The Value of Lorebooks

The Value of Lorebooks

I've been reading Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes recently, and something has struck me about the first chapter, the one for the Blood War. It is how the paragraphs that list and describe each ruling archdevil and the layer of The Nine Hells that they rule function as both a travel narrative and bestiary, and at the same time they are seeds for adventures; a tool to inspire dungeon masters.

It is a treasure trove of inspiration. I've read only part of the first chapter and I've already started thinking of several ideas that I would like to use in a campaign. I went over and re-read that part so that I could delve deeper into the lore and its layout and how it can be used. Just one piece of lore can spark an idea that can span a whole campaign, and this book has a wagon full of chests bursting with lore.

For those that haven't read the book or are otherwise unfamiliar with D&D Lore, the Blood War is an ages-long feud between devils and demons. The demons boil up from their home plane, the Abyss, and assault the first layer of The Nine Hells, Avernus. The devils push them back out but are unable and/or unwilling to push further into the Abyss. So the infernal creatures are perpetually at war with each other.

The chapter deals with both the devil-ish and demonic side of the Blood War. The section I just finished reading was for the Lords of the Nine, the nine archdevils who rule the layers of The Nine Hells. It talks about the lord, their personality and traits and the kinds of deals they make with mortals. It talks about the layer that the lord rules, its environment and history and its purpose within The Nine Hells as a whole. This is where one gets to the high grade campaign fuel.

Each section lists possibilities for adventures by mingling them with the lore. The first layer, for instance, has multiple tie-ins for adventurers seeking any number of things.

First of all, Avernus is the front line for the Blood War, and that alone has many opportunities. If you want a mass combat, you can find an endless horde of demons or devils. If you're looking for infernal weapons or armor, scavenge after a battle. Nothing wrong with looting the bodies of dead devils, right? Perhaps the adventurers have been recruited as scouts, impartial messengers or mediators, or maybe even assassins by some devil of interest.

Even if the Dungeon Master plans to avoid the Blood War directly, there are still innumerable forts that have been built to hold back demonic hordes. These forts may have been abandoned as the Blood War shifts to a different front, or perhaps they have been destroyed in battle. In their time, they may have stored treasure of many kinds, from magic items to demonic lore to forgotten trinkets that still hold value to some quest giver.

The second layer of the Abyss, Dis, is an active metropolis. Lots of arms-dealing is done here, and so is a lot of mining. This is where the supplies that support the Blood War are created. Adventurers could come here seeking weapons or armor, they might be searching for an item to be used for some other adventure, or just looking for work in one of the busiest places in the planes.

They might get involved in some intrigue involving the de-facto ruler of the plane, Tivisius, who is the true ruler's second in command. They might be contracted by the true ruler, Dispater, to seek out some nugget of lore, which could lead them anywhere in the planes, or to a lower layer of The Nine Hells.

This is not an exhaustive list for these two layers, not by any means, and it is only the first two layers. There are seven more with just as many potential adventure seeds waiting to be developed by Dungeon Masters and played out by the adventuring party. I can go further.

The third layer, Minarous, is ruled by Mammonon. Mammonon is listed as potentially the richest entity in all of the planes, due to his obsession with seeking out opportunities for enrichment and his eye for efficiency. So if you found some supposedly priceless artifact that no one in the Material Plane can pay full price for, then Mammonon can, and he might throw in something more valuable than gold to seal the deal. Of course, you have to reach him first or contact him somehow, and that can be its own adventure, because everything involving Mammonon has a price. 

That is the other thing, Mammonon is said to be one of the safest demons to make an infernal pact with because he might not ask for your soul. If you have "the wealth of a dozen kingdoms", then you can buy arcane power and influence from him with mundane money. Of course, stealing from him is also an option. 

He is an excuse for the Dungeon Master to go all out and make the most complicated puzzles, the most deadly traps, and the most numerous guards; dungeon obstacles that would be fairly called "unfair" or "unbalanced" if in some ruin created by mortals. But this is Mamonon, for whom no expense is too much to protect his vault, and who has had multiple mortal lifetimes to advance its security.

However, he is also incredibly stingy, so despite the wealth in his vault, the layer itself is shambling and decayed. It is a Wretched Hive if there ever was one. Such a place could be the scene of literally hellish criminal activity, or an opportunity to stir up trouble for Mammonon, and possibly an attempt to unseat him as the lord of the layer.

The fact that the layer is a swamp gives rise to other more implicit opportunities, only hinted at by what is present in the book itself. It may be that the comatose princess the adventurers are trying to cure was soulnapped (kidnapped via soul theft) by a night hag who plans to auction off the poor girl's soul in Mammonon's town. So they could try to track and kill the hag, participate in the auction or bargain with/steal from the entity who purchased the soul.

Wow, this is getting long, and I've only covered, briefly, some of the potential adventurers from three of the nine layers. Which, itself, is only one part of one chapter of one book. So, as you can see, there is a lot of inspiration a dungeon master can draw from a good lorebook. 

They don't even have to use the full "Nine Hells of Baator and Blood War" cosmology if such a thing wouldn't fit in their campaign. The idea for the night hag auctioning off souls could happen in the Material Plane amid some devil cult, or maybe a school of necromancers, or some other entity. Just one aspect of one section of lore can spark an idea that could fill a campaign, one adventure or even just a single session or two. That is the Value of Lorebooks.

For other 5E D&D books containing useful lure, you can turn to the Dungeon Master's Guide

To read my review of the entire book, click here

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

D&D 5E Dungeon Master's Guide (Read for utility - and fun)

 Previously, I wrote a review for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeon Master's Guide for Dungeons and Dragons, and I useful I found it for writing novels. All of that applies to the 5th edition too, but more so. I much prefer this edition as a writing aid. Oh yes, I also find it useful for running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. 

