Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it’s taken away. All of it. The Keeper understands. He’s trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation. Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest. But there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.
Dun-dun-DUNNN.
So reads the inner flap of Entwined by Heather Dixon.
I picked up this novel, first, because its cover was beautiful, second, because there is no cover mention of a dashing, mysterious boy for Azalea to fall in love with (always a danger behind pretty girl-in-a-dress covers), and third, because a line on the first page describes someone who “dances like a brick.” As someone who does, indeed dance like a brick, I can empathize with that. Also, as far as similes go, that’s a pretty good one, and I am a fan of good similes.
Dancing is wholly important to Entwined, as it is based upon the fairy tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” However, though it has fairy tale roots, it is not entirely the froofy novel that one might expect. Oh, there are plenty of balls and suitors and giggling in poofy dresses and, especially, spinning around to an array of dances that no one but a ballroom dancing aficionado could recognize. Plenty. Beneath its glittery surface, though, Entwined is ultimately a story of loss, recovery, and sisterly girl power, and as fairy tale adaptations go, it’s one of the more satisfying ones out there.
Oddly for a fairy tale novel, Entwined doesn’t give many early hints that it is based upon a fairy tale, which was one of its strengths for me. There are some references to old magic that lingers in the royal family’s palace, as well as the disgustingly evil former king who magicked the place, but most of the pages are devoted to the twelve sisters and their relationships with each other and their father. There is a mother at one point, too, but in classic fairy tale fashion, she’s dead before the story even gets going. (This is not a spoiler. The moment you meet the sweet, loving, sickly mom who smells of cake and baby oil, you know she’s a goner.)
The interactions between these characters are believable and interesting, often in unanticipated ways. The sisters’ relationship with their father, while precarious, even uncomfortable at first, became one of my favorite parts of this novel. I also liked how the author managed to keep all twelve sisters present in the story. She could have easily chosen to select two or three of them to represent the whole and then shooed the rest to the background, but she didn’t. Readers do see more of oldest sisters Azalea, Bramble and Clover (The sisters are named in alphabetical order, like hurricanes), but the others appear often enough to make the reader feel the largeness and, more importantly, the closeness of the group.
Even the minor characters in this novel are well-used, even though most of them begin the story as either supreme irritations or suspiciously likable in the obvious-romantic-interest way. A character of the latter sort almost derailed my liking of the book early on. At the book’s opening ball, we meet the rumpled yet dashing Lord Bradford, who has such amazing dexterity that he can catch a falling pudding glass and leave its contents perfectly undisturbed. In my experience, when a character is rumpled, dashing, and named “Lord” anything, when he impresses the ladies with amazing feats of legerdemain, and when he appears less than 30 pages in, you know some sweet, passionate, period novel romance is coming. Usually. Luckily, Entwined does not go down this path, even though it could easily have done so. And though I was initially skeptical of him, Lord Bradford gradually earned the honor of being added to My List of Fictional Guys that I Would Totally Date If They Popped Into The Real World. Another favorite was the unfortunately named Lord Teddie Haftenravenscher, who despite his initially irritating presence rendered many scenes in which he appeared hilarious. The same is true of other suitors who show up trying to win the princesses’ hands. The cast of characters in this book is large, but each one is handled well for the purposes of the story.
The one main downside to this large cast, though, is that in a book this size, it leaves minimal room for characterization. The characters are likable and well-described, but even the princesses do not change much, except to have momentary spurts of courage or realize that they are in love. In fact, the only person who undergoes any significant change is the King, which is probably why the scenes in which he appears become some of the strongest in the book. The general staticness of the other characters’ development makes for some slow reading in parts. However, the general likability of the characters’ personalities compensates enough for that lack to make the story worth continuing, as does Dixon’s attention to random little details that render the world of her story vivid and entrancing.
Interestingly, I enjoyed most of these little details of the story more than I did the main conflict itself. Oh, yes, the princesses dancing sneakily in a magical hidden clearing with creepy-hot magical fantasy guy Keeper was kind of cool and, if the book is ever made into a film, will make for some awesome visuals. When it came down to it, though, I was more interested in the sisters and their lives than I was Keeper and his motives. And though, by the end of the novel, Keeper is meant to be a truly terrifying figure, I wasn’t as terrified by him as I would have liked to be. However, his evilness does manifest in some visually neat ways at the end, and it does allow for pretty much every character in the story to go out with one big BOO-YA!, which we do not see enough of in books (both all characters having a good send-off and actual use of the word “Boo-ya!” Not that “boo-ya” is actually said in the story, because that would be weird and out of place, but it is totally there in spirit).
