Tuesday, December 30, 2014
2015 - A Feast of Fantasy?
It might not become the year of The Winds of Winter, but for those of us who love good fantasy, the year is shaping up to be quite solid without Mr. Martin as well. Now, if you look at this "Can't Wait for..." - list on Goodreads for the next year, you'll notice that The Winds of Winter is present but that's of course because of hope, not because anyone has said anything definitive about a release date. I'm not saying we won't get another novel in our beloved saga in '15, because he might just surprise us all, theoretically speaking at least. There are a few other titles too that I'm not too sure we'll see, but if we for a moment imagine that all these books will be published in the year to come, we do have a real feast of fantasy ahead of us.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
[Re-read] Samwell V: The Choice is Sam's, actually. Kind of, anyway.
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How did it come to this? |
At so many points I could only laugh at the silliness - grumpy Legolas, overacted Galadriel, the menace of the Ringwraiths reduced to cartoon-like silliness, Tauriel's unconvincing love, the need to overdo everything (towers falling to neatly wedge between two cliffs to form a bridge), Azog's swim beneath the ice, it was all so fricking soulless. Boo/hiss!
I suppose I could go on and write a grand dissertation about why I feel the Hobbit trilogy doesn't do justice to the source material, or even Jackson's own The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The films manage to both be overwhelmingly epic and detailed and at times beautiful yet they are never exciting or all that interesting; they are frustrating but not nearly as frustrating as the Star Wars prequel trilogy was, fortunately. The biggest sin, I think, is that The Battle of the Five Armies felt more like I was watching a Dungeons & Dragons film (we even got a token Scottish Dwarf) than a piece based on J.R.R. Tolkien's works. Enough about that, I've got to counter this dose of bad fantasy with some good fantasy. And what's better than A Storm of Swords? Not much, I reckon.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Wrapping up '14
However, last night I had a total geekout when I took my firstborn to witness an orchestra play the music of Star Wars. It was brilliant, though I'll never understand why they omitted playing Han Solo and the Princess, perhaps my favorite theme from the saga. Not complaining, though; we got music from the entire saga and the orchestra performed it flawlessly. In addition, the performance was enhanced by people from the Nordic 501st Legion in full suits. Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Jango Fett, C-3P0 and more made it a memorable night for both father and son. Also, it made me want to get my own high quality suit and join the legion. Oh yes, the Star Wars fanboy in me is fully awake these days and it's probably only going to get more intense in the year to come. Have you felt it?! The dark side...and the light.
Still, A Song of Ice and Fire has a special and large part of my heart as well, despite all the obstacles the franchise throws in my way; the long waits between novels, the half-baked merchandise (okay, okay, there are a few gems as well). Today I visited a LFGS (local friendly game shop) and there was a lot of Game of Thrones-stuff there (particularly all kinds of drinking gadgets - cups, steins, shot glasses...) but I am more fond of the stuff that's based on the books than the TV show. I almost bought the 2015 calendar but eventually I ended up with Steven Erikson's latest novella, The Wurms of Blearmouth, completing my collection of all things Malazan. I wrapped it in gift paper and won't open it until Christmas eve, though. Gives me the time to finish Assassin's Apprentice, Willfull Child and The Companions on the Kindle. So that's one Christmas present down, a whole lot to go. But as always, the best Christmas present would be an announcement on a certain blog that is not a blog about a certain finishing of a certain novel. I'd definitely yell hooray for that.
Before I've often done an "End of the Year" post trying to summarize good geek-stuff from the year. This year I'm going to keep it short. Just like I've felt 2014 has been: Short. Time flies. Here's a list of things I thought made being a geek extra nice in the year that was.
1. Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens teaser trailer
Rekindling my love for the original trilogy with an 88-second blast, the teaser was more than I had hoped for after the soul-crushing disappointment of the prequel trilogy. It has completely occupied my thoughts since it was released two weeks ago, as you might have noticed. I just can't help but love this stuff.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
What a fun movie that was. I still haven't re-watched it, a blu-ray copy is on my Christmas wish list so I'm hoping to see it again soon (and hopefully it's just as enjoyable then).