This book is split into three main sections, each describing the responsibility of the Dungeon Master in the game. They are "Master of Worlds", "Master of Adventures" and "Master of Rules".  The first is for creating the campaign world, the second is for creating the adventure, and the third is a list of rules to help the DM run the scenario, tweak situations to fit the campaign, and a section with advice on homebrewing elements. 

As a Dungeon Master, I find this book extremely helpful. I have several areas of it bookmarked for easier and quicker reference. One of them is the area for building encounters and managing random encounters. This helped break my previous conception of random encounters, which I picked up from video games.

 In video games, there is no point to a random encounter other to beatdown on the monsters for some droppable resource (Experience points, money, some form of loot). Then you move on. Not so in a Dungeons and Dragons session, where some groups play for 2-3 hours a week or even less. That can become tedious (as it sometimes happens in video games as well). This area of the book taught me how to make a random encounter more meaningful. There is a "Sylvan Forest" encounter table in here that I merged with another table in the Monster Manual to create the one for the area that my party is currently adventuring in. These "random" encounters provided the seed necessary to create events that are relevant to the here and now of the session. 

I also bookmarked the area that explains how to create maps for dungeons, settlements and wilderness, as well as adjudicating and describing what your players do in each. Because each area is different, different methods are used for each one. For instance, a dungeon is likely to be traversed room-by-room, as the player-characters check for traps and treasure. The wilderness, by contrast, is more likely to be a more general environment that does not involve the player-characters checking behind each tree or the top of each hill. Unless, of course, they are in a particular section of wilderness that doubles as a dungeon. 
Also, my players have done a lot of foraging recently so it is useful to have a table that enables me to quickly determine if they find something and how much they find. 

A third bookmark, of which I currently have seven in total, is a rule variant for chases. In Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, all creatures have a set movement speed, which makes chases deterministic and therefore less interesting. This area lists certain rules that can be used to add randomness to this otherwise pre-determined scenario, basically obstacles that both the pursuer and the quarry can run into, which can slow them down. There are also rules for determining when the chase begins, ends, or turns around and makes the hunter the hunted. 

Oh, I wish I had read this book cover-to-cover when I first started DMing. I thought I knew the rules well enough as a player and that I would do fine by imitating what our group's original DM did, but I didn't do fine. Not in the least. I have several embarrassing sessions under my belt, and this book could have prevented several of them. Particularly the Chase section; especially the Chase section. 

On another note, there is gorgeous art in this book. This review is mainly about the usefulness of the book for a Dungeon Master (and therefore also a novelist) but I have to mention the gorgeous art. You can see landscapes of everything from mountains and meadows to the Shadowfell or the Elemental Plane of Fire. You get portraits of an adventuring party consulting/drawing a map or in combat with a dragon. Most of the magic items listed in the treasure also get their own images along with their listing. 

Trickster Eric Novels gives "The Dungeon Master's Guide for D&D 5E" an A+

If you want to read my review for the 3.5 E version, it is here 

Click here for my next book review: Ah! My Goddess - omnibus #1

Click here for my previous book review: Spice and Wolf volume 9

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Spice and Wolf volume 9 Town of Strife part 2 (Read for Fun)

Spice and Wolf volume 9  Town of Strife part 2. The second part of the first two-part adventure in the series.

I must say upfront that I did not enjoy this volume as I did the others. Despite being two volumes long, not as much appeared to happen in comparison to previous volumes. If there were many events and commotion going on I certainly didn't follow them. Lawrence acts as though he is in terrible danger right from the start, and that Kieman is a direct and immediate threat. This is before Lawrence does anything that could upset him. In fact, in the previous volume, he had affirmed his loyalty to Kieman and the Rowen Trade Guild, as though it were a matter of course. That is one of the things that confused me.

I got the feeling that there was a lot more going on between the lines and off the page than what the reader was presented with. Lawrence had a greater understanding of the situation, but did not share this information with the reader even though he shared his thoughts and feelings.  So I didn't understand why he was so nervous the whole time, and why he was so afraid of his guild's sub-leader asking him to be a messenger. Eventually, I got an inkling that Kieman was plotting a coup to usurp the leader of the Rowen Trade Guild, and that he would make life difficult for Lawrence if Lawrence refused to cooperate, but I don't think that this was ever made explicit.

What I saw was all about how intimidated he was by Kieman and Eve being administrative merchants, heads of their own companies, in comparison to the traveling merchant who makes all his deals on the spot and with immediate goals. So I guess keeping the reader in the dark was supposed to help them emphasize with how out-of-his-depth Lawrence feels in this situation. I get that. It worked. However, I didn't understand the danger he or Eve were in, and that really deflated the tension of the story for me.

Another thing that I didn't understand was all the fuss about Eve. I was under the impression that she was a traveling merchant like Lawrence back in her introduction a couple volumes back. I understand that she has a lot of connections, and that the "Bolan Company" is basically just her and these connections, but what's the deal with her in this town, and why is knowing her such a big deal. Kieman acted as though only Lawrence or a local trading company head could serve as intermediaries in his shady deal with her. 

There are other things that I didn't get about this particular story, but that would make this review longer than it already is.

