Matthew Hunter

Session Map

Session Map

L1: The Secret of Bone Hill

Interlude

Dean (Thic Duc v2.0), Chris (Tiberium), Coby (Gunnar), Matt (Barron) and Mariel (Leah) are returning cast members. Jennifer (Ruby) and William (Sydney) are guest stars.

As we left the party, they were lost in a very realistic dream about a child kidnapped by a giant rat. Tiberium awoke from the dream in a cold sweat, feeling that the lessons he had learned in that dream were solid and real. Perhaps it was a hint from his god. He hurried downstairs from his room at the Peg Leg Inn, knowing he would need to get an early start to catch the ship that was supposed to take him to Restenford. Pyrcival had gone on ahead to make arrangements. He took a seat and ordered breakfast.

Wearing the Cape is the first book in a rather interesting, if not especially deep, superhero series. As you might expect, the first book is the origin story, but it covers a bit more than that. It’s obvious by the end of the book that we’re not dealing with a comic-book level plot. These heroes have grown-up problems.

It’s worth reading at certain price points. I started the series when it was on Kindle Unlimited, but it’s no longer there, and the books are currently priced at $8 each (about half a traditionally published new release, and roughly the same as an older traditionally published book). The writing and editing merits the price. The length is … less so, as the books usually come in around 200 to 300 pages. I held off on finishing the series for that reason, at least for a while.

The latest in Hamilton’s Anita Blake series, Serpentine continues the series with the planned wedding of “Ted” and Donna. Of course, things never go quite according to plan, and there are the usual supernatural complications that seem to follow Anita whereever she goes. Since we’re talking about book 26 in a series, this is not the place for new readers to start.

Further, we’re talking about a series where the closest thing to a Dark Lord threatening the world was killed off something like 10 books ago. So we’re basically running on fumes and leftover melodrama.

Session Map

L1: The Secret of Bone Hill

Interlude

Dean (Elmond Alward), Chris (Tiberium), and Brian (Pyrzival) are returning cast members. Kyle (Pipko) joins us for the first time.

As we left the party, they were trying to figure out what to do about a statue throwing hammers. We leave them to their fate, and the camera focus shifts to a tavern in nearby Restenford, where a young paladin and his gnomish tutor are enjoying a well-deserved meal together. Two half-elves sit nearby waiting for their own food, one of them talking quietly to his emotional support goat, when a women bursts in and screams that a giant rat has stolen her child. All of the competent adventurers in the tavern, meaning just those four, leap to their feet and run outside to resolve the issue. How eager for adventure they are!

Session Map

L1: The Secret of Bone Hill

Dean (Thic Duc), Matt (Lenny), Coby (Warin), Chris (Malag), Norsk (Brian), and Jeff (Amathar) are returning cast members.

As we left the party, they had just defeated a human wizard and his bugbear shaman ally, then kidnapped a baby bugbear after slaughtering his playmates and eating their brains. They searched the wizard’s laboratory, which caught Amathar’s attention enough that he came out of hiding, though he stayed invisible. Apparently he had been invisibly observing the party the whole time for research purposes. This enabled the party to determine which of the various flasks and vials were actually magical (8 of them) and prompted Malag to trade cloaks with Amathar.

Session Map

L1: The Secret of Bone Hill

Dean (Thic Duc), Matt (Lenny), Coby (Warin), Chris (Malag), and Norsk (Brian) are returning cast members.

As we left the party, they had made camp in the fortified temple at the top of Bone Hill. Amathar was still missing after taking a nap while under an invisibility spell. The party had left Thic Duc with the wagon to wait for Amathar, but after noon came and went with no sign of the mage, Thic Duc rejoined the group immediately following their battle with the bugbear shaman, drawn by the sounds of battle.

Session Map

L1: The Secret of Bone Hill

Matt (Lenny), Coby (Warin), Chris (Malag), and Norsk (Brian) are returning cast members.

As we left the party, Barron had been traumatized by losing his familiar Alphonso so soon after loosing his zombie pet Mr. Crackers. He returned to Rookroost to rethink his life and try to regain his sanity. At least, that’s what the note said. When they hurried down to the docks to try to stop him, or maybe to make sure he got on the boat, witnesses at the docks reported a diminutive half-elven ranger carrying a hog-tied hobgoblin in a large sack aboard a ship instead. When they returned to the inn, they realized Amathar was nowhere to be found – after scratching their heads about it, they decided he had taken a nap while invisible and there was nothing to be done about it until he woke up. They left a note. All the excitement distracted the party so much they forgot all about Thic Duc, who was meditating in his room when they left the inn to return to the temple at Bone Hill. Hopefully, he’ll find the note when he’s done contemplating his navel. It was Malag’s job to wake him before they left, but Malag was out in the marketplace trying to satisfy a food craving, so Thic Duc would have to catch up later. Luckily, they were joined on their way out of Restenford by Lenny, an auditor with the Adventure Capitalists, who wanted to examine firsthand whether the company’s adventurer’s handbook was being complied with.

A Wastrel’s Tale is (probably) the first book in a swords and sorcery zombie apocalypse series. The story revolves around a member of an order dedicated to fighting necromancy with the use of arms and specialized magic, yet for decades now there have been but few necromancers. Indeed, only one of any notable talent or skill, and that one in captivity. An ideal condition for a third son who would dearly love to spend his life training, drinking, and wenching, no? Unfortunately, duty is about to call…

An Airless Storm follows up on the adventures of Andrew Cochrane and his security service of interstellar mercenaries. Following their initial success in funding their operations, the company has ordered more ships and larger ships. But their enemies are doing the same. The book has the same vaguely Heinlein-juvenile feel, and the plot armor is less perfect. Mostly it represents an improvement, but the ratio of people talking about their plans and engaging in covert operation shenanigans versus space battles is still pretty high. The characters are also a bit weak, with most of them feeling like masks the narrator is wearing. That’s one of the fundamental risks of delivering information to the reader through characters having conversations, but it takes a bit of skill to hide.

Peter Grant’s new novel, The Stones of Silence, is set in his science-fiction universe, sharing it with his two other series starting with Take the Star Road and War to the knife. It’s unclear to me if the setting is intended to be the same, or just happens to be similar in a generic science fiction way. The setup for his new series is interesting, but shares the flaws of the earlier works. In particular, the protagonist appears to wear plot armor. While his efforts to be prepared justify the resulting success, it significantly reduces the sense of peril – not to mention the sense of realism. The story remains entertaining, but lacks a certain vigor and immediacy.