A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review

    I admit that I was a lot iffier about this than I expected to be. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms should have been my most anticipated show of the year. Instead, it was hovering behind Fallout, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and even House of the Dragon. Which is strange because I am a huge George R.R. Martin apologist. I don’t care that the series is unfinished or that I disliked season eight heavily. No, I am a ride or die for Westeros and love the Dunk and Egg series of novellas. I anticipate them more than The Winds of Winter.

    No, I was afraid of the very common feeling of fans who have a beloved property being adapted – I was afraid of them ****ing it up. Yes, that was exactly how I felt with less asterisks to cover up the swearing. The shadow of Game of Thrones season eight hung heavily in the air and I wasn’t entirely fond of the alterations done for House of the Dragon season two. Very few people treat Martin’s work with the fidelity it deserves. Would this? It turns out, yes, yes they did.

    So what is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms about? Well, a hedge knight named Dunk (Peter Claffey) is the squire of a sixty year old warrior named Arlan of Pennytree. This being Westeros, Arlan dies of a chill and Dunk decides to take up his mantle as a poor mercenary that is going to risk it at all at a nearby tournament. There he meets a young boy named Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), takes him as a squire, and soon finds himself offending the powerful before deciding on what sort of knight he should be.

    In a very real way, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms shows that Westeros can be done on the downscale with most of the story taking place from Dunk’s perspective and not really moving from the Ashford setting. Compared to all the super-expensive dragons and massive sets, it manages to tell a story that encaptures everything that makes the setting wonderful. In the end, it was always about the characters and their complicated choices.

    The story feels a little stretched across six episodes and the additional content is something that tends to drag down the rest of the material. Would this have been a better two and a half hour movie over the three hour season? Tough call because I am very glad to have a new series but there really wasn’t enough story for this. The fact it came out as fantastic as it did, though, means this is a small complaint.

    Part of what I think makes the story work so good is it is a reminder that George R.R. Martin’s reputation for nihilism and grimdark is somewhat exaggerated. The only reason people think this is because we’re in the Empire Strikes Back portion of A Song of Ice and Fire. Dunk is a great believer in heroism, honor, and chivalry but that’s because he’s outside the system. The contrast between those who know it’s all talk and the person who believes in it is the source of ninety percent of the conflicts.

    The smaller scale of the story doesn’t hurt the show nearly as much as you might think. However, the allusions to things like the Blackfyre Rebellion, Dornish Marches, and other activities make the world feel much bigger than is shown. It makes me greedy for more seasons of this show and kind of wish that we’d done a season of the first three stories even though so much would have been lost in the process.

    Peter Claffey’s earnest performance really is what sells this story but the supporting cast is all memorable and I came to love both the Laughing Storm (Daniel Ings) and Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas). The Targaryens are also given far less screen time than House of the Dragon but all of them give us a sense of both why their house has endured but also why it’s in slow decline to irrelevance. The show implies a lot more resentment against the “incestuous aliens” than I think is appropriate but it does give a feel that their end is coming.

    In conclusion, I like the action and the setting as well as the smaller focus. Will we get to the She-Wolves of Winter before Martin writes it? Maybe, maybe not, but this goes a long way to reminding me of just how much I love the setting. I love many fantasy settings but Westeros will always have a place in my heart and these lower stakes stories are the things I’d love to see more of.

Wizards of Dragon Keep is now available!

Hey folks,

I'm pleased to say that one of my epics has been completed. THE DARK UNDERMASTER SAGA (Lords of Dragon Keep, Guardians of Dragon Keep, and Wizards of Dragon Keep) has been finished with the third book. WIZARDS OF DRAGON KEEP is now available on Kindle Unlimited, in ebook, and in paperback form.

---

"So, we've got an army."
"Yes. All of the Southern Kingdoms are united for our big battle with Veles."
"Except, he's not fighting us. He ran to Earth."
"Yeah, I didn't see that one coming."

It is the time for the final battle between Veles and Aaron's heroic band of misfits. Except Veles doesn't show up. Unfortunately, this leaves Aaron holding the bag as the various factions he's united have ended up divided. Worse, Aaron is slowly metamorphisizing to becoming a god and will soon no longer be able to be among mortals. Can his relationship to his loved ones' survive? Can he defeat Veles before he's bound by ridiculous rules against stopping him? Can he stop Jon from making incest jokes?