I still enjoyed this book. The out-of-his-depth experience Lawrence feels is well executed, and shows a different side of him than in previous stories, so it is good character development. His banter with Holo was as good as usual, and she seems to have become comfortable enough to express her jealousy more openly. I just didn't understand the economic angle this time.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Spice and Wolf volume 9  Town of Strife part 2" a C

Click here for my next book review: Dungeon Master's Guide for D&D 5E (Read for Utility, and fun)

Click here for my previous book review (for fun) : The Ultimate Book of Martial Arts

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

The Ultimate Book of Martial Arts (read for fun)

I think this book was a gift from years back, and it is yet another book that has languished for a while on my shelf. This is an overview of many popular martial art traditions,  ten total (13 if counting different styles within the same tradition. It's a good book over all but it has some drawbacks. 

The book is divided into sections for each martial art, or a particular style within each martial art tradition. Each starts with history of the art or style and some philosophy to go with it. Next is basic etiquette and equipment. Third is common warm ups followed by basic techniques and then advanced techniques. 

I found all of these sections educational, helpful, and interesting. Etiquette is often as important for the martial art as the techniques, and receives as much attention. Both have full-color pictures showing each step, and they even include close-ups on some techniques involving grips. The back of the book lists the names, styles and rank of the people in the photographs, and they are all experts, including the author, Fay Goodman herself. So you can be sure that what you see is correct. 

This book provides a greater breadth of general martial art information than anything I've come across. However, it doesn't have depth. 

The book is a good sample platter, so to speak, to get the gist of the martial art in question. This is only to wet your appetite. If you want to learn more about a specific martial art then you'll need to look elsewhere. This means either finding a book dedicated to the specific martial art or finding a teacher or otherwise an expert who can tell you more about it. Indeed, most of the pages on technique include the refrain "Only practice this under the supervision of an expert" or something to that effect. 

Also, some of the sections are shorter than others. The section on Tae Known Do, for instance, is smaller than the ones for Karate and Kung Fu, so the Tae Known Do section has even less depth than some of the others. 

It is overall a good resource. 

Trickster Eric Novels gives ""The Ultimate Book of Martial Arts" a B+

Click here for my next book review (for fun): Spice and Wolf volume 9 Town of Strife part 2

Click here for my previous book review (for fun) : A Witch's Printing Office volume 2

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

A Witch's Printing Office volume 2 (read for fun)

I was really excited to see a volume 2 for this series. I had so much fun with volume 1 that I pre-ordered this volume, and I was not disappointed. This volume delivers on the same light-hearted humor and fantasy-parodying, but also delivers on extended world building and a little more continuity. 

Like the previous volume, each chapter stands on its own as a short story, but this time the short stories can link together as one narrative. This is done by having characters from one short story show up in a later one. It is simple to arrange this seamlessly by having the characters gather for Magiket, such as Demon Lord Satziiko.

Magicket's fame as reached the underworld, and Demon Lord Satziiko has signed up for a booth. So not only are there humans and magical creatures selling spell scrolls (and dungeon maps, and primers on medicine for adventurers, and slash fanfiction of the local deities), but demons as well. The phrase "overnight fiends" as become literal, and it is hilarious.  But that is just one story. 

Another story stars Miss Aile, a young noble girl who is frustrated with all-day studying, basically cloistered in her family's mansion. So she runs away from home to see the world and accidentally boards a ship headed to Magiket. 

She is adorable. She looks cute, tries to act grown-up, and gets swept up in the event. She even bonds with Mika over similar parent troubles. She has a fantastic character arc, and a satisfying conclusion to her introductory story. There is also a sequel hook, suggesting that she will appear later. 

The fantasy parodies show up again, this time in the form of dragon hunting and the Sword-in-the-Stone template. Neither are original ideas but they are written and displayed in a way that only this particular setting could achieve, which makes them new. 

The art is still beautiful. Aile, again, is adorable, and the landscapes featured are great to look at, but the dragon is fearsome. 

The arrangement of the panels helps to keep the action moving and provide for twists, or punch-lines as the case may be. There is little true danger here, but tension is still maintained in this way. 

Trickster Eric Novels gives "A Witch's Printing Office volume 2" an A+

Click here for my next book review (for fun): Ultimate Book of Martial Arts

Click here for my previous book review (for fun) Rising of the Shield Hero - volume 1

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Rising of the Shield Hero - volume 1 (Read for Fun)

I picked up this book because I really liked the anime, and I had heard that a lot of stuff had to be adapted out in the making out of. Lore, world building, the inner thoughts of the protagonist, etc. had to be left out. So I looked into the light novel, and I enjoyed it. 

As the book opens, the plot is ostensibly about this kingdom summoning four heroes from another world as part of preparing for the Waves of Destruction, this apocalyptic event. Except, that is not really what the plot is about. The plot is really about Naofumi surviving a much more mundane threat between each Wave, the treachery of his fellow humans. 

The book starts out pretty lackluster and generic. Naofumi is this perfectly ordinary otaku college student who is abruptly summoned to another world to be a legendary hero that has to save it from doom. He gets a special item, and a really cute girl joins his party. Then he sets off for a fun adventure! Except not really. 

The plot only truly starts at chapter 7: "A backstapper named land mine". This is the infamous plot twist that you have most likely heard of if you have heard of the series at all.  After this happens, the story gets truly interesting. World building picks up, lore on and mechanics of the Legendary Shield expands, and Naofumi's characterization gets deeper than "nice guy otaku".  This switch is necessary. 

A trope can only be properly subverted if it is first played straight, otherwise it has been averted and its absence is only noted by the reader's mind. So it is necessary to introduce Naofumi and the other three as generic in order to set the contrast, both between the innocent Naofumi and jaded Naofumi, and also between jaded Naofumi and the other three heroes, who appear to be more typical isekai protagonist types. 

