November 24, 2003: So When Not Gaming . . .

we watch films about gaming? Well . . . sometimes. Our Tuesday movie a couple of weeks ago was The Gamers, a not-completely-professional, but very funny, film about a group that really ought to be playing Munchkin. Included on the DVD is "A Gamer's Perspective" by Monte Cook. Hee, hee . . .

And I just reread a book that I rather like . . . but as far as I know, nobody else has ever heard of it, which is a shame. It's Alien Taste by Wen Spencer. It's SF, about a man with some . . . interesting . . . abilities, and no idea how he got them. Spencer does a good job of dropping you into the action and letting you share his protagonist's thoughts, to make what you will of them. This author deserves more attention.

Finally . . . Mia loaned me a copy of Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair, which is kind of a thriller, kind of a detective story, and mostly a romp through an alternate and weirder world in which popular culture has embraced art and literature (which is good) and Fiendish Menaces threaten Life As We Know It (which is not so good, but Fforde's heroine is up to the challenge). This is a silly book, and I'm going to go out and buy it . . . and I was delighted to learn there are two sequels, Lost in a Good Book (which seems to be only available now in hardcover, darn it) and The Well of Lost Plots (scheduled for a February release).
-- Steve Jackson

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