Recommend Some Books

I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned A Game of Thrones, have you read that Jeff? I'll be honest in that I'm critical of the series on a number of points, but I also find it compelling and hard to let go. Still, considering your comments about gaming universes and looking for a multiplayer LCG, A Game of Thrones might be your ticket.

I enjoyed THE WIZARD KNIGHT immensely. It's like the Thor origin story told as it happens. The main character basically becomes a myth, but told from his often confused point of view.

I just finished THE SCARLET GOSPELS by Clive Barker. It starts great--he really is good at the set up. But it gets awkward as it goes along and introduces more characters. Harry D'Amour, supernatural detective, is the lead and he's fine, but the supporting cast is pretty shit outside of that. He doesn't keep Pinhead alien enough and makes Hell seem kind of mundane. He has one character with an interesting arc and then just drop him like a bag of dirt about halfway through. Very disjointed. That said, I recommend IMAJICA and THE GREAT AND SECRET SHOW as fantasy. They are really cool ideas and written very well.

The Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey is trashy fun. A guy gets betrayed by his fellow dabblers in magic and prematurely sent to Hell, where he eventually ends up serving as a gladiator. At the start of the series, he has escaped from Hell and returned to Los Angeles, seeking vengeance. Lots of action and some interesting ideas. Stylistically, Kadrey comes across as a macho hipster version of Clive Barker.