy for them.
Anyway that’s my take, I understand it’s spicy, but frankly it’s shouldn’t be, this should be the accepted standard, be an ally, don’t be a piece of shit and try to justify making a decision that goes against being an ally.
What I Am Modelling
I started off by painting my UCM Vancouvers for Dropfleet Commander.
On the desk right now is the Lord Castellant, Excelsior Warpreist, Darkoath Chieftain and two Grpyh-Hounds.
So whats coming up next?
Warhammer Quest Heroes
Blood Angels Repulsor
Templar Brethren x 10
Hobgrot Slittaz x 20
Leagues of Votann Kâhl & Einhyr Champion
The Crimson Court
Ultramarines Lieutenants x 8
Battle Sisters Squad x 10
Ogroid Thaumaturge
Killaboss x 2 & Stab Grot
What I Am Reading
I listened to The Holy Terror by Robert Shearman, which was pretty good if a bit surreal, I forgot the time when the Doctors companion was a talking penguin!
After that I churned through the audiobook of Cthonia’s Reckoning, I have read the book, but needed something to listen to whilst painting and this was on the list.
Not the best Horus Heresy book, but not the worst.
After that my continuing journey into Doctor Who lead me to Storm Warning by Alan Barnes, the first 8th Doctor audio!
Plus I got Space Wolf: Special Edition from Fanatical which had a bunch of the DLC for just £1, code for the main game was given the a friend and I kept the DLC codes,
Having seen it on sale for £3 I decided to keep expanding my Doom collection with the 2016 Doom game, along with Micro Machines World Series.
I redeemed them because in the future I hope to get a Steam Deck and I can’t ever see GOG, Amazon or Epic offering their launchers on that device whilst still maintaining things like cloud saves, so if it’s possible, I am trying to only buy games on Steam now to future proof as it were.
I grabbed a sticker bomb pack of Sonic stickers, I only really wanted a couple to add to my task lamp, but it was cheaper to buy a big pack, but whatever!
I saw Taco, Hat, Gift, Cake, Pizza in Aldi the other day, so I grabbed it cause Lindsay was keen on a copy.
So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am also friend with Mr Werner on Facebook, however I am sure for him that’s more about connecting with fans rather than being one of my best buds, that said he is actually a really nice guy.
I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
So let’s crack on with a review then!
What is Zombicide
Zombicide is a co-op adventure game set in a post zombie apocalyptic world, created by Guillotine Games and published by CMON.
Its someone of a Kickstarter success story and Black Plague is the standalone fantasy/medieval spinoff, but alas I do not own this version of the game.
The Story
The story sees a plague of the undead sweep over the land, and survivor of a battle against the horde, Alaric von Mertz, returns home to find its fallen to the ravenous zombies.
Swearing revenge on the necromancer responsible for his families deaths, he joins up with a rogueish thief, a witch hunter, a wizard, an Orc, a master dualist and a dwarven demolitions expert, as they make their way to a city, where they hope to find answers.
Unfortunately, the city has also fallen, and they find themselves drawn into a quest to maintain the protections for a refuge of survivors, by raiding the vault of the fortress of the cities branch of witch hunters.
But the undead lurk in every corner of the city!
Conclusion
The first thing that drew me into this book was the cover, its absolutely amazing, with World of Warcraft/Pathfinder vibes that just made me so keen to read it.
This story reads very much like a D&D campaign, and its just works so well, a group of misfits, forced to work together, despite mistrust and some bad history, as they kick down doors, kill the undead and loot the treasure.
Sounds daft, but it does read like that, but its not a bad thing, its so enjoyable to read, because it reminds me of so many nights as a 14 year old, drinking Virgin Cola and eating Wotsits in my pals bedroom as me and my friends delve into dungeons to complete an epic quest!
My only criticism, is that at times, the witch hunter, felt very much like the same character type from Warhammer books, and perhaps thats just me being more familiar with those books and the authors long history of writing in that IP that makes me associate his style with it.
Look, just go buy this book, its just such a kick arse read and I was super happy to get the opportunity to read it.
