Posted By Veronika Gypsy on Dec 9, 2015 | 13 comments

This holiday season we thought we’d list some of the things that’ve made it on the staff’s gift list and share some of the reasons we think they’re awesome enough to give to others (or to yourself). Some of these we’ve reviewed, some we haven’t, and some we’ll be reviewing soon, but didn’t want you to miss out on them beforehand!

Books

This year has been a pretty amazing year for books and here are a few that really impressed us.

Lost Stars
by Claudia Gray

The consensus here at DGM is that Lost Stars is the BEST Star Wars book written of the new Canon books. Its incredible story brings Star Wars alive in a way that even the movies haven’t been able to do. The fact that Claudia is going to be releasing a new series of Star Wars books next year can only be seen as a wonderful thing. You can read the 5/5 Moons DGM review of Lost Stars here .

Crimson Shore
by Preston & Child

The most gothic modern detective, A.X.L. Pendergast, is back with his most gothic assistant, Constance, to investigate a simple theft—which escalates into murder, covens, cover ups, and monsters! A delightful continuance from last year’s Blue Labyrinth , Crimson Shore will be receiving a 5/5 Moons in our upcoming review!

The Art of Asking
by Amanda Palmer (Audio Version)

Although this one came out last year, it deserves to be mentioned here, because it’s such an incredible book. Be sure to get it on audio book, because the poetry of the book as it’s read by its authoress, as well as the music she weaves in, makes it unbelievably spectacular. (If you’d like to read a review of this great book that our friends at MicroFilmmaker did, check it out here. )

DVD/BluRay

Mad Max: Fury Road
Hailed as the “most metal movie ever created,” Fury Road is also one of the most post-apoc gothic movies made in years! This movie, with a super strong presence in Furiosa as counterpoint to Mad Max, gets your adrenaline flowing and blows your mind. I saw it three times in theaters and definitely have it on my Christmas list!

Star Wars IV, Star Wars V , Star Wars VI – BluRay Steel Books
While you won’t get any special features (other than a few commentary tracks) and you can’t choose to watch a remastered version of the original Un-Special editions, the BluRay steel books are the cleanest and crispest way you can watch and listen to the classic trilogy. Remastered and with incredible audio, these are a must own.

Games

Martial Arts: The Card Game

You’ve seen that we’ve featured Martial Arts: The Card Game as one we’ve recommended. While the core instructions are imperfect, we will be releasing some DGM revised instructions with our review that has made playing this game a true delight. In the meantime, pick it up for you and a loved one and get ready to smack each other into the next galaxy! It will be receiving a 4/5 moons in its upcoming review (or 5/5 moons with the revised instructions)!

Pathfinder Adventure Card Games : Skulls & Shackles

This card game from Paizo, the creators of Pathfinder Roleplaying game, is an unexpected combination of random chance, card gaming prowess, and gaming social interaction. It’s got quite a bit of replayability and should fill the needs of folks who want a very challenging game to sink their teeth into. (Just be prepared for lots of deckbuilding!) This will be receiving a 4/5 moons in its upcoming review.

Wild Wars: Family Battle

Designed by DGM editor JT Hanke, this is a group game that combines the feel of Magic with science and wild animals that you can play with kids as young as 5. I personally have found it a great group game but, as I might be biased, go ahead and read this review from the geeky parenting site, Adventures with my Geeklings to get a fair and balanced perspective on it.

Closing Thoughts

While the holidays can be less pleasant for folks in our dark artistic community, hopefully some fun new games, books, and movies can help make things more pleasant!