Review of Billy Summers by Stephen King

Stephen King, Stephen King, Stephen King. After dozens and dozens and dozens of novels, as well as more dozens of short stories, how to contextualize his latest novel, 2021’s Billy Summers, in an intriguing intro? If you’re a Stephen King fan, it’s likely you’re not even reading this; you’ve already read the book. If you’re not a Stephen King fan, how to convince you Billy Summers is worth it—something that pokes out from King’s massive oeuvre and your impressions of it? Guess I have to dive in…

Billy Summers is the story of Dalton Smith, David Lockridge, dumb Billy Summers, and smart Billy Summers—all the same person. Smart Summers is an orphan turned marine sniper. After the Iraq War, he turned his killing talents to the mafia, particularly a Vegas kingpin named Nicky Majerian. To this underworld, smart Summers has played himself off as dumb Summers—a man of limited intelligence capable of cold assassination. At the outset of the novel, Majerian offers him one last job: 2 million to snipe a rat informant in custody. David Lockridge is the persona Majerian and dumb Summers create while preparing the hit. Ostensibly a writer, Lockridge befriends the office workers in the building where they are setting up shot a la Lee Harvey Oswald. Smart Summers constantly wary of how ‘one last job’ can go wrong, he sets up yet another persona, one that Majerian knows nothing about, called Dalton Smith. These multiple guises setting Summers’ head spinning in the days leading up to the hit, his mental stability is no guarantee even if the hit goes off as planned.

Non-fiction: Review of Dinosaurs Rediscovered by Michael Benton

Dinosaurs are one of the most fascinating aspects of life on Earth. Massive animals that dominated our planet for millions upon millions of years, humanity is but a drop in the bucket, comparatively. It’s thus inevitable that lessons learned from their existence might help humanity understand our own. But the related science seems to be constantly in flux. Looking at portrayals of dinosaurs forty years ago compared to today is different in significant points. Satisfying the inner child while bringing together the largest pieces of confirmed/discovered science as of 2019 is Dinosaurs Rediscovered: How a Scientific Revolution is Rewriting History.

Science being one of the most ubiquitous aspects of life in the 21st century, there are likely others, like me, who cannot keep up with all these latest findings and speculations on interesting subjects, like dinosaurs. Where research is ongoing and new things are being regularly confirmed or learned, Dinosaurs Rediscovered summarizes what is known to date, in turn creating the latest knowledge as to what, why, where, and how dinosaurs lived. It’s amazing the knowledge modern technology can unlock from old bones and rocks.

Cardboard Corner: Arkham Horror: The Card Game: Ranked Content Overview

The following is a ranked overview of the official long-play campaigns and the stand-alone scenarios released to date for Arkham Horror: The Card Game. I hope it may offer people getting into the game a rough idea of the quality of content, as well as veterans something to chew over.   It's also a live page.  I will be keeping it up-to-date with the completion of each new campaign and stand-alone. Warning: opinions ahead, but no spoilers. Feel free to chime in if you agree, disagree, or both.

Let's start with the campaigns, last to first:

10. The Scarlet Keys - "The Scarlet Keys" is rocking - at least on first playthrough.  Given the open world (literally) and the fact most scenarios have a minimum of two setups, it feels big and expansive.  The potential of FFG's new, big box business model (at least at the time) is fully realized here.  Story drips 'noir detective', and a vibe of Illuminati-meets-Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? is redolent throughout this globetrotting adventure.   But subsequent playthroughs are not as strong as the blind playthrough.  The main mechanism is based on RNG, which gets old, particularly in the final boss, and there is a lot or reading which really stretches table time.

9. The Circle Undone – I imagine this campaign ranks higher for players who like haunted house stories, witch's covens, Masonic conspiracies, and the like.  I fully appreciate the new mechanisms, the intro mini-story, the subtle commentary on gender, as well as the healthy quantity of story. It's only that this sub-genre of horror is not my wheelhouse.  Maybe it's in yours?

8. The Drowned City - Despite being the tength campaign, "The Drowned City" is something both progressive and retro.  The plot possesses the pulp simplicity of "The Dunwich Legacy", telling how a group of small town investigators find themselves faced with a massive green something trying to godzilla-stomp Arkham.  But the individual scenarios leading to this showdown demonstrate the rich lessons of nearly a decade's worth of Arkham Horror.  Each is refined, structured, and thematic, and drives players toward the inevitable faceoff with Cthulhu himself (itself? zirself? a%j&l#?).  

