Truth, Lies, and the Grey Between - A Review of The Poison Eater

The Poison Eater by Shanna Germain

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This review is based on an ARC of the book, given to me for free by the publisher, Angry Robot Books. This does not in any way affect my review. It is slated for release on January 17, 2017.

This review contains minor spoilers unrelated to larger plot points.

The first computer RPG I ever played was Neverwinter Nights. It would have been Baldur’s Gate, but the latter kept crashing the laptop I installed it on, so I had to uninstall it and put aside any thoughts of trying to play video games on my laptop. I wound up with Neverwinter Nights because a computer tech my family had contacted to help fix and update our desktop computer had a copy, and he graciously installed it at my request so I could play it. Neverwinter Nights was my introduction to the many realms of Dungeons and Dragons. It turned out to be a very enjoyable game, and though I knew nothing of the lore or mechanics of D&D, Neverwinter Nights hooked me and made me a devoted player of RPGs (albeit mostly in video game format).

This is why, while I was browsing Steam, I was drawn to Torment: Tides of Numenera. I was interested in it because I had played Planescape: Torment once before, and since this game is “Planescape’s spiritual successor” I was immediately interested in it. Though the full game isn’t available yet, those who have played the Early Access version praise it quite highly, and I intend to get a copy of it as soon as a full release becomes available. But in the meantime, I decided to look up just what in the world “Numenera” was, and it turns out that it’s a tabletop RPG game that gained some renown in the tabletop gaming world around 2013 to 2014. The world is built around a combination of sci-fi and fantasy elements, with a post-apocalyptic touch of the kind that has become rather popular recently in pop culture.

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