Speaker for the Dead

I have no made reviewing books an easy task. The Hobbit. Now this? Good grief.

Whew. 

If you have not read Ender's Game, then just do that first...and right now... It's insanely good. Orson Scott Card is a superb writer, too smart for us, that's for certain. I adore Ender Wiggins. He may be my favorite literary character ever. So start with Ender's Game...

Done? Okay, now for the sequel - Speaker for the Dead.

This is one of those books that I think you have to have a specific mindset or attitude when you approach. When I tried reading it immediately after Ender's Game, I didn't get very far. The tone and story is so different I found it difficult to continue. This book requires patience.

A few years later I was desperate to read some science fiction, and too cheap to buy a new book, so I figured why not try again? I think it was the right time, as I've changed quite a bit in those years, so this time I was so glad I found this book.

I feel like this is the science fiction equivalent to those literary novels with gravitas - like The Alchemist or something (love that one, by the way). I've heard it described as much more "meta" than Ender's Game, but otherwise not really talked about at all. I suppose "meta" is accurate, but rather vague, so let me do my best to further describe this book. First, it is philosophical, sure. But in a satisfying way. Card seems to challenge us as individuals, communities, and humanity as a whole. It's like a thought experiment, but entertaining, and inspiring. I felt the same way reading this book as I did reading the works and convictions of practical ethicists like Peter Singer or Lisa H. Newton - reminded of my moral obligations and inspired to act on them. I read this and felt absolutely inspired to be a better person, and to see myself as a better person.

I'm a religious person, a Christian. And I really enjoyed Card's take on human religion outside of Earth. That part was especially intriguing. It was a critique for balance and perspective, grace and humanity - as in benevolence - especially in practice toward non-humans. I found this side of the story especially encouraging, and faith building. I realize Card and I may not agree on specific religious tenants, but faith is faith. If you are not religious, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on his presentation. but I did not find it preachy at all.

I feel like this is a book that everyone should read, like a required text for students. It's much more important than say - Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, which I had to read in high school...it's even one part love story, like those books, but it is so much more...

“No human being, when you understand his desires, is worthless. No one's life is nothing. Even the most evil of men and women, if you understand their hearts, had some generous act that redeems them, at least a little, from their sins.” 

The Hobbit

Well, I have successfully managed to put off this review for a while. It's not from dread, but anxiety - what can I possibly say about one of the Greats? This definitely cannot stand as a book critique, since I don't feel at all qualified to remark about the pros and cons of one of the greatest writers ever. You don't have to agree-- but I'm not wrong! ;)

I think the best part about reading the Hobbit is how I've changed reading the Hobbit. I don't mean some sort of literal growth and maturity. Boo. I'm still as weird and immature since the first time I read this book in middle school. But perhaps "literary maturity" is a better term for it...

In middle school, I thought this book was amusing, but mostly a required intro to the world of Lord of the Rings. The movies had just started coming out, and I was so excited after seeing the Fellowship movie that on a friend's advice I started reading the Hobbit. (I will now claim this was the moment that determined we would become BFFs 4 Life! (middle school remember?!) and we are as nerdy now as we were then). But really, if I was being honest, I didn't care for it a ton. It was kind of slow, and oddly technical, and I remember the part where they are in Mirkwood lasting EONS. I would have swore it was half the book.

I was so dumb.

I've been on a kick to revisit my old favorites, and since that includes Lord of the Rings, once again I started with the Hobbit. This time it was kind of hilarious, but in a sneaky surprising humor, that I did not understand or appreciate in my youth. Dry wit, I guess.

And excitement! I can't believe I found this book boring in the past. There is so much that happens, and none of it takes too long, unless you stubbornly refuse to keep reading. It does seem after a while that the structure is repetitive - the dwarves get in trouble, it seems hopeless, until Bilbo uses the ring and saves the day. But it's still a lot of fun anyway.

But I think my favorite part of the book was the writing style, which I was much more sensitive to this time around, especially reading it during Nanowrimo - when I failed to successfully complete the target words in my own fantasy novel. But really, The Hobbit has so much voice. Honestly, my favorite character was the narrator. It was so spot on, and clever, and I loved that he spoke to the reader directly. He's a story teller! It was brilliant. I could never come close to recreating that, and wouldn't even dare to try, but it was so wonderful. The true brilliance of this story, I think.