5 out of 5 Stars!
Age of the Undead is out now as a paperback, ebook and audiobook!
Ok well 2023 is here and I am really hoping it it’s not gonna be the massive bag of dicks that 2020, 2021 and 2022 were, I really want this to be a better year.
I have planned out some resolutions and ideas I want to carry out, which you can see here.
For New Years Eve I spent a couple of hours at Paul’s, but the damn cold/flu has still kicked my arse and I am struggling with spending time out of the house for far too long.
So I returned home and played some The Witcher 3.
New Years Day we went to Megan’s parents and had a roast dinner, but the ill left me barely conscious for most of it.
A Less Ideal Bit
Sadly our street saw a murder this week, and a fella was purposefully run over, we ended up stuck in the house for two days unable to leave as the whole street was a crime scene.
It’s left us all a bit shaken, I mean it’s the last thing you expect, but it is what it is.
What I Am Modelling
I started off by painting the Lord Veritant for the Stormcast Eternals, need to sort out a list for the AoS Weekender for them.
I also picked up some Command Strips to help me mount a few things on the wall, specifically an extension lead for Megan’s dressing table so she can easily use her hair straightens and hair dryer.
Plus it means at long last we can mount her Hue Light Strip, all 3 meters of it.
On Friday, from a yet to be announced sponsor, a new webcam, the Elgato Facecam, which really has elevated my setup above and beyond what the Logitech C920 did!
So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
What is Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs is an action-adventure game franchise, published by Ubisoft, and there have been three games published since 2014, the most recent being Watch Dogs Legion, published in late 2020.
Watch Dogs feature protagonists who are hackers working against criminal underworlds, corrupt companies and rival hackers.
The Story
Stars & Strips follows the protagonist of the original game and is set between the events of that game and Watch Dogs Legion.
Whilst completing a job in Baltimore, Adrian Pierce is forcibly recruited by a shadowy government agent to investigate the hijacking of a transport full of transhuman augmentations!
Forced to work with Jordi Chin, he quickly finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy, that reaches all the way to the White House, as the mysterious Stripes, a white supremacist group look to seize power and enforce their racist xenophobic and backwards agenda on the country.
Conclusion
Well, what can I say the book has lots of character, and the character development of Pierce, is way more than was in the original game!
The book has a very uncomfortable plot as it is basically very much an examination of the culture wars and racism that has seized US politics, as the villains are a group that’s very familiar, they are “patriots” with more in common with groups like the Proud Boys, KKK, Britain First, and the Oath Keepers.
So yeah lots of examination of racism and hatred as a form of patriotism, and I am not gonna lie, it was delightful to see them get what they deserved.
This is a great book, its pacing was just right, I mean its one of the best paced books I have read in a long time, and I really couldn’t put it down and read it very quickly!
I am gonna have to give this wild of a book, an easy 5 out of 5 stars!
Stars & Stripes is available now as a paperback, eBook and audiobook!
I have been provided with an advance copy of the new School of X book The Siege of X-41, written by Tristan Palmgren, and published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.
So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.
I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.
What is Marvel
Look at this point I would bore you with a bit of background to the game/universe, but lets not, you all know the Marvel Universe, if you don’t have you been living under a rock!
The School of X novel series is focused on the heroes that attend Xavier’s Institute and their adventures and the books in the series thus far have focuses on what would very much be considered b-list heroes, which is good because it allows the authors to do a lot more with the characters than they would be able to do with more established heroes.
So this is kind of the culmination of those stories, with things like Anole adjusting to his new arm, and Josh, now known as Elixir, dealing with his fellow students knowing that before he discovered his powers, he was an anti-mutant thug.
These two are the main characters, and to be honest, there is a huge acknowledgement of the fact that their experiences in the previous stories, has left them with mental trauma and struggling to deal with the emotional fallout of kidnapped family members and being held as a slave.
The story sees a team of students, being sent down to X-41, a deep-sea outpost built to assist in the relationship between the Atlanteans of Namor, and the mutants under Charles Xavier. The outpost has been out of use for a while and needs maintenance.
