Website Review: Warhammer Fantasy Wiki

A website I spend a lot of my time on is the Warhammer Fantasy Wiki, which is a vast comprehensive database of lore, history, and ongoing world building of the Warhammer world. It has a cast of information on the factions and wars of the world as well as maps of the world. It goes into detail about the faction’s army, customs, religions, and politics. The site really drives home with narrative and sets the atmosphere of the world and its grim dark fantasy. The site is very user friendly and it is easy to navigate to topics that you are trying to find. Warhammer Fantasy Wiki is run by fans, updated by fans, and monitored by fans. They have a very active social media and discussion boards for fans to debate and discuss the franchise. The site runs a dedicated fan base and revolves around multimedia such as the tabletop games, miniatures, and the video games. This site really combines everything in the franchise together. I have spent many an hour learning to world build my D&D games by the wiki and getting lost in the dark twisted minds of the writers and fandom. This world has a lot of meaning, ever since Star Wars was destroyed by Disney, and almost feels like a massive online novel. It draws the reader into the depth of Warhammer and is very true to the nature of the source material. I would highly recommend giving it a shot.

By Grant Nelson

Book Review: Dark Nest Trilogy

A book any fan of classic Star Wars will love is the Dark Nest Trilogy. This series follows the next generation of Jedi, among them the new Sky Walkers, as many of them fall under the control of the hive mind of an alien race. The books take Jedi to the unkown regions of the universe as a war is being waged between two alien empires and they are tested to their limits in how they will fight this war and what they will do for the greater good as dark side force users manipulate the war to spread chaos across the universe. The books are filled with space battles and are action packed. The books also deal the legacy of the Skywalker bloodline and world building linking  Anakin to Luke and Lea to their children and the shadow that Darth Vader has over them. The books are filled with Jedi action and deep nerdy imaginitno. The books take Star Wars to very dark levels and show what war can inflict on the soul. You will want to read this if you hate Disney. 

-- By Grant Nelson

Review: China Illinois

A show that I really would recommend to fans of adult cartoons is the stoner classic, China Illinois. This show is relevant to college students, as it is based on an inner-city community college filled with DND, man children and trippy animation. The show follows a group of misfits who are trying to get though the worse college in America and its humor is something that only tech school students will get. Filled with nerdy humor, evil demons and lonely freaks trying rise above the crop and getting lost in their nerdy adventures while under the influence. This show is something anyone who grew up in the 90s will enjoy and its animation is surreal. The show really depicts college life in a real but meta way. I would highly recommend this series.

-- By Grant Nelson

Video Game Review: Doom Eternal

A game that I have started to play and love is Doom Eternal. This game is as metal as it gets. Taking place in an apocalyptic war between humanity and demons from hell, this fame is as brutal as it is fun. The game is very much like Halo on steroids and is filled with so many ways to fight your way through demons with a massive array of guns and power combos. The game take you on a platforming warzone across hell and you battle to save Earth and explore the lore and history of hell with great amounts of world building. Doom captures the best aspects of games like Halo and Metroid Prime and is just so alive with action, great multiplayer option, and a very fun story. It just dropped the last story DLC pack and with everything together creates an amazing world so high on metal and creative plot and call backs to the original Doom from 20 years ago. It's worth the money.

-- By Grant Nelson

Review: Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss

A show on YouTube that I think every nerd and goth would love is the Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss series. This adult cartoon is heavily inspired by classics like invader Zim Billy and Mandy, with dark fantasy and humor that is often a call back to older early 2000s goth kids shows. The stories takes place in hell and follow the misadventures of demons in hell going about their immortal lives filled with sex, drugs and guns. The humor is something that makes South Park blush and goes just as far in satires if not more. The shows create a very sin city like world filled with all sorts of creatures and demons and cartoon characters filled with flaws, but also reading quotes even wanting to make things right in their relationships and undead lives. The show really hits home with everything from abuse of sex workers to broken families in hell of all places. The show depicts a very bleak, dark, cruel, funny and even sweet world filled with demons that are still trying find the answers for their faults even in hell. Ironically, the show spreads the Christian message of hope and redemption to the worst of beings that a lot religions could learn. 

-- By Grant Nelson

Review: Forerunner trilogy

With the next Halo game around the corner, I spend most of my time emmersing myself in the Halo universe. A book  series that really stands out as a sci fi classic would be the Forerunner trilogy. These books cover the rise of the Forerunner Empire, its war with other alien nations -- one being a prehistoric human empire -- and the spread of the flood and the creation of the Halo weapons. The world building in these books feels like Greek mythology. The books are very much a space opera with the building and breaking of trust and broken families that impact the universe. The books have primitive humans as major characters and their stories are something out of the Hobbit. The books build upon much of the lore from the games and takes Halo to narratives that are very refreshing. The books deal with technology and view of the universe that borders on magic. The books open up plot threads that are very tied to the new Halo games and for anyone wanting to read a good space opera, I recommend these books.

-- By Grant Nelson

Review: Jedi book series

A comic book series that I grew up loving, is the classic tales of the Jedi series. These comics cover the old wars between the Sith Empire and the Old Republic. The series follows ancient Jedi heroes as they battle against the forces of dark, both in wars against other armies and their own souls. The series really captures the soul of what it means to be a Jedi and the choices they make, the bonds and love they share with others, and how it all falls apart. The books also capture the nature of the Dark Side and Sith, their evil magics, and the lore for them, which is far more chilling than the Disney series. The books cover massive wars and it feels like the stories of the Trojan wars and other aspects of mythic epics. These stories also feature strong female Jedi masters, and did so long before Disney tried forcing cut out characters like Rey.  They are both nuanced and kick ass all at once. The comic books really deliver on the history of the Jedi and Sith. If you are done with Disney, give this a shot.

-- By Grant Nelson

Review: Pokemon Generations

A fresh take on Pokémon animi I would highly recommend for those that grew up with the old games and got tired of the endless adventures of Ash and Pikachu is the more mature Pokémon Generations. This animi covers the stories of many generations and is much closer the lore and story of the games than the main series. It has the many legendary Pokemon and realistic portrayals of the world in that Team Rocket is more like the Taliban than cartooned bad guys. The show has very good artwork. It captures the feel of the stories and adventures we grew up with, way more than the endless show that stays from the feel and interweaving threads in the game's stories. For anyone who is now an angsty college student, give it a shot.

-- By Grant Nelson

Game Review: Warhammer 40k Dark Heresy

A pen and paper role playing game that I love is Warhammer 40k Dark Heresy. This grim dark gothic space adventure takes us to the far future where there is only war and chaos. You take on the role in the base game as an imperial witch hunter who hunts down cultist demons and mutants across the human empire. You can trace it to vast hive cities to wild alien jungles. The game is much like Dungeons and Dragons in that you have a party and a game master who is the cruel god of the world you play in. The game is very dark and filled with gothic themes and rolen playing. The setting is very much based in cosmic horror and sometimes you can hear the brass as you slay demons and cultist. The main faction you play as the game are not good guys in any sense of word as you destroy entire worlds to stop the forces of chaos. For anyone who like role playing and playing the bad guy, give it a shot.

-- By Grant Nelson