> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.onlycastlesburning.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Castle Herald No. V - November 2026 - URL: https://www.onlycastlesburning.com/the-castle-herald-no-v-november-2026/ - Published: 2026-10-30T14:16:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-30T14:16:54.000Z - Description: My October grimoire is not so much full of spells and hexes but of hobbits and mutants. - Author: Keith Pishnery - Tags: Newsletter, Board Games, Music, Books, Television, Inis, The Hobbit There & Back Again, Fate of the Fellowship, DJ Shadow, Brothers, Marble Hall Murders, Lanterns, Small Prophets, The Diplomat, Sorcerer, Dune ![The Castle Herald No. V - November 2026 "It's burning!"](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e9/61/e9610d9f-1c04-4572-a1e2-d9e8ba85b367/content/images/2026/10/castle-herald_No.-V-November-2026.png) The Castle Herald No. V - November 2026 "It's burning!" ## Only Castles Playing ***Inis* (Matagot, 2016):** Haven't played this game in a while and it was nice to win it, considering I got my ass handed to me in [*Long Distance Emergencies*](https://www.onlycastlesburning.com/long-distance-emergencies/). In the dudes on the map genre, this is one of the most unique games out there. It has drafting, territory adding, three different win conditions, a bit of king making, and some of the coolest art in board games. My only quibble with it is the battling seems anticlimactic and extremely consequential at the same time. You can basically force someone to leave and hand you control on a whim. ***The Hobbit: There & Back Again* (Office Dog, 2025)**: Dr. Reiner Knizia returns to Middle-Earth...in a roll & write? Yep, this fairly light game is a lot of fun, and a great puzzle of decisions. Taking your through *The Hobbit* over eight games, you have to make choices on what points you will go for, the speed you'll go through the scenario, and what to deny your opponents. It's clever and a joy. ***Fate of the Fellowship* (Z-Man Games, 2025)**: Finally got to play a full five player game of this and it was a ball! Lots of great cooperative play and tension, especially towards the end. We barely made it and I think it basically took the combined abilities of every character on the board....except Aragorn, who got left behind and didn't do a lot. However, Arwen ended up in the Fellowship and her ability to give any card in a haven came in really handy when we turned Minas Morgul into a haven at the last minute. Hilariously, we had a stack of character meeples rolling into Mordor together at the end. Quite a a What If! ***Old King's Crown* (Eerie Idol Games, 2025):** First time designer who also lushly illustrated the entire game? And help from Cole Wehrle and the Leder Games staff? Makes for quite a compelling project. This game looks like a million dollars (or as Tom Brewster said, "a board ass board game"), but at its heart is a lane battling card game. There's a part of me that wishes the production was a bit less elaborate and that it was closer to a small/medium box card game. It looks amazing on the table and in your hands, and provides a suitably narrative and epic experience, but I really wonder what a distilled version of it would be like? ***My Father's Work* (Renegade Games, 2022)**: A late month spooky game. This elaborate worker placement game was a preorder only extravaganza. It clearly was a labor of love and I think it ultimately succeeded in presenting a story-driven competition between different mad scientists. It takes awhile to get through because you have to do a lot of preliminary experiments before you can start your actual "Work." And the more you experiment, the more the town grows suspicious of you. Watch out! ## Only Castles Listening **DJ Shadow - *Endtroducing 30* (The Bluestone, Columbus, Ohio)**: Another case of me buying tickets for a show in a city two hours away on a Sunday night. Luckily a friend was game to go with me, and we had a lot of fun. The Bluestone is an interesting converted church, which felt appropriate for a crowd who came prepared to really give Shadow his flowers. *Endtroducing* was a seismic event in my musical life, shaping a lot of my taste afterwards. Shadow has a particular taste in samples and drums that I really love. This 30 year tribute show was a worthy remix of the album (aside from dodgy AI visuals in places). I really appreciated how he explained what was different about the construction of this (unarchiving the original disks and having actual stems to work with for the first time). Some songs were recreated fairly close to the album, and some