3. Legend of Grimrock 2
The only game that has kept me hooked until the grim finish line this year (though this is mostly due to my crappy computer not being good enough to really enjoy a few other promising titles such as Divinity: Original Sin). I love me some dungeon-crawling and this game provides it to the point that I got sick of it.
4. Mark Lawrence's Prince of Fools
In my humble opinion the best fantasy novel of the year. I voted for it on the Goodreads Awards.
5. The World of Ice and Fire (at least the half I've read so far)
After all the negative things I've said about this work, it still ended up being a fairly hefty tome of lore, with some absolutely amazing artwork and some very interesting details nestled in there for the starving fan of Ice & Fire.
So...with only five notables, I have to say that 2014 perhaps was a bit of a lean year for the fan of all things nerdy. Dungeons & Dragons returned with its 5th edition but I never felt an impact. A number of fantasy novels were good, but not great (Joe Abercrombie's Half a King deserves a honorable mention). There were probably a lot of great video games (Dragon Age Inquisition perhaps?) but until I can scramble together enough money for a good rig, they are lost to me (boohoo).
2015 on the other hand sounds pretty fantastic already with a new Malazan book from Steven Erikson, that Star Wars movie, a new season of Thrones, and, fingers crossed, maybe please maybe The Winds of Winter? I'm not counting on it, but a man must hope. Valar mohopefulness.
Friday, December 5, 2014
[Re-read] Tyrion XI: Dysfunction Prevails
Five days and my life is still distorted from the disruption of the Star Wars teaser trailer; last night, however, I was able to focus and read another chapter in Assassin's Apprentice as well as another chapter in Willfull Child, and today I'm ready to re-enter the gritty, treacherous, exciting world that George R.R. Martin dreamed up for the enjoyment of us all. It's a good thing it's arguably the story's most entertaining character leading this 78th chapter of A Storm of Swords. If anyone can keep me sane in the aftermath of Black Friday, it's Tyrion Lannister.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
So how goes the game in all of this?
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A tantalizing, hype-inducing image of awesomeness and then some! Can't wait. |
Anyway, this also tends to overshadow my love for A Song of Ice and Fire which I technically find a more impressive cultural expression/story, but all I really need to do is go to George's website to get that magical feeling of Westeros to the fore of my brain. I mean, there's this insanely interesting post where George is displeased with a sports team (so he does know what it feels like to be let down by something/someone he is a fan of); he also has no words regarding another sports team; and in case you thought the man had learned anything about treating his fans there's even more Wild Cards to be advertised. Right. Well, say what you will about American football teams not performing well enough, I think George could perform a little better himself. If Martin can be entitled, so can I and any other reader disappointed with the man's lack of progress and the lack of communication with the people who carried him on their shoulders all the way to worldwide fame and embarrassing riches.
Before I get too pessimistic, Telltale Games are releasing a Game of Thrones (yes, based on the TV series) video game, simply titled Game of Thrones: A Telltale Game Series, Season One. This review at PC Gamer (UK) gives me a little hope that we will actually see our first worthwhile game based on Martin's intellectual property. Unfortunately you can't build your own character(s) or House, nor is it truly a CRPG the way I ravishingly love them, but a good point'n'click adventure could be a nice addition to the collection. I'm still hoping someone takes the rules system for Green Ronin's A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Game and translates it to a more free-form CRPG (or even a strategy MMO where players create their Houses on small servers, interacting on several levels - as political leaders, inhabiting family members' avatars etc.) Too much to hope for? Of course. That's what A Song of Ice and Fire is partially made of.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Have you felt it?
I went to starwars.com and was greeted with a picture of two TIE Fighters and the Falcon and I wondered for a moment if it was a shot from Star Wars: Rebels. Looking more closely, it said "Teaser trailer". Well, that wasn't a good start. So I hit play and...