What follows is Naofumi's attempt to simply make a living for himself, getting enough money to buy food or hunter/gather food himself. He has to teach himself how to use his Shield, how to navigate the town's economy, and how to fend off people who think he is an easy mark. It is not glamorous or heroic but his personal narration makes it interesting, which is likely why the anime skipped forward to Raphtalia's introduction. It is hard to make "a character thinking" interesting in a visual medium. 

Speaking of the 2019 Crunchyroll Best Girl, Raphtalia's introduction makes the story even better. Now Naofumi has someone to interact with on a regular basis in addition to his private monologues.  Raphtalia is intensely sympathetic, a little girl who has been enslaved, has been mistreated by prior masters and is currently sick and experiencing night terrors. Naofumi buys her to wield a sword in combat, because his Legendary Shield forbids him from using any other weapons. So Naofumi protects her with his shield while training her to use a sword. 

Now this here is an interesting point between the two versions, anime and light novel.

 In the anime, we don't see Naofumi's thoughts, so what we have is essentially Raphtalia's viewpoint. She is purchased by yet another master but, unlike her previous one, this new one treats her very well. He buys her food when she is hungry, protects her from monsters in the field, prioritizes her equipment over his own, makes medicine to cure her illness, comforts her when she has nightmares, and even buys her a ball to play with for when she is done with her daily work.  It is little wonder that she becomes so devoted to him so quickly.  

In the light novel, by contrast, we have Naofumi's viewpoint, and it is a pragmatic one. Everything he is does for Raphtalia is about protecting his investment. She is no good to him dead, after all, and he doesn't have enough silver for a replacement slave. There is still the issue of the toy ball, though, and he admits to becoming fond of her. 

It came as a surprise to me that the Wave of Destruction was not the climax of the story. While it is a high point, what happens afterward is the true climax, and it is more fitting with the book as a whole and provides far greater catharsis. 

Now a note on the battle sequences. There are certain segments during the Wave of Destruction that appear to have been created for the anime to make it more engaging because I did not see them in the book. The book's event is good, don't get me wrong, but I think the author is more interested in "Naofumi the merchant" than "Naofumi the warrior".  The duel at the end of the book is also somewhat disappointing, effectively only showing Round 1 and then skipping to the conclusion. 

Also included in the book are two bonus chapters featuring Raphtalia and Motoyatsu, the Spear Hero. 

Raphtalia's chapter shows what her life was like before meeting Naofumi, which is only hinted at in the main narrative. It makes her even more sympathetic than before, as well as a deeper character. 

Motoyatsu's chapter is like a fun-house mirror. It is presented in his perspective, which sounds like a happy and pleasant thing on the surface, but scarcely conceals what is really going on. He is basically using his status as a Legendary Hero for ego-stroking, and ignores anything that does not fit his rosy image. One scene in particular can hit really hard in the feels when the pieces come together. 

Finally, a note on the wordcraft of the story.

 This story is written from Naofumi's perspective, so anything that he doesn't notice or doesn't feel important enough to describe or explain is not described or explained. If he doesn't realize a condition is in effect immediately, he will say something retroactively. This second part might be a remnant of the story originating as a web novel. 

Next, the dialogue does not always explicitly indicate who is talking. This may be confusing if you are not expecting it. It is a little confusing at times, but I do not see it as a problem. Why? Because whenever it happens, one can infer who said it based on what is said. 

The king speaks differently from the slave owner, and Naofumi speaks differently from the vendors he talks to . So one can tell who is speaking based on context. I think this is a side-effect of translation from Japanese to English, but I do not know for certain. Also, since the other three Legendary Heroes tend to appear as a group, they are effectively a cast herd, so it doesn't matter which of them said which thing, because it is appropriate for any of them to say it. Even so, one can spot differences and infer as time goes on. 

Trickster Eric Novels gives Rising of the Shield Hero volume 1 a B+

Click here for my next book review (for fun): A Witch's Printing Office volume 2

Click here for my previous book review (a request): Heart of the Curiosity

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Review Request: The Heart of the Curiosity

H.L. Burke sent me a copy of her book, "The Heart of the Curiosity" so I could tell everyone what I think about it. I decided to read it because it sounded fun. Two kids exploring the catacombs of an old theater, facing puzzles and traps, to find a treasure at the end? Sounds like a classic dungeon delve. It is only kinda-sorta like that, but it is still a great story that I enjoyed reading.

I will examine plot, character and polish and then assign a grade. 

PLOT

The story begins with Leo and her little sister Muse escaping from a traveling carnival and making their way to the Curiosity, the greatest theater in the country. I mean that literally, the first paragraph is Leo is cutting open a canvas wall so she and Muse can jump off a moving cart. It is a fantastic introduction because of how it establishes the personalities of the sisters and their objectives. 

Leo is the pragmatic sort who wants a better life for her sister, and Muse is more romantic than her and wants to dance professionally. Achieving these goals would make for a fantastic story, which speaks well of Miss. Burke's ability to set up conflict and engaging characters quickly. However, the real conflict is a little different. 

It is a multi-layered thing. There's the financial troubles facing the Curiosity, the threats made against it by those outside it, and finally Leo's own more personal trouble relating back to the carnival and how it affects her today. All of these layers are skillfully wrapped together into a strong rope like that which holds up the Curiosity's curtains. There are many types of conflicts but they all meld nicely and support each other.

Personally, it was disappointing that the actual dungeon delve into the Curiosity's catacombs was so short. Far more time is spent simply finding the starting line than the delving, and when the starting line is found, the following traps and puzzles are not the focus of attention. It was definitely disappointing since this is what was highlighted in the book's blurb when I picked it up. Even so, it makes for an exciting and worthy climax. It is like being given a sub sandwich when you were expecting a hamburger; the former is still satisfying even if it is not what you were expecting.  