Since I am a cover geek, I feel an obligation to comment on Entwined’s cover, too. As I mentioned earlier, Entwined has a beautiful cover, with wonderful curly lettering, shiny leaf-shaped silver detailing, and a back-shot of a girl in a pretty but slightly shabby-looking gown—a perfect fit for the story because silver becomes more important than one would expect, and because the princesses in question are not from a particularly rich kingdom (another element that I liked. When was the last time you saw a poor-ish princess?). As beautiful as it is, though, it is still one among many girl-in-a-dress covers that seem to be gracing the YA shelves these days, and because of that, it risks being lost between [insert book of the moment here] and all of its cousins.
Enter the savior that is Heather Dixon’s blog.
I liked Entwined enough to scour the Internet for the author’s blog, and found it at http://story-monster.blogspot.com. Dixon was (and still is) a storyboard artist before she became a published author, and as artist-writers tend to do, she produced some art in keeping with her story. My initial reaction upon finishing the book was a positive one, but after visiting the blog and seeing her art, my reaction rocketed from one that I could coherently describe to “OMG AZALEA AND BRAMBLE LOOK LIKE DISNEY PRINCESSES BUT AWESOMERRRRR!!!1!1!!lsfjsklajf jailf 😀 ”
Exactly that.
I am totally an animated princess fangirl. Even for princesses that no one cares about anymore (Odette and Amalthea, anyone?). And Entwined’s cover, as beautiful as it is, does not exude that “THIS COULD TOTALLY BE A PRINCESS MOVIE BUT BETTER” vibe that Dixon’s art does, which is a shame. Her art isn’t even featured in the book itself, which is a greater shame. I know that the publisher is trying to appeal to the masses who can tolerate generically pretty girl-in-dress covers, as well as the audience that likes fairy tale books but shuns the illustrated ones as too childish. Still, as is, the cover and lack of illustrations are causing it to miss that valuable princess-fangirl audience (Don’t laugh. THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN YOU THINK). I’d like to see an edition of the book designed and illustrated by Dixon herself for this very reason. It would do the story better justice.
In essence, Entwined is unique among fairy tale adaptations in that it’s more interested in its characters than its magic. If you are looking for a subtly-realized book about sisterhood and light romance with a dash of magic thrown in, it’s highly recommended. It’s also recommended if you love Disney princesses and animation in general, because though it does not look it, this book is an animated classic waiting to happen.
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EXTRAS!
If you’re not a fan of Heather Dixon at this point, you will be after seeing this coloring sheet that she produced:
Also, her Deviant Art page: http://betterthanbunnies.deviantart.com/
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Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.
Strongly Recommended
What to Watch When You’ve Finished The Seraphim Revival (or, a Holiday Gift Guide for Mecha Nerds)
The Seraphim Revival may be complete, but if you’re anything like the guy who wrote it, you’ve got a fever and the only prescription is more…giant robots. Well, never fear, ‘cause Dr. Holo’s got you covered.
The titles listed below are movies or anime series that either 1) influenced the writing of the Seraphim Revival trilogy, or 2) were discovered afterward but are still hecka fun for mecha fans.
We enjoyed all these, so we hope you will, too! 😀 (And of course, if you happened upon this page and have no idea what the Seraphim Revival is, we invite you to check it out! The first book in the series, Bane of the Dead, will be only $.99 through 12/30/17, so this is the perfect time!)
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
You can’t be a mecha fan without also being a Gundam fan. It’s the rules. There will be a lot of Gundam on this list. Jacob’s first foray into the world of Gundam came in the Toonami golden age’s airing of Gundam Wing, and we may have squeed a little too loudly when we realized it was finally getting a collector’s edition Blu-Ray release this year. If that so expensive but UGH SO PRETTY collector’s edition makes your wallet scream, there are some Blu-Ray only options, too: Collection 1, Collection 2, and Endless Waltz. The main series and Endless Waltz are also streaming on CrunchyRoll.
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Re:0096
Gundam Wing may be the most pivotal Gundam for us, but Gundam Unicorn is hands-down our favorite. Set early in the Universal Century arc, it includes a lot of fan service references to classic Gundam, but it’s far from a fan service series*. Its plot is solid, and the animation is the most spectacular any Gundam series has ever seen. The series’ Blu-Ray/DVD release is a little wack, though (2 episodes per disc? What is this? 2001?), so if you don’t want to take the physical media plunge, it’s available for streaming on CrunchyRoll.
