[a record of reading] PHALANX

 

Third book of 2025, PHALANX by Scott Sigler, collected in the Complete Aliens Collection: Living Nightmares. A new read, started after I got a third of the way through an unnamed book that I just couldn't get into.

A take on the Alien franchise by way of a fantasy style novel rather than the classic dark sci-fi. It was very enjoyable and well worth the time of any Alien fan, though I wish the ties to the Alien universe had been handled a little less explicitly at the end. 

Still, it was a great, fun read and an interesting take on xenomorphs outside of the usual cramped corridors of spaceships and colony stations.

Mittwoch Mix - The Swiftest Blade - hwæt! Nerd Mix Volume I

 Another long percolating mix that I've finally compiled, The Swiftest Blade features a collection of songs outright inspired by TTRPG, fantasy literature, RPG video games and other songs that are at least nerd adjacent. 

Going ahead and labeling this as Volume 1 as I'll certainly be able to assemble other mixes of nerdy songs in the future...

#	Artist	Track
1	Wizard Tattoo	Wizard Knife Fight (At a Bar)
1	Loot the Body	Against the Cult of the Reptile God
3	Castle Rat	Dagger Dragger
4	Big Lich	Superfluous Mana
5	Cara Neir	Shady Blades
6	Dungeon Crawler	I Still Have That Potion I Looted In The Last Dungeon. I'll Keep It For Later!
7	Magic Sword	A New Quest
8	Bog Wizard	The Rogue
9	Acid Mammoth	Berserker
10	Book of Wyrms	Meteoric Dagger
11	King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard	Polygondwanaland
12	Loot the Body	Caught in a Gelatinous Cube
13	Wizard Tattoo	My Second Knife Fight

A point of pride for this mix is that when Loot the Body was planning out Hex Volume 2 he asked for suggestions of classic D&D modules for inspiration and I was one of at least a few who suggested Against the Cult of the Reptile God, which is undoubtedly one of my top five D&D adventures.

[a record of reading] THE GRAND DARK

 

Second book of 2025, THE GRAND DARK by Richard Kadrey. Another slight cheat asI had started re-reading this before Xmas & then got side-tracked by the holidays & other things.

A fantasy noir set in a claustrophobic & beautifully described decaying city between wars. Dark without being overly gritty, one of my favorite depictions of an urban landscape. 

Though Kadrey is best known for his Sandman Slim series, a dark modern fantasy series that is a thrilling comfort read I binge read about once a year, the Grand Dark stands on its own as an incredibly enthralling and sumptuous in its economical world-building.