Thursday, November 27, 2014
A day long remembered
No, not Black Friday. That's just meant to trick you into buying stuff that, while on sale, still was cheaper to produce than the price you paid for it.
No, today comes the teaser for Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. I'm ready at the screen, eyes open for any sign of it appearing online. Probably about eight hours early, but still. I haven't been this excited since...since A Feast for Crows was on its way in the mail from Amazon, I suppose. That was really exciting. I remember the book finally arriving, and me rushing out to the post office to pick it up, going home, unpacking it...taking a selfie with the book as if it wouldn't be real without photographic evidence, and then jumping in and ... erm. That has to wait for my re-read of Feast and Dance. Still four chapters and an epilogue to go.
In other news, I finally found half an hour to flip a few more pages of The World of Ice and Fire. I admit I'm losing hope with the endless reams of texts about the Targaryen kings. So many names and back-and-forths, its almost like reading the bible. Too little juice, too much bone. Still, the quality of the art is very high and while the typos have become more prominent it still reads better (technically) than Dance.
Expect the next A Storm of Swords post after the weekend. For now, it is time to hopefully celebrate a glorious return to form for the saga that has been part of my life since 1982/83.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Season Five Teaser
We already knew that Gwendoline (Brienne of Tarth) and Miltos (Syrio Forel) are part of the Star Wars cast next year, but apparently Jessica Henwick will play a role in Star Wars. She's the actress who will play Nymeria Sand in the next season of GoT. A strange casting, methinks. She kind of does not look like a Dornish character (I can live with that), or Oberyn Martell's daughter (that's the hard part).
I have to admit that I like getting my two favorite stories crossing like this but I am also worried that whenever I see Gwen or Miltos on screen in Episode VII I'll be seeing Brienne of Tarth and Syrio Forel.
[Re-read] Jon XI: Dangler of Carrots
SO, I've lamented before how I don't have the time to watch movies anymore. Back in the day, before so many other things preoccupied my time, I watched a lot of movies. I loved watching movies. But now I've realized that theatrical trailers for movies are becoming so long and show so much of a film that I can basically watch those instead of the full films and get away with a general idea of the plot and how the hero eventually reaches his goal. I watched a few movie trailers earlier today and, after having seen them, I actually lost the desire to watch these films because the trailers told me enough. Perhaps the trailers I chose to watch are for films that are exceptionally cliché/predictable, but really. At least I have saved a lot of hours in this way. The trailers I watched were for the movies 47 Ronin, Hercules: The Legend Begins, Homefront, and Seventh Son (yeah I generally look for scifi/fantasy movies which might be part of the problem of finding tired stories). These trailers lay it all out - the film's premise, the basic plot, the characters, and the question becomes "do I want to see all the bits in between?", and not a desire to learn more, or a wish to see it all. None of the trailers leave me with a sense of curiosity or excitement.
So why am I thinking about movie trailers all of a sudden? Well, in two days we are getting our first glimpses (eighty-eight seconds, to be precise) of Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens (wow, I think I have actually not talked about the subtitle on here .. at length), so that's probably the link. I am insanely excited about this teaser trailer as it will most likely determine my hype level for the next year. In a way, I hope it turns me off, so I don't have to go all Star Wars-crazy again...but I suspect that, being a "teaser" (which is the format all trailers should employ, if you ask me), it will show me just enough to get me excited and not enough to form a solid opinion on what VII will be like.
Maybe Jon Snow can help me stay grounded and off the Star Wars fever. He's a fairly grounded guy, himself, if, in many ways. Off we go to the seventy-seventh chapter of A Storm of Swords! But, really, Mr. Martin, you're facing some stiff competition in the years ahead. A new novel would be quite useful in staying on top of the game...of thrones.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
[Re-read] Samwell IV: Plodding On
Friday, November 14, 2014
[Spoiler-free review] Mark Lawrence's Prince of Fools
In that sense, Prince of Fools is quite similar to the trilogy that precedes it. In The Broken Empire Trilogy (Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns, Emperor of Thorns) we saw Lawrence's world through the eyes of a narrator with dubious morality - Jorg of Ancrath - but the main character in this new trilogy in the same world - Prince Jalan of Red March - is a different enough fellow from Jorg to become his own distinct lead. Where Jorg leaned toward violence, Jal is of different cloth, yet the two aren't entirely dissimilar either.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Erikson does it...again
What an author!