Anyway. That's my initial thoughts. I don't want to dig deep on it, this is a book review not The Hobbit and Philosophy. But it's great. No, Great. Capital G.

I can't wait to read it again in another decade!

P.S. - On the movies... well. They are crap. They are entertaining, and some of it stays true to the *spirit* of the book, but it messes with the story for the sake of an action sequence and CGI for no real benefit. But it doesn't need to be three movies, it didn't need to be done so special effects heavy, and that's what I have to say about that!

Cinder(ella!)

So general news - I'm pretty close to finishing a couple books in the next week, so look for more reviews soon! But Nanowrimo is in full swing, and I've managed to keep on track every day, so it's taking me a bit longer than usual. The upside is that Nanowrimo is in full swing and I've managed to keep on track every day! LOL But really, Poehler was write  right - writing IS hard. But when you plan a little and take risks a lot, and just keep going, it's kind of a blast! Seriously, if you are ever in a rut on finding a book to read because they aren't quite what you are looking for, maybe it's a sign that you need to create it instead. I think some famous Literature writer person said something to that affect as well, but I don't remember who or what they said exactly.

In other news!

Cinderella, guys!

Okay, so little known fact. I grew up with a collection of Cinderella stories. I inherited it, but was extremely proud of it (even though I was admittedly more of a Sleeping Beauty fan when I was younger. But whatevs. I've learned the err of my ways. Cute songs but creepy premise. Haha.) I still have all the books, and some are super old, so I should probably take pics and share them so you can all admire these things... anyway, if you've been on the internets and have girly friends, you probably know that there is a live-action Disney Cinderella coming out (eventually?)! Here's the trailer, or in this case since they assume you know the whole story anyway, I'm considering it a mini-movie:

They seriously hold nothing back. It's more of an "enjoy the ride, not the destination" story, I would guess... Regardless, I will likely be watching this one in theaters, because reasons. Although I haven't owned a copy of the Disney animated movie (the biggest weakness of my collection admittedly) since I was a little kid. True story.

If you are looking to enjoy some Cinderella goodness while waiting for the movie, there are so many versions (for the record, I did not give Ella Enchanted the time of day), I'm going to recommend Cinder. by Marissa Meyer.

It's an inventive, futuristic, slightly dystopian take on the classic tale, so pretty much a YA-reader's dream come true. (Bibbity-bobbity-boo!) I did enjoy it a lot, but it is a series, as much of YA is anymore, but alas I have not attempted the rest of the books yet. I think it goes Little Red Riding Hood and then Rapunzel, for what it's worth.

P.S.- I just realized it's a red glass slipper on her foot in the cover. Can I just say that is sooo wrong! It's not Wizard of Oz, geez!

A Long Way Down

I really want to give it 5 stars, but I just can't. I don't think I would introduce this book to anyone as "it's amazing!" but I would absolutely, without-pause present it as "it's really good." (All my reviews originate on Goodreads, by the way...if a little context helps.)

I don't know how it would feel to read this as a seriously depressed person who has thought about killing themselves. But as a person in a state of flux that sometimes feels pretty miserable about themselves, I enjoyed the company. And it made me laugh. And I really wanted to see the movie. So that's something. It's borderline literature with a capital-L. It get's pretty deep, but a book about suicide is likely go there. But it was all pretty believable. And I loved the different perspectives. These four characters are so different, and you wonder if they really would experience it all together in the way that they do, and I was kind of skeptical but I believed it anyway. It just worked. It was messy, but "der" that's life (now who is getting too deep?).

Anyway, if don't know anything about this book - it's about four people that end up on the roof of a building to jump off, and convince each other not too (obviously, or it would have been a very short novel). And it's just about how to keep going once you've so committed to making the decision to jump, and then changing your mind to not. What do you do? Anyway. This is just about what these four did. And it was really interesting. Like, make me want to study psychology if this is what it's about...

SO yeah, I'd say it was really good.

Yes Please

I was really torn about whether this book belonged on my "humor" shelf, if that tells you anything. It's not that it isn't funny, because at times it did make me laugh out loud. But that just wasn't the point, and for someone who is quite famous for being hilarious, it was slightly surprising. Another surprise is that the large part of my adoration for Amy Poehler isn't just her brilliance in Parks & Recreation, but because of her role model qualities for young people across the internet via Smart Girls at the Party. But it wasn't really about that either (definitely not written for all ages, by the way). Sure, there were some tidbits of wisdom and advice in the pages, but that also wasn't the point.

