First off, I'd like to applogize to the guys at BlackWyrm games. It had been my intention to get this review out several weeks earlier. My only defense (and it's pretty weak) is that it took me longer to read the PDF version of the book than I had anticipated. I'm not accustomed to reading large volumes of text electronically - and I was too much of slug to print the silly thing. Now, on to the review.

If you're not familiar yet with BlackWyrm Games go take a look. Thier earlier product, The Algernon Files was a character sourcebook released under the M&M Superlink license, and it was pretty cool stuff. Now however, with their second release, BlackWyrm is really starting to show off. There are two versions of this book: an "M&M Superlink" version, and (be still my heart) a 5th Edition Hero System version. Most of this review will be referencing the Hero System version as, not only is the system near and dear to my heart, it's also the one that I am most familiar with. (Note: The Algernon Files has since been released in a Hero System version.)

What is it, man?

The Fires of War, The Algernon Files Volume 2 is (in the word of the authors) a setting supplement. I prefer to think of it as a setting supplement for a setting that (unfortunately) doesn't really exist. This book is chock full of character write-ups (heroes & villains) of Golden-Age supers. This book does not (and does not try to imply that it does) contain all of the information you would need to create a Golden-Age superhero campaign. It does have a nice little one-page introduction on what the Golden-Age is, as well as a handy (although brief) timeline of the era, and a helpful list of era-appropriate weapon stats (each version has stats for the system supported).

The Meat

Ok, I've said its full of characters, but what are they? Well, 33 allies (2 teams and a bunch of independents), 2 villain organization (with a total of 27 villains), and 30 independent villains. Also, vehicles, bases, funky gadgets, followers, and cool related stuff to go along with these characters.

The write-ups are typically two pages (Hero System version) with the first page being "fluff" and the second page actually having the game stats (note: the M&M Superlink version typically fits all of this on a single page). The "fluff" portion of the write-ups is where I was most impressed (by "fluff" I mean that stuff that isn't actually the game system character stats). The character descriptions are well detailed and contain enough information to give you a good handle on the characters, without being so detailed as to hamstring a GM's efforts to integrate the characters into his own campaign. Each writeup features a rather well done illustration (particularly nice in that all of the pics are very clean standard poses that can easily be turned into cardboard figures - for those of us who do that). The illustrations are also done in an art style that (IMO) is very "genre appropriate" - big points for that. Some of the character quotes were a bit on the hokey side (ok, a lot of them were), but for Golden-Age characters this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Many Golden-Age comic book characters (particularly in comics published after the period, but set in it) had hokey speech patterns, so it fits nicely. The typical race, sex, eye color, hair color, height, weight, group affiliations, etc, etc... is a given. The real gem in this section though is the "Public Knowledge" block. This little chart list the key bits that people might know about the character if they have an appropriate knowledge skill, and includes the modifier to the skill roll. Very cool idea that I hope other compaines "borrow."

The "crunchy" portion of the book doesn't disappoint either. The stat write-ups are all wiel done, and my spotchecking of the numbers didn't turn up any major system mistakes (or rooks). Be warned though. The characters in this book are pretty high-powered. 500-600 (Hero System) points is pretty standard throughout the volume, with masterminds and leaders being significantly higher (up around 1000 points). My assumption is that the M&M Superlink versions are powered at a smiliar scale.

What Else?

Pages from History. This cool little six-page summary of "what happened to the characters after the period covered in this book" is a nice touch, giving the GM a good set of tools to help work these characters into the history of a modern-day game. Thumbs-up to whoever had the idea to include this.

Problems

Just a nitpick really. I would like to ahve seem BlackWyrm do color illustations in the printed book (I actually reviewed the PDF versions which have very nice full-colour pictures) - but this would probably increase the price enough to impact potential sale (sigh!).

More?

Personally, this book left me wanting a bit more - as in, another book. I would really enjoy an actual campaign setting reference book built around the characters and plot hints provided in The Fires of War, The Algernon Files Volume 2. Will we ever see it? Who knows. Perhaps if this book sells as well as it should the authors will feel inclided to produce more related material (we can but hope).

Summation

Buy this book. At $29.95 for the Hero System version (228 pages) or $24.95 for the M&M version (128 pages) it's a great addition to your superhero rpg library. Also available as a PDF (see BlackWyrm Games for details).