To quote him,
I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to engage with you all, via this screen and TOR.com, as well as via your emails to me through StevenErikson.com. While I may not be able to respond to each and every one of you (I’d never get any work done), be assured that I appreciate your reaching out to me.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
It has arrived
I've flipped through it quickly, and there's a huge amount of text here, so my guess is it might be a ponderous tome. I fear my review will not be forthcoming this side of 2014 if I am actually going to bother reading all that stuff. Man!
(Prince of Fools, first, though. I got through the sagging bit and am now back on track at about two-thirds done. Great book but after a great opening I feel the three stories about Jorg that Mark Lawrence wrote first remain the better tale. Unless the last third of Fools ramps it up in terms of humor and excitement, that is.)
And there's some great art - some really great art - in The World of Ice & Fire; and much less of it recycled from Fantasy Flight Games products than I feared (buying the two The Art of Ice & Fire books I could have just gone through my collection of A Game of Thrones Collectible Card Game cards to see the same art - mostly). There's one particular piece here that really awed me (I haven't seen all yet, just flipped through remember), I am so going to try and scan it, sharpen it, and show it here and/or use it as my new dual monitor wallpaper. It's a classic scene painted a hundred times before, but this one really stood out. It had a..haunted quality to it. Esoteric, if you will.
It's not giving me the Westeros fever, though; I'm still heavily infected by the Star Wars virus. Made me watch old Star Wars documentaries instead of finishing Legend of Grimrock 2. Made me tear into the olde box of vintage action figures and vehicles, just looking and putting it all back.
There's only one cure, and that's The Winds of Winter, and no, not dinosaurs. What annoys me most about Martin's latest post (besides it not being about said Winds) is that I wanted to write a medieval dinosaur novel! Oh well.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Malazan Re-read of the Fallen Wrap Up
[Re-read] Arya XIII: Valar D'oh!aeris
Yesterday was an exciting day for Star Wars geeks across the globe, with Lucasfilm announcing the title of Episode VII. Now, any sane person would hear it, shrug, and go back to business but I was adequately swept up in long discussions online on the meaning and quality of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. How can a simple movie title cause so much excitement and cause for wasting away time on the Interwebs? It's the same effect that makes me write about A Song of Ice and Fire, of course. Being a fan. A devotee. It's what makes people build websites dedicated to their favorite entertainment. The kind of entertainment that's so solid it becomes something more; an experience, a phenomenon. For some it's Star Trek, for others The Lord of the Rings. For some poor souls like myself we find intense passion for more than one such phenomenon, which makes it difficult to juggle. Feeling so strongly about invented material is both a great feeling, but occasionally it also feels like a drain on my energy as well as my time. I have only a limited time of the day to devote to all those things I love and enjoy immersing myself in, and it's kind of annoying. Also, obviously, a luxury many people in the world can't even fathom. At any rate, I have come to the point I'm almost scheduling my nerdist hobbies. One hour for gaming, one for reading, one for writing etc. It helps. And Fridays, well, Fridays I try to reserve for my A Storm of Swords re-read. So here we go, with Arya Stark's last chapter in the novel, a very poignant chapter at that.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Random'd
Friday, October 31, 2014
NaNoWriMo 2014
Woooo, it's that time of the year again. November means letting the fingers fly across the keys, trying to get a coherent 50,000 words down.
This will be my third time. In 2012, I bailed out. I didn't have an outline, and I found myself at a loss. Last year, I managed to finish the quest, though the result - a novel I called "Invert the Skies" - well, I had a very detailed outline and I finished but it wasn't a very readable story I think. Not that I have tried to read it, perhaps I should.