WIZARDS OF DRAGON KEEP is the third volume of the Dark Undermaster Saga, a humorous send up of dark fantasy like Game of Thrones, The Witcher, and Dark Souls. It is a progression fantasy LitRPG that follows the adventures of video game computer programmer, Aaron Bartkowski as he is hurled bodily into the world of his favorite author, Larry C.C. Weis. Unfortunately, Weis turns out to have been much better at stealing from other, better, authors than he was in giving his heroes a break.

I am also very happy to announce that the work has begun on LORDS OF DRAGON KEEP's audiobook

Available here.

Lords of Dragon Keep is free from February 4th to 9th

Hey folks,

I'm pleased to say that LORDS OF DRAGON KEEP is free from February 4th to February 9th. What is Lords of Dragon Keep? It's my fun attempt at LitRPG humor where a guy is dipped into a dark fantasy setting influenced by The Witcher and A Song of Ice and Fire and meets all the horrific grimdark with BOUNDLESS OPTIMISM! Can a combination of kindness, empathy, and incredibly terrifying D&D abilities overcome a world of horrific cynicism? Find out! The price is right, certainly.

It also has a talking raven.

"Give me the incredibly short summary of what the hell is going on, please. The kind you could fit into a movie trailer."
“You’re trapped in a video game world based on a hack dark fantasy author’s rip-off of better books.”
“Uh huh. Maybe you could be a bit more detailed.”

Aragorn "Aaron" Bartkowski was a programmer working at Epic DungeoneeringTM, the world's largest fantasy video game company. Much to his surprise, he was selected to pick up the latest manuscript from reclusive author Larry C.C. Weis. Weis had been working on his newest book for over a decade and the good folk at Aaron's company had dibs on adapting it. Unfortunately, Weis was also a wizard and sent Aaron to the world that inspired his books.

Aaron proceeded to find himself in a Slavic mythology themed world where he's believed to be Weis' main character, Garland of Nowhere. Equipped with the powers of a RPG protagonist, Aaron must accumulate experience and equipment while navigating a setting that seems worse off than Game of Thrones and Dark Souls put together.

LORDS OF DRAGON KEEP is a LitRPG progression fantasy isekai that takes the grim out of grimdark with biting humor as well as intelligent exploitation of the rules. It has excellent world-building, a great supporting cast, a bit of romance, and lots of laughs. Oh and there's a talking raven.

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/lords-of-dragon-keep-by-c-t-phipps

Undercity: Rebellion by SC Jensen review

    UNDERCITY: REBELLION by SC Jensen is a post-apocalypse dystopian adventure novel that I absolutely loved. Anyone who knows what I write is aware that I am a huge post-apocalypse fan and I absolutely love when weird new civilizations emerge out of the wasteland. I’m also a fan of SC Jensen with her Bubbles in Paradise books that are goofy cyberpunk adventures. So, I was all set to read this one and just didn’t get around to actually enjoying it until this week. Yeah, my TBR is huge and that sunk me from my efforts to get around to it for almost a year. Now I’m kicking myself for letting it get so long.

    The premise is that society has been destroyed by war in the distant future. Out of the ashes of this apocalypse has emerged a new civilization divided into two separate parts: the top dwelling Elysian Empire and the bottom-dwelling City. The Elysians still have access to advanced technology ranging from genetically engineered supersoldiers to immortality while the City only has a few districts where electricity is available. It is a distinctly uneven relationship with the Elysians also frequently buying unwanted (or wanted) children as slaves.

    One of the City’s scavengers, Ghost, has a worse life than most citizens because her younger sister, Lyca, has been missing for over a decade. Ghost vainly (?) hopes she’s still alive somewhere and that her searches will ease the guilt she has for not protecting her. It is after one of her last leads dries up that Ghost encounters the mysterious Lynch, a man who claims that not only is her sister alive but that he can lead her to her. Unfortunately, this comes with the strings attached that Lynch is a well-known anti-Elysian terrorist and wants Ghost’s help in organizing another attack on the upper levels.

    What follows is an interesting variation on a caper story and a revolutionary story in one. Ghost must use her contacts with the city’s underworld to assemble a group willing to suicidally throw themselves at the overwhelming power of the Elysian Empire while also deal with the fact that most of them have severe issues with Ghost herself. Ghost also has an attraction Lynch but this would mean betraying her relationship with her existing girlfriend, Mirelle. Ghost is not the only LGBTAQ character in the book but I like how it’s just not a big deal in the City.