The point is, it's a memoir of someone wise and hilarious that is neither incredibly insightful or all that humorous. It's mostly her talking about her life to date. Which I guess is the point of a memoir anyway. And it was engaging, I certainly read it rather quickly - consuming it in hours reading one-third at a time. But it wasn't that well written. As she repeats throughout, writing is hard (preach it, sister!) but you can really tell because the organization was hard to follow. Maybe I was disadvantaged by reading it in e-book format. The hardcover is supposedly quite colorful, and according to Orson Scott Card the audiobook version is required and delightful. So maybe I will go that route next time, because I guess ultimately that was the real problem- I don't have Amy Poehler's voice in my head. I heard it in my voice, and that context it just didn't make sense to me (unlike Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? which confirmed that she is in fact my soul sister.) And since maybe I don't have very much experience with memoirs, maybe I just didn't know what to expect.

To put it as precisely as I can - she still rocks, and it was still interesting for the most part. I would totally hang a poster of the cover in my office at work, and will keep watching Parks & Rec and my copy of Baby Mama, and laugh with joy at her work. But I don't know that I would read this again.

Gone Girl *spoilers*

** spoiler alert ** 
So, I got 60-some percent through the book and was like, "good gravy this is Tom Sawyer retold, still in Hannibal, Missouri. Well done, Flynn." And then Nick says the same thing not but a couple pages later. Darn. I thought I had some original revelation about this book. Not even a bit.

But really, could Missouri be the setting for a book that doesn't have someone fake their death and/or is filled with incredibly offensive stereotypes and profanity? (lookin' at you Huck.) Thanks guys. And I admit, I'm slightly bitter that Flynn can speak so horrendously of the state of Missouri. I blame Chicago as a terrible influence. A mere footnote in her acknowledgements reveals that she doesn't in fact loathe the state or the people; she agrees with Nick. Who knew? I certainly could not tell.

Anyway. I hated this book. But it was admittedly very well written. Even if I hated it. Amy and Nick both had such clear voice that certainly kept the momentum and intrigue up. But it was awful. It was *too* clever. I almost can't believe they were as smart as they were supposed to be. But what do I know? I don't read crime, true or otherwise. There could absolutely be crazy people out there. I guess I believe in crazy, I've just never read from the POV of crazy. That's what was so unsettling. I hate Amy. I'm glad Nick didn't try to kill her in the end, but if I had been him I'm not sure I would have been so introspective and had clarity to let go at the last minute. Just sayin'.

I think, lastly, what I resent about this genre - thrillers and plot twists and unreliable narrators (and not the good kind like The Things They Carried) is it's not surprising, not really. It's manipulative. I obviously don't speak to her character as a person, but Flynn's *tricks* as a writer are to an audience what Amy was to Nick. And it pisses me off a bit. Of course it's a twist and she's still alive. You've given me literally no evidence that that was the case. No body, not dead. Period. In any book or story ever, I'm almost convinced. Anyway, same with the ending. It's "oh no, what happens the rest of their lives?" because she decided it to be that way. It's entertainment, I get it. But meh, not my cup of tea.

But damn it was well-written, even if the whole thing was ridiculous. I'm surprised it doesn't take place in the fall. Then it could be the annual literary "It's the Great Pumpkin Something-or-Other, Charlie Brown."

Also, I just saw the movie on Sunday. It was strikingly similar to the book; having it read it so fresh I could tell which parts were left out but the edits made logical sense. I had forgotten it was a David Fincher film (also Trent Reznor). So, when I saw that on the intro credits I became a bit on edge. This man's work is intense. Ultimately, I've decided it was a good fit, because like the book, the movie has great talent on a ridiculous plot. Still a messed up story, but damn Fincher is good. And Reznor is obviously intense as well. What struck me as odd, and perhaps says more about me, is that in the pivotal seen toward the end with Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris, yes I know his real name)... THIS IS WHERE THERE ARE SOME SERIOUS SPOILERS...