This year my outline is a lot vaguer. I have a main character and a setting and a few bits of plot. And I have decided to try out a story in the vein of Joe Abercrombie's "Half a King": a simple one-POV structure with a (relatively) simple linear plot, with a high pace, each chapter moving the story toward the end effectively - no filler just killer, as they say. I believe I read that in an Amazon review of "The World of Ice and Fire", only it said just filler no killer. Sounds promising.
Anyway, my point is, give NaNoWriMo a try if you dabble in writing. It's fun. And a little bit hard some days, obviously. I already know I'll be behind by Monday as the weekend is booked full.
But will I be able to stay away from Legend of Grimrock 2? I have played about 70% of it (at a guess) and there's still much to explore and get frustrated with. Say one thing about Grimrock, say it is has some fricking frustrating puzzles. And a scarcity of food for my hungry heroes. Gotta love dungeoneering though. I'm going to put some dungeon action in my NaNoWriMo '14 novel - but with the sensibilities (?) of gritty.
The World of Ice & Fire
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
[Re-read] Jon X: Between the Wall and a Hard Place
Inching ever closer to completing a read of A Storm of Swords for the tenth time (and still missing stuff that other readers with more adhesive brains would scoff at), and getting closer to that Feastdance attempt at getting a more positive view on the two last novels in the series (that sounds ominous doesn't it), and I am at the moment not in that Ice & Fire zone where I am obsessing over the characters and events of Martin's work. I guess I'll soon enough be in the zone again. There's the world book coming out tomorrow, for one. That will probably garner a lot of discussion that will heat the flames of passion for one of my favorite stories ever told. However, I think I won't get overly excited about the series again until there's some hard evidence for The Winds of Winter coming out. A release date, another excerpt...something like that. It feels like it's been really quiet these last months. No, I don't believe we're in a "calm before the storm" situation where we suddenly are given the news we want, but I do hope this means work is being done on that sixth elusive book.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
[Review] Joe Abercrombie: "Half a King"
Friday, October 17, 2014
[Re-read] Jaime IX: Dejection by Rejection (and a flabby...)
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Nostalgia for Yesterday
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Octoberish
I'm so busy with work these days - I'm actually writing this at a conference hotel, having a quick break between lectures - that A Storm of Swords and other nerdities have to wait for a while. However, I can't help but feel the need to extol my joy at Legends of Grimrock 2 being released tomorrow! It feels like only months since the first game was published, but time, as always, seems to fly, and here we are, and the sequel is a reality. I'm excited to see if they have been able to keep that claustrophobic old school atmosphere of the original, knowing that the sequel will include outdoor areas. I'm excited to have another dungeon to delve, 'cause dungeons rock when brought to life in computer games. I only wish I had time to actually really sink my teeth into Grimrock 2, instead of the sporadic bursts of dungeoneering I will probably end up doing. But a little adventure is better than no adventure, eh?
In 1990's classic Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos, I am reaching the end, slowly. I'm in the final dungeon (or castle), looking for the body of King Richard, encased in carbonite. I have to free him and defeat the enemy, the witch Scotia, before I can say I have beaten the game. It's a tricky dungeon, though, and I keep walking into teleporter traps that, in actuality, just serve to make me less interested in finishing - bit of a shame, that. The first half of the game was definitely more enjoyable as the obstacles were easier to overcome, I suppose. Still, I wonder now how I could let such a game be unplayed back in the day, as it caters so fully to my tastes in gaming.
And in the land of Ice & Fire, Martin has uploaded a number of interviews, none of them bringing The Winds of Winter any faster to these shores. Season five of Game of Thrones seems to break out of adaptation mode entirely and is going its own way, people are tired of the same theories discussed over and over again, in general these are long and slow days to be a fan of all things Ice & Fire, but I suspect there will be another surge of interest (a spike, if you will) come the end of the month and the release of the world book - followed by another plummet into long days of waiting. But will the next spike be The Winds of Winter? Only the elite knows.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
[Review] Ian C. Esslemont's ASSAIL
However, about halfway through, the story began to sag under its own weight of similar plot-lines and characters that became indistinguishable. Everybody was moving, either by foot or by ship, through similar landscapes and it all became a blur. Some characters were more interesting than others, but in general Esslemont once again struggles making them really come alive and leap off the paper - something George R.R. Martin remains the master of, and something that Erikson improved over his ten books in the Malazan saga.