The ending is satisfying as well. It closes the stories conflict and resolves numerous plot threads so the falling action is complete and the reader experiences closure. It also opens up the possibility for future story down the road, thus achieving a "snap shot in the life of X" sort of thing. 

CHARACTERS

Leo is the protagonist, and she is a complicated character. On the surface, she is a grumpy girl with a major case of Big Sister Instinct, but she has a lot of layers. There's her love-hate relationship with her Knack (i.e. personal magic), for instance. She hates manipulating people's emotions but she still does so without prompting in many circumstances. She also seems to have a Madonna-Whore Complex but for guys. They're either depraved sexual predators or totally harmless and nonsexual saints, and she assumes the former until proven otherwise.

She is definitely a flawed character but also a very sympathetic one. She constantly meddles in her little sister's life and career, sometimes against her explicit wishes, but always with the best of intentions and a concealed personal reason that is totally understandable given her history. As distasteful as she finds her Knack, it is still a very useful one, and so a reader can understand why she relies on it while simultaneously hating it. 

Her weakness for pastries is a fun running gag.

Muse is also an interesting character. She is Leo's younger sister, and the focal point of Leo's life. She enters the story as a timid little thing that definitely needs Leo's looking after. Over time, she has a remarkable development into someone more vivacious. The phrase "colorful butterfly" comes to mind. She becomes as good at managing Leo, as Leo thinks she is at managing Muse. She doesn't have as much focus as Leo but she is still quite vivid as a character.

The sister-teasing is cute and funny.

Our third major character is Paxton, repairman who works in the Curiosity and is the nephew/grandson of the theater’s stagemistress and propmaster, respectively. He is also Leo's best and only friend (excluding Muse). He is a hard-working yet easy-going guy. Like Muse, he is a contrast and a foil for leading lady, Leo. She is typically stressed out about something, and he smooths things over. Yet, he certainly feels the weight of responsibility for the Curiosity, and has his own issues related to his past, just like Leo.

The villain of the story, Sturgis is a more archetypal Corrupt-Corporate-Executive. He is clever, sinister, and effective as a villain, but doesn't feel as multi-faceted as the other characters. As wealthy and renowned as he is, there does not appear to be a motive to his Evil Plan beyond base greed and petty bullying. Miss. Burke uses him as a catalyst to stir up conflict for the theater and for the other characters, and he serves this purpose excellently, but as a character himself, he falls flat, in my personal opinion. 

Finally, snail circus. It is adorable.

POLISH

It looks good. I don't recall any typos.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "The Heart of the Curiosity" an A+ 

Click here for my next book review (for fun): Rising of the Shield Hero - volume 1

Click here for my previous book review (a request): The Endless Lands

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Walking a Nature Trail is Inspiring - a brief novelist's perspective

Spring has come, and warm weather has come with it. So I decided to take a walk on a nature trail by my house. I haven't done that in a while, and it was a beautiful day. I am glad that I did. It was inspirational.

I don't see such all-encompassing nature often. Mostly, it is just the small and trimmed areas that line the roads on my way to work. These days, I don't even see that anymore. The only plant life that I have regular contact with is a tiny plant in my study, which I water every other day or so. I should probably do that less often because the soil is growing white moss. 

When I walked through that nature trail, by the water and among the trees, I realized anew why so many fairy tales take place in the woods.

They are so full of life. The many plants and many varieties of plants all around lead one to thinking of the world and all that it contains, and the little critters that one can spot can lead thoughts to other communities outside of human settlements. I spotted a family of ducks swimming by in the lake. They went about their business, maybe and maybe not noticing the large and alien creature that was observing them (i.e. me).

The tall trees and the foliage limit visibility, and so one can be surprised by what is just around the bend in the path. This happened to me numerous times. I trotted down this hill and was greeted by a new glade, mud puddle, or tree formation. I saw cross-roads, and those are linked to Fair Folk in stories. 
Take the wrong path and you might end up in the Land of the Faerie, a land renowned for its strangeness, wonder, and danger. To someone living on a farm, a forest would fit that description. 

You can meet strangers in the forest too.

A couple families were out enjoying nature as well, and our paths crossed going opposite directions. Naturally, we had to stay six feet apart due to COIVD-19 social distancing rules. I drifted a bit off the path to be that far away. I greeted them and they went on their way; a momentary meeting in the woods that happened by chance.

Shortly after that, I came across a bridge. Two bridges actually, one was made of wood and the other, metal. They span segments of the lake that is nearby. I like bridges. They represent connection between two places, and this can take many forms in the mind of a novelist. It could be the distance between two worlds, or a connection between two groups. With the woods on one side and a neighborhood of buildings on the other, this bridge was like the threshold between the world of humans and the world of Fair Folk. The metal bridge could add a layer of meaning to the connection; Cold Iron is supposedly poisonous to the Fair Folk, and so a bridge made of it would not a friendly bridge to the Fair Folk.

And so my nature walk came to an end. It was fun. I found much inspiration. So I decided to write when I returned home. 

To read about my winter nature walk in 2023, click here

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

The Endless Land (review request)

Rob Gregson asked me to read his novel, "The Endless Land: A Continuing Tale of Fantasy, Lies and Rebellion". This is the second book in the "Written World" series and the sequel to "Unreliable Histories",  which I enjoyed so I was looking forward to this one. It is an unusual book.

PLOT

Much like the first book, this book is a quest narrative. Myra, Al and Nevi are searching for the Diegesis Gate, which is "the only power worth having". Yay for Genius Bonuses.

