Puppetland
Hardcover
Written by John Scott Tynes, Arnold Cassel, Arinn Dembo, Matt Forbeck, Fred Hicks, Kenneth Hite, Jason Morningstar, Ross Payton, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, and James Wallis
Illustrated by Samuel Araya, Heather Hudson, Hollie Mengert, and Raven Mimura
Cover by Alejandro Teran
Publisher: Arc Dream Publishing
Release date: November 28th, 2016

Do you have an hour to spare with me and a few friends?

The Maker has been killed, smashed in the head by Punch the Maker-Killer, and Judy…who once loved Punch… now abhors him. He and his loyal followers, wearing the skin of the Maker, rule Puppetland in fear, where it is always cold and enshrouded in darkness.

This is the story that precedes Puppetland, an RPG where everyone is a puppet (except the puppetmaster – he/she uses several “uniques”), and must navigate the dismal world that Punch rules. The book was funded in 3 days on Kickstarter, based on author John Scott Tynes’ original game.

More below.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeonology
Hardcover
Written by Matt Forbeck
Illustrations by Matt Forbeck
Candlewick Press
Release Date: October 21, 2016
Cover Price: $24.99

Once upon a time, I was the manager of a Waldenbooks. It was a magical time that spanned nearly a decade and included some of the greatest moments of my life. I loved discussing books with my patrons and always made time to introduce people to new authors and genres. But far surpassing all of that was watching children discover a love of reading. Some were encouraged by family while others found it on their own. Towards the end of that era, a new type of book was finding its way onto bookshelves across the land: the ‘Ology series. It started simply enough, appealing to the general public with enough interactive items within its pages that it created a niche with readers. Unabated, this trend has diversified enough that we have been given something I never thought I would see: Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeonology, a Forgotten Realms ‘Ology. If I wasn’t forty-six, I would probably squee with delight.

Nevermind, it happened anyway.

Star Wars vs. Star Trek
Could the Empire kick the Federation’s Ass?
… and other galaxy-shaking enigmas
Paperback | Kindle
By Matt Forbeck
Adams Media
Release Date: May 18, 2011

I was really curious going into this book, mostly about how someone could write an unbiased novel on which school of sci-fi was better. As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Star Wars vs. Star Trek isn’t a novel at all. Instead, author Matt Forbeck created what I consider to be a very nicely divided series of comparisons. Think of it as a sort of Celebrity Deathmatch in book form. I laughed, I cried, I rejoiced.

I’m a Star Wars fan, hands down. I waited in line in 1977 to see the first one and repeated that for every single movie thereafter (even the prequels). Heck, I even have a Stormtrooper tattoo and commonly quote Yoda. I always wanted to be Boba Fett growing up, seriously cool armor on that guy. But I also thoroughly enjoyed the Star Trek movies, not so much the television shows but I also only saw them when my roommates watched them (Sorry, Dan and Randy).