
You don’t need to save the world to be the hero of a story

Hi, I’m Bear Wiseman
Welcome to the Wiseman Wiki Wormhole that is my website!
(I’m clearly very photogenic!)
This is my little personal corner of the internet—a chaos space where the too-many things in my brain spawn to life. Whether it’s random flash fiction, critical reviews of anything under the sun, or deep-dive podcast interviews about art and geekdom, you’ll find it here... somewhere. Here’s a quick guide!
Creative Writing: From the low-fantasy world of The Vitmar Chronicles, to the emotionally rich Islands of Nightsea children’s series, and into deep personal prose, writing is the heart and soul of who I am.
Bear’s Reviews: I started out in music journalism, but it was too restricting, so I went solo and branched out! I review everything from albums and live events, TV & movies, games of all sorts, the odd book, and even an occasional eco-friendly product.
Off the Record Interviews: Band interviews! I try to steer away from generic release-season chats and dig deeper into artistry itself, but sometimes the release cycle wins. Either way, it’s all a little on and off the record.
Gathering of Geeks: A podcast where the coolest people in the world tell me about how and why they became such glorious geeks.
Personal Musings: From travel blogs to deeper insights and music scene advice, my personal blog is where I put my deeper thoughts on life, writing, and everything in between. Oh, and sometimes my friends hijack the mic, and I enable this!

The Vitmar Chronicles vol I: An Ending & A Beginning
~ OUT NOW ~
The Vitmar Chronicles vol I: An Ending & A Beginning ~ OUT NOW ~
My 2008 fantasy opus, “The Vitmar Chronicles,” finally sees the light of day! This is a low fantasy slice-of-life story that promotes the idea that you don’t need to save the world to be the hero of your own story.
There will be monsters…

Bear’s Creative Writing
After the Shatterclysm, a recently deceased person and a psychopomp find themselves uncertain about the future.
A Nightsea short story about life and new beginnings
After the Shatterclysm, the whole of existence needed normalize, but grief and loss overwhelms many of the survivors. Fortunately, they have the singer to help them, though the toll of their healing may be more than anyone expected
A Nightsea short story about survival

Bear Reviews Albums & Live Events
A report of the Tampere Philharmonic performing a selection of video game music suites live at Tampere-talo in Tampere on March 28th, 2025
Marko Hietala’s Roses from the Deep Tour with special guest Noora Louhimo live at in Finland, February 2025
Arottenbit, Machinae Supremacy, and Master Boot Record live at Ääniwalli on February 1st, 2025
A review of Marko Hietala’s second solo album, “Roses from the Deep,” out February 7th, 2025
A music review of Lasse Soundblaster’s debut album, “On tapahtumassa räjähdys,” out January 23rd, 2025
A report of Johanna & Mikko Iivanainen’s Christmas show featuring Maria Kalaniemi & Timo Alakotila live at Kaukasten Juhlatalo in Hyvinkää on December 14th, 2024
A report of Johanna Kurkela from her joulun lauluja tour, live at Tampereen Tuomiokirkko on December 7th, 2024

Personal Musings (blog)
The fourth and final installment of my travel blog from my week in the USA, covering January 19th-21st, 2025
The third installment of my travel blog from my week in the USA, covering January 18th, 2025
The second installment of my travel blog from my week in the USA, covering January 17th, 2025
The first installment of my travel blog from my week in the USA, covering January 14-16th, 2025
What to do and not do when interacting with music medias and bloggers when trying to promote your band…
A guest travel blog from Vantaa, Turku, Tampere, Lappeenranta, and Helsinki from Kathy Criswell
What to do and not do when interacting with music medias and bloggers when trying to promote your band…

Bear Wiseman’s Gathering of Geeks
Bear Wiseman’s Gathering of Geeks continues its second season! Season 02, episode 03 starts with special geek Vincent Lilium of SulfuriS! The main topics include geekdom, how JK Rowling should STFU, Star Wars, Avatar (The Last Airbender & Legend of Korra) and its new remake, the live action One Piece remake, alchemy, and so very much more!
Gathering of Geeks: Trivia Showdown featuring Robin La Joy, Johanna Kurela, and Martijn Westerholt of Eye of Melian
Bear Wiseman’s Gathering of Geeks’ cotinues its second season after a brief hiatus! Season 02, episode 02 starts with special geek James Edward Raggi IV, a fellow former metal media owner! The episode starts with him sharing his history in music and OSR and continues as we discuss controversy, music, and games!
Bear Wiseman’s Gathering of Geeks reaches its second season after a brief hiatus! Season 02, episode 01 starts with special geek Kathy Criswell, a visual and written artist! The main topics include Xena: Warrior Princess, being book-obsessed kids, life online in the ‘90s, online fanclubs and collections, early internet videos and misheard lyrics, extended universes, and positivity, art, and passion!
Bear Wiseman’s Gathering of Geeks podcast continues! Episode 15 wraps up the first year with special geek Andy Gillion, a heavy metal and somewhat geeky musician! The main topics include growing up a little bit different, going through religions and bullying, and of course, a little bit of retro gaming!
Bear Wiseman’s Gathering of Geeks podcast continues! Episode 14 features special geek May Lo, who is a multifaceted artist! The main topics include modeling and art, including makeup and body image, being a geek generally, TTRPGs (Mörk Borg, Dungeons & Dragons, Avatar), Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra, and being fantasy-lovers who have grown more and more interested in sci-fi over the years.
Bear Wiseman’s Gathering of Geeks podcast continues! Episode 13 features special geek John Mondelli aka John Sprocket of The Cog Is Dead. The main topics include steampunk, being a weird kid who doesn’t fit in, music making, filmmaking, voice acting and voice actors, the convention scene in America, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Bear Wiseman’s Gathering of Geeks podcast continues! Episode 12 features special geeks Henna Helasvuo and Lasse Turunen of Pihka is My Name. The main topics include Miyazaki and Pixar movies, video games (like Legend of Zelda), A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and much more!
Bear Wiseman’s Gathering of Geeks podcast continues! Episode 11 features special geek artist & graphic designer Jouni Koponen. The main topics cover a lot of territory, including video games, movies, and tabletop roleplaying games. Spoiler warnings for some games and series, but nothing too new/relevant.

Off the Record with Bear Wiseman
Interview with Arjen Lucassen and Robert Soeterboek (Plan Nine, Ayreon, Star One, etc.) by Bear Wiseman, conducted in May 2024 but released in February 2025
Off the Record podcast interview with Johanna Kurkela, Timo Kurkela, and Troy Donockley by Bear Wiseman
Off the Record podcast interview with Mikko Salovaara of Kiuas (Daimonic, Leverage) by Bear Wiseman
Off the Record podcast interview with Anniina Lotvonen & Tomi Raikaslehto of Vies Vignette by Bear Wiseman
Off the Record email interview with Johanna Kurkela and Johanna Iivanainen of Altamullan Road by Kathy Criswell

Bear Wiseman’s Gathering of Geeks continues its second season! Season 02, episode 04 stars special geek Miikka Hujanen of Crimson Sun! The main topics include