![]() The book contains two different adventures, which can be used in sequence, or on their own. And yes, one of the reasons you're seeing this review is that, had it not been for my gracious reader, I wouldn't even have been aware of this book's existence. How is this relevant for this book? Well, in all but name, this is the sequel to "The Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom" - it also features the plots of this super-intelligent race of malignant shroom-people. These two also hold up well today, and certainly are compelling yarns. More than 20 modules in the Advanced Adventures series later, I was somewhat surprised to see two sequels to this modern classic released by Expeditious Retreat Press - the two Shadowvein adventures, "Down the Shadowvein", and "The Mouth of the Shadowvein." Both are penned by Joseph browning, and both have some serious appeal, though the change in authors does show in style, as Joseph Browning tends to emphasize a subdued science-fantasy style with a careful and constrained dose of gonzo elements in some of his modules. It is tough, very dense in its presentation, and established the weird as a more pronounced angle in these modules, moving a step away (and back) to certain classics in the history of adventure-writing. It established a lot of things we take for a given when looking at modern modules in the old-school style, including the popularity of concepts that could be likened to a subdued note of weird psychedelica, and the prevalence of mushroom-themes. This was Matthew Finch's "The Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shrooms", and to claim that this module was influential would be an understatement. In order to properly talk about this book, we need to embark on a brief excursion together: In the beginning of the OSR-movement, Expeditious Retreat Press published what may well have been one of the first, or the first OSR-module that you'd usually designate as such. ![]() The softcover is perfect-bound and has its name on the spine, making it convenient to find on the shelf. My review is based on the perfect-bound softcover version, which was sent to me by one of my patreon supporters, with the note to enjoy it, and optionally review it at my convenience, so here we are! I don't own the pdf-version, so I can't comment on that one. This book clocks in at 81 pages of content, already disregarding editorial, etc.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |