Review: The Man in the Dark
-The sequel to Jonathan Whitelaw’s 2018 novel HellCorp, The Man in the Dark finds The Devil still unable to take his holiday. As in HellCorp, The Devil is tasked by God with solving a crime to earn some time off, although this time it is a kidnapping rather than a murder. Finding himself stuck on Earth in the body of one of the prime suspects in the case, The Devil has his work cut out for him convincing DS Laurie he is who he…
Interview: Peter F. Hamilton
-Peter F. Hamilton is a bestselling science fiction author based in Bristol. His work includes the Greg Mandel series, the Night’s Dawn trilogy, the Commonwealth Saga, short story collections, and the Salvation Sequence. We caught up with him as he launches a new novel, Salvation Lost. Interviewed by Rob Sawyers, edited by Peter Wotherspoon.
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Frosthaven: the new game from Cephalofair
-This article was first published in the April issue of Parallel Worlds. Friend of Parallel Worlds, Isaac Childres, is at it again. Not content with the barnstorming success of Gloomhaven, this month he’s crowdfunding a new game: Frosthaven. We caught up with him to find out what it’s all about. Hi Isaac, thanks for stopping by. Ok, so let’s jump straight in… Give us the pitch on Frosthaven! Frosthaven is the giant sequel to Gloomhaven. It will feature the same core gameplay — running…
Review: Shadows in the Stone
-Historical fantasy is a bridge between the escapism of speculative fiction and the realism of literary fiction, and Jack Dann’s Shadows in the Stone is an enthralling example of what historical fantasy looks like when done well. The novel takes place in what we would recognise as Renaissance Italy, but with a twist. In this universe, the beliefs of a little-known religious ideology called Gnosticism are actually true, and traditional Judeo-Christian understandings of the world are turned on their head or transformed altogether.…
Review: Res Arcana
-A bit easier than real alchemy, but only if you learn the language. Res Arcana is one of my favourite games of 2019. Based around a fantasy take on the medieval science of alchemy, it sees you gathering base elements to buy better equipment and artefacts and converting those materials into other elements, including the elusive gold. A competitive game for 2-4 players, Res Arcana falls into the category of ‘engine builder’, where added abilities grow over time and create combos. But it’s…
The Star Wars prequels, reassessed
-Accepted wisdom among fans is that the ‘original trilogy’ of Star Wars films is near-perfect, the prequel trilogy is awful, and the Disney trilogy is patchy. In the wake of The Rise of Skywalker, a revision may be in order. Since mid-December, this writer and some friends have been on a Star Wars rampage — watching the whole saga in chronological order. Having just finished The Return of the Jedi, he now feels that he’s spent quite a lot of time in a…
