Recontacting Blue Planet with gusto~
Over the past few weeks, during my commute, I have been spending a lot of time putting my imagination to work inhabiting the world of Poseidon and all that that entails. I have been paying particular attention to the little details that matter to a character’s perspective, like what biocrete might feel like and sound like underfoot, and what tang a saltier ocean might carry. I wonder at the feel of loss the absence of gulls might evoke, and if the folk music of natives and newcomers alike might try to fill that void. I put my mind’s eye under a sky with two moons and nightly flares of launches to orbital stations. It’s not just that. It’s a world where uplifted cetaceans from earth vie with humanity for work and happiness. It’s a world with not just uplifted species, but three species of humanity we have created with blind luck, boldness, and more than our fare share of callousness. It’s a world we are in a rush to despoil with toxins and bloodshed.
It’s a world where the dream of immortality can be achieved… or at least, believed.
Rivers of London: Lies, Damnation, and Sudden Vacations
This is part six of a series sharing thoughts on the source material from The Rivers of London novels by Ben Aaronovitch which might encourage some intentional or accidental profundity in the play of the stylish and charming RPG of the same name from Chaosium. This series explores inspirations for and attitudes about playing the game, to support those gamers who look past the expectations of typical urban fantasy and police procedurals (or who want to) in finding the semi-secret moments of insight and empathy which lend this series its weight. If it also entices readers not yet acquainted with roleplaying games, or entices them back to them, that would be a nice perk as well – although if you can resist the urge during a reading of False Value I doubt anything that I might write would sway you. At any rate, links to the previous installments of this series can be found neatly arrayed at the end of this post, and there is nothing for us to do now but settle in for this next egregiously surface-level scan of the most varied and divergent books in the entire line to date. Ready?
Rivers of London: A Who’s Who of Lurkers, Workers, Hangers-on, and Ne’er-do-wells~
This is part five of what I thought might be a three part series on The Rivers of London novels by Ben Aaronovitch and its enchanting roleplaying game from Chaosium. In part one, we gave a shamelessly quick overview of the books and of the game. In part two, we surveyed the first three novels with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it callousness. In the third installment, we touched on the five current novellas and their key differences from the novels with the special care and nonchalant casualness of a certain Mr. Palmer when lying. In our fourth outing on this subject we returned to the novels and brutally avoided spoilers the way some architects avoid loveliness. In this post, we will once again divert our attention from the books to talk to an insufficient degree about some of the amazing characters who fill the moments of levity, of drama, of fear, and of profundity which set this series apart from the others in its category on the shelves of Waterstones and the few surviving bookstores like it in this blighted digital age.
Rivers of London: Murder, Brutalism, and Cheeky Nandos
This is part four of a series exploring the source material from The Rivers of London novels by Ben Aaronovitch which has given rise to a charming RPG from Chaosium. This series explores inspirations for and attitudes about playing the game, hoping to encourage gamers to look past the expectations of typical urban fantasy and police procedurals to find the beautiful and moving moments of something much deeper. It would be nice too, if readers who have not yet tried a roleplaying game but love the series, could be enticed by this series to give it a try. The world you love in the books can come to life in your own play. It’s a kind of magic.
Rivers of London: ‘Tis the Season for Novellas
This is part three of a series exploring the source material from The Rivers of London novels by Ben Aaronovitch which inspired and supports a streamlined BRP roleplaying game by Chaosium. The motivation behind the series is to explore approaches to playing the game, and to acknowledge and inspire gamers to look past the upbeat and humorous writing, punctuated by police procedure and magical action, to find the beautiful and moving moments of perhaps unexpected potency which make the books stand out. The combination, if grasped and brought into a game, is killer.