Monday, October 6, 2014
[Re-read] Daenerys VI: Meereen, it rhymes with queen (and also "Wish I had a time machine")
Today we begin wrapping up A Storm of Swords, with Daenerys Targaryen's last chapter - imagine reading it in, say, 2000, and then being told that you won't get to read more about the Stormborn's (mis)adventures until 2011. That's eleven years we waited for her story to continue, and one could argue that with such a long drought, her story-line in A Dance with Dragons perhaps became doubly disappointing to those who expected more action from the warrior queen. Throughout her tale in the first three books, there was always a hint of the somewhat exotic yet firmly swords & sorcery type of adventure, with more than one element from Conan the Barbarian - type tales present. Then, eleven years later, when readers got a confused teenage girl fantasizing about the flamboyant Daario Naharis and generally spending most of her time on her ass in Meereen, well, disappointment seems almost bound to rise. To have risen? Well, as I've said before, when I get to my planned re-read of the two last novels with chapters mixed up in what has become known as Feastdance, maybe it will all work out somehow and I'll find other aspects of her tale to enjoy. But that first time through A Dance with Dragons...man, was that boring. Whenever there was a new Daenerys chapter coming up (or Jon, for that matter), it was like a speed bump in the road. A bump so big it made me rather want to stop and take a break. This is kind of drastic compared to the way I devoured the first three books. However, we are still in A Storm of Swords, and although this chapter does set up what we should have been expecting perhaps, it stands stronger because it is built upon what has come before. I am very curious to see if Daenerys' character is consistent from Storm to Dance, or if Martin indeed felt forced to "lock her up" in Meereen only for the other story-lines to "reach" her, if you know what I mean. Also, I have to admit it's kind of funny seeing TV-show-only fans being impatient with Dany's invasion of Westeros. THAT BEING SAID, let's rock our way through Daenerys VI!!
Friday, October 3, 2014
Time doth fly
Meanwhile I am about halfway through classic Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos. Last night, struggling through the maze forests of the kingdom, I came upon a white tower, and upon entering it I got a good kicking of nostalgia - it was like playing Eye of the Beholder II: Legend of Darkmoon all over again, wondering what's behind the next door, fighting horrible creatures, finding keys and the locks to match, and generally having a blast adventuring through this. I admit it became too difficult not to look up some help on the Interweb, especially when I somehow ended up in a hallway with only a pit to exit through, a pit which threw me right into a room so crowded with monsters I could barely move. Since I'm stubbornly playing with only one save game, it looked like the adventure was definitely over. However, the Interweb told me there was a button in one of the walls of said monster-infested chamber, and so I managed to hack my way there, hit the button, reveal a new passageway, and get out of there. That's what I both love and hate about these old school games. They don't exactly hold your hand. I remember being stuck for months in aforementioned Eye of the Beholder II, and no one knew what I had to do to get on with the adventure. One night, while heavily affected by beer, I suddenly got the solution right, but when I woke up the next day I hadn't saved the game and had forgotten what I did to open that pesky door. Fortunately, a week or so later, I finally got the combination right that opened that pesky, pesky door. I remember it vividly; especially that great feeling of accomplishment and to know the adventure could finally continue. It's the same now, with Lands of Lore, although it is slightly more difficult as this game requires you to move up and down between dungeon levels a lot more. Harder to keep track of the puzzles and such. But I am trying to play it almost without looking at solutions, but these days I can't muster the patience the way I was able to before (simply because I didn't have access to help). Anyway, running through the adventure keeps my fantasy fix need in check, which is good as the three-day tabletop session I was supposed to run in a few weeks has been cancelled. Sad face.