Shortly after arrival, they find themselves under attack by a group of vampiric Atlanteans who relentlessly attack the station, eventually leaving them stranded and trapped at the bottom of the sea, with no way to return to the surface, or communicate with the X-Men.
But things start to go wrong, and it seems like the team is being sabotaged from within!
Conclusion
There is a great continuity in the Aconyte Marvel novels, and I think that good planning and excellent editing, has created a tight, consistent feel to the universe that Aconytes, sadly now former, publicity referred to as Earth 616-Aconyte, just slightly removed from the main Earth 616 with a few differences to make the novels work as a series.
So I am gonna hope that this level of attention of detail is kept up and maintained, because something that Marvel has failed at over the decades, is prose novels, and I really think they are on to a good thing here.
I just listened to The Extinction Key and now listening to Hostile Takeover, and if I am frank, the quality of these video game tie-in novels, is a huge world apart from the Aconyte books.
So turning to this specific book, and its a really cool idea, take two characters, who, frankly hate each other, force them into a small confided space, and throw in some horror!
This story, reminded me greatly of The Thing, in the way the isolation and hostile environment play such a major part in the story, its a really good mix.
The protagonists start off as fairly unlikable, Josh in particular was hard to sympathise with, and Anoles deep hatred of Josh combined with his trauma made him difficult to understand, but as the story wore on, and the situation became more dire, they are both forced to work together and overcome their mutual hatred.
I am gonna give the story 5 stars, its a really good plot and an awesome reward if you have been reading the other novels!
The Siege of X-41 is out now as a paperback and eBook!
Well my resolutions for 2022 were a disaster because of stuff in my personal life so let’s do 2023 and do it right!
For all my painting resolutions, I will be using the Paintslam 2023 Hobby Log, I have used this before, but because of the disaster that was 2022, I kinda lost track.
Build & Paint a 500 Points Combat Patrol of Genestealer Cultists
Build & Paint a 500 Points Combat Patrol of Tyranids
Bring my Primaris Ultramarines to 2000 Points
Bring my Orruk Warclans to 2000 Points
Build & Paint Two Gangs for Carnivale
Get my Weight to Under 100kg & Sustain it Below That
Publish One Battle Report a Month
Stream Twice a Week
Complete my 2023 VideoGameGeek Video Game Challenge
Read 40 Books
Get Edge of Empire Running Like a Well Oiled Machine
A Bimonthly RPG Night With the Polycule
Build & Paint a 2000 Points Army of Drukhari
This was gonna be a 500 points combat patrol, but I was just gifted a box with a fair few Drukhari models in it, so yeah, it’s gonna be a full army now.
Start with a Wych Cult, and build from there.
That I know right now, I have 10 Wyches and a Succubus unbuilt in the sprue, so let’s build them and see where we go!
Build & Paint a 500 Points Combat Patrol of Genestealer Cultists
I have a bunch of Genestealer Cultists from various box sets, starting with a set of Neophyte Hybrids, two sets of Acolyte Hybrids, a Kelermorph and a Acolyte Iconward.
So they are going to be made into a 500 point combat patrol to do Battle Reports with
Build & Paint a 500 Points Combat Patrol of Tyranids
I also have some Tyranids lying around, specifically, a Lictor, two Termagant Broods, two Broodlords, and two Genestealer Broods.
So out of that I should be able to build a basic 500 point combat patrol for battle reports.
Bring my Primaris Ultramarines to 2000 points
I already have 500 points painted, so looking to add 1500 points to the army.
Starting this week with a Squad of Intercessors, well 5 plus a random 2 and the 30th Anniversary Primaris Sgt.
Bring my Orruk Warclans to 2000 Points
I already have a few Ironjawaz done, and one mob of Gutrippas, so looking to add to those.
Next on the table are two mobs of Hobgrot Slittaz!
Build & Paint two Gangs for Carnivale
Rather simple, already have the models, just got to build and paint them!
The two gangs will be The Guild and Rashaar from the 2 player starter set, but I also plan to add the models from Escape from San Canciano, with a plan to do at least one Carnivale battle report this year!
