Fire Brigade

 It felt a bit odd painting these fiery minis while the temperatures outside reach their annual peak. The new sculpts for Arcanist minis are pretty well designed and the flames are places in a way that adds a lot of dynamism.The Fire Golem is a believe a third version I've painted so far. No airbrush was used - I initially planned to do so but became frustrated after it got clogged again and ended up using brush only. I've used more flue colors this time. While their pigment is a bit weaker, adding a few layers affects how the overall brightness is perceived and adds a nice touch.

#12/2020 The Second Sleep

The idea is quite interesting - the middle-ages setting gains more depth as some "artifacts" of the ancients are discussed. Those artifacts are items of everyday use such as fragments of glass and an iPhone...

The main character, a priest, arrives at a remote village to conduct burial ceremonies but quickly learns that there are more layers to what apparently seems like a natural death. 

This novel had huge potential. Setting that initially reminded me of "The Name of the Rose", mysterious catastrophe in the  but despite that I never felt too involved in the story while I was following it.

#13/2020 The Book of Basketball

I've been an avid fan of basketball for years so this book felt like an obligatory choice. What I value most from it was the fascinating account of Wilt Chamberlain - Bill Russell rivalry and a pretty obvious conclusion as to why Bill should be ranked as the best ever. Apart from it there is the famous "pyramid", a ranking of 50 top players in the NBA history. Language at times feels a bit blunt and a bit too colloquial but overall a very good read that I'd recommend especially to those who value some of today's players who excel only at one end of the floor ;)

Averon Stormsire

My first ever attempt at NMM on armor, followed by tutorial published by Age of Squidmar on his youtube channel. Still more yellow than gold but there are sections that don't look too bad I think. Completely different than my typical style but it was an interesting exercise for sure. If anything, it has caused me to have more respect for those who have really mastered this technique.

#11/2020 I Love This Game

Basketball has always been a game I enjoyed both playing and watching most. This book is a story of how one of the most popular Polish websites about the NBA came to be. It also adds a highly personal touch as the author digs deep into his personal experiences along the way. 

Plenty of stories about players and organizations that show how passionate the author is about the NBA. No chapters and sections, written in a steam-of-consciousness-like style.

Highly recommended read for all basketball fans out there (in Polish only unfortunately!).

#10/2020 If It Bleeds...

This collection of 4 stories by King is probably the best I've read from him in years. Each one is distinctly different both in content and in style.

"Mr. Harrigan’s Phone" is the one that immediately made me feel at home as a Constant Reader. A story of growing up, great portrayal of suburbs. The unnatural/horror elements are subtly introduced and don't break the flow of the narrative in any way. 

"The Life of Chuck" has a unique structure as it's divided into 3 parts that move from present to past. A bit puzzling but immensely engrossing. It features King's rare philosophical approach to life and more abstract pondering on the nature of life and death.

“Rat” is another story by King in which the main character is a writer. It seems to me that he really excels in such situations. Here we have questionable sanity of a man who locks himself up in a remote house where he wants to write a new novel. He becomes ill and we are left to guess which parts are feverish hallucinations and which are actually there.

“If It Bleeds” can be treated as a direct continuation of "Outsider". Anyone who enjoyed this cast of characters and detective + supernatural fiction will enjoy it. I'm not a huge fan but it was a pretty enjoyable read nonetheless.

Wardruna and Aurora - Helvegen