The first thing I noticed about this book is that it follows a similar arc as the previous book. It has a slow hum-drum start followed by parodies of scenes or events in the genres of Adventure and Fantasy (particularly low fantasy). Then it gets into serious parody, which I mean a parody that includes drama or genuine danger, and then gets into something truly serious, which is the meat of the subject matter.
This makes the start of the book a slag to read through. The main characters are strangely absent in much of the opening scenes. There are numerous scenes jumps, and the scenes themselves are not established before the narrative moves along. There's even a scene about two bored people guarding a harbor. It goes on for several pages, and I don't understand why. I think it has something to do with the novel's concept of "being Here" (note the capital 'H'). I think it may have been addressed at the climax by SPOILER but it was still boring to read.
Seriously, there is an extended sequence near the end of the story that addresses all these (seemingly) unrelated scenes, what their purpose (or lack thereof) is, and the author uses this extended sequence and these scenes to make an interesting point about the nature of fiction, literature and general narration. Yet I cannot discuss it without spoiling everything. That wouldn't be fair to the characters.

Spoiler reasoning aside, the story doesn't pick up, in my opinion, until Supreme Lord Dahrrek appears. This is where the first hint of the story's true subject matter enters the narrative, and his conversations with Myra are fun and intriguing. Also, the way he acts so affable and benevolent when all of his subjects act like he's a stereotypical evil lord is a recurring running gag that is most useful when amusing the readers.  (I hope the author catches the reference I made just now).

Things get trippy towards the end, but it's all clear and makes perfect sense. I want to talk about how much I like the true conflict of this story, as well as its resolution and continuation (as opposed to ending), but to do so would be spoilers. It is such a well-thought out, fascinating, and ambitious idea that I don't want to give it away by providing any more hints in this review. So I hope the Author/Narrator is satisfied with these vague and generic remarks.

 CHARACTERS

Myra continues to develop, and it is a full and natural development. The way she learns about the world and its history, and how she uses that to handle her enemies, shows her background as a merchant but it also shows her as a person of compassion and understanding. She certainly has greater ambition and visionary scope than her uncle, but hasn't absorbed any of his obnoxious greed.

Dahrrek is another interesting character. The contrast between what he says and how people react is both funny and really relevant to the story's central theme and conflict. His part of the resolution is part of what makes the resolution so interesting.

The other characters are not quite so interesting. Al seems diluted from what he was in the previous story. He just doesn't have much to do besides ask questions and get confused by the answers he receives. Nevi is always fun to read about but he was distracted in the early bits of the story by a shape-shifting shark.
The villains feel insubstantial and interchangeable. Being called "The Cowl" by the narrative is mysterious and all, but it does little for characterization. I honestly can't tell him from any of his fellows because all of them appear to be the same basic template.

POLISH

The story looks good. I recall few if any typos.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "The Endless Land:  A Continuing Tale of Fantasy, Lies and Rebellion" a B+

This has been a free review request. The author asked for an honest review so I provided one.

Click here for my next book review (a request): The Heart of the Curiosity

Click here for my previous book review (for fun): Tai Chi Bible

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Tai Chi Bible (read for knowledge, and fun)

Tai Chi Bible

This is yet another book I found at my local library (libraries are great!).

The first thing one should know about this book and its author, Dan Docherty, is that it is a book on practical Tai Chi. That is, this Tai Chi is meant to be a form of self-defense that would be effective in real-life situations. Mr. Docherty distinguishes this (Tai Chi Chuan) from Tai Chi that is practiced purely for competition aesthetics or for health benefits. The latter of these is the stereotypical really-slow one. Mr. Docherty considers these latter two kinds to be incomplete at best, and missing the entire point/corrupted at worst. This is one reason why some other Tai Chi practitioners consider him to be a "heretic". He addresses this in the front and back chapters.

I like practical applications of martial arts, so that was perfect for me. I wanted something that will be useful in addition to good exercise. I've been using several of the techniques in this book here every morning as part of my daily exercise. It is helpful to fully wake up and start my day. However, I do not think this book is quite practical enough.

The techniques are described with both pictures of people demonstrating the techniques and words that describe the technique and its application. Both are, in a word, laconic. It can take some time to figure out precisely how to perform the technique and how this translates into the practical application.

In particular, Mr. Docherty does not mention a starting position for each technique or says something along the lines of "from technique X", and I don't know if he means the start of the end of Technique X. It is rare for him to state which stance should be used. It is like he transliterates what he says to students in person and takes pictures of what said students look like after they take the right positions for each motion.

There is a section on weapons that has even less elaboration. They are one picture and a title; no words, instructions or diagrams present. I would hardly call this a "definitive guide".

After the core technique section, he references these techniques while discussing other subjects. He doesn't mention which page these techniques are on, so one has to either page through or go to the index. It is inconvenient.

At either end of the book, there are brief areas where Mr. Docherty talks about other things related to Tai Chi. He is unapologetic to say the least in his ideas about modern Tai Chi and practitioners that he disapproves of. He makes a lot of good points, but it feels like trashing people who trash on him.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Tai Chi Bible" a C+

Click here for my next book review ( a request): The Endless Lands


Click here for my previous book review A Witch's Printing Office - volume 1

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

A Witch's Printing Office - volume 1 (read for fun)

A Witch's Printing Office - volume 1

This is something I found at my local library, and I like it so much I purchased a copy for myself. It is that much fun.

This is the story of Mika Kamiya, a witch who runs a printing office in a typical medieval fantasy world. She is also the head of the Magic Market Prep Committee, which runs the Magic Market. It is a semi-annual event where magic-users can gather to purchase spells from each other, be they expert professionals of large factions or amateurs working overnight just for this event.
In other words, it is basically a magical world version of real life's Comic Market/comiket. That is where its humor lies.

