Space is a big and lonely place, and that isolation can do strange and terrible things to people’s minds. In S.A. Barnes’ Ghost Station (Amazon), it can lead to a mental disorder known as Eckhart-Reiser Syndrome (ERS). The syndrome leads to mental decline, ultimately leading to a catastrophic break with reality … as well as murder … Read more
Chaos Terminal is Mur Lafferty’s follow-up to Station Eternity. Like the previous book in the Midsolar Murders series, Chaos Terminal features Mallory Viridian, a human with a penchant for solving murders. Like a sci-fi Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote, murders tend to happen around Mallory. Or she tends to be attracted to where murders will happen. Or both. Once … Read more
The Expanse novels and novellas were part of my summer reading list for years. The nine book series initially takes place our own star system, with a focus on the stellar political situation. Earth rules the star system, but martial-oriented (and slowly terraforming) Mars is a powerful countervaling force that seeks to usurp Earth’s position. … Read more
The game I’d love to see a new edition of is Star Frontiers … but as they say, be careful what you wish for. Star Frontiers was the second role-playing game I ever owned. It was a space opera RPG set in a “frontier” region of space with a mix of settled and unexplored star systems. There … Read more
Mothership is a rules-lite, science fiction horror RPG inspired by the likes of Alien and similar creature features. I backed the 2021 kickstarter, and while I wait for the boxed set to arrive, I searched for introductory Mothership RPG adventures to run with my friends (or at my local convention, MEPACon). Thanks to the Mothership RPG Discord, I … Read more
It’s April and we’re under “stay at home” orders in Pennsylvania. Work from home – and remote learning – are the order of the day for my family. Summer seems a hell of a long way off, and even when it arrives, it’s anyone’s guess what it will look like. That said, one thing is … Read more
The Ghost Walk Star Cluster is located at the edge of the galaxy and is known for its spectacular views of dying stars, it’s just-ignited protostar nebula, and the gossamer strands of illuminated gas that inspired its name. Approximately fifty light-years across, the Ghost Walk Cluster is composed of approximately 20 stars, most of which … Read more