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Alright, maybe I'm weird, but I have always loved trying to translate the glyphs scattered about in various Werewolf: the Apocalypse books and I've always loved reading the great myths and legends of the Garou, like the tales in the Wendigo Tribebook. When I heard that the Silver Record was coming out, and better yet, it was coming out with a glyph dictionary in the back, I was ecstatic. I loved the Book of Nod and Revelations of the Dark Mother for Vampire: the Masquerade and I was hoping that this would be in the same tradition. Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed. While the Silver Record is a great book and really useful (especially if you want to make lots of glyphs as handouts to players), it was not everything I'd hoped for it to be.

the touch, the feel…

The Silver Record is a very simple book. There is nothing flashy, other than the glyphs in the background and dictionary. Nor are there any illustrations either. The book stands alone. This is both good and bad in some ways. Sure it allows for more text and focuses on the stories themselves, but it loses the strength that some nice illustrations can provide, like they did in the Vampire: the Masquerade "chapbooks." Legends of the Garou, for example, did quite nicely with some appropriate artwork. I think that this would have been the perfect place to introduce "primitive Garou art" of one sort or another.

The writing itself is one the whole quite good, and carries that essential storytelling feel. Each tale either feels like an old poem or song or has the clear presence of a narrator, which is good for a work like this, as the Garou Nation is a nation of storytelling.

The glyph chapter is very well done as well. It's done simply, clearly, and is very easy to understand. The other parts of the book, when combined with the glyph dictionary, allow one to puzzle out the meaning of almost any glyph, provided some sort of context. It's a great tool in my old game of figuring out which background glyph means what in many of the tales.

chew it up, does it fill the tummy?

Kinda, at least. I have mixed feelings about the book. I love the glyph dictionary, and many of the stories are wonderful (my favorite being the amusing "Evil Comes to the Mocking Trees") but while most of them are good tales, they are not the defining tales of the Silver Record in some ways. I was looking for something more mythic and legendary, on par with Norse and Greek mythology. I was looking for something akin to the tales and parables that permeate all religions.

The Silver Record I expected was basically an excerpt of the whole, being only the most basic of the culture, tales that clearly demonstrate what the Garou believe to be good and what they believe to be bad, tales of creation, of development, and of defining the Garou. I was looking for the kind of summary of Garou culture that a textbook would provide of Greek mythology.

What the Silver Record does provide, however, are many tales from history, both recent and distant. There are some nice stories here, and they can be of inspiration. The best were in the Shame and Kindness sections, I think, although the Creation tales are more in line with the kind of material I was expecting, and quite good as well. I think that this book would best serve as a source for tales to be told at a moot in game (if doing so, I would say that if you read straight it from the book, you're missing the point). In that respect, it works quite well.

The Tale of Our Honored Friends Who have Joined the Mother Gaia

That's how I'd translate the glyph for the Silver Record, at least, and I have to love the book for giving me such a wealth of glyph information, even if the rest of it wasn't the cultural overview I was looking for. It is a solid, well-written book assembled by old hands at the game, but to me, it wasn't quite what I was looking for, sadly. I'm still waiting for more cultural information on the Garou…

- Derek Guder
- Kintaro Oe
- kabael
- kabael's netbook
- the McGuffin Group

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Silver Record
Author: Bill Bridges, Phil Brucato and Ethan Skemp Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Line: Werewolf: the Apocalypse Cost: $14.95 Page count: 125 SKU: WW 3210 Capsule Review by Derek Guder on 01/13/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day Historical Horror Gothic	Alright, maybe I'm weird, but I have always loved trying to translate the glyphs scattered about in various Werewolf: the Apocalypse books and I've always loved reading the great myths and legends of the Garou, like the tales in the Wendigo Tribebook. When I heard that the Silver Record was coming out, and better yet, it was coming out with a glyph dictionary in the back, I was ecstatic. I loved the Book of Nod and Revelations of the Dark Mother for Vampire: the Masquerade and I was hoping that this would be in the same tradition. Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed. While the Silver Record is a great book and really useful (especially if you want to make lots of glyphs as handouts to players), it was not everything I'd hoped for it to be. the touch, the feel… The Silver Record is a very simple book. There is nothing flashy, other than the glyphs in the background and dictionary. Nor are there any illustrations either. The book stands alone. This is both good and bad in some ways. Sure it allows for more text and focuses on the stories themselves, but it loses the strength that some nice illustrations can provide, like they did in the Vampire: the Masquerade "chapbooks." Legends of the Garou, for example, did quite nicely with some appropriate artwork. I think that this would have been the perfect place to introduce "primitive Garou art" of one sort or another. The writing itself is one the whole quite good, and carries that essential storytelling feel. Each tale either feels like an old poem or song or has the clear presence of a narrator, which is good for a work like this, as the Garou Nation is a nation of storytelling. The glyph chapter is very well done as well. It's done simply, clearly, and is very easy to understand. The other parts of the book, when combined with the glyph dictionary, allow one to puzzle out the meaning of almost any glyph, provided some sort of context. It's a great tool in my old game of figuring out which background glyph means what in many of the tales. chew it up, does it fill the tummy? Kinda, at least. I have mixed feelings about the book. I love the glyph dictionary, and many of the stories are wonderful (my favorite being the amusing "Evil Comes to the Mocking Trees") but while most of them are good tales, they are not the defining tales of the Silver Record in some ways. I was looking for something more mythic and legendary, on par with Norse and Greek mythology. I was looking for something akin to the tales and parables that permeate all religions. The Silver Record I expected was basically an excerpt of the whole, being only the most basic of the culture, tales that clearly demonstrate what the Garou believe to be good and what they believe to be bad, tales of creation, of development, and of defining the Garou. I was looking for the kind of summary of Garou culture that a textbook would provide of Greek mythology. What the Silver Record does provide, however, are many tales from history, both recent and distant. There are some nice stories here, and they can be of inspiration. The best were in the Shame and Kindness sections, I think, although the Creation tales are more in line with the kind of material I was expecting, and quite good as well. I think that this book would best serve as a source for tales to be told at a moot in game (if doing so, I would say that if you read straight it from the book, you're missing the point). In that respect, it works quite well. The Tale of Our Honored Friends Who have Joined the Mother Gaia That's how I'd translate the glyph for the Silver Record, at least, and I have to love the book for giving me such a wealth of glyph information, even if the rest of it wasn't the cultural overview I was looking for. It is a solid, well-written book assembled by old hands at the game, but to me, it wasn't quite what I was looking for, sadly. I'm still waiting for more cultural information on the Garou… - Derek Guder - Kintaro Oe - kabael - kabael's netbook - the McGuffin Group Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Silver Record

the touch, the feel…

chew it up, does it fill the tummy?

The Tale of Our Honored Friends Who have Joined the Mother Gaia