This is a Low Fantasy comedy story, and it likes poking gentle fun at dark/ high/otherwise serious fantasy stories. Each chapter begins with a bait-and-switch joke that APPEARS as though something epic is going on when it is actually something more mundane/non-dangerous.
For instance, the first chapter has the patrons of a tavern noting that a lot of monsters are gathering in "the Holy Land", which makes them think that the demon lord is reviving. There's even a group of knights whose mission is to slay these monsters.  However, these monsters are revealed to be conjured familiars of of mages who are attending Magic Market, and the knights are slaying them because it is against the rules for a familiar to hold a mage's place in line, especially overnight.  This happens in real-life, apparently, and the people who do it are called "overnight fiends".

This is not the only joke that parallels the real life Comic Market. Some of them are quick and obvious, but some are more subtle, or take longer to prepare.  One in particular had me thinking "No way...This isn't leading up to that, is it?" Then I laughed when the story did indeed lead up to that.

It is not all jokes, though. Chapter 2 takes an unexpected turn for the dramatic, and has excellent catharsis. Chapter 5 is intense. Even though it is a Mundane-Made-Awesome sort of chapter, it is still an exciting chapter. Chapter 6 is a complete package of drama, character development, humor, and plot progression.

I like Mika as a character. She is cute and friendly, but also serious about her job and has admirable work ethic. It is her pride as a professional that leads her to pull an overnight-er to complete urgent print jobs, and her concerns about her office staying solvent that create packages like "dragon slayer", which makes the job cost twice as much if it needs to be completed by morning.

Other characters aren't quite as well-rounded or developed as Mika is, but they are still plenty distinct and have interesting arcs to themselves. Naki the Necormancer, for instance, is sympathetic and Gandolf is a funny old man.

The artwork is great.
--> The battle with the "overnight fiends" looks epic, as does the "battlefield" that Broadway fights upon.
--> The settings, magic market, taverns, and, of course, the titular printing press, are all detailed and interesting to explore.
 --> The characters, like Mika and Naki, are cute.

Trickster Eric Novel gives "A Witch's Printing Press volume 1" an A+

Click here for my next book review: Tai Chi Bible

Click here for my previous book review (for fun): Spice and Wolf: Town of Strife 1 - v 8


Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Beginner Frustration after Thirteen Years

This is a stream-of-consciousness post that I wrote last week during a moment of writing angst. Revisions to my current WIP are taking longer and have been more difficult than I expected, which prompted this outlet into a different form of writing. 

______________________

Ten years. thirteen years. I lose track. I have to count them up every flippin' time. It is about thirteen years. In any case, it is over a decade since I started writing original fiction. YET I STILL FEEL LIKE A BEGINNER.

Story building. Conflict. Character construction. perspective. the art of prose. Just laying words on the page. All of it is still so... immature. I read it and it is half-baked. 

I'm not talking about first draft material. First draft material is crap. It is always crap. I don't mind if the first draft is crap. I'm talking about fourth draft material.

The fifth book of my Journey to Chaos series is in its fourth draft. To be precise, it is the second rewrite of the fourth draft. The first version of the first rewrite collapsed in on itself about 2/3 of the way through. I realized that the story I had written could not sustain itself. So many errors, it was like rotten wood. I had to create a second rewrite, which is something I've never had to do before.  Did I mention this was my fifth book? 

My fourth book was also a disappointment. I re-read it now and I'm amazed I published this thing. Maybe "horrified" is the better word. Maybe I'm over-reacting. I don't think it is a bad story, but poorly executed. It's like I published the second draft. 

I saw myself as getting better with each book. I think the second is better than the first and the third better than the second. Then I come to #4. Now I'm struggling with #5 in a way that I haven't before. Was I just lucky with earlier books? Am I only now, after thirteen years, developing actual skill as a writer? 

When I read the work of superior authors, I was happy to see how much better they were. I could learn by example. It was a mindset of "I'm new at this, so I will learn from those older and more experienced". Now, thirteen years later, how can I still see myself as new? 

I thought I'd have more books written and published by now. I have so many plots that I want to write, yet I remain in my first series. I want to finish this series so I can move on, but if I look to horizon then I stumble on the stones in my path. I don't want to put out another stinker, especially not two in a row. 

I'm not a professional author. I do it in my spare time. I have a day job. The amount of time I have to write before I die of old age is already limited. Yet so much of it is lost on rewrites, overhauls, and extra drafts because I lack skill, or awareness, or even the capacity to plan.

Planing has never worked for me. I want to plan events and story lines so I can be more efficient and avoid so much rewriting. Yet, it has never worked. The actual writing is never what happened on the outline (maybe not "never" but rarely).

Thirteen years, and four books. Now I'm writing this blog post. 

It hurts, somehow to see better storylines, better direction, better execution. It's like "I see how they did that, I know how it works, so why can't I do it myself?" Or maybe it is like "how did I not see that over thirteen years? Have I been a blind man stumbling through all this time, and just now actually seeing?"  That would be luck. 

Maybe I should be glad that I do notice those things. If I were to remain blind, I would not see how bad my writing is, and it would remain so.
Hey
I just remembered a quote. "it is far better to light the candle than to curse the darkness". Quote Investigator says this is originally part of a sermon from William L Watkinson. 

That is what I should focus on.

_____________________________________________________

Adding this part to the end of each post has become a non-thinking habit. But this time, adding it makes me feel better.

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Spice and Wolf: Town of Strife 1 - v 8 (read for fun)

This is an unusual volume for many reasons.

