🚀 go-pugleaf

Second issue here for all of you that want to read someone else�s
unqualified and unwanted opinion about someone else�s toil and
turmoil! Hope ya�ll enjoy this offering!

EDITORIAL: LNH, RACC and SG. It may be obvious here, but we need more
on these newsgroups. More stories, more reviewers, more precogs, more,
discussion, more anything, except for those stupid ads that claim FREE
MONEY/NO WORK! MAKE $123,000 IN FIVE SEONDS. Those things are as
annoying and worthless as the X-Ray glasses we all ordered from the
specialty stores in the middle section of our favorite Spider Man
comics. I don�t know about you, but I never saw up any girl�s skirt,
and rarely could make out any of the bones in my hands. 
I hope we see plenty of new stuff in these ng�s soon. I would also
encourage new writers to not worry about posting in the SG or LNH
universe. Create your own characters! That�s what we�re all here for,
in my opinion. 

Without further ado� 

GRAFEK- RACC/SG/LNH Reviews #2

In this issue, we review
Alt.riders #1
The UnReality Grimoire #1
Risk #1


Spoilers�
























Alt.Riders #1
Blue Light Productions
Written by Jamas Enright


The first new LNH title that I�ve seen in a long while! Nice to see
someone jumping into the fray. 

Of course the sheer immensity and burdensome nature of continuity
presents interesting problems to the LNH writer. Enright obviously has
a good handle on the characters he is working with, a sense of their
history and their relationships. He writes them with a subtle
familiarity that makes it easy for a new reader, perhaps one who likes
to write reviews, to recognize and immediately distinguish the
characters. Better yet, Enright�s command of the LNH universe provides
for tidy recaps of each character�s personal history. 

As Enright admits in his series notes at the end of this first issue,
not much happens here. In on sense he�s right on the money. There�s
practically no action, just a few moments of tension between several
characters. On one level, in a universe as large and with a potential
for as much confusion as LNH offers, it is necessary to present
characters in a clear-cut manner. 

So what are we dealt with, here? A reason to get the characters
together and a chance for Enright to rename and recreate, which he
does to all the characters. New names, new outfits and a new persona,
it seems for Barry Knewbee (formerly known as Fan.Boy). Now we see
Knewbee, is bestowed, thanks to the enigmatic and perpetually random
Revamp Rung to Net.Elementalist, someone who has control over the very
fabric that control the Net Universe.

It is here where, in my opinion, Enright shine in this issue. Sure,
Alt.riders is low on action, but it�s out of necessity. An all-out
slug-fest would potentially confuse someone jumping right in with no
introduction. BUT the subtraction of action, leads the author to a
further quandary- how to keep the prose lively and interesting.
Enright solves this problem with a lively discussion between several
characters on the nature of the LNH universe and those enigmatic gods,
Writers. Are LNH characters fate-driven or are their lives dictated by
their actions. Of course, we all know the answer, but it�s a
fascinating twist on the nature of  this genre and promises further
crop as Marsha (Softcentre) continues to deal with her the nature of
her fate.

Enright has a clear-cut definition of character and that will keep the
reader coming back. Let�s hope his plots are as skillfully controlled.

Alt.riders #1- 7/10






The UnReality Grimoire #1
Infinity Productions
Written by Byron Molix

	Fantasy! Where swords and sorcery clash with a resounding clang! Where
ghosts and goblins mingle with kobolds and clerics! Where magic and
mystery mix! Where pseudo-languages flourish and the laws of physics
are mere suggestions! Where logic is wholly illogical compared to a
pinch of bat-wing and some mystic incantation.

	I�m happy to see someone trying something different here in our
illustrious halls o� fiction. Fantasy-comics are not something one
sees that much of in the mainstream market, much less on the Internet.
A place where superheros, and superdolts multiply like the expletives
in a Quentin Tarantino film.

