Books read in 2015: No. 17 -- The Swordsman's Companion

by Guy Windsor

Started: April 15
Finished: April 26

Notes: I am by no means an experienced swordsman, though I did have some little longsword and rapier training while in college back in the Stone Age. Back then we did not have HEMA or ARMA, though the SCA and Renaissance festivals were around. Recently while cleaning my collection of swords, I took out a bastard sword and went through a few of my drills for the first time in ever. I decided I was not only out of practice, but that I was also out of shape, and I thought it time I corrected both situations. To that end I purchased a waster, a practice sword, mainly because it is too dangerous to practice with the real thing and because it would be rather foolish and expensive of me if I should damage one of my swords. I also watched tons of YouTube videos on swording to kind of catch me up, and I purchased this book as a refresher and perhaps to learn a few new things. The author here appears to approach longswording from the Italian tradition, and my limited training was from the German point of view, but I don't think that will matter much (especially as it's been so long since I've had any training). Unfortunately, I cannot take part in sparring or drills with another person because of my health, mostly because of my heart implant, which could easily be damaged or even destroyed if it were struck (to the point of potentially being deadly to myself, at least according to my cardiologist). So, solo drills it will have to be. Now I'll get to reading and training, maybe even lose a few pounds.

Mini review: This is a good, solid book for beginners with the longsword. For those who can't attend classes or want to know some of what they'll be getting themselves into by joining a class on the subject, this book should be for you. Only the basics are covered here, but the author has other books which get into advanced longswording. Between the Italian and German schools of swording, I did not see major differences, though there were some; the biggest difference, obviously, was in the terms used, and a few of the guard positions. If you decide to read this book, I suggest getting the one that has the cover I've shown above as an earlier version is apparently out of date as knowledge of the old masters' works have grown over the years. Now if I can only keep up with my practice drills.

Books read in 2015: No. 16 -- Dungeon Master's Guide

by Wizards of the Coast

Started: April 10
Finished: April 15

Notes: Early on I didn't care for this new, fifth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game, but of late I've been doing a lot of online tabletop gaming, and I have to admit I've come to appreciate this version of the game. It does some things of which I'm not fond, but it also does a lot which I've found quite interesting and enjoyable within actual gameplay. Because of this, I've decided to go ahead and read the Dungeon Master's Guide for this edition. Traditionally this book is more than a rules book, but helps guide the Dungeon Master with the flow of the game, making him or her a storyteller of sorts. To this day I consider the original AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide by Gary Gygax to be a landmark piece of literature not only for tabletop RPG gaming, but for the fantasy genre in general. None of the versions of the DMG since then have quite had that impact, in my opinion, because they have been more game oriented, but we'll see how this one does.

Mini review: To be honest, most of the material here isn't necessary for the Dungeon Master as long as he or she is an experienced Dungeon Master. Someone new to the role of DM will find tons of interesting takes on the game here, with lots of potential, so much so that it might be overwhelming at first with all the variant rules, the open-ended-ness of some rules, etc. But you beginners, don't worry. The thing to keep in mind is that you are the DM and what you say goes, even including superseding the actual rules, if needs be. Always remember it's a game and everyone is there to have fun. As a DM, try to make if fun for everyone, all the players, but also yourself.

Books read in 2015: No. 15 -- The Book of the Dead

by Sir E.A. Wallis Budge

Started: April 8
Finished: April 10

Notes: Having just finished this author's The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians, I thought I would go ahead and check out his text on the Egyptians' The Book of the Dead. The author had a chapter on this book in The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians, but here he expands upon that. Basically, The Book of the Dead is a collection of rites and magic spells that are supposed to guide and help the soul in the afterlife. Another interesting thing is that the Egyptians never actually had a Book of the Dead, but what we call The Book of the Dead is really a collection of ancient Egyptian writings from across thousands of years.

Mini review: Roughly the last fourth of this book from 1920 is a repeat of information found in The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians. Still, the earlier chapters offered some insight into these ancient texts. Not necessary reading for those who have read The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians, but it does expand a little on Egyptian beliefs concerning the afterlife, which were quite complex and did change from time to time during the thousands of years ancient Egypt was in power in one form or another.

Books read in 2015: No. 14 -- The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians

by Sir E.A. Wallis Budge

Started: March 23
Finished: April 8

Notes: For a long while I've been neglecting my readings of ancient history, so I thought I would try this 1914 publication from noted historian and member of the British Museum, Sir E.A. Wallis Budge, who spent much of his adult life traveling between Egypt, the Sudan, and Europe, all while penning numerous texts concerning Egyptology and other topics pertaining to the Far East. Obviously this text will be dated, but I read it not only for itself, but to see the ideas other generations had about the ancients.

Mini review: There's a little bit of everything here, from heroic stories, fairy tales, mythology, magic spells, poetry, funerary rites, and more. Admittedly not all of this is electrifying reading, but the author does a good job of paraphrasing in some cases, and he points out spots where the text remained in question due to a lack of translation; he also points out when part of a text had been lost or if in some of it the translation remained questionable (during his time, anyway, which means it's interesting to research now, a hundred years later, to find out if we've learned more ... and no, I won't be giving away free spoilers). Beyond any pure historical interests, I think this book and those like it should be important for other fantasy writers (and even Dungeon Masters). If you want some of your characters to have authentic-sounding rites and prayers and the like, this book gives solid examples of this from ancient times. You also can learn plenty of ancient names that could be used or reworked for characters.