Books 7-9

 7) Liavek: I finally secured the first of this shared world series - strange since I like so many of the people involved. I have read one of these stories before (Wolfe's submission is included in Stories from the Old Hotel), and quite liked it, but found much of the rest of the book rather bland. It has its origins in a gaming campaign, and you can tell - there's the standard gaming explanation for gender equality (the presence of commonly available herbal birth control) and an abundance of Mary Sue characters - but the biggest problem is that nearly all of the stories were hung on the same plot hook: how Liavekian magic works. I understand that this was the most distinctive part of the world, but spread out a little guys! I also just learned where my old High School GM stole the Blue Chipmunk plotline from the campaign he ran prior to my joining the group. Question to the masses: should i track down the others? 

8) The Spirit volume 15: Ah, the full bloom and flower of Eisner's talent. This was a joy, with Sand Serif, Silk Satin, the Octopus, Hazel P.Macbeth  and Mr. Carrion all in one volume. Fun. 

9) the Spirit Volume 21: I had somehow missed that my relatives had skipped 5 books on my amazon wish list to get me this one next. It's quite a shock reading this one right after #15 and seeing how much Eisner's work had changed in the years between the volumes - his focus had shifted to the secondary characters or to individual stories, leaving the Spirit as almost a back up character in his own book. Still good, but not as good as the previous one. 

I know I promised more game discussion, and it is forthcoming. I'm still mulling over the outcome of the first CFalk Mission Impossible game.