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Gen Con Update: Gaming in the Library

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It’s been awhile since I got to say anything new (those reviews keep coming in, and are keeping me busy) but I had the chance to attend Gen Con’s trade day events this year, and what I learned is that there are a lot of librarians and educators out there trying to figure out how to incorporate games into their libraries. While I don’t work in a public library anymore, I knew this was a trend, and one that has gained a lot of ground over the past several years. The question of should libraries have games seems to have settled down (either you think it’s part of your library’s mission to serve gamers or you don’t– at Gen Con I am sure you can guess what side of that issue the professionals are on) and now it comes down to issues of logistics, collection development, and use. While there will always be enthusiastic videogamers, and there is a committed community of roleplayers, what libraries seems to have seen a noticeable uptick in is tabletop gaming (board games and card games, specifically). While there are a lot of specialized and complicated board games and card games, there are also a lot of games with broad appeal for kids and families. Even if a library decides that a game collection should stay on site, and has to choose just a few games, it can be a good way to engage people with each other and get them to spend time at the library, making it a familiar and safe space.

One session I went to suggested pairing games with fiction and nonfiction titles. The presenter was really talking about games for small children, but I think this is a great idea. There are a lot of horror-related games out there, some with great literary connections, and while gamers aren’t necessarily readers, given the number of extremely detailed rulebooks out there, it is clear that they will read for a cause, or if they develop interest in a topic that fuels their knowledge for the game. One example of a clear connection between a and literature was a heavily publicized game from LoneShark Games called Apocrypha. This is a pre-apocalyptic game that seems to have some flexibility built in to how you play it, with a good dose of the supernatural, and cards and scenarios written by some pretty great authors, including Patrick Rothfuss. You could take this so many ways, with its gameplay, content, theme, and writers all offering some pretty interesting pathways to a variety of other authors and media (I did not get to demo or see a demo of this game, so I’m going by what I saw on outward examination). Obviously this isn’t going to be a family fun game like Operation, but there are plenty of opportunities with the variety of games out there to draw connections between games, literature, and other media, that can wake an interest in any of those things for people who might see reading (or gaming) as something “not for them”. The key is that here is a new way to make the library an engaging place for the general public, gamers, and horror lovers who might be feeling disenfranchised, and connect them with a new way to enjoy storytelling and approach literacy.

Being one of those people who falls into the “not a serious gamer” crowd, I’m mostly unfamiliar with some of the new things out now and how they match up to what already exists, what’s fun, and the connection different games might have to literature or other media. I’d love to see suggestions from those of you who are gamers and know your stuff, about games you think are cool that could tie in to books or other media.

Posted on August 19, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: Panacea by F. Paul Wilson

Panacea by F. Paul Wilson

Tor Books, 2016

ISBN-13: 978-0765385161

Availability: Hardcover, Kindle edition

 

What would the world do with a panacea, a drug which cured every illness, no matter how severe? Would it bring peace and prosperity to all, or send humanity into chaos and war? Could the drug cure the painful longing readers have felt since F. Paul Wilson wrapped up his final Repairman Jack tale? Withdrawal has been painful for the countless fans of the Repairman Jack series, but, as the first book in a new series, Panacea might hook them all over again, enticing them with wonder, awe, and, yes, annoyance that another year or so might have to pass before the next installment materializes.

 

Medical examiner Laura Fanning lives an ordinary life. Then she receives a subject who is physically perfect, except for the odd tattoo on his back; a numeral connecting him to an ancient, secret order. When another body with the mysterious tattoo crosses her table, her sense of reality is shaken. Then billionaire Clayton Stahlman enlists Laura to find an elixir that will cure his cancer.  However, she is not alone on this quest. Stahlman’s bodyguard, Rick Hayden, is assigned to travel with her to the rainforest to procure the panacea. He claims to have once been an ex-SEAL, but Laura discovers there is much more to the man beyond what he reveals. While they seek this elusive treasure, Nelson Fife, a CIA agent and member of the enigmatic order, tracks them, determined to prevent their discovery of the life-giving substance.

 

Fanning is one of the most intriguing female characters Wilson has created, and the mysterious characters, particularly Hayden and Fife, keep the pages As one expects in Wilson’s work, the story twists and turns without an inch of wasted space. Dialogue is crisp and natural and the action scenes are absolutely gripping.

 

Of course, it wouldn’t be an F. Paul Wilson novel without something extra brewing beneath the surface; his story is never just a story. Readers are encouraged to think beyond the obvious and ponder the philosophical implications of what is going on between the lines. What is the connection to the ancient Adversary Cycle? This reviewer will never tell. Highly recommended

Reviewed by David Simms


Posted on July 16, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: Thirty Hours With A Corpse and Other Tales of the Grand Guignol by Maurice Level, introduced and edited by S.T. Joshi

 

Thirty Hours With a Corpse and Other Tales of the Grand Guignol by Maurice Level, introduced and edited by S.T. Joshi
Dover Publications, 2016
ISBN: 9780486802329
Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

S.T. Joshi has collected thirty-nine of Maurice Level’s conte cruel, or “cruel tales,” in one volume. Level, a French writer from the early twentieth century, whose specialty was short stories of the macabre, was a contributor to the Grand Guignol Theatre in Paris, known for staging gory dramas. His tales deal with the human condition and moral frailty, rather than anything supernatural.

 

I was enthralled with all of the stories in this anthology, but a few stood out more than others. As mentioned above, some stories focus on moral frailty. In “The Debt Collector”, a clerk turned thief takes his spoils to a solicitor’s outside town, leaves the funds under a false name, and travels back to town in order to turn himself in. Of course, he is promptly arrested, found guilty at trial, and jailed for five years. Upon release, he heads to the solicitor’s to pick up the money. The trouble is that, in the meantime, he forgot the false name he used. The story “Blue Eyes” culminates in a young woman having certain business transactions with the last man she would ever want to see. In “The Last Kiss,” a man takes revenge on the woman who blinded him.

 

Other stories deal with madness or psychoses. The need for peace and quiet occasionally drives us all a little mad sometimes: unfortunately for the nagging mistress of the man in “Fascination”, he takes that a step too far, and shoots her for the sake of a night in. “In the Light of the Red Lamp” is a tragic tale of a husband who develops photographs of his deceased wife, only to find something he was not expecting. In “Poussette”, a highly religious woman is betrayed by her cat, Pousette, who is only following instincts when she escapes the house to be in the company of yowling male cats. When Pousette returns, the woman’s affection for her formerly loyal pet has turned to anger and paranoia. A man’s suspicions and paranoia conclude in a familial tragedy in “The Bastard”.

 

Several tales take place during wartime. “Under Ether” tells the story of a patient/prisoner who discovers through conversation that his doctor comes from the same town, and that they knew each other’s mothers. What the injured man says under ether, however, is unexpected. “At the Movies” finds a mother telling her son about what is taking place on a newsreel, only to find a familiar face, one she believed to have been killed during the war.

 

The scariest part of these short stories is that none of them have any supernatural explanation as to why things happened. They are all driven by humanity and the wrongs that we have the capability of inflicting on each other. I highly recommend this collection, but you might need a good strong drink or cup of tea to calm your nerves.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on June 5, 2016 by , Reply
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