Review of Eye of Cat by Roger Zelazny

Roger Zelazny is a hit or miss writer. When he's on, he's on—a multi-layered, colorful pleasure to read. When he's off, it's an awkward, disappointing experience that seems like it could have been more. There were also ups and downs in his career—success early on, followed by periods of struggle to achieve the same success. Some books achieved kudos from critics, and others sold serious copy. But through it all, there were three common motifs to Zelazny's fiction: myth, psychology, and the gruff, cigarette smoking, tough-skinned man. In 1982's Eye of the Cat, Zelazny takes this formula through far future Navajo.

The gruff, cigarette smoking, tough-skinned man this time around is Billy Singer. Humans have gone to the stars, but Billy, a Navajo Indian, is one of few people to have been raised apart from technology and society. As a result, he has a special set of skills as tracker and hunter, skills which allowed him to capture one of the most dangerous aliens humanity has come in contact with, the shapeshifting, evil Cat. But when an extra-terrestrial terrorist threatens to assassinate a leading political figure, Billy is called into action again.  Trouble is, he may need Cat's help to take down the assassin.

Review of Big Dark Hole: Stories by Jeffrey Ford

If by chance this is your first visit to this blog, be aware Jeffrey Ford is on the short list of writers whose work I will buy and read sight unseen. His last collection A Natural History of Hell, combined with his more commercial releases the past couple of years, however, have not tickled my fancy as delicately and nicely as so many other Ford efforts. In no way did this prevent me from picking the latest Ford collection, 2021's Big Dark Hole: Stories. Why did I ever doubt him? Let's get into the goodness.

Big Dark Hole kicks off with “The Thousand Eyes”. About a remote New Jersey bar, it draws a young painter for a famed Wednesday evening show. Crossing the line from ghost story into artistic reflection, the show turns out to be life changing for the painter. “Hibbler’s Minions” is a good ol' fashioned, traveling circus story. The narrator a man with two faces: one in front and one behind, the circus' freak show is healthy even as the show falters. That is, until the day the circus gets a present: a dust demon. And that’s how the flea circus is born. Classic horror.

Cardboard Corner: Review of Arkham Horror: The Card Game expansion "Guardians of the Abyss"

Note: As always, reviews of Arkham Horror expansions on this blog are spoiler-free and assume you are familiar with the base game.

To date, the Arkham Horror: The Card Game standalone expansions (“Curse of the Rougarou” and “Carnevale of Horrors”) have provided interesting side trips from the main campaigns. The former a werewolf story through the swamps of the American south and the latter a Venetian parade gone amuck, the third, “Guardians of the Abyss”, sees investigators traveling to the deserts of Egypt, and the mysteries of the Sphinx (and beyond) which remain to be uncovered.

At the outset of “Guardians of the Abyss”, investigators find themselves called to Cairo at the behest of a friend named Jessie. Her husband, along with an ever-growing number of city dwellers, have fallen into perpetual slumber. None have awoken, and she needs your help to get to the bottom of the mystery. While the dark streets of Cairo lead to a number of clues, getting into the wilds of the desert reveals the real threat—and it’s one that will require all of your talent—ahem, deck building skills—to eliminate.

Cardboard Corner: Review of Arkham Horror: The Card Game expansion "Carnevale of Horrors"

Note: As always, reviews of Arkham Horror expansions on this blog are spoiler-free and assume you are familiar with the base game.

In a (successful) attempt to keep content in the Arkham Horror: the Card Game universe fresh, Fantasy Flight have steadily released an ever-widening variety of products. On top of the deluxe campaigns and mythos packs, we have seen investigator packs, April Fool’s jokes come to life, as well as a series of stand-alone scenarios that can be played independently or as side-trips within the larger campaigns. A horrific trip to Venice, “Carnevale of Horrors” is second of these stand-alones to be released, and one of the most thematic.

Mimicking a Venetian parade, the layout of “Carnevale of Horrors” sees players moving in a clockwise circle, location to location, unmasking parade-goers in an attempt to find cultists who need questioning. Something dark and sinister hanging over the festive events, your only friend seems to be a friendly nun offering sanctuary for innocent bystanders. Evil ultimately unmasked, the colorful streamers and mysterious masks prove to be the least of your concerns.

Cardboard Corner: Review of Arkham Horror: The Card Game expansion "Murder at the Excelsior Hotel"

Note: As always, reviews of Arkham Horror expansions on this blog are spoiler-free and assume you are familiar with the base game.

The term “investigator” is so redolent to Arkham Horror: The Card Game that it has evolved to simply “‘gator” in online discussion. (Who’s your favorite ‘gator?!?!) But in terms of P.I.-type private investigation, there hasn’t been a major focus on delivering such a specific noir-esque experience. Certainly strong elements of the detective motif exist throughout the scenarios and campaigns released thus far, particularly the Path to Carcosa campaign, but a true murder mystery with a dark and stormy night, bloody murder weapon, corrupt police, damsels in distress, and the like has not been done. “Murder at the Excelsior Hotel”, a standalone scenario, fits that niche, however.