    As antagonists, I had a few issues with the Ursaal. He’s basically a Baron Harkonnen-esque monster with no redeeming qualities whatsoever that affects my enjoyment of the story. In post-apocalypse stories, I generally prefer more moral ambiguity. The Time Keepers, of which the series is named, are much more interesting on that level. Are they good, bad, or a mixture of both? They’re supporting Lynch’s war but definitely put off an incredibly shady vibe. Certainly, they’re extremely ruthless and that is something I hope to see more of in future installments.

    In conclusion, Undercity: Rebellion is a fantastic novel that I really enjoyed. The world building was well-done and evocative. I really felt like I understood both the Elysian Empire portions of the setting as well as how the City functions. I like the characters, especially Ghost, and I hope to see a lot more of these in the future.

Available here 

Still Wakes the Deep review

    STILL WAKES THE DEEP is a cosmic horror "walking simulator" that is produced by The Chinese Room (Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2). It takes place on a Scottish oil rig during the 1970s with issues like labor politics, xenophobia, and poor safety standards being background before things utterly go to hell when they do as the dwarves of Moria did and dig too deep. I am an easy sell for almost anything H.P. Lovecraft inspired and was already sold on the premise.  In 2005, I watched The Rig and also played The Iron Rig DLC for the similarly Cthulhu Mythos-esque Dredge.

    The protagonist, Caz, is an electrician who is presently on the run from the police. Having gotten into a bar fight that went too far, Chaz isn't wanted for murder but did put a guy in the hospital. Getting a job on the oil rig thanks to a friend, he is almost immediately sussed out and fired on the spot. It turns out that a shoddily maintained oil rig isn't the best place you want to bring police attention.

    This early part of the game introduces us to many of the working class stiffs on the oil rig that range from their union representative (nicknamed "Trots" because he's a little too enthusiastic about collective bargaining) and the sole woman onboard, Finley, who is as nontraditional as women in video games come being a stoic middle aged working mother.

    Despite describing this as a walking simulator, I'd argue that this is actually a full fledged video game even if the controls are somewhat simple. You do a lot of puzzle solving, platforming, and stealth throughout the game. The monsters are invincible and will instantly kill you if they lay their hands on you but the stealth is pretty forgiving. Their designs seem inspired by The Thing and are very effective but for one that looks absolutely silly. The story seems to draw a lot from The Colour out of Space as the Entity warps both the sanity as well as bodies of those involved.

    The atmosphere throughout the game is thick with tension and while significantly easier than, say, Alien: Isolation, I felt that it worked wonders. The old creaking and damaged oil rig is a place that Chaz must race around trying to keep operational long enough to evacuate. While I would have appreciated more time with the survivors, I also felt like Chaz genuinely knew all of the people that we find dead around him.

    The game is on the short side with four to five hours if you don't get stuck. There's no collectibles or sidequests but only a linear progression from area to area. I think this is a good thing rather than a bad thing because horror games benefit from shortened length so they don't wear out their welcome. Sadly, they don't learn this lesson in the DLC expansion Siren's Rest, as there's just not enough scares to justify the purchase price.

    In conclusion, Still Wakes the Deep is a great video game and one that I had a huge amount of fun playing. Chaz is an excellent protagonist and the setting is extremely creepy even before the Entity starts making it more Dead Space than Scotland. The attention to detail is so good that they actually included an option for the subtitles to translate all of the Scottish slang used by the workers. 

Available here

Dredge review

    DREDGE is a fascinating game concept and one that I deeply enjoyed but also sounds insane if you want to explain it to someone who hasn't played it. Specifically, it is an H.P. Lovecraft inspired fishing game. It is a "cozy" horror game where the picturesque cartoonish world is frequently interrupted by horrifying monsters as well as the danger of insanity. 

    Dredge's premise is pretty simple, even going beyond the description above. You are a fisherman who ends up washed up on the shores of a quaint New England fishing village on an isolated island. Your boat needs repair and the mayor offers to cover it if you go into debt by fishing for them. Eventually, you set out from the island to discover a much vaster collection of islands that have a variety of climates as well as unique threats. The history of the Fisherman and his link to the mysterious curse on the island are also revealed if you pay attention.