DO NOT KEEP GOING IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT AND WANT TO BE SURPRISED.
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

So, anyway, Amy (aka blonde that no one remembers from Pride & Prejudice) is seducing Barney Stinson (weirdo guy in the book who I legitimately don't remember his name)...and it's... uncomfortable. I'm not a prude (yes, yes I am) but I don't want to see Barney's ass. Ever. Anyway, they are going at it, and uh, he gets to his vinegar strokes (any fans of the League out there? haha, oh dear.) ANYWAY. She slits his throat. And I know it's going to happen since they've followed the book so darn close. And it's that scene. And I hide. But something compels me to look, maybe it's over? And it's so not. He is gushing blood. They are wrestling kind-of and rolling around in it, Fincher keeps changing the camera angle, it's just so INTENSE.

And I laugh. 

Seriously. I never laugh at stuff like this. I don't do scary movies, I hate gore, and blood, and yuck! But I think this just shows how over-the-top everything was. GREAT PRODUCTION VALUE. But totally ridiculous. So I giggled.

I hated it.

NANOWRIMO!

It has begun!! And thank goodness it's a Saturday - checking in at 2,097 words. YAY! Totally taking a short break. But I'm already well aware of the panic in my chest every time I try to spend my time doing something besides writing (or writing something that doesn't count toward my word goal...)

But. YAY!

Join the fun?!

Ch-ch-changes!

So it's Halloween! (No I didn't dress up as Bowie...)

I once sent this picture to a coworker. Best thing I've ever done at work.

Anywho, I finally finished Gone Girl and am going to see the movie this weekend! So I was perusing my Kindle library wondering what book to add to my currently overwhelming pile of reads. I'm trying not to overlap genres too much so I can keep it all straight, so I decided to revisit the ol' blog and chain to see what I had been reading as if that will help me unlock the secret of where to go next.

It didn't help.

But I think I'm due for an update anyway.

1. Big changes going on in the life stuffs that may make updating and writing and things more awesome. I can't talk about it yet but just now I will be super hardcore celebrating if I get the ok to go forward with THE PLAN. (dun dun dun!)

2. It's almost Nanowrimo time! Just counting down the hours! If you are on the fence, I suggest you jump in. It's not too late! It's never too late! I had outlined a whole fantasy tale over September, but now on the eve of Nanowrimo I'm contemplating changing it up to a contemporary YA comedy-ish. I hope waiting til the last minute to decide provides some clarity or I may be the only person dumb enough to try to write two novels in November. I'm so dumb.

3. GAH. The video games are trying to take mah money! So far Civ's Beyond Earth has released -- moly cow, so good! I got so engrossed in the politics of colonizing that Husband suggested I read Speaker for the Dead again. I tried once and got stuck very early on, but this time I plowed on and am enjoying the crap out of that book! SOOO GOOD. Anyway, video games. On the fence about the new Call of Duty. But we all know I will likely break down and buy it. It's just a matter of timing. Also, WoW's update comes out super soon. So that's going to rip away the rest of my free time. And lastly Super Smash Bros for Wii U kicks off end of November. As if I didn't have enough going on already!

Here's the latest and greatest list of books I'm current reading--

• The Hobbit - still. Ugh. It's soo good, but I can't stick with it for very long in one sitting. Not sure why.
• Harry Potter and the something after Goblet of Fire - I finally started actually reading it, and it's pretty good. I'm very nervous about being reunited with whiney-shithead Harry that shows up in this book. His tantrums drive me nuts.
• Sense and Sensibility - I've made crazy progress on this one lately! I'm almost done, but you wouldn't know it. I bought a collection to read so the percent read never changes. Super disheartening. 
• Iron Kissed - have I talked about this series before? I adore it. It's totally cheese, but it's smart and sharp so like Romano. 
• Speaker for the Dead - totally different from Ender's Game, but there may be nothing better than Orson Scott Card's understanding/conceptualizing of space and ethics.

Moly cow, is that it? No wonder I'm in the market for another book...

Which leads me to my last point -- 

I think I'm going to change this blog's format AGAIN. I don't want to clog blogger with half-a-dozen different blogs about all the things I like to talk about...and I do like to talk. But I'm thinking about changing this into a book review blog. I know, the kiss of death for blogging. EVERYONE has a book review blog. And I don't read any of them. So why would you read mine? Well. Because like everyone I have a unique perspective (LOLZ), and for the love of goodness that won't be the only thing I talk about. But you have to admit it would be an easy transition. Half of what I write about now is what I'm reading. And the stuff I watch on TV, which often is based on a book. Good gravy.

