Star-Studded D&D Audiobook Free for 40 Days! (Audible)

Caught this offer via Twitter, but thought it was pretty amazing and had to share. I have extremely little experience or familiarity with Dungeons & Dragons (which might seem weird, considering my obvious fondness for SFF). Nevertheless, this caught my attention because of the cast. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Dungeon & Dragons, Audible are offering The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories for free for forty (40) days, starting August 12th, and ending September 20th, 2014. Here is the cast list and also the synopsis for the audiobook:

The Legend of Drizzt: The Collected Stories expands upon the epic legend of the dark elf with 12 tales performed by the all-star cast of Felicia Day, Dan Harmon, Greg Grunberg, Tom Felton, Danny Pudi, Sean Astin, Melissa Rauch, Ice-T, Wil Wheaton, Al Yankovic, Michael Chiklis, and David Duchovny!

For years, the Legend of Drizzt has included short stories published in Forgotten Realms anthologies and Dragon magazine. Available here for the first time in audio are all the classic stories by the New York Times best-selling author R. A. Salvatore!

From the startling origin of Drizzt’s panther companion, to the tale of Jarlaxle and Entreri’s first encounter with the dragon sisters, the tales in The Collected Stories enrich this vividly-imagined series by building the world around Drizzt through exploring the backstories of side characters and magical locations.

Interview with MARSHEILA ROCKWELL

Dungeons & Dragons is one of fantasy and gaming’s mainstays. Like a number of larger intellectual properties, there are also plentiful novel spin-offs based on the games and worlds. These franchise novels are, in my opinion, gateway drugs to the wider wonders of fantasy and science fiction, and will always have a special place in my heart. To that end, I’ve tried to feature a number of authors who work in the shared worlds (especially Black Library’s). Today, I bring you an interview with Marsheila Rockwell, who writes in the D&D setting that most intrigues me (Eberron).

Comics Round-Up (Apr.18)

A pretty solid collection of varied comics: twisted fairy tales, fantasy, super-heroes, and horror. I wasn’t organised enough to get them all reviewed for a Tuesday post, so I was able to add a few more titles. There were actually going to be more from last week, but both of my go-to comic stores in New York had completely sold out of Saga #2 and Resurrection Man #8. I decided to cut back on a few of the others, too. For example, I decided that I’ll wait for Suicide Squad, Grifter and Demon Knights to be available as collections.

Reviewed: Alice #4, Batgirl #8, Batman & Robin #8, Batwoman #8, Dungeons & Dragons 2012 Annual, Irredeemable #36, Jungle Book #2, Secret Service #1, Star Wars: Agent of the Empire #5, The Theater #5

Comics Round-Up (Feb.22)

Another varied, bumper comics round-up this week. Early on, it seemed to be leaning a bit Wolverine-heavy, but as Wednesday rolled around, I realised there was plenty of other stuff available that was of interest. This round-up manages to tick off most of the comic genres: sci-fi, superheroes, fantasy, action heroes and villains, humorous espionage, and even a geek-fantasy. So, without further ado, let us move right on to the reviews…

Reviewed Herein: Brilliant #1-2, Danger Girl: Revolver #2, GIJoe: Cobra #10, Incorruptible #27, Infestation: Dungeons & Dragons #2, The Ray #2-3, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – War #1-2, Witchblade/Red Sonja #1, Wolverine #20 & #300, Wolverine & The X-Men #5, X-Club #2-3, X-Sanction #3

Comics Round-Up & Catch-Up (Feb.15)

As I’m back in NYC, I’ve been able to get hold of DC and Marvel titles again, so some will be reviewed in the round-ups again, but there are going to be some changes. I’ve decided to only review up to issue six of the New 52 (or, at least until the end of the first story-arc in each), as this is the end of their first volumes. There are just too many that I like, which means it’s becoming financially impossible (not to mention irresponsible) for me to keep on top of them all. I’ve already cut six titles since I got back to New York. Now, whether or not I am able to stick to this decision is another matter entirely, and if I become gainfully employed, this could change. (Please let me get gainfully employed! For more reasons than feeding my comics addiction, of course…)

So, what does this mean for the Comics Round-Ups and New 52 reviews? I’m going to wait for the collected editions. Some of the money that I save will instead go to other collected series, which offer a lot more bang for your buck. I will post three catch-up posts, dealing with New 52 Batman, Superman and the Dark/Edge titles. I will, of course, still be reviewing Boom!, Zenescope, IDW and a few Image titles, as well as some other DC, Marvel, Dynamite and Dark Horse series. (If I get review copies, on the other hand, I’ll definitely feature anything and everything.) I’ll also post a special Star Wars-related comics review this week.

So, back to the reviews – here we go with a big, bumper edition…

Reviewed Herein: Infestation 2: Dungeons & Dragons #1, Ninjettes #1, The Occultist #2-3, The Ray #1, Road Rage #1, The Shade #3, Thief of Thieves #1, Winter Soldier #1-2, Wolverine & the X-Men #3-4, X-Sanction #1-2

Comics Round-Up (Jan.11)

Another varied selection of titles this week – a retelling of a classic story, the history of an iconic villain, three beginnings revisited, World War II action, 6th Century Amazons, and sentient robots!

As an aside, before I get into the reviews themselves; when I was a kid, my two favourite toys were G.I.Joe figures and Transformers, so two of this week’s titles have a pretty strong nostalgic draw.

Reviewed Herein: Alice #1, Cobra Annual 2012: Origin of Cobra Commander, Dungeons & Dragons 100-Page Special, Operation: Broken Wings 1936 #3, Seven Warriors #3, Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #1