No Quarter

by on January 29, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

The third “Quarters” novel is a direct sequel to Fifth Quarter, picking up all the unfinished business left behind last time. I certainly wouldn’t recommending starting here as we’re in the middle of a mess of unlikely proportions.

The good news is it is about as good as the previous book. The action starts in Schkoder, and largely happens there, so it also ties into the first book much more solidly, and we see a lot more bardic magic this time. The second book could largely be read on its own, but this one would certainly benefit more from having read both of the first two, even though plot-wise it’s just a follow on to the second book.

The plot is only a bit trimmed down from Fifth Quarter‘s fairly complicated one, with three major elements that all come together for the ending climax. The pacing also holds up, along with characters with complex motivations. Together, these two books make for a very solid reason to get into the series, and Tanya Huff’s writing.

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Anime Fall 2022

by on January 25, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Anime

So the new season has started, and I’m actually getting on top of a few new things, as Smudge and I’s schedule just cleared out some. But in the previous three months, we’ve had a lot of really good shows, the top end is very crowded here:

Yamato 2202 — We’re still in the ending parts of this one, but the action has ramped up quite a bit, the stakes are high. The character development is mostly all on the villain’s side, and not on the main characters, even though there’s things that need doing there.

Golden Kamui — We just started watching the latest season with the guys, and so far it is living up to the previous material. The crazies are still crazy, and the new ones fit in with the rest of the cast all too well.

Mob Pycho 100 III — One of the amazing things about this series is how it will build up to the point that is what the initial high concept is all about—and then not do it. And it works. Mob Pycho has always gone in odd directions with it’s plots, and they’ve only gotten better at it. All three seasons are really well worth watching.

Ascendance of a Bookworm — We’ve hit the third season finally, so I’m in all-new territory for me. Myne’s world is continuing to expand, with action outside the city, and the guilds paying more attention to just what she’s been coming up with. Overall, it’s one of the more solidly-constructed looks at how medieval Europe worked.

Lower Decks — We’ve now finished off the second season Blue-ray set. Where’s third season? Because they had a really good run of episodes here, and we’re all up for continuing.

My Hero Academia — Yes this is good, and recommended. The fact that there’s so much I’m putting above it is just a measure of how crowded this season’s been at the top end. Also, Smudge and I have just recently gotten to this, so we’re only a few episodes in. The plot and action are already in full swing, and the tension has been sky-high for a couple episodes now, with things just about to get worse.

Goblin Slayer: The Goblin Crown — Just saw this the other night. I’m not happy with the recap at the start, there are much better ways of handling backstory than a big up-front expository lump. That said, I’ve seen far worse. Once the movie proper gets going, it is very good, with the main focus, character-wise, being on new characters, which means this is a side-story, and shouldn’t be needed for watching a second series if/when that comes out.

Komi Can’t Communicate — We’re into the second season/series, and it’s been very good the entire way.

Devil is a Part Timer — We also finished this off a bit ago. Overall, leaning a bit more on the action side of the series this time, which is perfectly fine, especially with the humor continuing to be very good even as it takes the back seat. We’re getting a lot more hooks into an overarching plot now, and that has been getting interesting.

Sea Beast — Very well-done and well-developed CG movie. The ending is a bit off; I think they needed one more draft of the script to get that where it needed to be. As-is, it feels a bit rushed, and ‘okay, now we have all the balls in the air, how to finish this?’ Still well worth watching.

Eden — This is a four-episode miniseries put out on Neflix. It’s well produced, and well done, but a bit predictable. I do recommend it, but there’s plenty out there more worth your time.

Utawarerumono: The Mask of Truth — Smudge and I finished this off last month. We had problems with some of the journey (especially the previous series), but it definitely came in for a very good (if typically overpowered) ending. Overall, I do give the two recent series a recommendation if you enjoyed the original, but it isn’t as good as it either. Oh, and they really love their ten-dollar Japanese words.

Dr. Stone: Ryusui — As ever, Dr. Stone is more entertaining than it should be. But this “special” has all the problems of the series as well. Characters are way over the top, too many things work right the first time…. However, there’s a lot of good bits in there, including some good psychology (it doesn’t matter if you’re giving a forced choice, as long as it gives the person a part in the process, a bit Machiavellian, but wise). Also, you will need to see this in between regular seasons, as this is obviously all set up for the next plot arc.

The Girl From the Other Side — This was a short miniseries that feels aimed at the art-house market. Overall, the focus ends up being on style rather than substance, and the plot is just too low key. It is well done, but it feels like it could have been even more.

Kingdom — Smudge and I have hit the end of the initial run, and the series has switched to a new studio, has a new cast for the dub, and has a different translation. Overall, this is all an improvement. I don’t entirely care for the new style, but it’s a little better. The translation is better, and the voice cast is a wash. The action/plot is in one of its better stages at the moment, but still not climbing out of the bottom of the pile by being aimed straight at the junior high audience.

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Landing at Salerno

by on January 21, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Boardgaming

I got Salerno ’43 for Christmas, and I got to try it out that Friday when Jason came over. It’s a nicely compact game, with a smaller board than normal for GMT, and a single sheet of oversized counters. This was Jason’s first time with a “ZOC-bond” game, but I’ve previously played Ardennes and Normandy.

We did the short 8-turn scenario, and managed to finish it in good time, though the ending parts certainly suffered from a relative lack of action.


I’m afraid some glare took out the ‘in play’ shots I took. This is the opening setup.

Jason took the Axis, and I came ashore in pretty good order. (I’ll note that there’s little enough variation in Salerno’s landing tables that I think just sticking with the “tournament” results may do well to prevent a certain amount of boredom.)

Jason is not afraid to go in where more cautious people (me) would fear to tread, and had some good counterattacks on the beachhead. The Allies spend a couple of turns getting everything ashore, but then reinforcements dry up for a few turns, while more German units keep arriving. I kind of wonder if the flat transportation allowance is meant to allow the Allies to try shifting units in a hurry from one part of the perimeter to another. That still means heading back to a beach/port for the transit however, so it would be hard to pull off with the Allies having a notable lack of units after the first few turns.

I tried keeping pressure up around Salerno itself and driving north, but it came to nearly nothing. My first attempt was turned back by realizing how bad the supply situation to the west is, and we bottled each other up in the various passes, though I usually held the road to Avellino, and threatened it for a little while before the German line stiffened.

The south saw little action during the middle game, though I eventually started outflanking the Germans and pushed them back, and had managed to get across the Calore river in the hills. This presumably would have allowed me to press eastward towards Auletta, but this didn’t happen until the end of the scenario.

The middle see-sawed a bit at first, but mounting Allied pressure saw the Germans out of the bulk of the clear terrain, and I used the rivers to help hold the line as German units came up from the south. I then got held up at Eboli, and attempts to turn the north flank there got stymied as German reinforcements reached the area. The late-game crossing of the Calore threatened the southern flank of the position, and that, too, might have gone, short of counterattacks, but he just as likely would have anchored a line on the Sele.

Afterword

I missed getting a victory by one point, which I’m sure is fairly common for this scenario (either way). I see there’s a VP in Agropoli on the coast that I probably could have gotten if I’d seen it. There was an immobile garrison there that I didn’t bother to clean out because I was busy elsewhere. Jason had bad luck with the garrisons all day; I think they all came up ‘0’ for him.

The weather cycles from clear to stormy and then back again in a fairly consistent fashion instead of being purely random each turn. Seeing something like that ported back to Normandy ’44 would be interesting as there’s obviously some tension in that design for getting the ‘right’ number of storm turns.

I will certainly have to try this at least a couple more times as well as the campaign game. It doesn’t feel quite as replayable as the larger ZOC-bond games I’ve tried (mostly because of how tight the VP budget is), but that limitation could easily be an illusion. It is certainly a very good size for an afternoon’s FtF game.

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The Army of Pyrrhus of Epirus

by on January 17, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

This was a good idea for the subject of an Osprey book. While he’s remembered today for costly defeats thanks to the phrase ‘Pyrrhic victory’, in his time he was considered one of the best generals there was. And it should be remembered he did beat Rome at a time when other Hellenistic states were largely suffering catastrophic defeats by them.