So anyway. I will probably be AWOL for most of November, but expect me to shake things up a bit when I return!

Random Musings After Far Too Much Time In My Hotel Room

So, I'm just hanging out in Dallas this week. And by hanging out I mean working.
The timing has been fantastic, what with the whole ebola thing. Good gravy.

It feels like zombies. I'm pretty sure someone on reddit called the poor guy that died "patient zero," which seems pretty appropriate. But the media, to be fair, makes it sound like it would be as easy to tell if someone was carrying the ebola virus as it would be to tell someone's a zombie. Flu-like symptoms? Maybe? Don't touch any of their fluids. Okay! Wasn't gonna anyway! ...But now they are all talking about how another person may have it, a cop or something? And it's like, dude! did you not see the signs? It's like the beginning of Zombieland. Anyway. It's super creepy. And I hope it gets resolved soon. A cure would be ideal obviously, but I hope too that the medical professionals here and abroad will be able to stop the spread and save lives! ...Meanwhile, all this talk about closing the borders (which frankly sounds unsympathetic as a country quite content with dumping ice on our heads to help people a mere month ago, even when that act didn't actually do anything...) and I just hope that I get home tomorrow without there being any issues. But last night, you should have heard me freaking out in my hotel room. I'm always less sensible and much more paranoid at night, and I was losing it while talking to the Husband. I wasn't sure the glass of water they brought with my room service last night was safe (I drank it anyway, because, you know - hydration...but whatever). And I'm fairly certain there is a police or fire station nearby, because there are sirens constantly.

So that's been a gem, and I'm super excited to go home tomorrow.

In other news, I'm reading like six books right now. And I'm much more aware of that fact now since my routine includes waking up super early, working, and going back to my room for dinner and reading. I don't know why I can't ever focus on one at a time. I know it bothers people when I tell them I read multiple books at a time. It's not like I'm doing it simultaneously - like numerous versions of kindles surrounding me and I just read a sentence at a time from each (although I've done that before when I'm incredibly tired in-flight, since I can't sleep on planes). It's like watching a bunch of TV shows. You can totally remember the stories from each without getting confused, so it's not really that different.

Anywho, if you were wondering what I'm reading (who knows?) here you go:

1. The Hobbit - not a surprise after my last update.
2. Harry Potter and the something or other book that follows Goblet of Fire -- okay, haven't technically started it, but I'm mid-series. So it's always in my face like "read me, dammit!"
3. Sense and Sensibility - earlier this year I swore I'd read through all of Jane Austen's books because she's amazing. But I got stuck on this one - the first one - and it's not going very well.
4. Honor's Knight - remember that one book, uh, Fool's Pawn? That turned out to be flippin' fantastic. So I'm on the second one, and it's definitely my go-to book right now. Freakin' awesome. (haha, it's actually Fortune's Pawn. But I have terrible memory. Reading retention is not my thing apparently.)
5. Gone Girl - book club! my friend and I started a movie based book club, and this was our first pick (despite starting in like June...and we just agreed on it two weeks ago.) I got half-way through and stopped but I'm also out of town for most of the month so it'll be a while before I can even go see the movie. I've got time!

Okay so five books! That's not too bad, right??

(p.s. - I just picked up a copy of Rainbow Rowell's latest - Landline, and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is free on amazon right now. So hopefully it will be seven books very soon! Wheee!!!)

Fool of a Took!

Let me just declare once and for all that my favorite series ever is Lord of the Rings. Star Wars may have an excellent story line (and Han Solo is the most badass ever!) but the characters and worlds of LOTR are so intricate and wonderful, and I love it.

It's funny to because once your branded as enjoying Star Wars, it's just assumed by all that it's your all-time favorite. I get so many meme's and shirts and videos sent to me because it's Star Wars. And it's great. But I don't think anyone has ever sent me something about Lord of the Rings. Maybe it's easier to hide LOTR fan-ness.

I'm watching Fellowship of the Rings tonight and it's the best. (Okay, Two Towers is really the best, but just to be watching Lord of the Rings is awesome). I watched Desolation of Smaug last night on DVD and I must say it's a heck of a lot better than the 1st Hobbit movie. It was quite enjoyable. But I wish Peter Jackson would watch his LOTR series so he could be reminded that a good movie doesn't require over-the-top effects. This is a beautiful movie, where the effects enhance what's going on, they don't try to compete with it. (I mean, applying CGI to Legolas in the Hobbit is inexcusable. He's flippin' gorgeous. What are you doing?!?!)

