Dave Higgins's Blog, page 3

Dracoheim Confidential: Tales From the City of the Dragon by Misha Burnett

Burnett removes the special ring fence that exists around magic in many fantasy tales, creating a world where it is as much a skilled profession at the heart of society as the mundane branches of engineering are in ours. After extended trade with the Realms of Nightmare, magic in Dracoheim has become systemised, ubiquitous, and … Continue reading Dracoheim Confidential: Tales From the City of the Dragon by Misha Burnett

Highway to Hel-egy

One of the player characters in Tenebrae is the brother of one of the non-player characters I play when not refereeing. Toward the end of last Saturday’s session, he stepped through a portal that most believe is one-way (as I run the game, I know; but players might read this, so I’m not going to … Continue reading Highway to Hel-egy

Gravewater Lake by A.M. Strong & Sonya Sargent

Strong and Sargent centre their novel on an ordinary person trapped in traumatic circumstances, creating a thriller that is more about uncertainty in the evidence than any special certainty gained from the protagonist’s exceptional skill or experience. Recovering consciousness on the shore of remote Gravewater Lake with no memory of who she is, a woman … Continue reading Gravewater Lake by A.M. Strong & Sonya Sargent

Axe of Community Spirit

It is Mental Health Awareness Week in the United Kingdom. This year’s theme is community; so I thought I’d take a moment to reprise my joy at the community that pervades through and expands from Tenebrae, the medieval vampire LARP I help run. And to especially reprise this upliftingly bonkers painting someone made of one … Continue reading Axe of Community Spirit

The Shattered Court by M.J. Scott

Scott blends magic with a variation on nineteenth century European noble society, creating fantasy that is neither pseudo-medieval nor hidden amid our own world. Each Anglion noblewoman discovers on her twenty-first birthday whether she will manifest magic, making her a royal witch. Just short of her birthday, Lady Sophia Kendall chafes beneath the theory lessons … Continue reading The Shattered Court by M.J. Scott

Garden Tiger

Sun weaves with shadow The murmuring of still air Furred dandelion

Sherlock Holmes: A Flash In The Pan: Three canonical Sherlock Holmes stories by William Meikle

Meikle returns to Doyle’s Holmes, creating stories that capture the original consulting detective and Victorian setting without feeling archaic or derivative. This collection contains three short Sherlock Holmes stories consistent with the Doyle canon. ‘A Flash in the Pan.’ When a blackmailer repeated crosses the bounds of decency but seems to remain within those of … Continue reading Sherlock Holmes: A Flash In The Pan: Three canonical Sherlock Holmes stories by William Meikle

“Free Bleeding”

“us filling up our space is not the problem, but the gift.” There is much that could be said about Lydia Rae Bush’s latest poetry collection about menstruation and female embodiment: however, as one of the greatest issues with women’s lives is men telling each other how women experience them, I’m just going to say … Continue reading “Free Bleeding”

Legends of Cirena Volume One by Stephanie Flint

Flint balances a variety of different tones and protagonists with consistent pervasive differences from this world, creating a collection of tales that show the diversity of life in her fantasy world. This collection gathers the first six novellas and short stories in Flint’s Legends of Cirena series. The Wind Mage of Maijev. Officially, it is … Continue reading Legends of Cirena Volume One by Stephanie Flint

All Doubt About It

As the water fell on my body in the shower, one of my favourite possibly-koans rose up in my mind: Does a cat have Buddha mind? Mew I’ve called it a possibly-koan because it’s a play on the famous koan about dogs and Buddha mind so it’s a joke; but the fact of naming a … Continue reading All Doubt About It