Review: The Glorantha Soucebook

The Glorantha Sourcebook by Greg Stafford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An essential entry into the Gloranthan canon, this book contains no rules, just detailed information about the now fifty-year-old world of Glorantha.

Set up as a series of scrolls presented by a Lhankor Mhy priest to a young ruler, the book starts with an overview of the geography of the world. Then comes a detailed history of Dragon Pass, essays on the four Elder Races, a long section on the Gods and their history, a history of the world since time began, The Gods of the Lunar Empire, a history of the Lunar Empire, Glorathan magic and the Runes, a section on Gods and heroes that includes a listing of Heroes recently involved in the world, and finally details about the Sartar Magical Union bands that have helped defeat the Lunar Empire, for now.

The entire thing is filled with rich illustrations supposedly taken from temple walls and palaces illustrating that various events. This really helps reinforce the Late Bronze Age feel of the setting. There are numerous maps, but many of them aren't overly clear and as such are of limited use in understanding how they relate to the text at hand.

If you love Glorantha, this book is for you. If you are running a Runequest game, this is a book you can use to no end as everything in it is information that can be learned with some ease by player-characters. Highly recommended.

May Lhankor Mhy protect and keep this information.



View all my reviews

On writing the Great Traveller Novel

On Facebook the other day I asked the rhetorical question about why shouldn't I write the Great Traveller Novel. This came as I was struggling with a piece I had been working on that needed more damn explanation of the universe to make sense, and I was getting sick of trying to shoehorn in more expository material in without it sounding like a guided tour of my world.

The advantages of writing for Traveller are many. I know the material backward and forward. I have a history as a contributor both as a fan writer and in my small way, as a pro. There is an existing market for Traveller, unlike what I'd face as a first-time author with a new setting.

Plus I think one thing Traveller has lacked over the years is strong fiction support. D&D brought in plenty of new players with their fiction line, and what the Black Library has done for WH40K cannot be understated. I'd like to see some good Traveller novels crack that market.

A few people mentioned the issue of owning intellectual property rights to the title and setting elements. Obviously, I would not go forward without a deal in place with Marc Miller and FFE. If I'm going to do this, I'm doing it right, which means spending money on professional editing and cover design.

Because if I ever only get my name on one science-fiction novel, it's going to be the best I can make it be.