Break://

Back from a little break in beautiful Herefordshire and the surrounding area with the family. Some seriously stunning fantasy scenery, though these are dodgy mobile shots....

First Puzzlewood, which was empty when we first got there and really has a wonderful feel, it's easy to see why it's been used for TV location work (Merlin & Doctor Who recently). Just had me in the mood to sit and read some epic fantasy, which might have been possible if it were not for the two crazy girls exploring with me. :)

  

Followed by Goodrich castle which was just beautiful...

Read:// Wellsathon 01 - The Stolen Bacillus

'Yes, here is the pestilence imprisoned. Only break such a little tube as this into a supply of drinking water, say to these minute particles of life that one must needs stain and examine with the highest powers of the microscope even to see, and that one can neither smell nor taste - say to them, "Go forth, increase and multiply, and replenish the cisterns", and death - mysterious, untraceable death, death swift and terrible, death full of pain and indignity - would be released upon this city, and go hither and thither seeking his victims.

 A short and sweet one to start off, telling of an anarchist's plans to poison the water supply with a deadly disease, not all goes to plan, and after a brief chase there is a twist to the tale.

Nothing much to say, it's lighthearted despite the topic, I'm not sure it was ever meant to be anything else, though it's hard to imagine how these stories read in their time.

http://www.classicreader.com/book/1423/1/

Want:// Dinocalypse Now

I've been following Kickstarter for some time now, since there are a few interesting games popping up, and I like the idea generally. A little concerned that you could drop a lot of cash on a stinker, but then I guess that is the risk you take, and that risk may be part of the appeal for some.

I'd not backed anything until I spotted Evil Hat Productions project, The Dinocalypse Trilogy. To be honest they had me at the artwork, but it didn't take long for me to watch the video and decide to pledge my money. They have already passed their target by some way, so the reward for my measly $10 is going to be a whole digital heap of ebooks filled with pulp fiction...ok it could be rubbish....but Psychic Dinosaur Invasion!

I already have a copy of the Spirit of the Century RPG which I've been meaning to play about with, I love the setting, and that whole 1930s crazy pulp thing so I'm really looking forward to reading the first book.

Check it out, I think it could be a fun little project to back.

Read:// Wellsathon 00

So after nearly two years of broken nights sleep, my youngest daughter has finally started sleeping through a little more regularly, and consequently I find myself able to concentrate a little more on books and hopefully some gaming. Two years of bad nights is going to take some catching up though, so I'm not jumping into any epic books just yet, so I hunted around for some short stories to keep me entertained over the next few weeks.

I found this sitting neglected on my shelves....

...and I thought it would be a fine idea to read through the thing, a story or two at a time, in my own little H.G.Wells-athon.

Most people are more familiar with Wells' big books like War of the Worlds, Dr Moreau, and The Time Machine, but he also wrote a great many short stories, something that many science fiction authors who have followed him have continued to do. To me the short story form has always been closely tied with genre fiction, I grew up reading short stories in magazines and anthologies, and I still believe it is an almost perfect form for a science fiction tale.

Anyway, don't expect any in depth literary criticism, I'm just going to read and blog as I do. I'll try and link to the story too, since I imagine they are mostly in the public domain.