Ultron, Korra, Black Vortex, The Last President and Heroes of the Wild

Well, I didn’t meet the self-imposed goal of finishing the Harvesting book by the beginning of May. As it turns out I just have too much material I still need to compile for the book, so at this juncture, I have no idea when it’s going to be finished.

I have all the entries finished, I also completed the first major rule addition to the book. I now have to write up the rules for turning harvested natural weapons into actual weapons, as well as a guide to figure out the value of items harvested, and created, such as armor.

Then I need to decide if I’m going to revamp the entries and have this data listed with each entry, or if I’m going to end up making a master list at the end of the book.

Finally I have to create a number of items that can be used in harvesting.

So – god only knows.

Yes, I posted Buck Who? Chapter 15 as usual on Friday. I also finished writing chapter 17 last week, and will begin work on 18 tomorrow. It certainly would be nice to hear back from at least one person on what they think of the novel! Well, other than my best friend.

I’m also starting to run out of ideas for my top five lists. I have enough ideas at this moment to cover about two more months, and then I’m out. I should be able to come up with more however – I rarely run out of ideas. I just need to put some effort into thinking about what I want to write.

This week I posted my Top Five favorite movies, and for those who have been following me for at least a few months, it’s pretty easy to figure out which movie made it to the number one position.

It was nice to see Skirmisher published another new book this week as well. ‘D-Infinity Volume #7: Holidays and Celebrations'. Someday I will finally get around to contributing to the flagship publication.

Someday.

I know I’ve been saying that for a couple of years but I never do get around to it. Which is quite strange – everything else I jump right on and get cracking, even when I thought I didn’t have the time to work on it.

Somehow I found enough time to finish a comic series, a novel, a TV series and even a movie this week. It’s getting more and more difficult every year to find the time to accomplish all the tasks and leisure activities I want to work on.

Somehow I still manage to do it.

And of course I have managed to find the time to write up another critter. New Mutant Monday #7: Ambusher.

I have the next one ready to go, and I’m seriously considering posting two a week now. If that will transpire, we will have to wait and see. And I have also updated the index as well.

First I finished the novel ‘The Last President’ by John Barnes. It is the third in his series about a mind-virus called Daybreak, which enslaved large portions of humanity to essentially become homicidal tree-hugging hippies bent on destroying all technology and eventually the human race. The novel does wrap up a lot of the major plot from the first two novels, but is left wide open for a continuation. It wasn’t the best I’ve read but I enjoyed it enough to continue with the series. I will probably pick up the next novel if and when it is released.

Next I finished the thirteen issue cross-over series called ‘The Black Vortex’ from Marvel comics. If it wasn’t for the fact I read two of the titles that are in the series on a regular basis, I probably would not have bothered with it.

Think of an ancient item. When you look into it, you see yourself granted nearly god-like cosmic powers. The problem is most people cannot handle it and where the Black Vortex goes, chaos and death follow.

So many of the characters in the series submit and many try to defend the Black Vortex from falling into the wrong hands. When you gain so much power however, even if you were essentially a saint, it is still in the wrong hands.

Overall not a bad maxi-series, and of course there will always be ramifications to the whole Marvel Universe as a result of the events that took place. I’m really eager to see how things are going to turn out for the Guardians of the Galaxy!

I tried to go see ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ yesterday, but it wasn’t in the cards. Even going first thing in the early afternoon getting a seat was all but impossible, and I had no intention of straining my neck to look up at the screen. I did manage to get good seats today, though and watched the movie.

Excellent effects, as you would expect, and lots of combat and action. I rather enjoyed this comic-book movie, although I found it was distinctly lacking in the humor that I have come to expect. Still, there were several scenes that really made me laugh, although the humor might be lost on younger viewers.

Next, I would like to point out that fellow Skirmisher Author has a new publication out for Pathfinder. It is the Pathfinder Player Companion: Heroes of the Wild. William Thrasher, probably better known for being the regular host on our D-Infinity live podcasts as well as author of many of Skirmisher’s publications, wrote this.

As I have come to expect from all of these Player Companions, this book provides a lot of useful information, such as new archetypes, spells, items and so forth, as well as more material oriented towards a wilderness-based game.

I have yet to be disappointed by any of the books I have purchased from Paizo.

Also I did purchase the latest hardcover, Pathfinder Unchained, but can’t review it as I basically skimmed the back cover and have not had a chance to read through the book yet. Maybe in the next week or so.

Finally I finished watching Avatar: The Legend of Korra book 3 – change. After being disappointed at how lack-luster the second book was, I found this one to be quite thrilling. A group of criminals known as the Red Lotus escape prison and are hunting Korra in order to bring a permanent change. Change, as it turns out, has already occurred due to Korra opening the portals to the spirit realm. New Airbenders are popping up everywhere and as such, it means the nearly extinct Airbending nation can finally be re-born.

Lots of excitement and action – and the humor and characterization I have come to expect from the series. I’ll be watching Book 4 next. A pity it’s the last for this series. I hope to see a brand new Avatar series in the future, it’s too awesome a world to walk away from now.

The image I have used is from my friend and regular artist Alfonso Maesa. This is a very rough draft of how Tara Baku, one of the major characters in my epic novel: Buck Who?. Hopefully I’ll get more from him in the near future.

And that’s it. As always I would like to invite my readers to like my Author Facebook page, as well as follow me on Twitter. I am still growing on Twitter, up to 42 followers now! It’s about time!

Until next Sunday, Peace!