āAn earnest work of myth-making, heavy with history and danger.ā Core Premises & Initial Impressions: Throw yourself back to your school days. Youāre on the far side of the classroomānot in the teacherās direct line of sight, but you can see the whiteboard all the same. You donāt even have to bob and weave past…
Whatās it like to be afraid? I gots to tells yaāI wouldnāt have the first idea. Buckling under the weight of a future either yearned for or desperately scrambled to escape? Aw heck, what would a simple high-school groundsman like me know about such a thing? No sir-ree. A bumpkin like myself aināt got no…
We all wish life was more like a video game. In games, the rules are clear: level up, save the princess, save the world, or just get the cute guy with the freckles to ask you out on a second date. You know heās not the canon pick, but Love-Love Princess 4 is all about…
āThe Glass Wizard isnāt pushing the boundaries of web fictionāitās hurling itself through them like a wizard-shaped meteor.ā Core Premise & Initial Impressions: How best to convey my first impressions of The Glass Wizard? I wrestled with that question while scribbling notes for this reviewābut eventually, the answer revealed itself. To wit: imagine yourself at…
This oneās a bit esotericānot all of you are meant to understand it. But those of you whoāve puffed the magic dragonās fungal cousin will know full well, it can take you to someā¦ strange places. I only wish Iād picked up The Lone Wanderer before going down that route. Didnāt realise there was an…
In the interest of full transparency, before launching into this review, I must confess that Iām rather fond of this author. Avid readers of this site will know heās a valued contributor to our growing series of writing-advice essays. (For brevity, Iāve used āthis siteā instead of āBardic Planet.ā Iāve already saved at least half…
At five years old, Ren Drakemore was contemplating the moral fabric of kingdoms. At five, I was eating glue. Core Concepts & Initial Impressions: I remember my earliest youthāfive years oldāthe crunch of an apple dribbling faintly down my chin as I lounged in contemplation of lifeās meaning. Ah, those were trying days, wrestling with…
āIn Aether Nexus, kindness and calamity share the same cabināa boyās compassion, a witchās curse, and a storm waiting just beyond the door.ā Core Premise & Initial Impression: Bardic Planet has reviewed quite the number of progression-fantasy novels of late. As Bard-in-Chief, itās my prerogative to mix things up. Pursuant to that, this week youāll…
āDeath is temporary. The fine print is forever.ā Core Concept & Initial Impressions: In our ever-growing partnership with Bardic Planet, IāSilas Quibble, reputable spokesgoblin for Dubious Derivativesā¢ Limitedāhave been invited back to co-author this First Impressions review of Paragon of Weaponmasters.When I first dug into the work, I knew I was the right goblin for…
Core Premise & Initial Impression: Stay with me, dear reader, because this one might bring up some awkward memories. For the lads, you know exactly what I mean. Iām sure itās no less true for some of you ladies as well. Throw yourself back to when you were thirteen. A pimply youthāhormones aflame, eyes wandering…