Redwolf's Journal (continued)

Read and finished this week, digitally to boot (but more on that later). I still very much enjoy the Dresden Files series. I'm still amazed that the books are able to keep a certain freshness, each one tying up loose ends while laying more thread for the future. Harry hits the ground running again, and it's a good story, expanding on the roles of the faerie courts well beyond how they've been portrayed thus far. There are elements of the formula, however, that I'm becoming less enchanted with. I've read opinions on how thw Twilight series was so popular largely for playing on female wish fulfillment. And I've friends who stopped reading the Antia Blake series becaue of the gratuitous sex. The sex itself didn't bother me so much as the escalation - both in power and relationships - to the point where I felt there was really no risk of failure/loss and thus lost interest. The Dresden Files certainly does escalate power, but to far the series has managed to k...

It's interesting to watch the evolution of fiction pushed by reality. These thoughts have bounced around in my head for a couple weeks, more recently brought back to mind by comments on the John Carter movie. I never read the Barsoom novels, but the whole "retro-futurism" concept reminds me the thoughts are more widely applicable than the few examples that have come to mind for me. One is Shadowrun. SR back in the 80's involved fighting your way to nodes so deckers could get in past security and crack open secrets worth stealing. As the internet and wi-fi became more ubiquitous in the real world, however, the Matrix became almost laughable. And, as a result, we have newer editions with more wireless technology. The concepts of decks and hard lines have become archaic. The biggest example that's been in my mind of late has to do with the Dresden Files. That's partly because the magic in the setting is (repeatedly) explained as being based on belief. A cha...

So, naturally, having said so little before, there really is more I've thought about the book. It's just that I can't get into much of it without spouting spoilers left and right. So for you view who read this and have read the book, I have more to say. Perhaps the thing I admire most about Jim Butcher's writing in the Dresden Files is his ability to evolve characters and setting. It's so comparatively easy to fall too far to either side of the spectrum and end up with "major events" that don't have major impact (which you see often in long-running, episodic TV shows where a status quo has to be maintained) or to lose the essence of what made a story good in the first place (seen in how sequels to "buddy movies" often flounder because the characters had to resolve their differences in the first movie). Butcher has, for some 13 novels now, managed to retain the essence of the characters while introducing changes pretty much every installmen...

Ah, Harry Dresden. I do love the series, the characters, and the storycrafting. As the story is making it's turn to the second half, I still worry some about power creep and the change impressed upon setting and character, but... it all still works for me. This one's full of memories and repercussions from the last major book. Probably almost any comment I could make would be spoilerish. But I very much enjoyed the book and found it a very emotional ride.

So... I've "officially" marked off next week on the calendar at work. I have plans to head down to Albuquerque Monday, stay the night, and return sometime Tuesday. It'll give me a chance to hit my main points of interest (Page One and Active Imagination at the top of the list), maybe catch a movie, and generally be away for somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty hours. I hope this will help to recharge me in some fashion. I haven't planned anything for the rest of the week. I sort of hope to get in some time outdoors, perhaps hiking some local trails that I don't typically see, but if I feel most like sleeping in and hanging out at home at the time, that may be the outcome instead. I may log a little more time on WoW during the week, too. If 4.0.1 does go live Tuesday, I'll want to get in some dungeon time to relearn how to play a paladin. I have some real hope we could down the Lich King tomorrow night, which I wouldn't have had if you'd ask...

Real spellcasting came up for the first time in our brief play time during gaming last night. And... it slowed us down seriously trying to walk through the process. I think adjucating non-combat effects is going to be the hardest part once we get the process down, but I've been thinking today about how it works and going back over the rules.   One thing that strikes me is that I see nothing - not in the general rules, nor in any of the example spells or items - for casting spells that directly grant supernatural Powers. You can grant temporary aspects. You can do some things that aren't well covered in other areas (like Harry's escape potion). But I don't see any example of using magic to give someone "Inhuman Strength" or any other Power (outside of Items of Power, which are a Power themselves).   Spellcasting. Ugh. Offensive/defensive spell effects are laid out in fair detail. Move beyond that, though, and you get into the realm of judgement calls. I both l...