Fantastic Metropolis

Nemonymous, D. F. Lewis (Editor)

I don’t know what else I can write about Nemonymous that I haven’t said already. Obsessed as I am with nailing down an original idea, I totally envy Des Lewis for coming up with this, a magazine/anthology where all stories are printed anonymously. (But only temporarily, as authors are properly “denemonised” when the time is right.) The concept behind Nemonymous might sound a little crazy, but it works, as it allows real talent to shine through without the encumbrance of a reputation (or the lack of one). Because of this, it may not appeal to writers whose ego has a will of its own, though I suspect some may yet succumb due to curiosity. Besides, it’s fun as hell trying to guess who wrote what—so far, I only get points for spotting Rhys Hughes, although his style is so characteristic, he doesn’t really need a name..

Não Estamos Divertidos, João Barreiros

(Hyperdrive, 2002)

Não estamos divertidas (“We Are Not Amused”) are Queen Victoria’s famous last words before a Martian heat ray burns her to a crisp in the opening paragraphs of this novelette. João Barreiros writes infrequently, but when he does, he makes sure no one’s left indifferent. Asked to write “a very short story about Mars”, but unwilling to reinvent the wheel in a setting already left barren by dozens of authors before him, Barreiros decided that if he would pinch someone’s ideas, that someone would have to be himself. So he went back to a previous novelette of his, “A Verdadeira Invasão dos Marcianos” (“The Real Martian Invasion”), and came up with a wild parallel plot where Wells, Verne and Burroughs—along with some of their famous characters—are sent on a post-modern mission to Mars in order to investigate the causes of the alien attack. Both novelettes deserve to be translated into English and published in the old Ace Double format, as they can be read in either order and affect how the other story is perceived. Until then, they’ll remain the sole privilege of Lusophone readers who download the PDF e-book here.

Les Cités Obscures, François Schuiten & Benoît Peeters

I’m helplessly hooked on this fantastic bande dessinée series by Belgian duo Schuiten & Peeters (with many thanks to Prof. João Ventura for showing me the Passage). The artwork is amazing, meticulously conveying the unique feel and atmosphere of each city in this Borgesian, Kafkaesque parallel universe, ever full of knowledgeable references to architecture, literature, art, and politics. On the downside, a few of the books aren’t as bold as they could be, while the overzealous Brüsel, for instance, misses the mark and instead leans towards the irrationally technophobic. Still, Les Cités Obscures are definitely outstanding, and an essential cycle in the universe of the Ninth Art. Learn more at Urbicande.be.

Nobilis (2^nd Edition), Rebecca Sean Borgstrom

(Hogshead Publishing, 2002)

Nobilis is the most beautiful role-playing game I’ve ever seen, and I guarantee that just reading the rulebook is well worth the cover price. Forget all the bad stuff you’ve heard about RPGs before—this one is special. In this game, and to put it in extremely simple terms, players become Powers, a collection of near-mythological beings who personify certain aspects of reality, and are charged with protecting them against the attacks of an army of un-beings from Beyond with nothing on their minds but the total obliteration of the universe. The setting and characters are strongly influenced by Neil Gaiman, Roger Zelazny, Tim Powers, and even Lord Dunsany, in addition to a spattering of myths from around the world. And while the overwhelming power granted on the player characters would ruin most game sessions, both system and setting deal with these issues in an elegant way that discourages abuse. Besides, it’s a diceless game, which means conflict is resolved strictly through role-play rather than roll-play. Unfortunately, Nobilis now appears to be unavailable everywhere, although a reprint is due out soon from its new publisher, Guardians of Order.