Read Lately: Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds

• It was Journalista where I first read about Tamara Drewe. I certainly never saw it in stores. And I'd never heard of Posy Simmonds. So I can't say why I was interested in reading it. What I do know is that I'm a sucker for good word-of-mouth in comics. Seeing a bunch of headlines about the book (along with the occasional snippet of art) was enough to pique my interest.


• Tamara Drewe is the story of the people who live at and around the Stonefield writers' retreat in England. It is told from the points of view of three characters: Beth Hardiman, the retreat's proprietor; Glen Larson, a visiting professor and novelist; and Casey Shaw, a teenage girl from the nearby village. Each goes about their mundane lives until Tamara, the daughter of a deceased neighbor, shows up to reclaim her childhood home. Drewe's presence has an immediate effect on the men of Stonefield, including Jonathan Hardiman, famous author and Beth's husband, and Andy, Stonefield's groundskeeper.


• Originally published as a weekly comic in The Guardian, Simmonds doesn't constrain herself to a panel-to-panel format. Each page is composed as a whole, with comic panels showing events and long text passages telling the main characters' inner thoughts. With so much text, I was worried this might end up an illustrated novel. However Simmonds neatly avoids the problem by splitting the narrative like this.


• The story runs at a leisurely pace for the first three quarters of the book as Simmonds slowly draws out the depths of her characters. Then the plot takes a turn for the wicked that, though I can't spoil it here, only throws her cast into high relief. Best of all, the story felt true, both in the tone and the reactions of the characters.


• Tamara Drewe will not top any lists of great literature, graphic or otherwise. But it does have higher ambitions than to be mere entertainment. This is a graphic novel that I would happily recommend to anyone interested in seeing what the form is capable of.

Admin: Post One Hundred

• What a long, strange trip it's been.


• This is my one hundredth post in just under two years. Not a massive achievement by any stretch of the imagination, but one I want to note anyway.


• I started this blog in February 2007 after I stopped posting at Guild Wars Kira, an in-character blog about my time in GW. When I stopped playing that game, I decided I needed another outlet to write about whatever was interesting to me. Thus, we have this scatter shot of topics that few beyond myself could ever be interested in.


• My posts tend to follow whatever currently holds my fancy. The crazy number of World of Warcraft posts should tell you how addicted to that game I was. And the next hundred will say the same about Lord of the Rings Online or some other game. Hopefully I'll have time to write about a few games other than MMOs as well.


• I'm a little surprised I haven't posted more Top Five lists. Actually, I'm not that surprised. For something that is supposed to be a post filler, they do take a lot of thought and energy. I look forward to getting more out in the future, and not just to pass the time.


• I've decided to post about all the new books I read this year. By new I mean new to me. That way I don't have to review any comics I reread, like Watchmen or Cerebus. I have missed writing about books, so this should be a fun challenge.


• Another thing I'd like to do is more responses to the podcasts I listen too. So far I've only done the one, but I will write more so long as the podcasters give me something to write about.


• Mostly, I just want to post more. I get about ten to twelve visitors a day right now and I would like to grow on that. Not everyone can be looking for links to Be Imba, can they?


• Anyway, thank you for looking at this humble blog. I hope you find something here worth your time

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© 2009 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.

Played Lately: Warhammer Online

• I like to pretend that I'm a smart guy, but it's just an act. If you were under any misconception that I know what I'm doing, I offer this story to dispel any delusions you might have.


• The folks at Mythic have been doing an amazing job of community outreach with Warhammer Online. From Keen and Graev's Dwarf Slayer and The Greenskins's Orc Choppa packages to the various Witch Elf valentines, they managed to interest me in the game in a way I haven't felt since the launch. Tuesday night, the hype machine got a hold of me and I resubscribed to the game. The patch process wasn't long, so I was in the game in less than ten minutes. Fifteen minutes after that, I logged off and cancelled my subscription again.


• It's not that the game bored me that fast. I was always able to enjoy my time in the game to some extent. The reason I cancelled was because even at the minimum settings, the game runs so slow on my computer as to be unplayable. Somehow, I'd forgotten that was a problem. WoW and LotRO, both of which I run at reduced graphic settings, have spoiled me. Of course, I've learned to be happy playing games at 15 FPS, a speed that would make most hardcore gamers ill. I didn't have the meter running, but WAR had to be in the 2-3 FPS range.