*I should specify that the fan service refers to mecha and character appearances, not boobs. If you want boob fanservice there’s, like, three seconds of boob in The 08th MS Team.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
Char’s Counterattack is a Gundam classic – perhaps the Gundam classic – and it got a fantastic Blu-Ray release late last year. It won’t make a whole lot of sense if you’re not familiar with the original Mobile Suit Gundam series (or Unicorn), but it’s still worth it for the awesome mecha/military drama (and if you enjoy watching annoying characters get their just, fiery desserts). >D
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
The 08th MS Team is unique in Gundam for being a small, down-to-earth story of a quartet of Gundam fighters, rather than an epic, sweeping space opera. The shifted focus from space battles opens up room for characters with very human, relatable problems, and the cast is charming in its authenticity. It’s not a must-watch, but it is a good watch for Gundam fans who are looking for something a little different.
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
Jacob scoffs at this entry, but H.P. loves it, so it stays. G Gundam is, admittedly, the black sheep of the Gundam family in that it is…well, terrible (especially in comparison to masterpieces like Char’s Counterattack and Unicorn).
However, it is also a whole lot of fun, if only because of its plethora of questionable choices that somehow earned the approval of a production committee. It’s like the anime equivalent of Miley Cyrus at the 2014 Grammys. A unified world where the governing country is determined by mecha fights every 4 years? Check. Hilariously stereotyped Gundam designs and pilots? Check. A Gundam so evil it’s called the Devil Gundam? Check. Participating in Gundam fights to find one’s missing brother even though that is probably the most inefficient method of finding someone ever? Check. The main character has a dramatic backstory, so at least it shares that with other Gundam series.
In short, it’s a hot mess, but a hilarious mess, too. For a serious Gundam fan, it’s probably the least watchable of all the Gundam series. But for fans of sprawling mecha train wrecks, it’s a blast. It hasn’t gotten a Blu-Ray release (understandably so), but it is available in two collections on DVD and available for streaming on CrunchyRoll.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
There have been approximately 20,000 versions of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and all are entertaining (if you find entertainment in angsty teens, mecha drama, and relationships so twisted they’d make the Greek gods cringe), so take your pick. Classic series? The End of Evangelion movie? The Death and Rebirth movie? These all had a huge influence on the writing of the Seraphim Revival books.
Our preferred versions, though, are the recent Rebuild of Evangelion movies: 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone, 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance, and 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo. This is primarily because they update the low-budget original series with beautiful animation and mecha battles, and then go off the track (and off the rails) in 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, diverging from the plot of the original to deliver something new to fans.
Transformers: The Movie
Gundam Wing may have been the pivotal mecha series for Jacob, but Transformers was the gateway drug. Without this masterpiece of toy-inspired filmmaking, the Seraphim Revival series wouldn’t exist. The 1986 movie traumatized and enthralled Tiny Jacob and even today is a regular replay in House Holo.
Robot Jox
Robot Jox holds up better if you watched it as a kid before you had any real taste in movies, or if you just like bad movies. Jacob is the former and H.P. is the latter, which made this movie perfect for us. It’s G Gundam-like in that nations settle their disputes by pitting giant robots against each other, and there is drama! Deception! Hilariously bad stereotypes! But mostly 1980s robots wailing on each other. It’s a fun little watch if you want a laugh involving giant robots.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Jacob discovered Gurren Lagann too late for it to have any influence on the Seraphim Revival, but it’s H.P.’s favorite anime of all time, the anime recommendation that convinced Jacob she was marriage material, and a list of mecha recommendations would be incomplete without it.
This is a ridiculous show where the robots are powered by fighting spirit and manliness, where they combine and sprout new weapons with even less regard for physics than normal anime, and where the scale of battle becomes so extreme by the end that…you know what? It just has to be seen to be believed. However, beneath all its hyperactive action, there’s a story with an unexpected amount of heart, and by the end, it’ll leave you cheering for humanity. (And these days, how often can you say that about anything?)
If you don’t feel like forking out the insane cash for that (admittedly gorgeous) limited edition Blu-Ray box set, there’s a more wallet-friendly DVD edition. It’s also streaming on CrunchyRoll.