went on wild journeys. One particular highlight I remember was the "Stem/Long Stem" section where he started with [Clams Casino's monumental remix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64f3r1LOLZM&list=RD64f3r1LOLZM&start%5Fradio=1&ref=onlycastlesburning.com), and then rearranged and reprogrammed the whole of it as a dramatic opera of sound. The Columbus crowd was incredibly hyped at this show, by the way. One of the most rapturous responses I've heard at a show. Well deserved. ***Dune* music by Hans Zimmer:** In the wake of the last couple *Dune* part 3 trailers, I've been going back to Zimmer's incredible work on the first two films. I love that he released three separate soundtracks for the first film, because he couldn't stop living in the world. I'm obsessed with Timothee Chalamet's humming in [the first teaser for part 3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3%5F9vCamtuPY&ref=onlycastlesburning.com) and was a bit dismayed that when they finally released [the chant as a single](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92UHxNergwE&list=RD92UHxNergwE&start%5Fradio=1&ref=onlycastlesburning.com), the humming was a different melody (the single uses the love theme)! Hopefully the other melody makes it to the full soundtrack. ## Only Castles Reading ***Wickhills* by Premee Mohamed (Tor Books, 2026):** Slowly reading this one. I like the world and the protagonist, but the plot is a bit vague, with not a lot happening. I will finish this one but I wish that it was hooking me more. ***X-Men: Age of Krakoa* by Kieron Gillen Omnibus (Marvel, 2026)**: I really liked the beginning of the Krakoa stuff with Jonathan Hickman and have dipped back into it a couple times. I had started Gillen's Immortal X-Men, but felt like I was missing a lot. So I'm glad this omnibus puts his whole Sinister storyline together as a cohesive book. It's wild. ## Only Castles Watching ***Brothers* (Apple)**: This is maybe the most self-indulgent actor project on TV right now. Just two IRL friends hanging out in a gorgeous house having fun based on a thing that kinda happened in their own lives. It's hilarious. I have no issue with them going for it, especially since they've decided to parody themselves mercilessly. Every McConaughey scene is basically a send up of his Lincoln commercials. Harrelson is the goofiest he's been in years. ***Lanterns* (HBO)**: I really liked the individual parts, episodes, moments, actors, etc of this series. Chandler and Pierre excel as Hal and John, the supporting cast kills it, there's a cool mystery, lots of comic book easter eggs. However...there's something about the overall season's plot that feels a bit overwrought? Some of the lengths they go to connect things just feel like I'm watching the writer's room work out a problem they got themselves in. I think the issue is having three very strong voices in Mundy, Lindelof, and King, all trying to do different things. "True Detective but Green Lanterns" is a great premise, but these creators seem to have all interpreted the premise differently and I can see that struggle play out a bit in the inconsistencies and gymnastics needed to pull it off. ***Marble Hall Murders* (PBS, 2026)**: I thought the resolution of this one was quite interesting, but I won't go into it, as I highly recommend the series. But suffice to say Anthony Horowitz crafted another great mystery for our erstwhile editor Susan Ryeland. ***Small Prophets* (Apple, 2026)**: They had me at alchemy, but I wasn't prepared for how charming it is. It's an utter delight. The small cast of characters and sweet, small town vibe really sells the stranger happenings going on. Definitely one of the best things I've seen this year. ***The Diplomat* (Netflix, 2026)**: I basically binged this entire new season over a weekend. There's a sense that this show jumped the shark at some point and, to a degree, I both agree and am totally fine with it. There's something about the truly bananas turn of events every couple of episodes that you just have to admire. Also, I mean, it's got so much *West Wing* DNA in it, I can't help but love it. ***Sorcerer* (1977)**: Speaking of bananas, I read about this film in a review of *The Weight* (2026) and it sounded very cool. It did not disappoint. It has that late 70s Coppola/Lucas/Scorcese style that I've always loved and some of the most insane set pieces. The [rope bridge crossing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET%5FMnC%5FpFPs&ref=onlycastlesburning.com) in particular is something that looks like nothing in today's cinema, but when you consider when it was made, it boggles the mind.