Ancient Logic

Now that school's out for the summer, I turn my attention to tomorrow's reading at the Woburn Public Library. In case you're interested, I'll be reading first (my friend Nick Mancuso will read later in the evening). At the moment I've got the two flash pieces I'll be reading: "Children of Frogs" and "Belongings." I'm sort of torn between a sci-fi piece called "Distractions" and a ghost story called "Those in Exile." "Exile" is a bit shorter which might be better for the evening but I really like the other story. I might just call an audible when I get there. Anyway, if you're interested in listening to a few stories, turn out at the Library at 7:00 pm (45 Pleasant Street, Woburn, MA 01801). There will be refreshments.

Way back in the 80s I'd treasure the few moments I could convince my parents to drive the 15 minutes or so to the local bookstore so I could slip to the back, find the science fiction section and read a few RPGs in the half hour or so it took them to circumnavigate our very small, very sad mall. One of the games I looked for was Cyberspace, which had an 80's awesome cover, truly inexplicable rules, and a courageously specific future-setting. Last night, my good friend  +Alex LaHurreau  found a nearly mint copy of this classic RPG in a Worcester used book store. The feelings came in waves. The cover is every bit as epic as I remember but the true gift was flipping through the timeline the creators put on nearly every page. I've included a few below. The predictions range from comical to poignant. Having hacked a few RPGs myself, I don't post this in the spirit of mockery but in a legitimate sense of awe. I remember reading these pages with absolute credulity and ...

This list will be a bit longer than previous post if only because there was so much I read this month that really appealed to me. I think two or three of them were instant favorites for the year, but I’ll withhold judgement until a few months have passed. As always, the list presented below is in no particular order. Pacific Flotsam (2015 Morgan Crooks) The Two Weddings of Bronwyn Hyatt by Alex Bledsoe (TOR.com) Bledsoe’s story is the kind I normally skip as the first scene involves a girl trying on an beautiful dress and making wedding plans. However, something about the protagonist's flinty dialogue kept me reading. I'm glad I did as within a few swift pages I was hooked. Bledsoe sets his fantasy pageant in a backwoods Virginia rife with European fairies intriguing with indigenous fey. The bride, the Bronwyn of the title, navigates through the needs of her own family and the machinations of rivals. This is a genuinely tense scenario with clever tw...

In terms of nerd culture moments, this year has already exceeded my wildest hopes. And then this morning happened. Fallout 3 is my favorite game of all time. So yeah, this game has big shoes to fill for me. That said, I'm incredibly excited for it. The graphics look updated and fresh. There are hints of an epic, poignant story (the rumors have it the player character wakes up from Vault 111 after centuries of cryo-sleep looking for his missing family). And, the setting is Boston (sometimes rumors are right)! I don't even know what more can be said except I look forward to visiting some of the sites in-game and real-life. The only question left: How many weeks or months do I have left to decide on PS4 or XBOX One?