James Wallis (1)

This Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a rule book for a game I haven't played. In fact, I might never get around to playing it, but I don't regret for a moment reading the full 130 pages, which are hilarious all the way through. It is not necessary to have familiarity with Rudolph Raspe's original Munchausen stories from the 18th century in order to appreciate this book; even a secondhand acquaintance through the Terry Gilliam feature film will be sufficient.

The game show more described is one of competitive yarn-spinning, sort of like a table-top roleplaying game with a minimum of rules constraint and a retrospective rhetorical style. A frame-story relates author James Wallis' ancestor's encounter and collaboration with the original Baron, as well as his own rediscovery and continuation of the work of publishing the Baron's game. The rules are digressive and somewhat confusing, but helpfully summarized "in brief" in a two-page appendix. Another appendix lists hundreds of play prompts or story challenges.

This third edition includes two expansions with a host of variants, including adaptation for younger players ("My Uncle the Baron"), thematic inflections (Arabian Nights, science fiction, occult horror, prehistory, 007-type espionage, cats, and others), and suggestions for online play, "whilst one has a sky-fish hooked on the line ... using the vibrations of the fishing line to resonate with one another at a distance" (124). show less

I would have loved this as a kid and even reading it as a 32-year-old dad it's a nostalgic delight. An amazing amount of plot and apparent variety; there are some great action sequences that capture the fun of the early games, making up for the limitations of the page by expanding on the variety of incident. God it was good to be a kid in 1993.

One of the better early Black Library novels and that that doesn't appear to have been republished, or even noticed very much. This is a fine read that looks at the seedy underbelly of the Empire through cynical eyes. Riveting stuff.

Oooh this was good. Why has James Wallis not written more novels? The worst Warhammer novels are just fighting and very little plot, but this has loads foing on, lots of twists and turns and it keeps you guessing all the way to the end. The set pieces are well-written with an authentic feel and there are some great moments. I particularly enjoyed the bit with the Steam Cannon, and the unveiling of the big bad at the end. All in all a great read!