• I have to wonder how prevalent my circumstances are. Casual games have been extremely popular in the last few years. I wonder if that's because the baseline system can't handle a triple-A game anymore. The last time ran against the technical limitations of my computer, I abandoned my PC to become a console gamer. And with great looking games like Fallout 3, Fable 2, and Prince of Persia waiting to be played, I have plenty of reasons to cozy up to my much less expensive Xbox 360. If someone developed a good console MMO, I might not need my PC for much more than blogging.


• So until I get a better computer, I will be uninstalling WAR from my system, just to prevent further stupidity. I really want to like the game, but it does not like me. The question is will there still be a Warhammer Online by the time I finally upgrade?

Listened Lately: Shut Up, We're Talking #41

• I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to participate in a podcast as I listen to them. One of my favorites, and the one I want to talk back to most, is Shut Up, We're Talking. So instead of hacking into the podcast to insert my own views, I'm going to say my peace here in warm, inviting text. This is something I've wanted to do for a while, but I never get around to it before the idea gets stale. Plus, then you don't have to put up with my annoying voice.


• The topic that stuck me the greatest during podcast #41 was their discussion about breaking away from the executive gamer mentality. It was interesting to hear all of their views, but I think they only acknowledged my thoughts on the subject tangentially to their own thoughts.


• The "Executive Gamer" was posited by Tim Schafer of Grim Fandango and Psychonauts fame. In the Gamers With Jobs podcast, he defined it as someone plays games as a means to another end, thereby missing the joy of playing the game as its own end. In the gaming community, the term has taken on the broader meaning as a gamer who plays games with any critical viewpoint. While I think this definition is more of a broad brushing than Mr. Schafer intended, it's close enough and resonates with gamers enough to be worthy of discussion. This is especially true as many gamers, like Darren and, well, someone from GWJ, want to shake off this mentality that they think is ruining their fun. While I applaud the sentiment, I wonder if it can be done through any means short of a lobotomy.


• From my perspective, playing games from an Executive Gamer viewpoint is not about criticism for its own sake. Everyone has likes and dislikes in the games they play. And they will take those experiences into every new game they play. No gamer is a blank slate. To me, the executive gamer is someone who has the ability to formalize those feelings coherently, either vocally, in writing, or just to themselves. Where the average gamer will perceive a flaw in a game, the executive gamer will articulate exactly what that flaw is and may know examples of games which have duplicated or avoided the same problem. I don't think that is something you can make go away by trying hard enough. You might be able to avoid strict analysis, but you can't take away the feeling that something is wrong.


• To anyone who wants to enjoy gaming without this burden, I wish you luck. But like Adam and Eve before you, you've eaten the forbidden fruit. This time the fruit is from the more specific Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad Games. Once you've learned to tell the difference, there is no return to a state of ignorant grace.

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© 2009 Marty Runyon. All rights reserved.

Read Lately: Burglars Can't Be Choosers by Lawrence Block

• One of the best things about reading the entire publishing library from Hard Case Crime is discovering old and new authors that I might not have read otherwise, such as Lawrence Block. One of the best things about marrying my beautiful and intelligent wife is that she's smart enough to search the Internet and find out what else Mr. Block has written. For Christmas, I was surprised to recieve the first Bernie Rhodenbarr novel, Burglars Can't Be Choosers.
• Bernie Rhodenbarr, as the title suggests, is a burglar. He only works a few nights a year, stealing from the rich and giving to himself. It sounds like an easy life. When he's approached by a strangely familiar man to perform a theft for hire, his life as a gentleman burglar is upended. All it takes is a surprise police intrusion and a recently deceased corpse to get Bernie on the run.
• Block has an easy style to read, but does not devolve into a faux noir patois that can hobble other writers. Instead, he infuses the book with a mild humor that offsets what could otherwise be a grim tale. Bernie Rhodenbarr may be in a difficult spot, but he does not let the gravity of his circumstances overwhelm him.
• Instead of the crime novel I was expecting, Burglars Can't Be Choosers is very much a mystery. Throughout the book, Bernie goes about collecting clues as to who committed the murder and why he was involved in it. While everything flows well, If there is a problem with the book it would be the overly convoluted solution. I was shaking my head by the time I turned the last page. It was not bad ending by any measure, but it was unnecessary.
• Nonetheless, Lawrence Block is still a great find. Since he has been writing so long, I can look forward to reading many more by him. I'm very interested to know where Bernie Rhodenbarr goes from here.