    The game is extremely fun and doesn't wear out its welcome. You must keep your boat in good repair, upgrade your rods, and upgrade your hull in order to continue catching frequently deformed seafood that keeps you in the black. There is also the mysterious Collector who wants you to retrieve strange relics from the bottom of the ocean. The minigame for fishing is very simple and you'll be doing it a lot. The insanity system is probably the most tension inducing as you swiftly discover that traveling at night and looking at the monsters attracts horrific abominations.

    Exploring the map is incredibly fun, even if the early game slowness of your fishing boat is incredibly frustrating. Each of the island zones have their own unique threats and the cuteness of the art makes the revelation of the truly terrifying all the more effective. One of the scariest moments of the game was when I was exploring an island atoll and discovered it was actually over the mouth of a gigantic monster.

    The game really does its atmosphere well and everything from the soundtrack to the characters builds a tension that never fully disipates. As a fisherman, you don't really have any ways to defend yourself against the monsters outside and going insane is an ever present threat. The only way to keep your panic down is to take regular rests and that's impossible on the open waves. There's sidequests throughout the story and two DLC campaigns but I admit I liked the main game most.

    In conclusion, Dredge is a fun and entertaining game that surprisingly manages to maintain the HP Lovecraft feel despite being about, well, fishing. There's themes of madness, cursed ancestry, degenerative inhumanity, and ancient horrors beyond the scope of man. I also feel like the God of the Deep in the "bad" ending is probably the best portrayal of Cthulhu we've seen since it fully encapsulates just how huge the mountain that walks is. Definitely recommended.

Available here

Eldritch Prisoners edited by David Hambling review

    ELDRITCH PRISONERS is a cosmic horror anthology edited by David Hambling and containing a variety of other Neo-Mythos authors. It is the sixth installment of the Books of Cthulhu series, which started with the Tales of the Al-Azif novel, continued with Tales of Yog-Sothoth, and is still ongoing as of the writing of this review.

    The Books of Cthulhu series are a pulpier more adventure-coded version of the Cthulhu Mythos with the horror element still present but usually downgraded to something that the protagonists can deal with (even at considerable cost). They also tend to tie into other series like Cthulhu Reloaded, Harry Stubbs, and the Andrew Doran novels.

    The premise for Eldritch Prisoners is that it is a collection of novellas dealing with being held prisoner by eldritch forces. Not all of these stories do a great job of tying with this theme but I enjoyed all of them nevertheless. While technically a horror anthology, they’re much like Lovecraft’s work itself in that it also nicely fits into fantasy and science fiction categories. You don’t have to read any of the main series or the tie-in series to enjoy the book either.

    The first story is “Broken Singularity” by David Conyers, which stars his Australian Special Forces protagonist, Harrison Peel (or does it?). Harrison has found himself kidnapped from the Earth and transported through space/time to a space station overlooking a black hole. All of the other prisoners are from later points in time where humanity has merged with machines until they’re unrecognizable. This story is spread throughout the anthology and provides a bittersweet ending that ties it altogether.

    “The Prisoner from Beyond” by Matthew Davenport is probably my favorite of the stories and the closest to the pulpy occult adventures of the other Books of Cthulhu. Basically, a pair of “Esoteric Cavalrymen” working for Coolidge are sent to investigate a town that is being held prisoner by a supernatural force. The protagonists are pretty relatable as they find themselves way in over their heads facing things beyond mortal comprehension.

    “Body Snatchers” by David Hambling is a tie-in to the Harry Stubbs series. Harry Stubbs is a 1920s boxer turned detective with a past as a WW1 veteran. As the title of the story proclaims, Harry has to deal with someone stealing the bodies of other individuals before leaving them imprisoned as madmen in asylums. A straight-up occult adventure and one that I really enjoyed as the Stubbs series is fantastic for incorporating RL history and occult facts.

    “Leng’s Labyrinth” by John A. DeLaughter is the most complicated of the stories and a crisscross quilt pattern of Cthulhu Mythos references ranging from “Rats in the Walls” to “Into the Mountains of Madness.” There’s the military industrial complex, French catacombs, VR, cults, and so more that turns this into a kind of Lovecraftian Dan Brown novel. I didn’t always follow it but I enjoyed the ambition of the project.

    In conclusion, Eldritch Prisoners is a solid and entertaining anthology with some great work by people working into the century-old mythology of Howard Phillips Lovecraft. I think this is a good introduction for some of these authors as well. They’re not always well tied to the theme of imprisonment and I wouldn’t have minded some more shorter stories but it’s still a pretty good accomplishment.

Available here