This does look interesting. While my current stack of reading is pretty large, I've added this to my wishlist.

It actually touches on something I've always kind of wondered about from my past, not sure if it will really address it but got me thinking. Long story short, I was a "schooled" musician growing up, a lot of formal training in classical along with some studies in other fields like jazz and a bit of bluegrass. The Beatles was as "hard" as my musical tastes ran for a long time.

I was always curious about lots of music in general though and checking out a wide range of albums. And one day I listened to the opening track of an 80's Metallica album and it was an instant and rather profound moment for me musically. My brain just latched onto it like nothing I had heard before, and the rest was kind of history. And while I've never really stressed about the "why", at the same time I've definitely wondered about it. What made me so predisposed to that style of music, like my brain really had to be "wired" a certain way I think. I'm definitely curious if this book might provide some insight! Seems like a worthwhile read in any case, thanks for the review and putting on our radars.

Beat to Quarters, aka The Happy Return by C. S. Forester

The first Hornblower novel written (though not by internal chronology) and the second book by Forester that I've read.  June 1808 finds Horatio Hornblower, Captain of the frigate H.M.S. Lydia on a secret mission west of Nicaragua.  Hornblower's seamanship and a bit of good luck put him exactly on course.  His mission, to enter in to an alliance with a colonial landowner against the Spanish colonial government in Central America.  Hornblower completes the assignment, even though the rebel leader is a messianic lunatic.  Of course, as the fortunes of war go, Great Britain and Spain go from hostilities to allies against Bonaparte during the peninsular campaign.  During his Pacific adventure Hornblower has to defeat the same Spanish 50-gun two-decker with just his outgunned frigate, once by stealth and cunning, and once by superior seamanship.   He also has to deal with transporting Lady Barbara Wellesley, the sister of the Marquess Wellesley and Sir Arthur Wellesley, the hero of the Peninsular Campaign and later the Duke of Wellington, back to Great Britain and through the dangers of a sea battle and the voyage around the horn.  

This is kind of ground zero for the modern naval historical novel.  Forester has grown significantly as a writer since Rifleman Dodd.  There is still a fair bit of "a boys own adventure" here.  But Hornblower is actually a character, whereas Dodd was an empty shell.  Hornblower was surprisingly complex, full of duty, self-loathing and insecurity that was hidden with bravado.  And while the supporting cast isn't super well drawn, they are certainly leagues beyond the cardboard cutouts of Dodd.  In particular, Lady Barbara leave an impression.  

A solid page-turning historical adventure novel.  You'll feel the salt on your face and the creak of the timbers.  

Realm of the Tri-Planets (Perry Rhodan #31)
K.H.Scheer




Robots have taken over the might empire of the Archons! And they have really BIG ships. Perry, being a big fan of larceny of technology, decides to try to enlist in the Archon navy to steal one. This is one of those where things are a little too easy for the good guys, but I suspect we're not quite done with his adventure.

'Exile of the Skies' mercifully ended with this book... a fun concept that went on way too long. I have to say though, the female lead in the story, after starting out as a lovesick lab assistant ended being a surprisingly strong and competent character for a story written in 1939, so extra points there for sure.

The other shock shorts were decent but nothing remarkable.

Latest Read: Lore and Legends: A Visual Celebration of the Fifth Edition of the World's Greatest Role Playing Game by Witwer, Newman, Peterson & Witwer.



A follow up to Art & Arcana by the same crew that provides a visual history of D&D as a whole (which I liked better for a lot of reasons). This volume focuses on D&D as it has existed since the 2104 publication of the fifth edition of the game, but also provides some history and visuals of the period between 2012 and 2014 focused on the massive public playtest of D&D Next which became 5E. It's a rich visual tapestry of the art and product of the period, but this one skews more towards the product than the art in its visual presentation. All of the cover art (and alt cover the ttrpg of variant covers) is presented, but it's a little light on the interior art form the products in favor of minis, accessories, and lifestyle products. The first volume also had a broader range of demographics form which the comments about D&D were drawn, but its understandable since this focuses on a fraction of the span of D&Ds history, there would be fewer folks to draw from.

That said, this still provides a very good visual history of the current incarnation of D&D and its still rich in art with some interesting insights (though less so than the first volume had).

If you like D&D art, history or the current incarnation of the game, this book is worth it. If you are looking to learn more about the overall history of D&D or ttrpg, there are better resources out there.

-M

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