Sadly, the coverage of his campaigns is very sparse. They are discussed, but only the Battle Asculum gets a diagram (some ways away from the history bit on it), and that’s just a basic look at the dispositions of allied contingents. The section on his army is similarly long on looks at the various types of troops, and less so on detailed looks at equipment.

There is the usual good map near the front of the region, but it could be better marked for which part is more properly Epirus. As it is, it takes some reading of the description and hunting on the map to piece it together.

Peter Dennis’ illustrations are nothing special (the cover piece is the best of the lot), but do illustrate the kind of equipment and symbols used. They do all at least some decent backgrounds to them, and attempt to show men doing more than standing around for a fashion plate (which I’ve noted an occasional tendency to go back to, so I’m very happy to note the absence of it here). The bulk of the photos are black-and-white, but there are some color ones scattered about. Mostly, they’re nothing extra-special, especially if you have other books on related subjects, but they are all reproduced quite clearly.

So, if you have an interest in early-Roman/late-Diadochoi military history, this is a good short look at the subject. But, it is more of an extended essay, without some of the crunch that other similar Osprey books have had, so it is not as useful to, say, a miniatures wargamer.

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WO3 Counterattack at Carentan

by on January 13, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: ASL

Patch came over for the first time in way too long right after Christmas, and we got in a FtF game of ASL. Out of a few different possibilities, Patch stuck with “Counterattack at Carentan” from the second Winter Offensive pack, which would have been our previous Vassal game if I hadn’t gone for something more topical.

It’s a week after D-Day, and the 101st Airborne is defending the approaches to Carentan from a German counterattack. Half of boards 54 and 63 are used, with all hedges treated as bocage. The Americans are defending with five 747 paratrooper squads and a pair of 337s, a MMG, 2xBAZ and a 57mm AT. The Germans get nine squads (mix of SS and 548s), some LMGs, a DC, two StuGs, a StuH and a Marder III M. My first thought was the American force was completely inadequate, but then I realized the goal is for the Germans to exit off the opposite end of the map (20 hexes) in six turns. That made more sense, though Patch immediately realized with Germans only need 15 EVP, which means it’s not hard to do with just vehicles.

However, I mis-set up the scenario, going for the opposite halves of the two boards than what is intended. Which helps explain some of my difficulties. There is no good place for the ATG in my mis-done version. Worse, the east edge is relatively clear this way, and Patch was contemplating a sprint down the edge for a quick potential win. It’s remarkable how different the two halves of board 63 are in particular. The wrong half is much more congested, and there’s no place for a Gun to cover everything. I nearly set up the ATG in the I2 building, but then realized it wouldn’t see over bocage. Patch pointed out the level 2 I3 position. It can see to the left and right, but is blocked in front by the building. Also, not too hard to smoke in, once the position is known.

I ended up in the O4 building, which was pretty useless as it was away from Patch’s advance (E2, which I nearly went with, would have been much better). I kept it hidden for the entire game to keep Patch having to worry about it, but his post-game analysis that I would have been much better served to push it down the road to I1 is correct.

So, we had a fairly unbalanced contest as I redeployed against his edge-crawl, and Patch made fairly steady progress, capturing a couple of HS on the way. I occupied the orchard-road hexes for a bit, but Patch got through that, because there wasn’t enough there yet. However, the one bit that made him sweat a bit was when I revealed the MMG in there for a flank shot against the Marder, and he realized it had a meaningful chance of a kill. Sadly, it missed.

Naturally, my final defense ended up along the bocage line in D4/D5. Patch regretted not keeping me from getting there first, as I got there with more than he anticipated, but I couldn’t get good enough shots with the BAZ to kill anything, and he zoomed off the map for a win with plenty of time on the clock.

Afterword

Well, this is the second time I’ve muffed a physical scenario setup. But, it was great to see Patch again (it has been far too long), and to get to use all these physical ASL materials again. (Maybe if I did it more often, I’d stop mixing my left and my right.)

Got to chat, I got to show off some of the stuff I’ve gotten over the last couple of years, and had an altogether fun time. As a plus, an early finish meant he got on the road before the next rain storm started really moving in.

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