Anywho. This is awesome. And I'm so ready to be done with the Harry Potter series, so I can move on to the really really really really good stuff.

Harry Potter and the Time My Dog Escaped Azka-van

True story.

So when I was a youngin', my family took an epic camping trip. Not as epic as the camping trip that makes up most of the last book, but it was pretty darn exciting. I don't remember much of it. Well bits and pieces, but certainly the most vivid memory of this trip was reading the latest Harry Potter book at the time. Since it was summer, it had just released before we hit the road, and if I remember correctly my brother and I had to share a copy. It doesn't matter who was reading it really, just what happened one day...

My parents like wine. Who doesn't though? As an adult now, I can attest that I also am a fan. However, we were young kids who did not part-take for obvious reasons, and when my parents chose to visit a winery near the campground we agreed to tag along anyway because we definitely weren't going to be left behind at the camp by ourselves. Anywho, my parents are inside the winery and the weather being nice my brother, our dog, and I stay in the van. The dog, the legendary Fudge-- a chocolate cocker spaniel that could not have been any more high maintenance even without having the crazy long hair-- suffered from separation anxiety. He wanted to find our parents, while we were quite content to just read. Well, the windows had been rolled down in the van, because my parents are not cruel, and Fudge takes it upon himself to escape by jumping through said window.

My brother and I both quickly get out of the van and start to try to corral poor Fudge and get him back inside. But before we can, two big bulky lab-sized dogs show up, and start chasing Fudge around the van, who for the record does not enjoy other dogs at all. And at this point I sympathize with him and am convinced these bigger dogs want to eat him. I run like the wind and grab Fudge, while yelling at my brother to get in the van. I swing open the door with one hand, Fudge flailing about in my arms, and make a dash for safety. But I bang my head against the top of the door frame and fall back letting go of Fudge. He doesn't get very far, and I pick him up and manage to get inside. (Meanwhile, I later learn that on the other side of the van in what I thought was surely danger, my brother is petting one of the lab-like dogs, who had been barking "play!" not "kill!". Silly me...)

Fudge and I are safe. My brother gets in the car sure enough, and in the chaos and fear that my poor dog had experienced he just starts to take a dump...on our brand new hard cover copy of Harry Potter (and probably the Goblet of Fire. The green one?)  SO gross. And so upsetting as a young kid who prizes books above all else. And one shitty present for saving the day. (Heh, puns.)

Thank goodness for dust jackets, amiright???

A Date with ....Destiny!

So I'm watching Husband kill some Dregs (drags?) on Destiny. We pre-ordered last minute and have put some time into it yesterday and today, and I thought I should talk about it before I forget and before it's not new anymore and no one cares.

If you haven't heard of it, it's a new science fiction game from the people/company behind Halo (I think?). And in many ways it's very similar. Powered armor, fancy weapons, aliens. Yup. Most importantly, kickass graphics and marketing designs that totally sucker you in.

And while it's new and exciting and fun to play of an evening, I do kinda feel like a sucker.

It's a First Person Shooter World of Warcraft... and here are the reasons why that's not as great as it sounds, despite being a WoW fan that loves FPS games too...

1. The story. Oh dear goodness. WoW can get away with not having the story as the focal point, because it's so task oriented. I don't need to know why I'm killing ooze or whatever, to have fun doing it. And honestly, fantasy can hold it's own without a story. Just the elements are sufficient, obviously magic being a large part of that. But Destiny isn't really pulling it off. The writing is terrible. I know Peter Dinklage has been taking shit for his voice work, and really it's not great, but I believe it has to do with the writing first and foremost. If what he's reading is crap it's never gonna work well anyway. Nothing is explained, and the few moments of revelation are stilted and lacking. So we've pretty much lost the story element, which bums me out since science fiction stories are often my favorite. And I thought that when building my character that I would get a character, I was pretty disappointed to not really experience any of the RPG aspects of a MMORPG (which I suspect heavily influences this game). The cinematics are brief, and there are no dialogues - not with the little guy that follows you everywhere, the leader role, or with vendors. If it wanted to be like other First Person Shooters that just gave you a gun and a place to run around killing things, that would be okay, but they seem pretty proud about the story they do have, so you can't really ignore it like you can on a game like Call of Duty where the story is 100% optional.

