Dave Gross

Hour of the Huntress by Dave Gross
What a fun romp through Arkham! It never lets up. Yes, it is not as full of descriptions as Lovecraft would have liked, but it does nicely portray the town and the weirdness and it's not just action scene after action scene.

The Dirge of Reason by Graeme Davis
it's a bit slower, but still good.

Ire of the Void by Richard Lee Byers
Pacing is inbetween the first and second story, it's quite gripping, and does speed up a lot towards the end

The Deep Gate by Chris A Jackson
nice read, well-paced, quite explosive… (altro)

Queen of Thorns is a surprising departure from the norm for what I typically call "professional fanfic" -- novels within settings created for other media without simply being a novelization of the works in other media. Examples include film (e.g. Star Wars novels) and, as in this case, roleplaying games. Such professional fanfic novels litter the shelves in the science fiction sections of bookstores. While many people will talk about some of them being good and others bad, the truth of the matter is that when set side-by-side with novels of the not-fanfic variety they are overwhelmingly mediocre at best, and quite often simply bad. What makes this novel so distinctive is that it is one of only a handful "professional fanfic" novels I have encountered that is good enough to stand on its own. It does not simply overcome the handicaps of that general type of novel, but seems to erase them entirely and rise above the majority of decent novels in general.

The author's talent for evocative description without belaboring the details of a scene, his ability to infuse his narrative characters with distinctive and hilarious wit, and (best of all) his skillful obscuring of the mechanics of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game on which the story is based and in whose default setting it takes place rather than falling into the trap of bludgeoning the reader with its origins in immersion-breaking game mechanics, are all significant contributors to my enjoyment of the book. Even the last line of the novel is well-chosen and leaves me with a sense of satisfaction that is rarely achieved in other novels. Out of the four Pathfinder books I have read so far -- all four gifted to me by another roleplaying gamer who decided to give up Pathfinder RPG and move out of state, this being the last of them I have read and (I believed) surely the last Pathfinder novel I would read -- this is by far the best, and I am inspired to seek out more works by this author to see if his storycrafting holds up in further novels.

I believe he has written two other Pathfinder novels, at least, and judging by some of the references to the characters' pasts I suspect at least one of them details some of their earlier experiences. I plan to see if that is the case and, if so, perhaps read them as well.

In short: This book is not Great Literature, it is not Deeply Meaningful, it is not Art, and it is not Life-Altering. It is not even particularly insightful. It is, however, well-crafted storytelling supported by engaging characterization, and I found it highly entertaining. It is about as good as a book can be without being any of the things I just said it isn't, which is to say it's a really good read.… (altro)

Hour of the Huntress is the first of a series of novellas published by Fantasy Flight Games to provide background and context for the "investigator" protagonists of the "Arkham Files" games, which are rooted in the horror-adventure milieu originally developed in the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game and the Arkham Horror cooperative board game. (Later games include Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, Elder Sign, Eldritch Horror, and Arkham Horror: The Card Game.) Although set in Lovecraft's imaginary Massachusetts college town of Arkham and related locales, and drawing heavily on pulp-era yog-sothothery, these games also incorporate other horror literature and have some enduring elements of their own invention.

This substantial novella in ten chapters details the introduction of investigator Jenny Barnes to Arkham. Jenny is a young sophisticate who has been living as an ex-pat in Paris, and has returned to the US in search of her younger sister Izzy (Isabelle) after a worrying interruption in their correspondence. The story includes Jenny's acquisition of her trademark twin .45 pistols as she picks up the traces of what appears to be a murderous secret cult. The tale is fast-paced and interesting, and more importantly for players of the games, the characters are well-drawn.

After the text of the novella, the book includes eleven pages "reproducing" relevant news clippings, brochures, lecture notes, letters, police reports, memos, scholarly articles, and so forth, all in fragmentary form. All attractively presented with considerable verisimilitude, these texts are somewhat variable in the plausibility of their content. The translated page from the Necronomicon is notably disappointing with its repeated grammatical errors, especially as its central prose conceits are rather good.

The book came with a tiny suite of cards to provide some additional options for the Jenny Barnes character to players of Arkham Horror: The Card Game. In terms of game efficiency, these seem slightly inferior to the ones that were originally issued in the Dunwich Legacy expansion. Still, they do add some variety. I've heard completist game collectors say that they felt obliged somehow to buy the book just in order to get these cards, and I'll say they're not worth the price of the book. However, if you are a player of one of these games and like the Jenny Barnes investigator already, I would recommend the book as a fun read in itself that should enhance your affection for the game character. Readers uninterested in the games may still get some real pleasure out of the story, if they are willing to allow a bit of heroism to intrude on the cosmic despair of pristine yog-sothothery.… (altro)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.com by express permission of this reviewer   Synopsis: Talbot Uskevren, a newly minted were-wolf, is trying to put his life back together after the battle his whole family faced in the last book. At the same time, the Werewolf that turned him is in league with a family enemy. And if that isn't enough, a prophecy about The Black Wolf is coming into play. Finally, a woman is involved.   My Thoughts: Thamalon Uskevren is a great man, who made his house great. And if you ever wonder why Great Houses become Middle Houses, it is because the children. Each of the Sembia books follow an Uskreven child. And lordy, are they all spoiled brats! They aren't hopeless, but their weaknesses are great enough that not one alone could keep their House great and they can't get along.   I'm not a big fan of were-wolves, but this worked. It was an adventure family revenge story that just happened to have were-wolves AND vampires. Oh yes, vampires. And they aren't the Dracula sexy vampires, but more like a sea leach. It was gross and I loved it.   Obviously, things turn out as you pretty much expect, it IS Forgotten Realms after all but that is part of the fun. A fun, comforting adventure read that doesn't push me mentally in any way. I need those sometimes.   Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Author: Dave Gross "… (altro)