Finished: Orcs - Stan Nicholls

I finished this book yesterday and all in all was pleased with it. The action and plot moved along quickly, and it was engaging enough to keep the pages turning at a good rate.

This book does, however, have a few things going against it. In some cases, the story took seemingly random and inexplicably fate driven turns that were almost in the character of Alice in Wonderland...things just kept happening because, well, they happened.

The second downfall was the reading level. Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem reading a book that is written for young adults, I wasn't insulted by the easy read. The part that bothered me is that the content of the book didn't match the reading level. There were parts that were pretty gory and some that were sexual (going a bit beyond just implication, but not necessarily over explicit), which again I have no problem with, aside from the fact that it didn't relate to the reading level. If you're going to write adult themed content, write at an adult reading level.

Overall, the book was enjoyable for what I expected it to be - a light read from a unique perspective in a new fantasy world. It was good enough for me to not hesitate to buy the second book in the series (called Orcs: Bad Blood), but I would only recommend it to fans of fantasy that are looking for a light read as a diversion between books or series'.

Finished: A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin

I finished this book two evenings ago, taking out the last 150 or so pages in one sitting. I hesitate to even compare this book to the previous one, A Game of Thrones, since it is almost more of a direct continuation of a building plot line that is epic in both scope and execution.

Despite it's large size (the main book is just shy of 1000 pages, and then there is a 50+ page appendix) this book is completely packed with juicy storyline, there is no filler text in here trying to stretch out the book or the story, it's 100% full go all the way through.

I would definitely recommend this book to any fan of fantasy books who isn't frightened by a large page count.

Game Review: Galaxy Trucker

Galaxy Trucker - Rio Grande Games
2-4 Players; ages 10+
1 hour to play
$75

Galaxy Trucker is a great game with a good amount of chance involved, making it a fun board game for all. In Galaxy Trucker, each player is an intergalactic trucker who has to get their ship and as much cargo as possible across the galaxy while racing against the other players. The player who can earn the most space credits (money) by the end of the third race is the winner.

Each game round consists of a two basic phases - build and race. In the build phase, players work in real time to build their ship. Players scramble for ship pieces (tiles) such as cargo holds, cabins, lasers, shields and engines, and place them on their card to design their ship. Once players have completed their ships (the first round you can take as long as you want, in later rounds players are forced to finish within a minute of the first player done), then the race begins!

For each race there is a small deck of cards that represent things encountered during the race. Things such as planets to pick up carge, space pirates who attack your ship, meteor swarms that smash your ship to pieces, and open space where you gun your engines to try to get ahead are all examples of events you might encounter. Once all the cards are resolved, the race is over and money is handed out. Then the players return all their ship pieces to the pile, get a new ship card (bigger and better!) and it all starts again.

The game is well designed to bring new players into the fold easily (the first race is very basic, then additional rules are added for the second and third) and with a rule book of only 16 pages it isn't too overbearing to read and teach.

I would classify this game just beyond a "gateway game". If your players are into games, this is a good one that while involving plenty of strategy - your best laid plans can quickly end with poor luck during a meteor swarm. Great for an evening of fun, entertaining, and low pressure gaming for those who are into board games.

One last note: Don't be intimidated by the price tag! I know $75 is a lot for a board game, but there is a large amount of quality game components in that box, and those experienced board gamers out there will see the justification of the price when they open the box.

Game Review: Hive

Hive - Gen42 Games
2 players; ages 8+
20 minutes to play
~$30

Hive is a head to head game that can easily be described as a game with elegantly simple rules with deep chess-like strategy.

Each player has a tile set consisting of 11 tiles made up of 5 different insects (1 Queen Bee, 3 Grasshoppers, 3 Soldier Ants, 2 Spiders, 2 Beetles), each with it's own style of movement. The object of the game is to get your opponent's Queen Bee completely surrounded before he does the same to you.

In this game, the playing pieces actually form the play area as they are brought in a moved around (called the Hive). The game begins with each player having all their tiles in reserve, and on your turn you can bring another tile into the game or move tiles that are already in the game. The unique movements of the insects create for some very diverse strategies and options making each game very unique.

Another great feature of this game is the playing pieces themselves. These are nice heavy tiles that are easily portable and washable, which means you can take this anywhere (I'm sure mine will get some play this summer on the beach) without worrying about ruining your game.

There is also an expansion tile set called The Mosquito which brings even more devious tactics into the game.

I can't even begin to express my love for this game - it brings many elements together that I like in a game, not least of which is quick, relaxed head-to-head style play with a monstrous replay factor (most of the time several games in a row are played). This is a must have for a game collection that includes two-player only games.

You can learn how to play and even play online by following the link to the Hive website.

Game Review: TransAmerica

TransAmerica - Rio Grande Games
2-6 players; ages 8+
30 minutes to play
~$30

TransAmerica is a railroad building game where players work to connect their five U.S. cities through the quickly expanding network of train tracks. The game rules are elegantly simple, making the game not only easy to learn, but allows new players to be competitive on their first game.

The game takes place over several game rounds. In each round players are randomly dealt five cities, one from each major area of the game board, which they must connect to their main hub before the other players are able to connect theirs. On each game turn a player simply adds two tracks to their network to get closer to their goal. As networks connect and then build off each other, the game round comes to a quick but intense finish. The players then score points (or rather, lose points based on how far from reaching their goal they were), the board is cleared, and a new round is started. Game play continues until one player "goes bust", and the player who managed to lose the least points is the winner.

With it's easy game mechanics, short play time, and the interesting blend of competitive and cooperative elements TransAmerica is easily a must have for any game collection. It ranks in my top 5 games that bridge the gap between non-gamers and euro board games. I have yet to play the game with anyone (gamer or non-gamer alike) that has given it anything but a thumbs up; quite often we end up playing several games in a row.

There is also a TransEuropa version that lets you make connections throughout Europe.

Note: Originally published by Rio Grande Games, this is currently listed as out of print on their site. I think it may currently be published by Winning Move Games and/or Immortal Eyes Games. Either way, it is available at your local specialist gaming store and even comes packaged with a neat game expansion.

Finished: The Color of Magic - Terry Pratchett

Just wrapped up this novel about 15 minutes ago - and it was definitely a good one, and nothing like I expected. For some reason I had this image of heavy political satyr and wacked-out-across-the-pond type humor going in to this, and it wasn't a novel entirely comprised of that (although satyr and humor are definitely in there).

Instead, it was a nicely done fantasy novel that takes place in a purposefully ridiculous reality with a meandering storyline in the style of Alice in Wonderland where the only thing consistent is the charm of the world and the characters. *Although I didn't particularly care for Alice in Wonderland, it makes a valid comparison here.*

I would recommend this to any fantasy reader who is looking for a "light" book to read, and I'll definitely be picking up the next one in the series.

Finished: Chainfire - Terry Goodkind

Finished this one up about an hour ago. Well worth the read. There were parts for the first half of the book where I felt like character conversations were repetitive, but other than that minor flaw I enjoyed the book thoroughly. My only regret is that there is only two more in the series - I'm trying to savor this one as best as I can.

For reference, this was book 9 of 11 in the Sword of Truth series. The series starts off with Wizards First Rule, but if you're thinking about getting it you should just go straight for the first boxed set.

Finished: The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle

I finished this book yesterday, and all in all was very impressed. Even without considering the books age (this was the 40th Anniversary edition) this was a fantastic read and a great story for any reader, not just fans of fantasy books. I would highly recommend this when you need a casual read, especially if you are an avid fantasy novel reader - you will notice many correlations between this and modern works.