The holidays are sneaking closer and the combination of extra hours at work and endless shopping has made anime watching more of a challenge. Bah! It’ll take more than a bit of time pressure to stop this geek from getting his dose of animated action. In this Irregular Reconnaissance column I offer a collection of […]
One for fans: Grimm – The Icy Touch
Fans of the NBC show Grimm may have a reason to skip re-runs in favor of a quiet evening in their comfiest chair. John Shirley brings the supernatural thriller Grimm to the page in his novel The Icy Touch; An adventure staring the usual suspects from the show including Nick Burkhardt, Hank Griffin and Monroe. […]
Pick your side: Knight & Dragon review
Knight & Dragon is a full colour comic book with a twist from Improper Books. The bar was set high by Improper in 2013 with Butterfly Gate – a “silent” sci-fi that threw a brother and sister into a tough sci-fantasy world. Knight & Dragon is also “silent”. That’s to say there’s no written dialogue; […]
Demon bloodlines: A review of Blue Exorcist part 1
The action kicks off pretty quickly in Blue Exorcist. Here’s how it flies for quick-to-anger but basically well-intended Rin Okumura. First, he finds out that a little girl being terrorised by “bad fairies” isn’t making it up; they’re real and he can see them. He next finds out that his quirky father isn’t just a […]
Haunted by the past: A review of Penguindrum part 2
I began my review of Penguindrum part 1 by saying that I suspected labelling the series as a cute, fluffy, romance with a touch of angst anime was a mistake. Oh boy. Was it a mistake. In my defence, in the same review I said the plot, drama and tension was escalating quickly. By the […]
What’s my motivation?: A Review of The Fire Within
It isn’t just a question posed by pretentious, budding actors everywhere, but also something often heard across the table at role playing sessions. Whether you create a character yourself or get handed one the GM pre-generated for you, often you want something a little more colourful that a bunch of skills and numbers. The Fire […]
Ghostbusters with machine guns: Seal Team 666 – Age of Blood
The first book in the series is just called Seal Team 666 and with Seal Team 666: Age of Blood author Weston Ochse has extended the story. The first book introduced some new SEALs to Team 666 – the US’s special squad that’s deployed against supernatural threats in a particularly high stakes battle. Age of […]
Tea versus evil: A review of the Discworld board game The Witches
The Witches is the second of Martin Wallace’s Discworld board games. It follows Ankh Morpork. In Ankh Morpork I found myself dropping friends in heaps of trouble for fun and to win the game. In The Witches I found that you were often better off helping each other out – particularly when it came […]
Irregular Reconnaissance: Comic Books #5
It’s been a busy month of comic book reading for me. For the most part this is made possible by a shiny new Nexus 7 tablet (hmm, comics in HD) and the inability to sleep. I wonder if the two are connected? In Irregular Reconnaissance I take the chance to write up some of these […]
Irregular Reconnaissance: Comic Books #4
More comic book goodness? That’s right; they come thick and fast – although like the title of this column Irregular Reconnaissance sometimes the publishing schedule does seem a little irregular. In this catch up I offer my untalented, non-obsessive, comic book fan view into the series I’m currently splashing the cash on. Do you agree […]
