Reviews
All the books, games, and papers I've reviewed.
Keeping Arth's Economy Running
J. Zachary Pike's Orconomics turns fantasy adventuring into a financial industry and follows a disgraced dwarf who still has a sense of honour.
Carried by Its Giants
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II is as well made as the first game, and its giants are excellent, though the ending hits less hard.
Nobody Explains the Bathtub
Atomfall has no quest markers and an inventory too small for the zone. I came away thinking both are why it works.
The Cloud Over Roke
The school on Roke was founded largely by women, then closed against them. What reaches its wizards isn't that history but the songs.
Whichever Comes Second
Lem's The Invincible works as a game and it works as a novel. It doesn't work as both, and whichever you come to second is the one that pays.
Told Without Telling
Keeper tells its story the way Inside and the Souls games do, with the history in the world rather than in dialogue—and none of the adrenaline.
The Man in the Middle
Puzo's The Sicilian sets a bandit's belief against the law of the Mafia, with Michael Corleone caught in the middle.