Reviews

Tales from the Ninth World by Shanna Germain, Monte Cook

kadomi's review

5.0

This collection of three short stories from the setting of the Numenera RPG is really an excellent way to get a feeling for the setting as such. Set in three different locales, they all definitely enhance the 'weird' element of the Ninth World. The first story is set in a castle that grows every day, the second deals with a rogue addicted to inks in Kaparin, and the final story records that taking shelter from a storm of jellyfish in a strange tower can lead to horrible discoveries.

I liked the storm of jellyfish. It's going to happen in one of my games. For tie-in fiction, this was excellent, if you enjoy weird stuff teetering on the edge of horror.

pastathief's review

3.0

This is a collection of just a few short stories, and in that sense it feels a little "light". Still, it's also inexpensive, so there's a limit to how far that complaint goes. Still, these stories are great introductions to the feel and overall "vibe" of the world of Numenera, and could also certainly serve as inspiration for Numenera GMs who wanted to add their own flavour to their campaigns. Do they stand up as short stories in their own right? Yes and no. They're all somewhat fragmentary, in ways that mostly make sense if you're looking at them as accessories to the game, but which I think make less sense if you were reading this as a totally separate thing. Other than giving you some neat background on the game, they would seem to lack the overall arc of a truly independent story, and I think readers taking them that way would be left slightly unsatisfied. Still, as accessories to a role playing game, they're much better than they really had to be. So I'd put them kind of between the two, and I happily enough sought out the next two short volumes as soon as I finished this one.

jamestomasino's review

4.0

These short stories are a great introduction to the ninth world and will be useful for setting the tone of any games I play in that setting.

shane's review

4.0

Set in a world billions of years in the future, these three short stories are wonderfull little snapshots of a strange world full of weird and wonderfull devices and similarly strange species. They're less complete stories, and more vignettes that give a taste of the setting, since these are all set in the world that's been built for the Numenera RPG.

I enjoyed them. I see there's a novel just been published that I'll probably dive into sooner or later too.