How I’m Doing
We’ve gone from six inches of snow and zero degrees, to 50s and down pours, and now it’s back to freezing with some slight snow flurries.
A perfect accompaniment for this gloomy, low energy atmosphere? The Blank Project.
What I’m Playing
Skyrim ★★★★★
I finally got done with that damn Bones for a Crow quest and the pay off was glorious! Finding a full set of Heavy Armor all with useful enchantments – chiefs’ kiss.
I find Thistle an interesting battle partner. As I’m huddled between columns avoiding the ice breath of a Blood Dragon, Thistle is hunkered down with me, sitting like a loaf — and still has time to find an alchemy ingredient!
What a doll.
What I’m Reading
Rise of the Ranger, Phillip C. Quaintrell ★☆☆☆☆
Well that went downhill fast.
There is B grade fantasy, then there is D grade. I kind of was jiving with this book and patient for everything to coalesce. When it did…it was one bad trope after another, and sometimes bundled all in one – love at first sight AND a commoner/royalty romance?
Then the nonsensical started adding up. You have immensely powerful assassins that somehow falter against lesser opponents or bumbling guards forgetting to, I dunno, restrain deadly assassins after capture, or extremely cheap deaths of people we aren’t invested in yet.
The book is a mess.
Once I found out it was self-published, I was already on the fence, but a good cover art convinced me to give it a try.
I dunno. That kind of looked cool to me. Well I was hoodwinked. DNF
Blade of the Reaper, J.N. Chaney ★★★☆☆
That’s more like it.
I’ve missed the banter between the Duke Nukem like main character with “limited AI” X-37.
This is kind of what I was hoping from the Echoes Saga, just in a fantasy setting.
Not heavy.
Doesn’t take itself so seriously.
Not trope laden.
I’m looking forward to jumping back into this meaningless fun.