Late December 2017 book review...

Here's what I've been reading this week:

1)  The Coldest Winter:  America and the Korean War.  More about Kim Jon Sung, the supreme leader of North Korea and puppet of Stalin....

2)  Stranger One.  Manuscript about a female assassin and a male serial killer who tangle with the local St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department...

3) Swords of Good Men.  Vikings stuck in a town of pig-farmers in western Norway during the beginning of the 11th century try and make the most of their stay...

4)  Finland at War:  The Winter War 1939-40.  See review on previous blog post.

5)  The Legend of Drizzt:  Volume One by R.A. Salvatore.  Drizzt and his deep gnome buddy fight an evil human wizard...

6)  Vicky Peterwald:  Survivor by Mike Shepherd.  Second book in a military sci-fi series modeled along the Kris Longknife universe....

Review of Finland at War: The Winter War 1939-40 by Vesa Nenye

Author:  Vesa Nenye.
Title:  Finland at War:  The Winter War 1939-40.
Publisher:  Osprey.
Copyright:  2015.
Pages:  304.
Price:  $34.95 (US).

Overview and Impressions:

Finland at War: The Winter War 1939-40 by Vesa Nenye was interesting. I didn't know much of the conflict between the Finns and Soviets. The Finns did a heroic job defending their homeland from the Soviet invaders. Ski troops and arctic weather conditions made the difference. The Finns held out until March 15, 1940 when a truce went into effect. The Finns lost about 10% of their country in order to remain free of Soviet interference.

Though they tried remaining neutral. The Finns sided with Germany and helped with the Axis invasion of Russia in the summer of 1941. Interesting fact, the United States of America didn't declare war on the Finns....

Blake

25mm Chainmail Game, 20DEC17: AAR

Here are photos from a 25mm Chainmail Game, 20DEC17, that Glenn Wilson ran.  It featured 25mm Dwarves vs. 25mm Orcs and Goblins in a magical Elven forest.  The Dwarfs had to defend the ford crossing at the river.  Numbers overwhelmed my heroic Dwarves.  The Orcs/Goblins etched out a victory in the end.  But at a bloody cost...

                                          Initial deployment of evil forces.

                                          My dwarven army makes its stand at the river.

                                          "If there's a whip, there's a way!"
                                                 

                                          At the end, paying the butcher's bill...

Mid-December 2017 reading: Part II

Here's what I've read this week:

1)  The Coldest Winter.  More about the opening of the Korean war and the conflict on the penisula.

2)  Swords of Good Men.  Started reading a novel about Vikings in 11th century Norway.  Starts out in a town of pig farmers.  Different beginning for a novel...

3)  Finland at War:  The Winter War 1939-1940.  I'm now up to the part where both sides have agreed to an armistice....

4)  The Legend of Drizzt:  Volume One by R.A. Salvatore.  Drizzt is forced to flee the Deep Gnome town of Blingstone with a new friend and adventurer....

5)  Old Man's War by John Scalzi.  See previous blog posting.

Review of Old Man's War by John Scalzi

Author:  John Scalzi.
Title:  Old Man's War
Publisher:  TOR.
Copyright:  2005.
Pages:  362.
Price:  $7.99 (US).

Overview and Impressions:
The premise of recruiting the elderly and giving them new, genetically enhanced bodies to fight aliens off-world seems rather exotic.  This is what Old Man's War proves to be.  Earth is a backwater recruiting ground for the Colonial Defense Force, who protects human colonies in interstellar space. 

John Perry is a 75 year old recruit who undergoes a strange experience being a professional soldier...

The idea of aliens who love human beings a dinner is a little cliche.  The varying amounts of aliens are too much to keep track.  It gives life to the idea that humanity is on the outskirts of interstellar civilizations.  The surprise use of the multiverse plays out in bringing Perry's dead wife back to life.  I've give too much away if I said anything else about that plot-line. 

Very Heileineque book...

Completed 6mm 1980s Angolan Micro-Armor, 14DECC17

Here's a photo of my completed 6mm 1980s Angolan Micro-Armor:

                                           6mm 1980s Angolan Micro-Armor, 14DEC17.

WIP, 18mm Dark Elves, 10DEC17....

Here's photos of a completed commission of 18mm Dark Elves I painted for Glenn Wilson.  I think the figures are Splintered Light Miniatures, but I'm not sure...

                                          18mm Dark Elf spearmen, swordsmen, and command.

Ending of an era in St. Louis gaming....

Ken Lambing, former owner of the Hobby Shop, died due to complications from liver disease Wednesday morning, December 6, 2017 at a local hospital.  He had been in failing health for sometime.  He will be missed...

I first discovered miniature gaming in 1990 when I went to the Hobby Shop for the first time.  I got into WH40K by buying space marines and eldar squads.  That's when 10 figures were $13.50 for a squad of ten.  Now it's $35.00 (US) for ten plastic space marines.  And the figures were metal then. 

Soon after discovering WH40K, I started collecting SPACE: 1889 British and Martian infantry.  I still play WH40K.  And I'm blossomed into a huge 28mm late Victorian era wargamer.  Most of my armies are designed for The Sword and The Flame or Chassepot and Needlegun.

Ken Lambing and I loved WWI.  I wrote (more like bastardized) a 20mm house-rules called "No-Man's-Land" because there wasn't any commercially decent rule systems available at the time.  I still have the rules.  They'll never get published, however.  And will forever remain "house rules."  But my 20mm WWI armies have long been sold off...

Et lux perpetua....
Blake

WIP, 6mm 1980s Angolan Micro-Armor, 06DEC17.

                                         
                                          WIP, 1:1 6mm 1980s Angolan micro-armor battalion.

Early December 2017 reading....

Here's what I've been reading this past week:

1)  The Coldest Winter:  America and Korean War.  Introduction to the Korean conflict.  The book starts with the American drive to the Yalu River and the impending sense of doom some of the combat-wise field commanders had in late October 1950...

2)  The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodden.  See previous book review.

3)  Finland at War:  The Winter War 1939-1940.  I stopped reading at December 1939/January 1940 fighting between the Finns and Soviets for control of the frontiers....

That's all the reading I got done this week.  Real life interfered with the rest.