The Vision of Escaflowne
Escaflowne didn’t influence the Seraphim Revival as much as the aforementioned series, but it’s worth mentioning because 1) it’s unique for its fantasy setting (as opposed to a futuristic sci-fi setting), and 2) it just got a wholly unexpected Blu-Ray collector’s edition that is actually pretty slick. Outside a few dated technology references, the anime has aged surprisingly well. (It was 20 years old last year.) The story goes a little weak at the end, but the rest of the series makes up for it with dang cool Guymelef (mecha/armor/whatever) battles, a fascinating world, and, let’s face it, Allen because he’s super hot.
Jacob surprised H.P. with this edition for her birthday, and it’s been one of her favorite watches this year.
Pacific Rim
Pssh. Did you expect us to write a post of mecha recommendations and not include Pacific Rim? 😛
So ends our list of Seraphim Revival watch-alikes! Mecha fans, what would you add?
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Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.
Valiant Dust – Book Review
When David Weber puts a book in your hands and tells you to read it, you do, and so here is my book report on my recent ARC of Valiant Dust by Richard Baker.
In Valiant Dust, Sikander Singh North is an aristocrat-turned-soldier, off to begin his first mission on the Aquilan Commonwealth starship CSS Hector. Sikander himself is not wholly Aquilan; rather, he is from Kashmir, a colonial possession of Aquila that, while economically valuable, does not yet have the technology to construct its own fleet of interstellar warships, and so he serves there to learn how he might better serve his home. As he does so, though, he’s in for a bumpy ride. For CSS Hector has been sent to the planet of Gadira II, where tensions between the ruling sultanate and the rebel caidists have long been mounting on the planet, and where forces that aren’t supposed to be there have suddenly appeared in orbit…
Valiant Dust is easily one of the best pieces of military sci-fi I’ve read this year. Its fast pace and its complex, yet efficiently characterized cast make it a fun read, while its streamlined descriptions of far-future ship tech make it accessible. If you’re a reader who has been wanting to try military sci-fi but has been daunted by the overwhelming techno- and military-babble that is so common in the genre, Valiant Dust presents an excellent starting point.
Those praises (and David’s recommendation) aside, I have to admit that the cultures involved were what grabbed my attention most. Sikander hails from an Indian-descended planet, while Gadira II is Arabic-descended and Islamic-influenced. The ruling powers of Gadira are liberal enough to be okay, if uneasy, about a princess taking an active interest in military affairs, while the citizenry is variably conservative – though not, it should be noted, necessarily terroristic, except where the story’s rebellion is concerned. And even then the rebellion is not religiously-based, but rather rooted in citizen concerns that their rulers are making deals with offworld powers that will benefit the elite, not the common people – or that will eventually benefit the offworlders exclusively, leaving Gadira an exploited, ruined planet. The only actual terrorism in the book takes place in Sikander’s past, where he loses much of his family and innocence in a politically-motivated attack. The circumstances surrounding that tragedy – expressed in well-placed flashbacks throughout the book – give Sikander an emotional tie to the aforementioned Gadiran princess (that is, Amira) Ranya Meriem el-Nasir, who lost her parents in a similar manner. (Ranya herself is one of the most engaging characters in the novel. Though a small romance blooms between her and Sikander, it takes a backseat to her whip-smart attention to political details and her consequent involvement in the uprisings that eventually take place. She became one of my favorite characters as soon as she appeared in the book.)
I don’t know enough about the intricacies of Indian or Arabic cultures to comment upon how accurate the depictions are – and really, given that the novel is set so far in the future (implying plenty of time for cultural change) the point is moot. However, given that the vast majority of sci-fi and fantasy involves Western-inspired cultures, the fact that this novel puts non-Western cultures front and center in a respectful, detailed, effortless, timeless way makes it an instant gem. I mention the last detail in particular because while this is a novel made up of currently-contentious puzzle pieces – namely complexities surrounding Islam and capitalist/imperialist exploitation – those pieces are handled in such a way that readers will be able to pick up this book 50+ years from now and still be able to find some meaning in it. It doesn’t try to provide obvious commentary on any of its components, which in turn makes it one of the more accidentally-engaging political reads I’ve ever read.
All that said, though, this book isn’t trying to be an Important Political Book. What it’s trying to be is a hecka fun military sci-fi action book that just happens to have political complexities at its center. The food for thought is there if you look for it, but it’s still a great read even if all you want out of it is explosions.
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Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.
Interstellar – Movie Review
IN SHORT: The Earth’s blighted crops are dying off. Now a small group of astronauts must venture beyond our solar system in hopes of finding a new home for humanity.
WHAT IT IS: A fantastically imaginative film that explores several hard science theories while maintaining a heart wrenching father-daughter core to it. Black holes, wormholes, time dilation, and a few surprises find a home in this breathtaking film.
