The Strength of Symbols (Warhammer 40K: Astra Militarum) 3Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: The Strength of Symbols
Series: Warhammer 40K: Astra Militarum
Author: Carrie Harris
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 36
Words: 8K
Publish: 2023

A nice little story about recovering a Regimental Flag so as to boost morale of an entire army. A medic and some troopers are sent on a mission to recover the flag in ork infested territory and they all have a bonding moment. They get the flag, and return just in time to inspire the other troops to win a battle. It was actually pretty hokey.

It also made me wonder why the Army sent a highly trained medic along on a secret mission. Wouldn’t she have been better utilized staying at the main hospital hacking off poor soldiers’s limbs so they can be augmented and returned to the meat grinder of the war.

That is about how the whole WH40K universe works though. If it would make sense or be logical or commonsense, well, THAT kind of thing is very unwelcome in the Empire of Mankind. So just stop thinking, would you? Because if you don’t, the Emperor’s rotting corpse will send the ghost of Horus to haunt you and Horus will bring along his Chaos buddies, who WILL eat your soul, literally.

Ahhh, good times ;-)

★★✬☆☆

From the Publisher:

A medic from a different regiment hatches a plan to retrieve an important relic and earn her place among her new comrades.

READ IT BECAUSE

The Cadians are a proud regiment. Learn what an outsider must do to show them what Valhallans are made of and earn their trust.

THE STORY

Cadian medic Cathris Korr, a Valhallan transplant, is part of a squad sent on a special mission to retrieve a regimental banner stolen by the opposing ork army. When their Chimera is destroyed, Cathris must overcome her fear of the orks and put her skills as a healer to good use in order to bring the banner where it is needed most, and earn her place amongst the Cadians.

• All of My Warhammer 40K Reviews

Lord of the Pit - MTG 4E

 

I've talked about why I didn't play the color black in the day, but once again, cards like this are Candidate 1 of why. Playing demons, that looked like demons and using Biblical language, that's a big no-no. It wasn't long after this time that Wizards of the Coast (the company that makes Magic) began moving away from the almost straight up Dungeons and Dragons versions of various creatures. But by that time, parents across the nation associated Magic the Gathering with satan worshipping, baby eating Dungeons and Dragons players. It was too late.

Marvel Champions - The Acquisitioning II

 

Two years ago I began collecting and playing the card game Marvel Champions. I bought the base game and then began collecting a bunch of individual hero packs and various villain scenarios, basically a bunch of stuff to make the game better. I chronicled said adventures in the first Acquisitioning post.

Now, at the same time I was playing with SavageDave and Spalanz via whatsapp. I was having some issues finding some of the hero packs and Dave, living in the great country of Netherlands, was able to track down a collection of 6 hero packs, for about half the price of what I'd pay for the individual packs. He bought them for me. Plans were made for getting it from the Netherlands to the US. Plans fell through. Other plans were made. Those plans fell through. Dave has "connections" with "The Family" and even THEY let us down. (I'll say no more so Dave doesn't get any necktie justice).

In desperation, we turned to the absolute last resort. The least competent, the most corrupt, the worst possible choice. Yes, we turned to the national mail systems of our respective countries. We had truly hit rock bottom. But even the worst can sometimes deliver. And Deliver they did, voila!

To make things even better, Dave sent me a nice birthday card. I loved that! I hope that getting this collection will convince me to do another gaming post on MC. But don't hold your breath, my resistance to games is well known, some might even say legendary.

Sunshine Blogger Award - The 2026 Edition

 

Here’s the participation rules

1. Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog
2. Thank the person who nominated you
3. Provide a link to your nominator’s blog
4. Answer your nominator’s questions
5. Nominate up to eleven bloggers
6. Ask your nominees eleven questions
7. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blogs

Veselin nominated me for this award this year. I consider naming him and linking him as thanks enough.

What’s your favorite book and why

Favorite book, singular?

Dune by Frank Herbert.