[Also, if you are going to rip us off on a physics engine that matches what we know about gravity on moons, please at least acknowledge it with a blurb in the already-forced story about why, so I don't get all grumpy cat about not being able to jump leaps and bounds because the developers didn't want to write another set of code.]

2. It's pretty damn weird to be leveling solo and have all this stuff on your own heads up display or whatever, and then you start a quest/objective with a handful of people that pop in and out depending on where you are. It's irritating enough in WoW when I'm used to it, but in this gaming environment it's just weird to spawn somewhere and not have any enemies because a group ahead of you got to them already. If my only objective is to shoot, even if I don't know why, then don't rob me of that opportunity. It's not like there are other skills I can level up while I wait.

3. Multiplayer. I get it - online FPS are making bank in the video game industry. I love them too. But so far, the mechanics don't work. I already mentioned shared objectives, which is just different, but I could get used to it. Husband, however, tried to play what in WoW would be a battleground/arena set-up. Capture the flag was the style, I think. That's cool. What's not cool is no pairing system that puts you against people in the same range. He was level five. The other team was level twenty. That's pretty disparaging, and not very fun.

4. I think that's it.

The pros so far still outweigh the cons enough that we haven't stopped playing. I think the best asset of this game is the AI. I've not seen enemies behave like they are in Destiny. It's almost unreal how real it is. They dodge, hide, charge, retreat, flank... they are damn complex and hard to fight. It's a good thing! It makes this a step above other FPS games, where they just kind of hide, pop-out and shoot. Period. This is so much better, so much more challenging, and more rewarding when successful. The adrenaline rush is effin' insane.

If you're not very good at FPS games, the good news it that the respawns are helpful. I prefer it to the old style of Call of Duty. There isn't a single respawn point, unless you're in very specific areas, but rather it settles the enemies and drops you in just close enough to start firing when you resume. It's like it rewinds the game (but not really).

The graphics are pretty sweet too, as I said above. And the art direction is fantastic. I saw the intro's compass rose for a second before I was like "OMGOSH I LOVE IT I CAN HAS TATTOO????" I won't, but it's beautiful. The little loading symbols are neat too. Props art guys.

If you were on the fence about this game, I say go for it, just be aware of what it is. My brother did not want the game, but broke down and got it too, and he seems to like it more than he thought. Maybe it still has room to improve, since it's still so damn new.

...

If you're bummed the story sucks, the good news is that my work-around is reading Fortune's Pawn . It's science fiction / military / adventure. I was reading it when Husband was playing Destiny and it was pretty neat. I haven't gotten very far in it, but I've enjoyed it to be sure. The main character has awesome powered armor, so that alone was exciting! Plus the characters are interesting (think Firefly), the universe intriguing, and it takes place on a ship. Sweet!

Is it fall yet!?

I would just like to declare that there are few things better than the following combination:

Warm yummy coffee
Soft Husband's hoodie
A thunderstorm
Incense
Lord of the Rings Soundtrack

I might make it through this work week after all!

Yer A Wizard!

I've started re-reading Harry Potter.
I don't know what made me do it. I'm going to blame tumblr.

I have a love/hate relationship with these books. I grew up loving them, but in my college years started to hate them. But then I still liked the movies... But I was grateful to J.K. Rowling for writing the series, but resented how she always claimed to be a victim of the stories emotional trauma just like us readers. And I dare say no, do not trivialize what I am feeling because of what you have written by saying you feel the same way. You can cry because you killed off a character, but let's never forget that you did it, and you didn't have to -- hat you decided it was more important to make a point about some social issue (as apparently they all were symbolism). I'm much more appreciative of George R.R. Martin's style of -- yeah I did it, and i'll do it again, just wait! you think this was bad, you don't even know! mwahahaha! *giggles*

So that's why I wasn't reading Harry Potter...even when I took a class in college about Harry Potter. Yeah, that was a thing. I compared Harry's invisibility cloak to Plato's Ring of Gyges to determine that Harry would probably stop at a stop sign even if there was no one around. Woo college!

