Four Things I Loved in May

Dungeon Delves: Vol 1 by Katie Oliver

Dungeon Delves provides some of the most wholesome DnD art ever. Katie Oliver's triweekly comics radiate joy. These funny and sweet strips, each just a few panels, encapsulate how exhilarating it is play RPGs.

Her first collection, Dungeon Delves: Vol 1, serves as a both a celebration and explanation of the hobby (this is neatly conveyed by its cover revealing the only thing on the author's mind is the Dungeons and Dragons dice set). This book is a breezy read and one that will bring a smile to your face. I'm excited that a sequel is coming soon!

Twelve Percent Dread by Emily McGovern

Emily McGovern is another artist I discovered online who I adore. Her three panel strip about discussing politics is a favourite of mine. Her first graphic novel, Bloodlust & Bonnets, is a fantastic vampire hunting romp set in Romantic-era Britain which features Lord Byron and a telepathic eagle named Napoleon.

In stark contrast, her second book, Twelve Percent Dread, is a contemporary story capturing what it is like to be living in a city while young and struggling. Its protagonists are constantly freelancing, taking on unfulfilling jobs just to make rent or meet VISA requirements. They seek answers on apps which tracking their health and goals (the book's title refers to one of their daily stats).

While focused on a small group of friends in London, this wide-ranging fastmoving slice of life tackles big tech, alternate medicine, immigration, social media, and identity. This novel is an impressive achievement and an absorbing read. Despite the book being over four hundred pages, every time I read this I finish it within a day.

The Curse (series 2)

I have been a devotee of Tom Davis ever since Murder in Successville. He was the silly heart and anchor of the improvised murder mystery series and he is just as bombastic and goofy in The Curse. This slick heist comedy recently returned for a second run and I am so glad we got another chance to hear the unique tones of Davis' marble mouthed Mick.

This caper is a delight. I devoured series two in a single evening. It is so fun to spend three hours with this gang. The men are so hilariously ill-fitted to be criminals. They are either cocky or insecure or, in the case of Davis' Big Mick, just not very bright. Emer Kenny's Natasha does her best to wrangle them, but her competent leadership cannot stop inevitable disaster and the body count increases as the series goes on. It is so enjoyable to see them sweat in a mess of their own making. I dearly hope the show gets a third series.

Wyrd Science

Despite already being interested in tabletop and board games, I only learnt about the magazine Wyrd Science because an improv pal was interviewed in it. I bought just that issue, partially out of curiosity and partially as it is cool to get stuff featuring people you know. I was then so enamoured by this first taste that I downloaded the initial two issues and ordered the third.

While I rarely extend beyond the realms of DnD 5e, I was engrossed by write-ups of different systems, rulesets, and worlds. This magazine is a real treat. Each issue is a wonderful mix of in-depth interviews and reviews which seemed to prioritise conveying a sense of how the games feel to play instead of dry objective ratings. All of these are written by people who clearly know their stuff and have a real passion for games.

Also, oh, the artwork! Equally dazzling in print or PDF, the full page pictures - a combination of game art and images commissioned for the articles - are gorgeous. This amazing piece by Carly A-F in particular so struck me that I stopped to zoom in and admire all of the wonderful details.

The images in Wyrd Science were so beautiful that it inspired me to start following more fantasy and tabletop illustrators on Twitter. This not only means I'm more likely to see goblins on my timeline, but also ensures I'll discover more great creators to support like Dungeon Delves.

Film Review: why Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves feels like a great game of DnD

Folks, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is GREAT. I had such a fun time! It is a feelgood movie with big laughs and I had a blast.

This hard fantasy which will satisfy hardcore fans of the game with references to realms, spells, and factions pulled from the sourcebooks (as someone currently playing Tomb of Annihilation, I got a kick out of shoutouts to the Harpers and the Emerald Enclave). However, what I appreciated most about the film was that it captures the feeling of playing DnD. Games have a thrilling chaotic vibe. The most enjoyable sessions are a giddy mix of debating plans, dumb shenanigans, and throwing all your spells and weapons at a baddie. This wild combo is a trip and the movie nails this tone.

Part of this is down to the amazing ensemble cast. All their performances are perfectly pitched. Each member of the adventuring party is a fully rounded creation. These are complex beings with feelings, not stock types swinging swords. They are charming company and two hours with them flies by.

The movie is also very funny. There is broad slapstick and dry one-liners. Regé-Jean Page is hilarious as the overly perfect paladin with no grasp of idioms or sarcasm. Such a schtick could be overused, but the balance is kept just right and he leaves with us wanting more. And I do want more. This caper is a real treat!

If you are not already convinced to go, I do not know what to tell you. That the crew prioritised practical effects and puppetry over making everything CGI? That it features one of the sweetest genuinely platonic male-female friendships I have ever seen on screen? That Hugh Grant is clearly having as much fun playing a shameless scallywag as he did in Paddington 2? These are all true.

