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The Whisperer Call of Cthulhu/Mythos Fanzine £3.50

Devoted to all things Lovecraftian, The Whisperer is a new British fanzine. Almost 32 pages - it suffers slightly from white page syndrome, this is black and white, with a sprinkling of Paul Carrick's muddily reproduced atmospheric art, some of which has graced recent Chaosium books. In particular, his cover is quite eye-catching.

Inside the contents are decent, though not spectacular. The situation of the 'Ephraim Mortimer & Sons' funeral home as described is a cliché and far better handled in Pagan Publishing's superb 'Realm of Shadows' campaign book. Rik Kershaw-Moore's article on adding psychic powers to Call of Cthulhu offers an alternative to the rules given in Pagan Publishing's 'Delta Green: Countdown' and 'Coming Full Circle' books, but it is not as comprehensive as those books. The first scenario, Garrie Hall's 'A Once And Future King' is a two-part sequel to Pagan Publishing's 'The Golden Dawn' supplement and whilst solid enough, it would be difficult to run without that book. The second part will be in the second issue of the fanzine. That The Whisperer aims to encompass all of the CoC publishers is much to the fanzine's credit.

Gary Smith's 'The Blanford Horror' is a traditional 1920s CoC adventure. This requires a re-write if only to give it clarity - what exactly is going on needs to be explained before a description of the investigation is given. Also, to my taste, the protagonists are just a little over powerful. The Whisperer is rounded out with the first of a series on playing the Mythos CCG in tournaments, an interview with Paul Garrick, an uninteresting NPC and a fun listing of 'Carry On Cthulhu' films.

Overall, the debut issue of The Whisperer is rather good, and thankfully suffers only slightly from the typical teething problems of a first issue. Experience, proof-reading and a stronger editorial hand will all easily put these to rest. There is quality here that bodes well for The Whisperer's future, and if the team behind it can continue this, then The Whisperer should be worth coming back to.

For more information contact:

Mike Mason/Severn Valley Press, 18 Loughton Road, Bradwell Village, Milton Keynes, MK13 9AA, UK

whisperer@starrywisdom.freeserve.co.uk

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 3 (Average)

The Whisperer
Author: Mike Mason (Editor) Category: magazine Company/Publisher: Severn Valley Press Line: Call of Cthulhu Cost: £3.50 Page count: 36 Playtest Review by Pookie on 08/06/00. Genre tags: Modern day Historical Horror	The Whisperer Call of Cthulhu/Mythos Fanzine £3.50 Devoted to all things Lovecraftian, The Whisperer is a new British fanzine. Almost 32 pages - it suffers slightly from white page syndrome, this is black and white, with a sprinkling of Paul Carrick's muddily reproduced atmospheric art, some of which has graced recent Chaosium books. In particular, his cover is quite eye-catching. Inside the contents are decent, though not spectacular. The situation of the 'Ephraim Mortimer & Sons' funeral home as described is a cliché and far better handled in Pagan Publishing's superb 'Realm of Shadows' campaign book. Rik Kershaw-Moore's article on adding psychic powers to Call of Cthulhu offers an alternative to the rules given in Pagan Publishing's 'Delta Green: Countdown' and 'Coming Full Circle' books, but it is not as comprehensive as those books. The first scenario, Garrie Hall's 'A Once And Future King' is a two-part sequel to Pagan Publishing's 'The Golden Dawn' supplement and whilst solid enough, it would be difficult to run without that book. The second part will be in the second issue of the fanzine. That The Whisperer aims to encompass all of the CoC publishers is much to the fanzine's credit. Gary Smith's 'The Blanford Horror' is a traditional 1920s CoC adventure. This requires a re-write if only to give it clarity - what exactly is going on needs to be explained before a description of the investigation is given. Also, to my taste, the protagonists are just a little over powerful. The Whisperer is rounded out with the first of a series on playing the Mythos CCG in tournaments, an interview with Paul Garrick, an uninteresting NPC and a fun listing of 'Carry On Cthulhu' films. Overall, the debut issue of The Whisperer is rather good, and thankfully suffers only slightly from the typical teething problems of a first issue. Experience, proof-reading and a stronger editorial hand will all easily put these to rest. There is quality here that bodes well for The Whisperer's future, and if the team behind it can continue this, then The Whisperer should be worth coming back to. For more information contact: Mike Mason/Severn Valley Press, 18 Loughton Road, Bradwell Village, Milton Keynes, MK13 9AA, UK whisperer@starrywisdom.freeserve.co.uk Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 3 (Average)