Tag Archives: swords

Slimeline

Posted on June 25, 2026 by Nathan

I’m going to look at one of my niche interests, that of timelines for fictional universes, in this case the Dragon Quest series. While there are exceptions, I get the impression that game developers don’t generally think too much about … Continue reading →

Posted in African, Authors, Christianity, Chrono Trigger, Comics, Discworld, Dragon Quest, Egyptian, Families, Final Fantasy, Greek Philosophy, J.R.R. Tolkien, Japanese, Language, lucasarts, Magic, Maps, Monsters, Mythology, Norse, Persian, Philosophy, Relationships, Religion, Roman, Terry Pratchett, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Eldritch Hero

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Nathan

Cthulhu Saves the World – I enjoyed Cosmic Star Heroine from Zeboyd Games, so I checked out this earlier game. It’s a throwback to the sixteen-bit era with much of the same style and sense of humor, but it’s shorter … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Final Fantasy, Humor, lucasarts, Magic, Metroid, Monsters, Music, Names, Technology, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Academic Abyss

Posted on April 16, 2026 by Nathan

Katabasis, by R.F. Kuang – The title is an ancient Greek term for a journey to the underworld, and that is what happens in this book. It’s set in a world where magic is a respected academic discipline, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Book Reviews, Chinese, Christianity, Education, Greek Mythology, Hinduism, Humor, Magic, Maps, Monsters, Mythology, Relationships, Religion, Roman, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Choose Your Own Grues

Posted on March 31, 2026 by Nathan

I recently wrote about the King’s Quest tie-in novels, and now I’m turning to the Zork gamebooks from the early 1990s. These are referred to as What-Do-I-Do-Now Books, obviously an attempt to capitalize on Choose Your Own Adventure. How you proceed … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Authors, Book Reviews, Greek Mythology, Humor, infocom, J.R.R. Tolkien, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Video Games, zork | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Simon Says Something Snarky

Posted on January 1, 2026 by Nathan

Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe – The first game ended with Simon being pulled against his will into the sequel, but that’s not exactly how this one starts, even if the part of his … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Art, Authors, C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia, Fairy Tales, Food, Greek Mythology, Humor, lucasarts, Magic, Maps, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Sworded Love Affair

Posted on October 8, 2025 by Nathan

Vellum: The Book of All Hours, by Hal Duncan – This is a complicated book by design, but still interesting to read, even if it’s not always clear what’s going on. It jumps around a lot between characters, times, places, … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Arthurian Legend, Authors, Book Reviews, British, Celtic, Christianity, Conspiracy Theories, Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology, incryptid, Japanese, Magic, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Names, Prejudice, Relationships, Religion, seanan mcguire, Urban Legends, ursula vernon, Welsh | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Highways and Dieways

Posted on August 27, 2025 by Nathan

The Wood at Midwinter, by Susanna Clarke – This is a short, emotional story set in the same fictional version of nineteenth-century England as Jonathan Strange, although it mostly stands alone. Merowdis Scott, a girl who feels out of place … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Art, Arthurian Legend, Authors, Book Reviews, British, Celtic, Christianity, Christmas, ghost roads, Greek Mythology, Holidays, Magic, Mythology, Relationships, Religion, seanan mcguire, Urban Legends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How We Pierced the Forest

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Nathan

Perceforest: The Prehistory of King Arthur’s Britain translated by Nigel Bryant – I had heard about this epic work a few years ago, but couldn’t find it until recently, at a link on the Arthurian Preservation Project at Tumblr. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthurian Legend, Authors, Book Reviews, British, Chinese, Christianity, England, Fairy Tales, Families, Games, History, Humor, J.R.R. Tolkien, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Norse, Relationships, Religion, Rick Riordan, Sports, Taoism, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sumer Is Icumen In

Posted on March 29, 2025 by Nathan

The Broken Sword, by Poul Anderson – As with some other Anderson books that I’ve read, this mixes different mythologies in a single story, and in a way that doesn’t seem forced. It’s mostly based on Norse myth, using a … Continue reading →

Posted in African, Animals, Arabian, Authors, Babylonian, Book Reviews, Celtic, Christianity, Egyptian, Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology, History, Humor, J.R.R. Tolkien, Magic, Mesopotamia, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Norse, Oz, Poul Anderson, Relationships, Religion, seanan mcguire, Semitic, Sumerian, Wayward Children | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Eightfold Path

Posted on October 24, 2024 by Nathan

I guess I should say something about Octopath Traveler, since I’ve been playing it recently. I know I’m late to the (eight-person) party on this one, but that’s often how I am. It’s an old-school sort of role-playing game in … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Language, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Norse, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments