Authorised February 2004

- Bill's Monthly Column -

Big Freeze!

Hello again and welcome. It’s been a very cold January here in Prague with temperatures going as low as -12C and plenty of snow. On the plus side the city always looks beautiful and walking around on cold clear winter mornings has been a real joy. I took myself over the Charles Bridge a couple of times just for the pleasure of it. Since I have a new mobile phone with a built in camera, I took some pictures so you can see what it's like. 

Return of the King

Saw it and loved it. Found it both beautiful to look at and moving, and let’s face it, having the best fantasy battle sequences ever committed to film. I could have lived without the multiple endings, but I think Jackson was simply erring on the side of being true to the books. I have waited 33 years for these movies, and personally I found them worth the wait. Let’s hope there are more fantasy movies of this standard to come. Been hacking and slashing my way through the Electronic Arts Playstation 2 game as well. This too is amazingly well done. 

Age of Wonders 2

Also on the gaming front I have being playing a lot of Age of Wonders 2. For those of you who have not seen it, this is an epic fantasy world strategy and management game. It kind of reminds me a little of Sid Meier’s classic Civilization, but when it comes to conflict you flash down to some very simple battle maps for tactical combat. It’s a lot of fun and can be played multi-player. I just bought Age of Wonders Shadow Magic so I have that to look forward to.

Writing

On the work front I have extended my break from GW to work on some pet projects of my own. Currently I am writing a fantasy novel that can best be described as somewhere between Sven Hassel and the Three Musketeers with more than a touch of HP Lovecraft thrown in. 

It’s set in a world of fading magic at around the technology level of 17th Century Europe and involves a bunch of seedy mercenaries, forbidden books, and dark sorcery. It’s a lot of fun to write - let’s hope that it’s a lot of fun to read. More on this as it develops.

And on that note I suppose I had better get back to work.

All the best

Bill

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