Can you share some obscure/unusual words you like to use when writing

The problem is that while I have a wide vocabulary, I don't compare it to the nitwits of today. So most of the words I use are completely normal. If you are me. If you're not me, well, you're el crewedso. See, I'm multilingual too.

Do you have pets (if yes, photos!)

Nope. Never have, never will.

What brings you joy?

Sitting at an outdoor cafe, sipping an iced sweet chai, while writing for hours in my current journal. Just looking off into the distance, thinking, writing.

If there’s anything that can make you look forward to tomorrow, what would that be?

Knowing I have the day off so I can go to the aforementioned cafe ;-)

Best vacation destination from your experience?

Hawaii. Best place ever. As long as you don't have to do the driving.

Do you count steps?

Don't have time. Work keeps me moving.

Favorite meal?

Pizza! I could eat pizza forever.

The last song you listened on repeat?

The Resident Evil theme song. By Marilyn Manson of all people :-D

How many blogs do you have?

What’s your favorite quote?

give me neither poverty nor riches;
    feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
    and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or lest I be poor and steal
    and profane the name of my God.
~Proverbs 30: 8b-9 ESV

Now I'm supposed to nominate 11 other bloggers and ask 11 new questions. However, I know something about you all that you don't.

You. Aren't. Hardcore. Enough!

Little House in the Big Woods (Little House #1) 4Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Little House in the Big Woods
Series: Little House #1
Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: MG Historical Fiction
Pages: 87
Words: 33K
Publish: 1932

What a delightful gem of a book! While I’m stating this is middle grade level, it is simple enough that it could easily be read by elementary school age kids. We get a year in the life of the Ingalls family from the viewpoint of Laura, who is 4 at the beginning of the book and 5 by the time the story wraps up. It is a very positive outlook to things, just like you’d expect from the memories of someone that young. They wouldn’t understand some of the bad and would just accept things as they are, because they don’t know any different.

My mom read these to me growing up before I could read on my own and then I read them on my own at some point. Might have even read them a couple of times. But I never did read them as an adult and since I needed some ya/childrens books to keep me from being a total old grump, I decided on these. This book delighted me and I feel like I’ve made a great choice to go through the Little House series and I am looking forward to reading more. That makes a book a success in my eyes.

★★★★☆

From Grokipedia

The narrative of Little House in the Big Woods follows the Ingalls family's experiences through the seasons in their log cabin in the Wisconsin wilderness. In the fall and early winter, Pa hunts deer and other game to stock the larder, and with Uncle Henry's help butchers their fattened pig, preserving the meat as roasts, sausages, headcheese, lard, and other provisions while hanging venison and storing vegetables outside to freeze.   During the long winter evenings, Pa plays his fiddle for family singing and tells vivid stories of past encounters with bears and panthers, including Grandpa's sled ride chased by a panther and Pa's own narrow escapes, which both delight and unsettle young Laura.  Pa also molds bullets by melting lead over the fire and pouring it into a bullet mold to prepare ammunition for his rifle. Laura frequently feels afraid of the wild animals surrounding the cabin, such as wolves howling close by at night, the time Ma mistook a bear for the cow Sukey and slapped it before fleeing with Laura back to safety, or imagining panthers lurking in the shadows, yet she feels protected and secure inside the sturdy little house with her family nearby.  Christmas brings a joyful gathering when Uncle Peter, Aunt Eliza, and their children visit, filling the cabin with relatives, homemade gifts including a new rag doll named Charlotte for Laura, mittens, candy, festive food, and storytelling around the fire. As late winter transitions to spring with a "sugar snow," the family travels to Grandpa's for sugaring-off, collecting maple sap from the trees, boiling it into syrup and sugar, and celebrating with neighbors at a lively dance featuring music and food.   In spring, preparations lead to the family's first trip to town, where Laura and Mary marvel at the store and village sights.  Summer brings visits to and from neighbors, along with garden tending and other warm-weather activities. In fall, harvest time involves relatives helping Pa and Ma with field work and grain processing, while the family resumes preparations for the coming winter. 