WHAT IT IS NOT: While Interstellar is built on a solid foundation of science, there were a few “science” moments that took me out of the movie. More nitpicks that anything else, really. Same with the human elements.
WHAT I THOUGHT: Go see this movie.
Seriously, just stop reading and go see it. It’s that good. I’m struggling to remember the last time I was this impressed with a movie. Also, it’s going to be hard for me to talk about it for fear of spoilers, but I’ll do my best.
At its core, Interstellar is about exploring the unknown set against a backdrop of desperation. Earth is dying, and people need a new home. It explores the edge of our understanding of physics, then dives off that edge. The movie takes its science seriously, and tries to be true to our current understanding of the universe. Don’t believe me? Some individual frames took 100 hours to render because they accurately modeled how light bends. Now that’s attention to detail!
The story comes with a powerful emotional core, enhanced with a healthy dose of space travel mucking up the passage of time. The tumultuous relationship between Cooper and his daughter can be heart wrenching at times. I actually got a little misty eyed over this one, and that doesn’t often happen to me at the movies.
The music deserves special note for effectively setting the mood. For example, there’s a scene around the movie’s middlish section that shows one of the Ranger space shuttles docking with the larger Endurance (the circular spaceship featured in the movie posters). All by itself, it’s a fairly standard docking sequence. Add in the music, and ohmygoshSTRESS!
And that’s another thing. This is not a relaxing movie to watch. It is STRESSFUL. The plight of humanity is communicated very effectively to the viewer. Wheat is gone. Okra is gone. Corn is basically the only crop left, and it’s starting to die. Things are GRIM, and this ratchets up the tension for all the space scenes that follow.
That being said, grounding a movie in science this firmly can be a double-edged sword. The smallest pebbles in the story can feel like boulders. For example …
START – MINOR SPOILERS
- The agricultural blight breathes nitrogen instead of oxygen. It’s implied the blight will win against oxygen breathing life forms because the Earth’s atmosphere has so much nitrogen in it. This seemed a bit silly to me, given how inert nitrogen is under normal circumstances.
- So, we’ve got this super-massive black hole called Gargantua with a bunch of planets orbiting around it. I kept wondering if the radiation from the accretion disc would make all the planets glow in the dark. Then again, given Gargantua’s size (100 million suns in mass), those planets are probably quite a distance away. Well, except for the one that’s so close its time is dilated like crazy, which brings me to my biggest complaint …
- With three planets to choose from, the crew picks the absolute worst to try first. They clearly know that one hour on the planet equals seven Earth years, and at least some of them have a strong grasp of relativity. With the first expedition leaving about ten years before them, at best they have a little over an hour of data from the planet surface (which should be clear from the quantity of data and its timestamps). Never mind the problems of colonizing such a world in the first place. Any ship you send to the surface comes back years later.
END – MINOR SPOILERS
There were also a smattering of odd moments between the characters, but these complaints really amount to nitpicks and nothing more. In the end, Interstellar delivers and then some.
So check it out if you’re looking for a story with heart where the science behind the adventure really matters. Just synchronize your watches before stepping into the theater. You know. Just in case.
VERDICT: Strongly recommended.
Physics of the Impossible – Book Review
IN SHORT: A wonderfully optimistic glimpse of the future, viewed through the prism of advanced modern sciences and the creations of many beloved sci-fi franchises.
WHAT IT IS: A delightful thought experiment. Take a sci-fi trope and ask the question “Is there anything in our current understanding of physics that says we can’t do this?” If the answer is no, then explore how we could theoretically do that. Chapter 1 covers building force fields.
WHAT IT IS NOT: Don’t expect complex equations, mathematical proofs, graphs of hard data, or engineering diagrams, but also don’t let that dissuade you. Michio Kaku is a thoroughly talented communicator of Big Ideas. Throughout the book, he skillfully keeps the discussion understandable (most of the time, anyway), even when talking about string theory or positrons traveling backwards through time.
WHAT I THOUGHT: This book is awesome! Seriously, I’m struggling to remember the last time I enjoyed a book this much. Here’s a snippet of a recent conversation I had while reading Physics of the Impossible.
Jacob Holo: I think I just figured out a way to destroy a planet with a flashlight.
H.P. Holo: How?
Jacob Holo: First I need a sum of negative matter the size of Jupiter.
H.P. Holo: I don’t have that in my purse.
Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed every last chapter, even when it started to get really out there with time travel craziness.
