In lue of content, a few comments on what I am reading...

Once again I have opened the well worn pages of my copy of 'The Game of Thrones' and what has really taken me by surprise is just how re-readable the book is. Reading the series over again at the release of every new book to remember who is who and why, seems to be a ritual every GoT fan go through and I had honestly had expected it to be a bit of a chore this time, but I'm delighted at just how strongly it is holding up, for now. There are some plots I'm remembering, like Dany's struggle with the Dorthaki(sp?) crones, which I remember were a bif of a slog even the first time through.

I'm curious to read the GoT RPG now, because while the series is fantastic, I am unsure that it would translate into a traditional roleplaying setting. There is almost no magic and very few monsters or dungeons to explore in Westeros (though they do exist), but most of your foes would be people and a heavy dose of politics. It would certainly make for an interesting game for players like myself who are used to a more Tolkenesque or Gygaxian world.


On a somewhat related note, I've also recently finished 'I Shall Wear Midnight' by T.Pratchett which offers a much different view of humanity. I've noticed that humans are rarely the 'evil' on Discworld. Bad people certainly do exist there, but more often than not, they either scared, stupid or just mean enough to be used, guided or preyed upon by an outside force. The book opens with a fairly horrific scene involving some pretty graphic domestic violence. However, by the end of the book, the perpetrator involved gets at least a modicum of redemtion without having to face any real consequences for his actions. He seems to feel guilty for everything he has done and is going to try to do better in future. Is that really enough for the years of terror and pain he put his wife and daughter through?

Actually, the whole subplot involving Amber, her family and her powers starts off strong yet ends up dangleing. It gets replaced by Tiffany fighting off yet another faceless threat. This girl defeated WINTER in the previous book, I never seriously felt she was in any danger from a mere ghost, and unfortunately the book doesn't seem to think that she's in all that much trouble either.

This is by no means a critism (I practically worship at the feet of Sir Terry), but I think I would have had tied the two plots together by having the ghost posess Amber's father and have him rile up all the people of the Downs against Tiffany. This would have meant that instead of a horror in the body of a homicidal maniac, she would have had to face the very people she's helped over the years, but who also turned an old woman out of her home and let freeze to death in the dark. Maybe that would have been a proper challenge for the girl who took the Hiver through the Black Door.

Gameraid!
The Rabbit Pendant
"the hare runs into the fire"
This is a gold, rabbit-shaped pendant. When held up to the light, it always looks like it is reflecting fire light or flames. When worn, it protects the wearer (and anyone touching them) from all forms of fire and heat, so long as the weater is running. If the wearer stops running, even for an instant, they will begin to take damage as normal.