Action beginning in situ, investigators in “Murder at the Excelsior Hotel” start the scenario in the awkward position of holding what seems to be a murder weapon in a blood-spattered hotel room. Putting the knife away and moving out into the corridor, the guests and hotel staff give you strange looks, and it isn’t long before the police arrive. In the course of your investigation, it becomes apparent that something strange is afoot, and you’ll have to use all of your gumshoe cleverness to get to the bottom of the crime scene, even if it means implicating yourself. The story which involves from here is Agatha Christie… and more.

Review of The Green Millennium by Fritz Leiber

Golden Age, sure; laser pistols, damsels in distress, slavering aliens, and of course, unitards. New Wave, yeah; experimental diction, political agendas, and challenging any and every norm. Metamodern, we can already see it; old tropes trotted out in a new light, uncontroversial prose, and emphasis on diversity, natch. But cyberpunk? Is it something more than an aesthetic. Bruce Sterling would, or at least did, have an answer to that question, and when looking at a specific scope of fiction, he'd be right. But is it really something more than dystopian corporations, augmented biology, and a society thrown into a deeper degree of flux by technology? I don't know. Regardless, I don't think we can think of Fritz Leiber's 1953 The Green Millennium as anything but—and waaaaay ahead of its time for it.

Phil Gish wakes up one day to find a strange, green cat playing in his home. Not everything right with the cat—it's fur not seeming quite fur and its structure not quite bone, he nevertheless finds himself attracted to the cat. And when it walks out of his house, he follows it. The start of a wild adventure, it ain't no white rabbit, and Gish is no Alice. But what a wonderland it is.

Review of The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy

A book that sticks in mind from high school is John Steinbeck's The Red Pony. A coming-of-age story, it tells of a farm boy who gets his first horse, at long last. Things not turning out as intended, however, he is eventually forced to confront hard realities of life. The Red Pony is a brief novel. Having now read Cormac McCarthy's The Crossing (1994), I can't help but feel McCarthy took Steinbeck's baton and ran with it, fleshing out the story with complementary themes to full length.

The Crossing is the story of Billy Param. A sixteen year old young man growing up in the wilds of New Mexico, his story begins with he and his younger brother encountering a wandering Indian. The Indian demanding food, the two brothers feel they have no choice and take an offering from their parent's meager stores and give it to the man.  It is an omen of things to come.  Disaster striking the family, Billy is forced to cross the Mexican border to reclaim what he believes is his own.  Fate dealing him another blow, Param grows up fast in the liminal zone between America and Mexico. 

Cardboard Corner: Review of Scotland Yard

Going back to the post that kicked off Cardboard Corner on this blog, there is a shout out to a few games from my childhood that hold relevance to this day. There is Sorry!, Balderdash, and Fireball Island. And there is Scotland Yard. A hidden movement/deduction game originally published in 1983, it holds up well to the mass of games being released in the 21st century.

In Scotland Yard, one player takes on the role of Mr. X, and the other 1-5 players the roles of Scotland Yard detectives trying to capture Mr. X. The board a map of London featuring taxi, bus, and underground routes, players use the relevant tokens to maneuver around the board. Mr. X is trying to survive uncaptured for the number of rounds, all the while the detectives are trying to capture Mr. X before the rounds are up. Mr. X’s movements kept on a hidden notepad, every five rounds he must reveal himself to keep the chase hot. Depending on Mr. X’s evasive skills, a little luck, and the deductive abilities of the detectives, the chase can be over quickly or stretch all the way up to a tense couple of final rounds—Mr. X’s escape a matter of one or two spaces.

Review of Hex by Allen Steele

After reading more than a thousand sf books and writing reviews, it's impossible not to become a little calloused. Certain patterns, types, and trends reveal themselves, inevitably making the encounter of said patterns, types, and trends less original, less striking. Read ten murder mysteries in space and they can start to lose their flair. Looking to expand his Coyote universe, Allen Steele has written an alien encounter story that, well, hmm, umm, doesn't distinguish itself by much—in context. Let's take a look at Hex (2011).

Hex is the story of members of Coyote's space force, including mother Andromeda Carson and son Sean, who have been given a mission to go to a danui world and there explore the place humans have theoretically been given in the Talus universe. Gearing up as any space crew does, they head off, and to their surprise discover not a planet but an unfathomably massive Dyson sphere. Sorting out where humanity fits in the sphere, however, is subject to some mother-son conflict, as well as some of the alien-human variety.

Cardboard Corner: Review of Little Bird, Big Hunger

I noticed the other day on Board Game Geek that it’s possible to track the number of times you’ve played a particular game. Thinking about our family’s collection, I came to the realization that Little Bird, Big Hunger would take the top spot. The reason? The (figurative) niche it occupies on the shelf, i.e. the age of my children.

Little Bird, Big Hunger is a Haba children’s game for little people as young as 2 years old. Collecting food for your little hatching by rolling dice, kids feed their bird throughout a four-stage growth cycle—cracking its egg to flying. That’s it. But for as simple as it is, my children—my oldest at age 6—still enjoy playing. Somewhat cooperative, somewhat competitive, and overall relaxing, players work together feeding their birds. Roll the die. Check if your bird needs the food source showing on the die. If yes, take the appropriate token. Fill all the food requirements, and you're ready for the next stage in the cycle. The win condition is the first bird to fly—to reach the fourth stage, but, as the designers suggest, the better goal is to see all the birds through their full cycle of development. Putting this philosophy into play, my children have never been disappointed or sad their bird was not first to fly.