Sure, the film is not perfect, but then, neither is a great session of DnD. Every game will feature multiple low-scoring dice rolls, a secret that should not have been shared, or the unfortunate loss of an ally. All these missteps only serve to make the dizzying highs feel so much sweeter.

Honour Among Thieves is not just a great movie, it's also a great DnD movie. Go see it with a few friends.

Five Great Books

I am so lucky that my birthday and Christmas are six months apart. This means every half a year I receive an influx of books. As I rarely purchase something to read, upon receiving these gifts, I, starved of literature, inevitably rush through them, sometimes at the rate of one a day, so desperate that I am to get my fix.

As a result, with Twelfth Night only just in the rear-view, I have already finished all my holiday reads. Here are some of my favourites.

I am a sucker for a murder mystery. I enjoy a well-constructed puzzle and I like the big characters that populate the genre. Crime caper Dead on Dartmoor by Stephanie Austen provides me with an extra kick as it is set in my county. Its predecessor, Dead in Devon, even namechecks my hometown, describing it as 'a lovely town with an old stone-built market hall' (I can confirm - it is lovely and the market is old).

This series' amateur sleuth is Juno Browne, an odds job woman with an unfortunate habit of discovering dead bodies (a quirk which does not go unremarked by the local police). Once involved, Browne, with the help of a sweet recurring cast of colleagues, clients, and pals, uses her limited resources, plus some good old-fashioned snooping, to help catch the killer. The books are an easy read and a lovely addition to the genre.

Similarly cosy is Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. This is a charming tale about an orc named Viv opening a town's first coffee shop. This fantasy follows an adventurer trying to define herself once she retires from questing. Once known for strength and swordplay, can she find fulfilment in a radically different career? 

The introduction of a contemporary invention into a fantasy setting will inevitably bring to mind Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. This is no way a bad thing. While I do not feel Baldree is trying to ape the great Sir Terry, his book certainly takes its comic central premise as seriously as Pratchett does with his. While townsfolks are sceptical about our lead's new venture, they never question it to the extent that the reader considers it silly.

My favourite character is Thimble, an utterly adorable rat chef. His pure enthusiasm for his work is endearing; his tendency to speak few words - a trait which could grate if overdone - is sweet. I love him so much.

Moving back to reality - albeit a virtual one - Escape by Marie Le Conte is a set of semi-autobiographical essays about the first generation of people (which includes me) to grow up within the internet. We are the children who first had access, who never knew a world where it did not exist. Did it hurt us or help us? This is what the book explores.

Using anecdotal evidence and interviews (including some with bloggers who put their entire personal life online), Le Conte considers the performative nature of being online, how we have unwittingly been trained to write with the knowledge we will be read, and the struggle to honour every version of yourself now that your potential audience is everyone in the world. This tribute to a version of the 'net we have lost is a thought-provoking book and, given that the Twitter takeover has prompted people to re-evaluate their relationship with social media, an unintentionally timely one.

The books I enjoyed most - and it is not even close - are Tim Key's two extraordinary collections about life during the pandemic. They are sensational. While one may assume the first and third UK lockdowns are too recent a scab to pick at, these sets of poems and semi-fictional dialogues are a revelation, a hilarious and frenetic account of one man's experience navigating the New Normal.

He Used Thought as a Wife covers the start of the pandemic, adeptly capturing the uncertainty, the everchanging rules, the new phrases. The dialogues (mainly phone calls and Zoom chats) take place entirely from within Key's flat. This gives the book a claustrophobic feel, mirroring how we all felt when confined to our homes in the name of the greater good.

In contrast, in Here we go Round the Mulberry Bush, a take on the third lockdown, Key rarely stops moving. Now daily exercise is part of the roadmap, he is always walking. Dialogues remain the backbone of the piece - there are still phone calls, plus meetups IRL for socially distanced hangs - but all take place outside.

Both books have a delightful meta element, the sequel more heavily. In the latter, everyone featured in the first volume has now read it and are consequently worried about Tim's wellbeing. They are also asking whether he is writing a follow-up. Naturally, given that we are reading this within the sequel means we know the answer, but the build up to that decision is wonderful.

One of the people asking about a second is the books' designer, Emily Juniper. Her friendship with Key shines through both editions. The affection they have for each other is clearly strong and their working relationship is a joy to witness.

Her incredible design work in the texts, not just her illustrations but the layout of the poems on the page, elevates these works to art. They are gorgeous.

I mean, honestly, look at this.

Poetry has never looked this elegant.

I hope the pair collaborate on many projects in the future (although fingers crossed this pandemic set does not become a trilogy). His words and her designs are a perfect match. The books are a delirious exhilarating read. I cannot recommend them enough.