Raven Oak's Blog, page 60
April 23, 2015
T is for Tabletop Games
In today’s continuation of the A-Z Challenge, I give you:
T is for Tabletop GamesIf you’ve been following this site regularly, today’s topic shouldn’t be much of a surprise at all as I write a weekly column reviewing tabletop games. I spend my weekend playing tabletop games with my husband and friends–that is, when I’m not console gaming.
Tabletop games are more than simple ways to pass the time. For me, they force me to think and strategize, to solve puzzles, and to genuinely have fun with fo...
Book Cover Throwback: Dragon Prince
This week’s Book Cover Throwback: Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn. Since I was already talking about this book in my discussion of re-reading, it seemed fitting to use it as this week’s Throwback Thursday.
DRAGON PRINCE (1988) Acrylic on Watercolor Board – 29″ x 19″ by Michael Whelan
What I Love about This Cover: The memories of reading this book for the first and 20th time as a teen. While I didn’t want children, I vowed to name a kid (or pet or something) Sioned because she was so badass in thi...
April 22, 2015
S is for Space Opera
In today’s continuation of the A-Z Challenge, I give you:
S is for Space OperaSpace opera is a sci-fi sub-genre that people either love or hate. The movie, Jupiter Ascending is proof of that as critics and audiences either wanted the movie to die in a fire or be rescued from bad reviews by folks that understood the genre.
From grand space adventures like Guardians of the Galaxy to military themed plots in Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, space opera is a sub-genre I’ve enjoyed reading (and writin...
April 21, 2015
R is for Re-reading
In today’s continuation of the A-Z Challenge, I give you:
R is for Re-readingMy to-read list is probably 300 books long at this point, and yet, one of my favorite hobbies is to pick up a well-worn book whose pages try to leap from the bindings, curl up in a comfy spot, and re-read a story I’ve enjoyed many times.
Because I’m a super-fast reader, I miss things. Re-reading a novel gives me the opportunity to pick up bits and pieces I missed on my first read through. Case in point, I’ve probably...
April 20, 2015
Q is for Quests
In today’s continuation of the A-Z Challenge, I give you:
Q is for QuestsLife is comprised of quests–the search for who we are & where we’re going in the world, the search for companionship and connections, and the search for peace and comfort. For me, these quests are part of my life, along with the quest for equality, knowledge, and diversity.
Underneath it all, we’re the same, you and I.
The image above pretty much sums up my opinion on diversity and equality. I’ve made it a point in my life...
Monday Night Gaming: Terra Mystica
Publisher:
Zman Games
# of Players: 2-5
Best with: 3-4
1st Run Through Playing Time: 4 hours+
The box says it’s a 100 minute game, which is entirely true if you’ve played it before.
We first played this game at Pax Prime, but it was noisy and short on space, so we picked it back up again for a second run. Because it had been so long since we played it, it was like playing it on a first run all over again, complete with the 1.5 hours of setup and manua...
April 18, 2015
P is for Post-Apocalyptic
In today’s continuation of the A-Z Challenge, I give you:
P is for Post-ApocalypticI’ve always held a bizarre fascination with post-apocalyptic literature, video games, movies, and art. Give me an hour, and I’ll ramble at length about Alas, Babylon, Fallout 3, or disaster porn movies like The Day after Tomorrow.
Something about nature taking back what we’ve claimed for ourselves is beautiful, yet horrifying. The idea that we are creating our own destruction is an interesting topic to explore...
April 17, 2015
O is for Original
In today’s continuation of the A-Z Challenge, I give you:
O is for OriginalIt’s a common tale–an oddball child with talents is bullied relentlessly growing up because they are different. Sometimes it’s because the child is smarter than fellow peers, or sometimes it’s because they don’t share the expected religion or cultural identity of the region. Other times it could be because the child identifies as LGBTQIA. For me, it was a mix of many differences.
Being labeled as gifted & talented, I wa...
Flashback Friday: Dragonlance
I’m happy to have fellow redditor and author, Chris Fox, here for a guest post on how Dragonlance influenced him as a writer.
I vividly remember the first book I bought. Not the first book I read, mind you. But the one I actually counted out my few tattered dollar bills for. I was eleven years old and by that point, I loved all things fantasy. Most kids at that age spent their money on video games and candy. Not me. I wasn’t your typical kid. While the...
April 16, 2015
N is for Neil
In today’s continuation of the A-Z Challenge, I give you:
N is for Neil…GaimanUnlike most folks in geekdom, I didn’t discover Neil Gaiman through his Sandman comics. In fact, while my high school friends were nose-deep in The Sandman, I was too busy reading and writing novels.
My first encounter with the world of Neil Gaiman was the novel Neverwhere. While published in 1996, I didn’t snag a copy until 1998/1999 when an attendee of the North Texas ToriFest told me I’d be a fool not to read it....