Death of a Doxy (Nero Wolfe #42) 3.5Stars

 

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Death of a Doxy
Series: Nero Wolfe #42
Author: Rex Stout
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 139
Words: 51K
Publish: 1966

While this was an ok entry in the long running Nero Wolfe series, I find myself not enjoying these post 1950’s books as much as the earlier ones. Stout has moved Wolfe through time and the culture has changed significantly (not for the better in my opinion) and so the tone of the books are different. That might work very well for some people, but for me, not so much.

Orrie Cather is one of Wolfe’s helpers but he has always played such a small role that to have him thrust into the middle of things was unsettling. Coupled with the fact that he’s not actually involved in this book (he spends almost all of it in jail) made it doubly unsettling to me. The whole subject matter (a whore, who is pregnant, blackmail, infidelity) left a bad taste in my mouth and I don’t know if I’d ever read this particular book again.

It is still well-written and up to snuff in regards to Stout’s skill, but I just didn’t like the subject matter from start to finish. And that is why I’ve knocked a half-star from my usual rating of a Nero Wolfe book.

★★★✬☆

From Grokipedia

Death of a Doxy opens with Orrie Cather, a recurring freelance operative for Nero Wolfe, asking Archie Goodwin to enter the apartment of Isabel Kerr, a former showgirl living as the kept mistress of wealthy banker Avery Ballou, to retrieve personal possessions that Isabel had taken and was using to threaten Orrie's engagement to airline stewardess Jill Hardy.[5][3] Archie discovers Isabel bludgeoned to death with an ashtray, leaves the scene without alerting authorities, and informs Orrie of the murder.[5] Isabel's sister, Stella Fleming, subsequently finds the body and notifies the police, who identify Orrie's fingerprints and belongings at the scene, leading to his arrest as the prime suspect.[5][3]Despite lacking a paying client, Nero Wolfe commits to proving Orrie's innocence, joined by Archie, Saul Panzer, and Fred Durkin, who conclude—based in part on Saul's reasoning that Orrie would not have involved Archie if guilty—that Orrie is innocent.[3][5] The investigation focuses on those aware of the secret apartment, including Stella and her husband Barry Fleming, a mathematics teacher, and Isabel's close friend, nightclub singer Julie Jaquette (real name Amy Jackson).[3][5] Wolfe coerces cooperation from Avery Ballou by threatening to publicize his affair with Isabel, eliciting the revelation that Ballou had been blackmailed by someone using the alias Milton Thales—a name referencing a figure in the history of mathematics.[5] This clue points suspicion toward Barry Fleming.[5]The inquiry also uncovers that Isabel was pregnant, complicating motives surrounding her death.[5] To expose the killer, Wolfe recruits Julie Jaquette to serve as bait in a carefully orchestrated trap, placing her at risk as the murderer attempts to eliminate her.[3] For her protection, Julie is brought to stay in Wolfe's brownstone, where she actively participates in the plan.[3] The ruse, involving a substantial cash offer tied to keeping certain facts private, forces the culprit into the open, resulting in the identification of Barry Fleming as both the blackmailer Milton Thales and Isabel Kerr's murderer, with his motive connected to preventing blackmail and protecting personal secrets.[6][7][3] Orrie Cather is exonerated and released.

• All My “Nero Wolfe” Reviews

Lord of Atlantis - MTG 4E

 

I distinctly remember this card because I bought four of them to build my first real themed deck, one built around merfolk. It cost $2 a card and I was making minimum wage of $4.25 helping my neighbor who was a painter. Once I took taxes and tithes out, it cost me an entire half day to buy the four cards. Four Cards, that I could only use in ONE deck. It was a big commitment but at the time, it felt worth it. I made that merfold deck and then was promptly beaten every time I used it. I didn't win a single game against my friend, hahaahahaa. He was a better player than me and he was a better deck builder than me.

I had a lot of fun playing that deck however. Not "quite" enough to overcome losing every time, but I didn't hate playing it. I guess I couldn't have asked for much more as a teen.