Byron Molix begins his series by introducing us to a land known as
Avalon, where the children worship trees, only the natives age, and
New Yorkers are allowed to do internships. Strange mix, here, but one
that is handeled well.

Molix�s exposition style is quite vivid, very concentrated on scenery
and setting. Not much punching and flying here, in fact, as far as
this ranting reviewer can tell, there is only one act of "supernatural
wizardry" in the entire issue. How refreshing. The exact dimensions of
each magician�s power has not been yet tested yet. 

Not to insert too much personal experience in here, but I have always
been frustrated with stories of magicians, simply because so much is
required for them to complete their craft. Either selling one�s soul
to a demon, collecting strange spirits and dusts and/or memorizing
semantic nightmare incantations. Being a magician is tough work. Give
me a broadsword and some armor and a wall of goblin flesh to hack
through, and I�m a happy role-player. So, from that perspective, I
will judge Molix�s success by his ability to keep those like me
interested in his series. 

One more thing- In the few stories that I have read and reviewed for
these issues, I have noticed one common thread- all the women
characters are similar. For the most part, all females in the issues I
have read have been either mysterious or just downright evil. Is there
some Freudian misogyny here that all us Writers need to work out? Do
we need therapy? Do we all hate our mothers? I don�t know, but I have
just noticed this theme. Morgan, in this issue, from the reader�s
perspective is very bad. Very, very bad. 

Or is she? Is she killing the trees of Avalon or is she just setting
into motion the wheels of change the land has up until now has lacked?
It�s an interesting question, one I�m sure Squire Molix will have a
good time answering for us. 
	
Molix seems to be on the right track here with UnReality. Here�s
hoping we continue to see more of his work.

The UnReality Grimoire #1- 6/10





Risk #1 "The Whole Card"
Authorial Productions
Written by Eric Alfred Burns

	Why do I think of Frank Herbert when I read this first issue?
	
Could it be the intricate plotting? Could it be the weighty style? The
attention to detail? Or could it be something more ephmeral, more
abstract?
	
No idea. I do know this, I got about one-third of the way through of
the first issue of this series before I put it down. Of course I came
back later but I felt no intense desire to continue reading this
story. 
Perhaps it was the mere cumbersome nature of the story (11 pages is a
bit much for an opener). Perhaps Burns would have been better served
to release each of the three sections of this story as separate
stories. 

There is attention to detail and then there is obsessiveness. If
anything could be said for Burns� style of handling space battles, it
is his attention to detail. For a great deal of this premiere issue we
are treated to the intricate back-and-forth of a not-so-epic space
battle, where strange aliens with wacky weapons devastate a series of
mighty space warriors. For the most part, it seems Burns seems more
intent on explaining and re-explaining the incredible nature of the
alien�s weapons, and the workings of each of their devastation, rather
than forwarding the plot.

One must admire Burn�s attention to scientific detail. Practically all
of his techno-babble sounded credible to me. But I didn�t care a whit.
It served nothing to push forward the story, except to prove the might
of these strange weapons. It did give some valuable insight into the
culture of the Abyssian warriors, thought we are lurking precariously
into over-exposition. Let us discover their culture over time. One
issue is never enough.

On the plus side, Burn�s world(s) seem to be carefully constructed.
His pacing where individuals, not spacecraft, are concerned, is
extremely well-done. His prose is exciting and filled with the right
amount of immediacy. It�s not hard to distinguish the plot and it�s
clear Burn�s and Co. have some big things planned for all characters
involved. Apparently, the Risk series will be written by a revolving
cast of authors, which may prove to a boon for the series. Burn�s hard
sci-fi skill probably appeals to as many readers as Gary Olson�s (who
is slated to write the second issue) wickedly clever plotting.  It is
an interesting device that presents a world of opportunities. 

With more focus and perhaps a better editor, Burn�s style would be
hard-hitting and as gritty as documentary. Thoreau said "Simplify,
simplify," and he wasn�t just talking about lifestyles, there.

Risk #1- 6/10



Brian Ekberg