Get My Weight to Under 100kg & Sustain it Below That
A rare physical resolution for me, just want to get a little weight off is all, and keep it off, right now I am kinda between 111kg & 114kg.
Publish One Battle Report a Month
I enjoy doing Battle Reports, and I want to try and get properly focused on doing them regularly, probably initially at Combat Patrol sized.
Kinda thinking if aiming for 20th of the month or so to publish and I am busy planning the first one, which will be Ultramarines vs T’au Empire at 500 points.
Stream twice a week
I enjoy streaming, and I need to do it regularly and more often, so I am gonna get this sorted, with at least one video games, and one painting stream a week.
I will be carrying out some upgrades to the setup this year, the ones that are top of the list are to replace the Logitech C920, with a better camera, the favourite for that is the Elgato Facecam, its expensive, but considering the sheer amount of other Elgato stuff I have, it makes sense as its all designed to work together.
The second upgrade will be a third Elgato Keylight Air because that way I can have a hair light in every single one my configurations.
Complete my 2023 VideoGameGeek Video Game Challenge
I want to hjardcore 10 games this year as part of the 2023 VideoGameGeek Video Game Challenge, which means getting them all completed, and you can see my list here.
Quite simple, read 40 books, but I am struggling if I should include audio books in this, I am conflicted.
With my brain damage, reading has proven difficult these past 18 months and I am way behind on my reading, and audio books are way way easier for me to process when the pain is bad, but I am admit to a degree of snobbery and I expect more of myself.
Get Edge of Empire Running Like a Well Oiled Machine
Sounds silly, but my disaster of a year has lead to Edge of Empire, not being run as smoothly, its taking me far too long to edit and publish.
And I need to sort out a proper social media policy and guidelines for the guys so we deliver a consistent message, and I get promo for each episode done right.
And actually talk to the guys about a couple of content requests we have had from Patreon.
Either way we have agreed as a polycule to buy the Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer partworks to build up a way of getting us all back into RPGs slowly and competently.
There being 4 of us, it means we will be buying one issue each a month, and I will pay the additional cost per issue for the premium stuff, cause minis are cool!
Anyway that’s the plan, other things I am considering doing in the year, but these are more purchases I would like to make mostly.
Upgrade the home media server, which is currently a Raspberry Pi, to a an x64 based system and get Home Assistant up and running in the house to better link together our smart home stuff
Make the PLEX and AudioBookShelf services better organised and easier to use when away from home
Budget up and begin saving for a good NAS for the house
Upgrade my monitor to at least 1440p
Rearrange my budget to allow a subscription to PS+
Get under the desk and actually cable manage that disaster area properly!
Well Christmas happened, and I spent most of it ill, which wasn’t fun.
This cold/flu is kicking my arse and I just can’t shake it, it’s got my sleep cycle all to pot and taking away any pep I have.
Anyway I did enjoy Christmas, me and Lindsay went to Paul’s for Christmas dinner which was lovely.
Present wise, Megan got me a Lord Veritant for my Stormcast Eternals and Lindsay got me some Death Maidens and Wyld Runners for my Escher gang. I also got some tools off Paul which will come in lots of help, alongside a £15 Xbox voucher.
But alas most of it was spent dying in bed 🙁
What I Am Modelling
First up I painted up a Scout Squad for my Imperial Fists.
After than It Bleeds by David Guymer was an interesting little story, very interesting World Eaters story that shows how hate can consume you and turn you into that which you loath.
The final (probably) Edge of Empire episode of our 6th year was published and we delved into the Liber Imperium.
What I Am Winning
I won a copy of Warhammer 40,000 Darktide for Steam which was cool, alas I already owned it, so I gifted it to a member of the Edge of Empire Listeners Community in a contest of my own!
I also won a copy of Night of the Scissors on Steam too, which was really cool.
I also won a code for Cubic Parking for PS4, but the code was for Japan (sad face, make sure to read T&Cs) but I have a friend in Japan so the code was passed to her.
To continue the prize winning, I won a Steam code for Euro Truck Simulator 2.
