Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Bibliography



Here is a preview of the Media Guide and Bibliography as it will appear in the upcoming Otherverse America campaign setting. The following include lots of non-fiction reference I drew upon while writing Otherverse America and works of fiction- books, movies, comics and even other games that I feel capture something that feels like Otherverse America in some intangible way.

Media Guide

As unique a setting as Otherverse America is, running a campaign in it can be difficult. The sourcebooks not only reference this revised corebook and the D20 Modern ruleset, but they also require an understanding not only of neo-paganism but Evangelical Christianity. For readers unfamiliar with either subculture, building the world might seem a bit daunting. Here’s a list of recommended media and partial bibliography of Otherverse America.

Non Fiction (Paganism)
The Goddess: An Illustrated Guide to the Divine Feminine; Shahrukh Husain, 1997
Motherpeace: A Way to the Goddess though Art, Magic and Tarot; Vicki Noble, 1983
Magic in Ancient Egypt, Geraldine Pinch, 1994.
Pagan Rites of Passage; Pauline & Dan Campanelli, 1998
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology; Arthur Cotterell, Rachel Storm, 1999
The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets: Barbara G. Walker, 1996
Witchcraft Today; Gerald Gardner, 1972
Wiccan Warrior, The Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca; Kerr Cuhulain, 2000

Non Fiction (Abortion and Evangelical Politics)
Caught in the Crossfire: A Year on Abortion’s Front Line; Sue Hertz, 1991
Perfect Enemies; Chris Bull, John Gallagher, 1996
Targets of Hatred: Anti-Abortion Terrorism; Patricia Baird-Windle, Eleanor Bader, 2001
Wrath of Angels: The American Abortion War; James Risen, Judy Thomas, 1998
A Woman’s Book of Choices; Rebecca Chalker, Carol Downer, 1992
Why I Am An Abortion Doctor, Dr. Suzanne Poppema, 1996
Slacktivist Website. http://www.patheos.com/community/slacktivist/

Fiction
The Burke novel series (Strega, Down in the Zero, ect), Andrew Vachss, 1985-present
The Enigma Variations, John Maddox Roberts, 1989.
The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood, 1985
The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley, 1982
Neuromancer, William Gibson, 1984.
The Night’s Dawn Trilogy; Peter F. Hamilton, 1996.
Rainbow Six and others; Tom Clancy, 1998

Games (Pen and Paper and Electronic)
Aberrant, White Wolf Games, 1999
Final Fantasy X and X-2, Square-Enix, 2001, 2003.
The Metal Gear Solid series, Konami, 1998-2009
Rifts, Palladium Games, 1990
The Street Fighter series, Capcom, 1992-present

Graphic Fiction
Battle Angel Alita and others, Yukito Kishiro, 1994-present
Daredevil vol 1, issues 236-291, Ann Nocenti, Rick Leonardi, John Romita Jr.
Ghost in the Shell, GITS II: Man/Machine Interface, Shirow Masamune, 1991-2004.
Iron Man: Extremis, Warren Ellis, Adi Gradnov, 2003.
Legion of Superheroes vol 4, Tim & Mary Bierbaum, Keith Griffen, 1990-1995
The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the 21st Century, Frank Miller, Dave Gibbons, 2010
Spiderman 2099, Peter David, Rick Leonardi, 1993-1997
The Red Star, Christian Gosssett, 1999-2004
Transmetropolitian (esp Vol. 2: Lust for Life), Warren Ellis, Derrick Robertson, DC Comics
The Ultimates, Volumes I & II; Mark Millar, Brian Hitch, 2000-2003
X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda; Chris Claremont, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, ect, 1991
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills; Chris Claremont, Butch Guice, 1981.
X-Men: Second Coming; various, 2010.

Film and Television
13 Days
Aeon Flux (film and TV series)
A Few Good Men
The Aliens film series
Appleseed
Avatar
Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi Channel series)
Blackhawk Down
Boondock Saints
Cyborg
Death Proof
Enemy at the Gates
Final Fantasy: Advent Children
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
The Golden Compass
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Iron Man
If These Walls Could Talk
La Femme Nikita
The Matrix Trilogy (especially Reloaded)
Minority Report
Rambo (2008)
Repo: The Genetic Opera
Robocop
Silent Hill
Serenity
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Species
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Transformers (2008)
Way of the Gun
The X-Men Trilogy (especially X-3)

Blessed Be,
CHRIS

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey, Chris! That's *Vachss*, not Vacchs. And the first book, Flood, was 1985. Thanks for the nod!

Mister O said...

Hi I am a fan of your Otherverse America setting, probably one of the most unique near-future/transhuman settings out there.

There are a few items on your list that seem a bit odd to me in order of confusion, from least to greatest:
Death Proof
The Golden Compass
Star Wars Episode 1
Talledega Nights: Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Chris A. Field said...

O,

I picked Death Proof because its' a feminist slasher movie, and most of it is about the power of female friendship. The last half the movie is about quick, daring women taking down a single hulking misogynist threat who decorates his war machine with a death motif. Kinda spot on for the setting.

The Golden Compass is about a rebellion against a repressive theocracy, and the visuals are amazing. Plus, Nicole Kidman has never been sexier, and she plays a perfect Ellen Dacoveney in that movie.

Star Wars Ep I is all about the visuals. Lucasfilm designed Naboo based on Art Nouveau and the works of Alphonse Mucha especially,and I drew on those same elements for the Choicers. When you're seeing Naboo on screen you're pretty much seeing the Choicer Covenant.

Finally, Talledega Nights is an amazing satire of Southern, white Christianity. There's alot about it that reminds me of the Lifer Enclaves.

CHRIS

Chris A. Field said...

Oh, thanks to Lou for pointing out the typo in Andrew Vachss name. I am an absolutely horrific speller, and non-standard words not in my computer's dictionary just about kill me.