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos (and its sequels, Guardians of Destiny, which I never liked, and III, which I never tried) is available on the great site GOG, along with a host of other videogame classics. Could my sudden urge to play Lands be because I am waiting for my pre-order of Legend of Grimrock II? Possibly. Man, I love games like this. I so want some company to build more games like this, based on classic D&D modules for example, or to reboot those old gold box games like Pools of Darkness and Secrets of the Silver Blades. Now I'm off to see if I can get back those phantoms guarding the second level of the White Tower. I just have to beat this game now, at the cost of other geekery.
Oh, Ice & Fire. Martin's put up a post about the upcoming The World of Ice & Fire. I've been quite negative about this release before (both here and at Tower of the Hand), but I have to admit that I have caved in and pre-ordered a physical copy of this tome of lore, so expect a review soon after it has arrived sometime near the end of October. I kind of feel dirty throwing this money at the people who have treated me and many other fans badly, and who did a pretty lousy job editing/typo-checking A Dance with Dragons, but I need, well, that Westerosi fix as well.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Ancient lore
Looking through old RPG books only makes it itch more, but it is nice at the same time, imagining what I would do if I was a character in this adventure or that location.
However I needed to experience a fantasy story not just read about it, so I decided to play a CRPG. Trawling through a list of classics I suddenly realized I had never really played Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos, a venerable old school fantasy game that, if I remember correctly, was the spiritual successor to the classic Eye of the Beholder trilogy of games. Indeed, the gameplay is similar, but I don't remember why
I never played this one, despite being a massive dungeon crawl fan. Maybe because it was simplified? Because I could not build my own party?
Friday, September 26, 2014
[Re-read] Tyrion X: Snakes, mountains controversy
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Keeping hands warm during the Long Night
No wonder I'm drifting more and more to Star Wars VII rumor websites and fora, at least there's something to follow to keep interest up.
Of course, there's the fifth season of Game of Thrones to follow, and there's been articles on the upcoming The World of Ice & Fire, George R.R.'s birthday, and...oh, that about sums it up, but nothing for us to chew on when it comes to that coveted sixth book in the saga.
Friday, September 19, 2014
[Re-read] Jon IX: Along Came a Fricking Big Turtle (and later, a Fricking Annoying Toad)
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Legend of Grimrock II is Coming
I talked quite a bit about the original Legend of Grimrock and how it rekindled that adventuring spirit that classic computer games seemed to overflow with; games like Dungeon Master and the Eye of the Beholder trilogy, to name two examples. And now the sequel is pre-ordered and I can't wait to get my hands on it. For some reason, exploring dungeons is something I love, except when I get really frustrated when some clever/fiendish puzzle stops me from progressing. This time around, they are giving us some above-ground, outdoor environments as well, so they could potentially be catering to a somewhat larger crowd this time.
Meanwhile, in the world of Ice and Fire news, there's a plethora of nothing new. Life is miserable and full of pain, apparently, but beyond that...no. Nope. Nothing on The Winds of Winter. Who cares anyway?
Friday, September 12, 2014
[Re-read] Sansa VI: Load New Game
Rough week with a virus infection leaving me unable to even squeeze some geek-time out of staying indoors. Well, I've been able to get halfway through Ian C. Esslemont's Assail, and Shadows, the dark elf of all trades wandering the cold lands of Skyrim, has gained another level and a severe bout of vampirism (art imitating life kind of) and I've been binge-watching Firefly and I've spent way too much time following and debating the latest Star Wars: Episode VII rumors (okay maybe I did squeeze out some geek-time after all). The folks over at Star Wars Episode 7 News have kindly opened their cantina for this kind of behavior, and that's where I've been hanging a little. And I suspect I won't become any less obsessed with this upcoming movie over the next year or so. It just pulls me in, even though I know I shouldn't worry so much about a two-hour piece of cinema crammed with silliness. Yet here I am, and that's because of the power of the story of the original trilogy.