Michio Kaku takes a lot of familiar ideas from science fiction, such as parallel universes and cloaking devices, then guides the reader on a journey of what may be in the centuries and millennia to come. Along the way, he draws upon a wide sampling of science fiction tales both popular and obscure, old and new. Together with well written stories about famous scientists and their theories, he weaves a memorable base from which to explore Big Questions.
Is that impossible?
Could we someday do that?
How?
Take teleportation, for example. Most of us are familiar with beaming from the Star Trek franchise, but did you know that physicists are already tackling real teleportation experiments? Granted, we’re talking about an atom of cesium here or a clump of rubidium there. But still. Teleportation. It could happen, probably not like we see it in Star Trek, but it could happen because nothing in our current understanding of physics says we can’t.
Plus any book that references Xenosaga and Invader Zim in the same breath gets bonus points from me. From metamaterials for invisibility cloaks to negative matter throats for stable wormholes, Michio Kaku tackles a wide range of topics. Seriously people, Chapter 1 explains how to build a force field. A force field! Chapter 12 covers time travel.
For anyone who loves both science fiction and the science of what may be, this book comes with my strongest possible recommendations. Go ahead. Dive in. I loved it, and I think you will too.
VERDICT: Strongly recommended.
Dark Souls II Collector’s Edition Guide – Book Review
IN SHORT: A lavishly produced 460-page hardcover tome with everything a Dark Souls II fan could want.
WHAT IT IS: Massive and beautifully bound, this collector’s edition guide for Dark Souls II not only includes a great deal of information about the game, but also sheds light on its sometimes nebulous background story. Many sections were written by gamers for gamers, with writing credits to Marcus Sanders and Franz von Eisenheim, otherwise known on YouTube as EpicNameBro and A German Spy.
WHAT IT IS NOT: As with many releases of this nature, it was written while the game was still being developed, resulting in some rushed elements. For example, there are an unusually high number of typographical mistakes in the guide. Fortunately, this doesn’t detract from the value of its content.
WHAT I THOUGHT: I love Demon’s Souls. I love Dark Souls. And I love Dark Souls II. Also, I probably spend more time than I should on YouTube watching videos related to these games. When I learned that the people behind two of my favorite Souls-related YouTube channels were working on the new guide, I had to check it out.
I do not regret this decision.
The guide is something special and awesome for two important reasons. One, it is packed with Dark Souls II lore. Two, it was partially written by two gamers who are near fanatical in their devotion to the Souls games.
For those not familiar with the Souls games, the stories can be … a bit hard to follow. Most of the information directly provided is vague, and the rest is even vaguer. A lot of story is delivered through environments, item descriptions, and other indirect methods. It also doesn’t help that some characters in the games have no idea what they’re talking about or are outright liars.
The Dark Souls II Collector’s Edition Guide sheds a light on all this. It provides bits of lore with every area, enemy, boss, and item. This is really great stuff for anyone who wishes to learn more about the backstory. It even includes a lore index so you can quickly find the bits of backstory you’re curious about. How cool is that?
The actual game strategies are top notch, particularly the boss strategies which discuss each move a boss has in detail. Enemies, covenants, items, world events. Really, everything is covered and it is covered very well. The maps are also very impressive and surprisingly easy to read, given how densely packed Souls games can be.
Now it’s not perfect. There are the occasional omissions. For example, the water in a certain boss arena rises during the fight, making the battle much more difficult if it drags out. Therefore, it’s best to deal with the boss quickly before this becomes an issue. This is not mentioned in the guide. There are also a significant number of spelling and grammatical errors. But really, it’s not enough to diminish my enjoyment of this guide.
If you are a fan of the series, are interested in the lore, or just want to sharpen your Souls skills, this is a fantastic guide that does it all in a lush hardbound package.
VERDICT: Strongly recommended.
Also be sure to check out the EpicNameBro and A German Spy YouTube channels for plenty of great Souls content.
Airman – Book Review
Conor Broekhart was made for the air. Born in the middle of a hot air balloon crash, he has ever since sought to reenter the atmosphere. As the student of a French aeronautics expert, not to mention a family friend of the king of the scientifically-curious Saltee Islands, he’s in a perfect position to make his dream of inventing a powered flying machine come true—until he’s framed for a murder that rocks the Saltees to their core. Imprisoned in the unforgiving dungeons beneath Little Saltee, Conor must now face despicable prison guards, manipulate dangerous gang members, and keep himself alive, all the while trying to escape. For he holds a secret that could change the fate of the Saltee Islands, and a certain murderous marshal doesn’t want it to be heard…
Eoin Colfer’s Airman is a fun, adventuresome romp through 1800s Ireland and the air beyond.
