If I told you about I was a fan of Harry the Wizard some of you might think of the other Harry. You know who I'm talking about. Yeah, that stripling who tromps off to Wizard school (Warthogs, was it?) and goes on zany adventures with his friends. Well, I hate to tell you, I'm not really fan of Harry Potter. I'm a fan of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden.

Jim Butcher's Dresden Files books are excellent when they are “OK”. That's only because there are a handful of Dresden books that are truly awesome. (Or as the kids say “pure win” . Whatever that means.)

The latest book, Small Favor, left me breathless. Small Favor also featured some of my favourite Dresden-verse villains and Harry was backed up by an all-star cast of his close and not-so-close comrades.

There are very few series that keep my attention for very long and very few series where I would the next book sight unseen.

I'm quite in awe at how the author manages to escalate the conflict from book to book. The stakes keep getting higher and higher: both the personal stakes for Harry and the people he cares about and the supernatural threats to the city (and the rest of the world). The escalation rarely, if ever, feels forced. Kudos to Jim Butcher for managing such an incredible feat of writing. The books come to an end that is logical given the characters, their choices and the events presented in each book. If they don't, Jim Butcher has really pulled the Major Cloak Suspension of Disbelief +5 over my head.

Is it a bit repetitive? Perhaps so, I admit the admit there's a bit of a formula in there. And, as a fan, I willingly embrace the formula but I can't wait to see what new shiny bits the author throw my way. Besides, the books' serial and formulaic nature is not necessarily a bad thing in the right hands. Fans KNOW they will be in for a treat when a new Harry Dresden book rolls off the presses.

The actions and choices of the character's are not without consequence. While there is plenty of action within the covers of each book, there is some change in the characters as one follows them from one book to another.

If I told you it's taken me about two years to go through the 10 books in the series thus far, don't be misled. It's taken me that long only because I go through two or three novels in a short period of time, then I go off to read some other things for a few months only to come back to haul back another couple of novels back from the book store. Then the Harry Mania comes back. In full force. And it doesn't stop until I've turned the last page.

Once I pick up a Dresden Files novel, I'm hooked. I tear through it at great speed (at least for me) - staying up late to read through a good chunk of the book, rub my eyes and look at the clock reminding myself I have to get up early, down the book, turn off the lights, figet in bed for a good ten minutes only to turn the lights back on, pick up the book and read on. Just one more chapter, then I'm off to bed. I promise.

You can find the free download over at the Black Gate Website.
Thanks to marthawells for passing on the news that...  "Black Gate magazine is now available in high-resolution digital format.

In addition to our regular print edition, Black Gate is now available for download as a high-resolution PDF. To help promote our new format, we're making the complete contents - all 224 pages - of Black Gate 12 available for download for a limited time - for free!

Black Gate 12 is available as a single download, or in two smaller sections. Both versions are suitable for printing, and require a PDF reader (such as Adobe Acrobat)."

The highlight of my Geek Week was having my son ask me to play D&D miniatures with him. This week, I also:
* played in the twice-a-month Keep on the Shadowfell campaign. The DM didn't like the standard Skill Challenge system (even with the errata) so we tried out an alternate skill challenge system, Stalker0's Obsidian which can be found in the Enworld forums.
* completed Act I of Diablo 2. Yes, I know, I'm soooo late to the party.
 * started reading Jack Vance’s Dying Earth (which I got through BookMooch).

My son, let's call him Spider-boy, got some book store gift cards for his birthday and the family trooped out to the store earlier in the week. He chose a few books and used his gift cards while I picked up the D&D Miniatures Start Set (using my own money, of course)

We got home and we tore into the package playing with the quick start rules (a one-on-one battle between a Human Fighter and a Yuan-Ti) and then played a few more rounds with the figures in the set.

For last night's game we're used some additional rules over and above the quick play rules but we kept things pretty simple. Spider-boy noted that the miniatures battle game was like Pokemon battles (where you get to assemble your team of critters, send them into battle and pick which powers to use, there are stuns, paralyzes etc). I responded by saying that that was a very sharp observation though Pokemon is more like D&D. That got him thinking.

Before each game, my son picked a battle map and we selected our forces. I had also picked up a few boosters during the week to expand our selection.

For our first game last night, Spider-boy picked the temple ruins in the jungle (or was it a dense forest?). I sent my Hooked Horror against my son's motley team: a Dan Elven Archer and a Grick. Though I promptly dispatched his Grick, my Horror was no match for my son's Battlemaster.

Having felt the thrill of success, Spider-Boy wanted to take on another challenge. This time, in the caverns surrounding a Dwarf Outpost, Spider-boy's Angel of Valor, Dwarf Battlemaster and Elf Warlock took down my bad-guy war band composed of a Drow Spiderguard, a Deathjump Spider and a Tiefling Warlock. My son was keen to use the Angel of Valor's Lightning Strike ability - which electrified and stunned the Drow and Spider. I managed to take down the Angel of Valor but by then it was too late for little band of baddies.

My son even made sound effects and gestured to describe what was going on. Most Excellent! 

And you can't put a price on the expression on his face when I labelled the box of minis: Dad's and Spiderboy's D&D Minis.

Goal #5 Read More.

“The difference between where you are today and where you’ll be five years from now will be found in the quality of books you’ve read.” - Jim Rohn

I only recently came across the quote above (I found it cited in the Personal MBA manifesto) but it grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I like to read luuuurve reading. My interests lie mainly in the realm of fiction - science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, military and espionage thrillers and what not. And when I do venture out into non-fiction it’s usually around history, military matters and the occasional business book.

This year, I will read at least twenty twenty-four books. I’m definitely not a speed reader but I’m no slouch when it comes to reading and comprehension, With some guesstimation I ought to be able to read for at least an hour every day and bump the total up to about 36 books.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am a geek so I'm going to get a good dose of sci-fi and fantasy. But I will make an effort to finish reading at least three literary fiction books and three non-fiction books for good measure.

5.1. Read at least 12 books to (quote from the Personal MBA manifesto) “progressively develop a greater understanding of business and increase [my] effectiveness at work.”
( Read more non-fiction... )
5.2 Read at least 12 fiction books to read for pleasure. At least three of these 12 will be literary works.
( Read more fiction... )
5.3. I won’t set any specific criteria for any books over and above the 24 mentioned above.