The only thing that can make me forget about a new Star Wars movie right now would be....The Winds of Winter. Bring it on, George!
Without further ado, let's read another A Storm of Swords chapter. And maybe for a little while my stupid geekhead can get some rest from that galaxy far, far away...
Monday, September 8, 2014
[Re-read] Jaime VIII: I'm dreaming of a white whiteness
A white book sat on a white table in a white room.
So opens this eighth Ser Jaime Lannister chapter of A Storm of Swords, and I just kept staring at it for a while. It fits so well right now, because I'm in a bit of stress because I have a gazillion projects going on at the same time and it has just become a bit too much lately, and I feel like I'm ... well, staring at a white book, a blank page. And I hate it, because not doing anything about anything makes me even more stressed. So, in order to tick off some boxes on the too-long to-do list, and picking one that I actually enjoy doing once I'm in the zone, here's • "Write a new re-read post". And all the while I'll probably have my conscience gnawed from within by all the things I probably should prioritize.
Which relates perfectly to Ser Jaime at this point in the story - he's struggling with his priorities, and in this particular chapter we'll get a real close look at precisely that. A character development chapter, more than action and high adventure. Right, let's crack open that white book.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
No news, really.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Pleasures of the Guilty
...But last night I found a couple of quiet hours for myself, so just to indulge myself a little extra, I connected a laptop to a 46" screen to get some size and played a little Skyrim. I let all worries about the upcoming week of work, all the meetings, all family matters, things I need to write and do, I let it all go away for a while and allowed myself to immerse myself back into the land of the Nords for a while. And it really made a difference. When I went to bed I felt a lot more content, and after a few pages of Esslemont's Assail I slept soundly (I could've said "I slept like a baby" but as I have a youngling sleeping at my side these nights, I can assure you that sleeping like a baby is a weird, weird, proverb).
When looking through the eyes of my character, the Dark Elf Shadows (yes, he's shown up on this blog before) on a fairly big screen, I immediately fell back in love with the sense of adventure this game provides. Cause what I really was hankering for, was some roleplaying, and so I decided to really "be" Shadows last night. During last night's voyage (I try to skip fast travel for that immersion), I met a ferocious ice dragon harassing the townsfolk of Dawnstar, and later, an even more ferocious blood dragon somewhere out in the wild, attacking a bandit stronghold. Navigating an enraged dragon and angry bandits was a fun experience. That's what gives Skyrim its extra points - the potential for the unexpected. For all the linear quests, you can still strike out and do whatever you feel like, within the frames of the game obviously.
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Shadows against a blood dragon, somewhere north and east of Falkreath (which I hadn't visited before last night) |
Once again I also noted that the popularity of A Song of Ice and Fire must have had some influence on Skyrim, as it feels far grittier and medieval than the four previous The Elder Scrolls titles did. Love it.
I spent a good amount of time trying to defeat a heavily armored orc in a small dungeon, keeping a table between me and him so that I could survive; this fellow could smack me down with one stroke with that bigass sword of his. I wore him down with arrows and fire, until I finally succeeded. And it felt so good! After months with little to no gaming (aside from, say, nine hours in Divinity: Original Sin) it was nice to game away the evening and I didn't even feel guilty about it.
Yesterday, Skyrim was more therapy than guilty pleasure.
Friday, August 29, 2014
[Re-read] Tyrion IX: Ups and Downs
All right! Friday! My favorite day of the week. Not only is it currently the only day of the week where I have time to dip into a chapter of A Storm of Swords, it also heralds the coming of weekend, which in turn brings more smiles all around. Coupled with nice late-summer weather, one can only be grateful for living in a (relatively) quiet corner of the world, though the news likes to remind me just how beyond repair the human race seems to be. Sigh. Anyway; speaking of beyond repair; here's Tyrion's ninth chapter, the sixty-seventh of this magnificent volume of awesomeness. It's a chapter with a lot of characters and a lot of talk, so let's see if Martin can keep us interested and excited in spite of that.