Jozan

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The Books they select are fun

4/5

I've had a chance to receive and read both the Annubis Murders by Gary Gygax and City of the Beast by Michael Moorcock.

Annubis Murders was far more lyrical than I would have expected. While the mystery revealed is somewhat unsatisfying [a la Sherlock Holmes the final reveal includes information not really available to the reader] it moved at a quick pace and was an enjoyable read.

City of the Beast is a romp on Mars in the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs. If you like John Carter, you'll undoubtedly like Michael Kane.

The thing that was most disappointing were the number of minor typos. ~5 in each book or so. Most were of a somewhat forgiveable nature (using the wrong real word in the sentence like form instead of from). A couple of the typos required me to think carefully about what was being said, but otherwise aren't too bad (though I certainly would like to see that changed).

I'd consider each of the books something that can be knocked off in short order. For Annubis Murders I read the entire thing between waiting for a flight and arriving at my destination, and City of the Beast was completed in a single work day between slow moments and breaks. On average, I think most people can knock one of these books out in about 8 hours of reading, they seem around 200 pages, and a fast reader can do it more quickly.

For that reason, if you're going to have a large amount of time to read, make sure to have two or three ready and lined up.

So far each book has also stood well on its own. While the characters are open-ended enough to allow sequels, (and perhaps prequels) there is no feeling that you're starting without enough information about the characters/events, etc.

I do recommend the subscription. I'm curious to see what else they've chosen for me when the next three arrive in the next day or so.


Print Edition Out of print

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A Pretty Box - And great stuff inside!

4/5

I took too long the first time - let's try again-

The boxed set consists of three books and a map booklet. The first of the three books provides an overview of locations of note in the City of Brass and surrounding Planar Landscape. The second book provides more detail on some of the more traditional 'adventuring locations' briefly detailed in Book 1. The third book, with a page count similar to the other two combined consists of more than 50 pages of dense stat blocks, followed by 90+ pages of new monsters (and some updated from 2nd edition) as well as a new base class (the Alchemist) and two prestige classes. It also includes a couple dozen new spells, and quite a few new items.

The production values were good. Interior artwork is all black and white, and the map booklet is two colored (sepia toned). The maps are clear, legible, and include 'profiles' where appropriate. The cover art is repeated on each of the three books and the back of the map booklet (I would have preferred to see different art each time), but the interior art is all solid, even though I personally prefer color.

There were a fair number of typos, averaging one every page or so, but most were minor and easily ignored. I found the most irritating aspect of the book to be a flaw in book one of three. The city of Brass has multiple levels, each detailed separately. A number of the most significant buildings are towers, and are therefore located on multiple levels. When this is the case, even though the book only provides an overview, it provides the same information for that building each time (word for word). I would have preferred that it simply said something akin to 'Please refer to Upper City Location 5'. The feeling of Deja Vu was palpable.

The book is a solid value. The only reason it doesn't merit a 5th star is that Paizo has set the bar so high with their Pathfinder books. This is a fair equivalent to three of them - perhaps providing more information because of


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I'd like to give it an extra star, but not this month

3/5

#336 is the October issue, and that means a horror theme. The magazine didn't disappoint, beginning with a well written article by James Jacobs on applying a haunted template to a location. The article includes a good mix of fluff and crunch, and is easily one of the best articles I've seen in a long time.

Birth of the Dead has some interesting ideas, but could have defined some mechanics relating to the spontaneous creation of undead. If not everyone can become a spectre, how do we know if this violent death should create one as opposed to that one? I would have preferred a mechanic beyond "DM discretion".

I didn't enjoy Bandits in the Path of Fame, fiction by James Lowder, but it is well written.

Class Acts was solid across the line, but the format has inherent limitations that left me disappointed.

All in all, it is a good issue, but it falls short of my high expectations and its own potential.