Originally Written July 2001

For nearly three years now, Kenneth Hite has been writing Suppressed Transmissions – a column which can be found, each and every week, in the digital pages of Pyramid Magazine.

For those of you unfamiliar with the column, I find it almost impossible to explain the experience: Hite takes a plethora of historical fact, teases it out with imaginative alternatives, spices it with every possible nuance of conspiracy, stirs in a bit of secret history, adds a touch of horror, and creates a potent brew. Each and every one of these columns – grouped about a particular idea (Jack the Ripper, Joan of Arc, the Knights Templer, Crystal Skuills, etc.) – contains half a dozen ideas. Each of these ideas could provide weeks of campaigning, and are possessed of a singular stamp of quality.

But that description alone does not do justice to the true brilliance which is churned out – week after week – by this remarkable man. Hite is not only preeminently creative, he is steeped in knowledge which boggles the mind – and the interstice between the two which is Suppressed Transmissions – defies any expectation I could hope to create in your minds.

In short: A better wellspring of ideas you will not find.

The book being reviewed here is the second collection of these superb columns – covering the period from April 1999 to March 2000, with columns grouped together by common theme (Alternate History; Enigmatic Explanations; Men, Myths, and Monsters; Peculiar Places; and Clashing Symbols). However, as many of you probably already know, all of these columns can already be accessed (along with the rest of Pyramid’s archive) by subscribing to the magazine for $15 a year. So why would you spend $20 buying this collection (or the first one)?

Because Ken Hite is even smarter than I thought. Suppressed Transmissions 2 uses the standard SJG format – main text supplemented by a sidebar on every page. And each and every sidebar – on each and every page – is crammed to the gills with copious footnotes. For this collection, Hite has copiously gone back into each and every column and supplemented it with additional research, interesting digressions, and interconnections.

This material is invaluable, and represents an incredible value.

So, by all means, subscribe to Pyramid and check the column out first. But if you are as captivated with it as everyone else who has ever read it, then you’re going to want to track down these collected volumes as soon as possible.

In short, again: Suppressed Transmissions is essential for any GM’s library.

Grade: A+

Like my review of Hera & Zeus, this was originally written for Games Unplugged magazine, but I can’t find any record of it actually being published despite, if I recall correctly, having a review copy supplied by the magazine. Based on its length, I believe this review would have been originally intended for Games Unplugged‘s webzine rather than the print magazine.

I had completely forgotten writing this review when I wrote a new review of both Suppressed Transmission volumes back in 2023. Unsurprisingly, neither my opinion of the book nor my superlatives were much altered, but it’s still interesting comparing both reviews, written with more than decades between them.