While the novel can appeal to readers of historical fiction, it is better read as an adventure scientist tale a la Indiana Jones. Attentive readers can learn a lot about the science and early history of powered flight from the story,but Airman is most interested in taking its readers on a daring journey from the depths of inhumane dungeons, into the atmosphere itself, and everywhere in between. It’s the kind of story in which the best scientists know how to swordfight, plans are secretly recorded on dungeon walls in bioluminescent moss, and gangs of spunky, witty street urchins are effortlessly assembled to aid the heroes. Which is to say, the stuff of Hollywood movies rather than history class. Still, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The novel succeeds at many other elements of the adventure scientist subgenre, with energetic action scenes and a memorable cast of colorful, properly exaggerated characters, even if some of the characterizations are obvious. (One character is named Bonvilain. Guess whose side he’s on.)
The only thing that I truly disliked about the story was its approach to the history of its setting. In Airman, the Saltee Islands are an itty bitty group of islands off the Irish Coast that became a sovereign nation because a king, in a supreme act of royal sass, decided to put a complaining subject in his place by forcing him to rule over the useless plot of land. This promptly came back to bite said king, for massive amounts of diamonds were then discovered in the Saltees, and since the new king was awesome, he used this newfound wealth to create a utopia, where poverty was minimal, people lived happily and scientific innovations were always welcomed and encouraged. In reality, the Saltee Islands are one big HA HA NOPE. A quick visit to the islands’ website, http://www.salteeislands.info/, reveals that the only interesting things that the Saltees ever did were be a bird sanctuary, have some pirates, and trick ships into thinking they’d be fun to ram into. Which are all neat in their own ways, but not Benevolent-Ruler-Diamond-Mining-Utopia neat. But then again, this does fit Airman cleanly into the same genre of fiction where biblical artifacts can melt faces off Nazis, so historical accuracy isn’t really a requirement.
Overall, Airman is an entertaining read, especially for readers who are looking for a fun bit of historical escapism. Fans of historical fiction and adventure will definitely find something to like in it. For similar reasons, steampunk fans may also want to give it a try. (Even though it isn’t steampunk, its historical period and energetic approach to science echo elements of the best steampunk titles.)
Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries, Volume 1 – Book Review
Lizzie Newton is equal parts Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes, a budding mystery writer who does more than write mysteries—She solves them, too. No one wants to believe this of her, though, because this is the Victorian era, after all, and women don’t do that sort of thing. This is why Lizzie must hide her talents behind a masculine pen name and send her deductions through her lawyer-in-training fiancé, Edwin. But this doesn’t stop her from traipsing onto crime scenes as she sees fit, prodding corpses, and showing up everyone who thinks she’s wrong with a cute grin and the power of logic and science.
I didn’t expect much of Hey-jin Jeon’s Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries Volume 1 simply because I’d never heard of it before. Now that I’ve finished it, I can’t help but wonder why. It’s a true gem of a comic.
What’s most impressive about Lizzie Newton is the number of things that could have gone wrong in the comic compared to the number of things that it did very well. The illustration on the cover—wide-eyed Lizzie, smiling sweetly in a frilly dress—led me to expect the adventures of a vapid girly-girl who stumbles clumsily but adorably into her solutions because that’s what happens in manga where the protagonist is a cute girl. Lizzie is anything but. While she is absent-minded, it’s in an intellectual way—She’s so distracted by the thrill of solving a mystery that it never occurs to her that it is NOT OK to poke her finger into the bullet hole in a corpse’s head before the police even arrive to investigate the scene. And though she is, for all appearances, a cute Victorian lady with limited practical sense, there’s a real brain behind that bonnet, and a personal collection of books and scientific equipment to back it up. She’s a perfect combination of “feminine” cuteness and “masculine” logic, without being an exaggeration of either. Her relationship with Edwin is also refreshingly positive. Edwin himself is a capable (as opposed to amusingly bumbling) companion. Though he does, of course, become exasperated with Lizzie’s absent-mindedness, he’s ultimately supportive of her investigative hobbies and does what he can to make Lizzie’s discoveries known—in her name. In fact, in addition to portraying a female protagonist who is productively interested in science (as opposed to using science for comedic, explosive effect), the comic makes a notable effort to say, “You know that famous male scientist who discovered that thing? Yeah, half of that work was done by an un-credited woman” (in this face, Ada Lovelace, who wrote the language for the Analytical Engine that preceded Charles Babbage’s unfinished Difference Engine). Yet none of these feministic elements are ever preachy. Lizzie Newton is definitely a Girl Power/Girl-Who-is-GASP-Interested-In-Science book, but it’s more interested in its amusing characters and the details of its plot to dwell on the social concerns that it brings up.