7. The Dunwich Legacy – The first full-length Arkham Horror campaign, it still stands tall.  While linear in nature, there is variety among the scenarios—from casino capers to train adventures, village sacrifices to the horror of the cosmos.  It offers a little bit of everything with wonderfully supportive mechanisms and still has the best final boss/scenario released to date, making it a must-play even for players coming to the game recently. 

6. The Innsmouth Conspiracy – A murky, claustrophobic campaign, "The Innsmouth Conspiracy" throws players into the deep end (pun intended) then lets them figure out, one watery scenario after another, their backstory.  For the first time the chaos bag has some new friends (and foes) that work wonderfully within the game's first principles. Tidal shifts, underwater labyrinths, car chases, and awakening krakens—it's got a lot going for it.

5. Feast of Hemlock Vale - This campaign returns to the roots of Arkham Horror but offers something evolutionary.  NPCs come to life like no campaign to date as a group of investigators try to sort out the origins of some odd happenings on a lonely island in Maine.  Family feuds mixing with the pagan supernatural and beyond, the campaign's semi-open world format gives players choices and options that do not have to be repeated on subsequent playthroughs.

4. The Edge of the Earth – An ally-focused campaign, "Edge of the Earth" allows players to bond with their helpers as they journey through the frozen Antarctic.  With the Freeze mechanic and emphasis on the power of nature, this campaign is an expedition of Weird though an ice cold wasteland.  FFG changed up the final boss formula, making for a fresh, new climactic experience.  If any campaign has a chance of rising on this list with re-play, it's this one.

3. The Forgotten Age – From the internet's perspective, this is the love/hate campaign of Arkham Horror. I love it. Where some people find the difficulty too dynamic, I find it wonderfully thematic. Do you expect to explore a Lovecraftian jungle thinking you've come prepared for everything?  Think again; shit happens in the wild. The Explore mechanism, again, nicely thematic. You can't always expect to find what you want in the jungle, but you can certainly expect some pitfalls, figurative and literal, along the way. And the “twist” scenario, awesome. The story is pulpy, yes, but it's easier to forgive for its recognizable Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider motif than some of the other pulp Lovecraft dished out.

2. The Dream-Eaters – The Dreamlands is a delightful and dreadful place to explore in this integration of two four-part campaigns. It does a great job exploring dreams and nightmares through the lens of fiction and the act of writing . This meta-aspect of the campaign underrated in most commentary, the designers do a superb job structuring two interlinked story arcs that have meaning to one another plot-wise, and beyond the game. The fact there are two good final bosses/scenarios are the cherries on top.

1. Path to Carcosa – The reason this is number one is simple: I struggle to read pulpy horror, and when I read horror at all, it's always the psychological/existential variety that makes me nod in appreciation. “Path to Carcosa” is psychological/existential horror, in a game, with agency.  Add to this the fact the mechanisms wonderfully fit the story, as well as the existence of two of the best individual scenarios the game offers to date (“The Unspeakable Oath” and “The Pallid Mask”), and you've got a recipe for the best.

And that is the campaigns to date. On to the stand-alone expansions, same order:

11. War of the Outer Gods – This scenario, like “Labyrinths of Lunacy”, is best with epic multi-player.  In other words, it's tough to compare apples to apples with the scenarios higher on this list. The idea is interesting, however. Rather than player vs game, it's player vs game vs game. Enemies attack each other (when played correctly), meaning players need to find ways to make the factions war among one another if the objectives are to be completed. Interesting, but still an orange in an apple world—at least the way we typically play.

10. Labyrinths of Lunacy - This scenario can be summed up in one phrase: the film Saw in Arkham Horror form. Stuck in various death traps, players must figure their way out of situations with more than just clues and guns. While there are three phases to the scenario, which makes for a longer than usual experience, it's difficult to play again once each trick is known. This one is likely best played epic multi-player.

9. Film Fatale - Technically this is one scenario, but in reality "Film Fatale" is three mini-scenarios framed by a pulp days of Hollywood prelogue.  It features (har har) three different film sets: one science fiction, one horror, and one dinosaurs, and players are tasked with investigating and hunting their way through them, trying to get to the bottom of the strange occurrences on each.  The success of the scenario on your table will likely be a matter of quality vs. quantity.