For one, it is the first two-parter. I will say right now that it ends in a cliff-hanger. Normally, I do not like this but I am willing to give Hasekura-sensei a pass on this one because he addressed it in his author's notes. He tried to fit it all in one volume, but the story was too big for this to work. He would have to remove so much the story would not make sense or have the same impact. As an author myself, I totally understand that.

This volume is also unusual is that it has more than one plot thread. Previous volumes had one economic thing with Holo's search being in the background. Here, the two of them are on more equal footing. The trio of Lawrence, Holo and Cole are following a rumor of wolf deity bones primarily but are also dragged into a local economic thing, which has a lot more facets than I am used to. To be frank, I couldn't follow this one as well as the previous volumes.

I think this is because the volume's economic plot is bigger and more complicated than previous plots. It involves the town's administrative leaders, the HQ of the Rowan merchant's guild, of which Lawrence is a member, at least two other trading companies, Eve the fallen noble, the church as an intra-continental organization, and a mystery party that supposedly has already obtained the wolf deity bones. Making this all the more complicated, the town is split twin-cities style into north and south, with pagans dominating the north and non-pagans the south.
Indeed, I get the felling that Lawrence himself is having trouble following this particular economic adventure because he is caught-off guard more than usual and a good chunk of the plot is him collecting information and sending Holo and Cole out to fetch more separate from him, all so that he can determine what is going on. In that case, my confusion is a Intended Audience Reaction.

There is greater lore here than in previous volumes. I feel I have a better mental image of the town of Kerube than I did of earlier towns because there is more scenic detail of the town itself and its delta. The surrounding countryside, too, is filled in with details like the Roam River (which was the setting of volume 6) and the Roef Mountains that it flows down from, and where Cole was born. We also get to see the trade guild that Lawrence belongs to, and his relationship to it is unexpectedly non-friendly.

For those seeking the usual banter between Lawrence and Holo, fear not! for in that way this volume is not unusual. There is plenty of verbal jousting here, particularly in the first chapter. The addition of Cole gives Holo additional means to tease and provoke.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Spice and Wolf: Town of Strife 1 -  v 8" a A+

Click here for my next book review: A Witch's Printing Office - volume 1

Click here for my previous book review: Ah! My Goddess! The Devil in Miss Urd


Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Ah! My Goddess! The Devil in Miss Urd (read for fun)

This appears to be a collection of sequential chapters from the main series. It follows the origins, creation, and aftermath of Mara creating a full-devil version of Urd. So Urd is basically the main character of this particular volume.

The meat of the story is Urd's complicated relationship with Mara. They are friends and they enjoy hanging out together for drinks and karaoke etc. but they're also enemies because of their respective jobs as a goddess and a devil. Mara's attempt to create a full-devil version of her friendly enemy could be an attempt at resolving this (it's implied this is the case when she talks to Urd at the time of the clone's creation).
Keichi and his relationship with Belldandy is very much a secondary thing here. It's like they're the domestic and romantic beta couple to the more turbulent friendship of Urd and Mara.

There's lots of sisterly love here too. Skuld is essentially tsundere to her oldest sister during the central chapters, which is adorable. The final showdown between devil!Urd and goddess!Urd can be compared to Urd's tendency for Big Sister Bully vs her Big Sister Instinct. Then, of course, Belldandy's concern and empathy for Urd is so sweet you will go "aww" at the climax.

Also, a limelight chapter for Ban-pei. That was fun, and unexpected.

The whole thing is suffuse with comedy, but these do not undermine the more action-y or suspenseful scenes. The chapters flow really well into one another, while still being fun in and of themselves.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "Ah! My Goddess! The Devil in Miss Urd" an A+

Click here for my next book review: Spice and Wolf: Town of Strife 1 - v 8

Click here for my previous book review: Hungry for You - Endo Yasuko Stalks the Night v2

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.

Hungry for You - Endo Yasuko Stalks the Night v2 (read for fun)

This is a book I found at my local library. It looked like a romantic comedy staring a vampire, and I have seen few of those so I was intrigued.

Endo Yasuko, the vampire in question, is looking for her sire (the vampire that turned her into a vampire), who is supposedly also the one responsible for girls going missing in the area. However, this does not figure into most of the events of this volume. It seems largely to be slice-of-life to me. For instance,
*one chapter includes a visit from Shizune's parents (who is the roomate/"emergency rations" for Yasuko).
*one chapter includes Akira, a classmate, troubled by a smutty dream involving Yasuko (it doesn't go further than a kiss/bite while both of them are fully clothed).
*Yasuko reflecting on her past and visiting her childhood home, which is now a cultural landmark.
Finding the sire, and engaging with them, is the climax of the volume, and maybe for the story itself. It is a good climax and a good conclusion.

This sire makes for a great foil with Yasuko because her behavior underscores how healthy Yasuko's relationship with Shizune is in comparison.
Yasuko and Shizune are roommates. They share the apartment rent and household responsibilities. While Yasuko drinks Shizune's blood, it is only a little bit at a time to minimize the side-effects. In contrast, the relationship between Yasuko's sire and the missing girls is presented as abusive. This other vampire locks them up and drains them until they develop Stockholm syndrome and become malnourished husks. The parallels between intensive blood-draining and drug addiction are striking.

The artwork is good, but I occasionally had trouble determining whose speech bubble belonged to whom.

It is regularly funny, and has some touching moments. It is worth looking into if you like Shoujo-ai.


Trickster Eric Novels gives Hungry for You: Endo Yasuko Stalks the Night v2 a C+

Click here for my next book review: Ah! My Goddess! The Devil in Miss Urd

Click here for my previous book review: If It's For My Daughter I'd Even Fight a Demon Lord volume 2

Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration). His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.