But anywho, I've been on tumblr a lot lately and seen a lot of posts about the world of HP, and Rowling released the new update on his life or something, and a musician that I don't remember, and I was like "hey, maybe I should give it another try?" So I did, and was quickly engrossed. And I rewarded my read-a-thon of the 1st book with a viewing of the 1st movie. Husband noticed what was happening and quickly jumped on board. So we're now reading the books in order, and watching the movie whenever one of us finishes the next book -- which is always when Husband finishes the book now, since he's a crazy fast reader.

The books are wonderful. I admit it. They are incredibly crafty and witty when Rowling wants/needs to be, and I can't help but get suckered into it. I definitely like the lighter side, and am slowing down the darker the books get. But I do enjoy being able to read at my own pace. It's not a competition (although it does kind of sound like one...) and it's not the release of any of them. There are no spoilers to look out for, and I don't need to be the first kid in class to finish them either. It's kinda nice. In just a week or so I leisurely made it to book four, and well stopped. (I had a craving to read some Sherlock Holmes.) But that's settled and I'm back at it trucking along. I'm super excited to take the time to continue to appreciate all the stuff that gets ignored in the movies. Particularly Hermoine and the house-elf stuff. That stuff was totally skimmed when I had a little brother anxiously waiting for his turn to read the book and we were sharing a copy. But Hermoine is a badass, was totally my role model growing up, and I'm excited to read it and actually appreciate it.

I've also enjoyed watching the movies. Can't help it. And it's been funny to see them so close together. Not having years between a book's release/read and the movie. They are pretty cheesy. Don't get me wrong, great fun. But kind of terrible. Harry is a character that needs an omniscient narrator, so you really get a feel for what's going on in that kid's young little head. (a.k.a - what is wrong with Harry Potter??) It really makes no sense after reading the books which are so thorough in explaining stuff and his motivation for doing stuff. By comparison the movies are now like high-quality Potter Puppet Pals. Not a dig on their acting (they're just kids!) but in how frenzied the action and pacing is. And he just seems daft, like all the time! And without understanding the nuances of his rivalry I actually started to feel bad for Malfoy at the end of the last movie (Prisoner of Azkaban). I'll have to explain why in another post, but if you think about it, it's not a stretch of the imagination...besides the whole, father is a death eater thing...

If you want a good late-summer read, I recommend giving the books another go. And if you want a great laugh, watch the movie immediately after... which reminds me, I owe someone a viewing of Goblet of Fire...

'til next time!

I'm baaaaaaack!

So, I couldn't do it. I left thinking I was gone forever and here I am again. Let's just pretend that after I last updated, I have been so busy with the toils of Nanowrimo last November, and I've just now found a break to return... In reality, I did "win," or complete, the contest thing and have a pretty solid first draft of a zombie story I aptly titled "Crazy Zombie Adenture Novel Thing." I was too busy in my excitement to notice I spelled "adventure" wrong on the winner certificate. Oops.

But there has been so much going on lately, and stuffs pending for the future, that I couldn't not come back. I have to talk about it all! If you look at the header you'll notice I've changed it from "growing" geek culture to "living" it. I'm done trying to prove myself. There are no credentials. Hell, Chris Hardwick of Nerdist gets shit for not being the right kind of nerd, whatever that means. So why worry about it? I'm much to busy enjoying it. I'm just going to talk about stuff I like, and if you're thinking that's selfish, then you would be correct.

That said, I'm not a big fan of my previous mega-update posts, so hopefully this will be the last for a very long time because I will be so thorough in resuming this hobby of mine that there will be no need to catch up...

"Let me explain... no, there is too much... let me sum up." - Inigo Montoya

1. I got married so Fiance is now the Husband. The wedding was historical and awesome, and being married is the bees knees.

2. I've found some comic & book gems that I can't wait to talk about / review. Gaaah. So excited.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy.

4. I'm back to some old habits, including Sherlock (can finally brag that I finished reading A Study in Scarlet, which I started at least a year ago...geez.), playing Civ5 waaaay to much, and wishing I had more time for WOW (can't wait for this fall!), and contemplating working out (which I am DONE talking about. You don't care, I don't care. Just whatever. Boo.)

5. I think that's everything?? There was a World Cup this summer, so I'm missing memory of like 4 solid weeks of this year, because that was all I did and it's one big blur. And I've been on the road quite a bit too, so that doesn't help.

Yay!