C.T. Phipps's Blog, page 104

Update for December 2015

Hey folks,

I thought I'd give you guys, my fans, an update as to what the current situation is on a number of projects which are going on right now. Quite a few have been waiting patiently for THE GAMES OF SUPERVILLAINY and others not-so-impatiently. I'm pleased to say the book is in the middle of being formatted and Jeffrey Kafer is ready to do the audio book version afterward.

Games follows Gary Karkofsky as he arrives back in Falconcrest City after the events of THE RULES OF SUPERVILLAINY. I...

The Spider and the Laurel review

    The Spider and the Laurel has some pretty hefty hurdles to overcome in its premise: it is a religiously-themed series about a militant anti-religious government having taken over the United States and yet has its hero be an atheist. The idea of such a government coming to pass in the not-so-distant-future is, itself, only slightly more plausible than North Korea taking over the USA in the Red Dawn remake.

    The United States is one of the most religious nati...

Game of Thrones (2015 video game) review

    A Song of Wood and Iron.

    A Game of Trees.

    These are my nicknames for Telltale game's experimental adaptation of the HBO television show, Game of Thrones, which itself is an adaptation of the popular George R.R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire series. I've reviewed all six parts of the story individually (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6) but feel the need to discuss the story as a whole and how it all comes together.

 &nbs...

Game of Thrones: Episode 6: The Ice Dragon review

    "If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention."
    -Ramsay Bolton

    The quote above summarizes this game in a nutshell.

    I love Telltale Games, I truly do but I'm rather irritated by the fact this ends on a cliffhanger. The Walking Dead video game got two sequels but both of them were self-contained stories in their own right. I see no reason why Game of Thrones couldn't have been the same way. So, i...

The Moral Ambiguity of Fallout 4

Note: This post will contain spoilers for the storyline of Fallout 4 and previous games.

    War...war never changes.

    These are the arc words of Fallout 4 and they have never been more appropriate to the setting. In simple terms, they are an acknowledgement that the conflicts between human beings will never end because we human nature remains immutable. People will kill for religion, resources, revenge, wealth, power, and glory until the end of time.

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Fallout 4 review

    I am a huge fan of the Fallout series. The original Fallout games were a bit before my time but Fallout 3 was a revelation and inspired me to check them out. I love their satirical look at society, comedy, pathos, melodrama, and, of course, shooting things in V.A.T.S. As such, I was very excited about Fallout 4's announcement and interested in what sort of changes they would be making for the series.

    The answer?

    Flawed but fun.

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The World of Ice and Fire review

    George R.R. Martin's world in A Song of Ice and Fire remains one of the most detailed in fantasy, which is saying something given the hundreds of books printed about various Dungeons and Dragons settings. What makes it more impressive is the larger portion of this material comes from George R.R. Martin himself. Before I get into the actual review of the book, I'll share the humorous and interesting story of the book's origins.

    While his fans (im)patiently...

The cover for THE GAMES OF SUPERVILLAINY revealed

The cover for THE GAMES OF SUPERVILLAINY!

The absolutely beautiful cover for THE GAMES OF SUPERVILLAINY by Raffaele Marinetti, lettering by Terry Stewart. I really love the way Raffaele captured Mandy (dressed as Nighthuntress) and Diabloman for this work.

We're trucking along to THE GAMES OF SUPERVILLAINY's release on November 15th, 2015.

I hope everyone will pick up a copy.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review

    I've often wanted to review the A Song of Ice and Fire books on this website but, really, there's nothing I could possibly say about them which other websites have not said and better. Likewise, there's no point in bringing more attention to the novels because they're already some of the most famous in fantasy. It's pretty much the same with the spin-offs as there's not much point in talking about Game of Thrones since everyone and their brother is watching that show.

 ...

Last Argument of Kings

    "In the end? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends"
    -Doctor Manhattan, Watchmen.

    The conclusion to The First Law Trilogy is both a bang and a whimper. The climax takes place roughly two-thirds of the way through the book and then takes its time focusing on the horrific human cost. A justified criticism of the fantasy genre is it promotes war and an idealized view of conflict by showing the big epic battle then pulling away from the ugly...