8. The Night of the Zealot – Many of you are probably wondering why “Night of the Zealot” is here and not in the campaign list above. Simple: length. It contains three scenarios, which is four or five less than any of the full-length campaigns, and only one or two more than the stand-alones here.  Moreover, it intentionally truncates the Arkham Horror campaign experience.  Only one of its three scenarios, “Midnight Masks”, is comparable to anything in the other campaigns.  (The first scenario “The Gathering” is purely a teaching game, as is the last “The Devourer Below”, i.e. teaching you how to get your ass kicked many, many times in a row.)   As such, it's unfair to compare it to the full campaigns. It feels more at home among the stand-alones.

7. Barkham Horror - This is one of the most notoriously difficult scenarios for players to get their paws on.  Is it worth spilling the bones?  The answer to that question will likely depend on how much cat & dog humor you appreciate.  FFG digs into a parallel, anthropomorphised (B)arkham scenario - Skids O'Droole, old shoe assets, eye monocles, and Duke and Ashcan Pete switch places (natch).  Locations and cards often have effects that spin furry.  Enemies and investigating, however, are straight forward - a tough straight-forward - but straight forward nonetheless.  Treachery cards hand out damage and horror by the fistful and the boss is a "rat king" that takes sustained effort.  

6. The Curse of the Rougarou – The first act is a too fast and going true solo is extremely difficult.  Beyond that, this spot of werewolf hunting offers an excellent Cajun bayou vibe. Shapeshifting and following tracks is hound dog fun, and one of the possible endings is thematically superb.  The chase through the swamps is on!

5. Midnight at the Excelsior Hotel – The most 1920s' detective story released to date, players truly feel like investigators in this whodunnit of Agatha Christie meets H.P. Lovecraft. Some people point to the ten possible endings (i.e. replay value) as its most positive aspect, but I would argue the endings are more the result of mechanical necessity than organic story. (They are dictated by random card shuffles, that is, rather than endings tying off developed story threads). The real value of the scenario is, I feel, its noir mood—interrogating hotel guests, the arrival of the police, the midnight rain, the Agatha Christie-esque mystery.  All are combined to great effect.

4. Carnevale of Horrors – Venice is not the typical scene of otherworldy horror, but this scenario manages to squeeze a spot of Lovecraft fun from parade-goers, mask-wearers, and canals. It feels fully fleshed out. The developers had a solid parade idea and they implemented it well.  It's atypical resolution should also be noted.  Where most scenarios steadily ramp into a grand finale, this chooses a different course - which I won't spoil here - that is simple but cathartic.

3. Fortune & Folly - Ocean's Eleven in Arkham Horror form, "Fortune & Folly" asks players to perform a bank heist.  Separated into two acts, players need to case the joint to collect information in Act I before trying to pull off the heist in Act II.  And what are they stealing?  Something numinous and something mysterious, naturally - no stinkin' money here.  This bit feels mashed in, but the scenario itself is proper rich <wink>.  There is just the right amount of mechanisms to give players replayable options while keeping them on their toes for potential enemies.

2. The Midwinter Gala - There are a lot of things to like about this overlooked scenario.  Replayability that is narrative-based, achievements-based, and class-based. Well-staged agendas and acts that give atmosphere a palpable pace.  A simple but effective location layout that keeps size in check but gives substance.  An effective story - chasing a jewel as evil creeps into a mansion gala.  And an optional multi-player format.  There is a lot to love. In time perhaps this stand-alone will get the love it deserves.

1. Guardians of the Abyss - Of all the stand-alone scenarios, this is the one which immediately pops into mind each time I ask myself which is the best. The Egyptian setting begs for a full-length campaign, but this two-part mini-campaign still packs a punch—the bazaars of Cairo, a sphinx, and an ever darkening abyss. The scenario rewards are also richly thematic.  If I could only own one, this would be it.

As a final note regarding the stand-alones, clearly my bias is toward 2-4 players.  (I typically play two-player.)  This is relevant given some of the stand-alone scenarios have been specifically designed for larger groups, and thus are not entirely fairly judged here given I have never tried epic multi-player.  Please bear that in mind if you are thnking of large groups.

And there you have it.  One person's ranked overview to Arkham Horror: The Card Game. As mentioned, this will be a live page, updated as new campaigns and stand-alones are released.  For example, I own “The Blob that Ate Everything” or "Machinations through Time", and once played a couple times, they will find their places on the list above.

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.