Plot-wise, it’s an interesting whodunit, though the process Lizzie follows to solve the mystery is more interesting than the mystery itself. I never really cared about who may or may not have killed whom in the story, but that was mostly because 1) they were background characters anyway, and 2) the rest of the comic is more interesting.
The art in the book is also worth a mention. The detail that artist Ki-ha Lee puts into costumes and settings is reminiscent of Yana Toboso’s Black Butler, as is the occasional tonal shift between dark, dramatic illustration and funny chibis. In fact, I’d go as far to say that this manga is what Black Butler would be if it involved a detective and an actual point. Tonally, the two are almost identical (even if their stories are ABSOLUTELY dissimilar). The care put into the artwork also recalls Kaoru Mori’s Emma, which was noted for its artist’s obsessive interest in Victorian details, even if her character designs were a bit blah. Lee’s designs lean more toward Toboso’s distinct, expressive characters. Either way, the artwork is lovely and enough reason, on its own, to read the book.
Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries, then, is an excellent manga for readers who enjoy a good mystery with wonderful art, a dash of scientific investigation, and a sneaky lot of girl power spunk. (Note: The back of the book claims that it also contains “a spot of Jane Austen,” which it doesn’t, unless you count the fact that Lizzie shares a name with one of Austen’s protagonists. Also Jane Austen was Regency, not Victorian, so GET YOUR LITERARY PERIODS STRAIGHT, MARKETERS. Anyway, regardless, Austenites are likely to enjoy it because frilly dresses and pride-and-prejudice-smackdowns and stuff.)
Ender’s Game – Movie Review
IN SHORT: Aliens invaded and kicked our butts. Now it’s our turn to show them who’s boss by unleashing our most terrifying weapon … children.
WHAT IT IS: A phenomenal sci-fi adventure with brains, beauty, and thrilling action.
WHAT IT IS NOT: This is not your typical YA movie. Ender’s story is not a cheerful one. Don’t expect much in the way of humor, romance, or people smiling. This movie is grim and down-to-business.
WHAT I THOUGHT: OMGLOLBBQ! I love this movie! As a huge fan of the book, I loved pretty much every minute of it. I even didn’t mind the changes and cuts they made. Well, at least not too much.
Ender’s Game has inherited the best from the novel and streamlined it into a truly spectacular package. Now, that’s not to say it’s perfect. It does feel rushed at times, as if the movie is straining to hold in as much book-awesome as possible. For example, Ender’s progression through Battle School is ridiculously fast, and I really wish we’d seen more of him in command of Dragon Army, but oh well. Cuts had to be made somewhere, and the end result is still thoroughly enjoyable.
Here’s the story of a boy being molded into the perfect weapon. Through one trial after another, Ender teeters on a knife’s edge between genius commander and psychopathic killer. Asa Butterfield’s performance really had me believing in the character. When you see Ender’s eyes during the Giant’s Drink, you know this isn’t a kid to mess around with.
Plus, there are the space battles. Oh man, there is some lush and vibrant eye candy saved for the movie’s climax. The battles are colorful and fun to watch, but they also give a sense of tactical depth. Instead of the chaotic melee of most movie space battles, these play out with precise formations. I love all the fighters zipping about, each so hazardously close to the next. They’re a delight to watch.
Overall, it’s hard for me to judge this movie impartially. I love the book, and that colors my views on the movie. I know for a fact I enjoyed this movie more because I’d read the book beforehand. However, that doesn’t change my opinion in the slightest.
VERDICT: Strongly recommended.
Dredd 3D – Movie Review
IN SHORT: In a dystopian future, a vicious gang leader locks down a skyscraper in order to kill two judges. Unfortunately for her, these “judges” come packing some serious heat.
WHAT IT IS: A tight, exciting action movie that entertains from start to finish. Dredd 3D is a great example of a compact, focused, well-executed story that knows what it wants to be and accomplishes it.
WHAT IT IS NOT: Well, it’s not kid friendly. That’s for sure. It’s not slasher gore, but it is a graphic movie that earns its R rating. The movie also lacks depth. The characters and the world they inhabit are interesting, don’t get me wrong, but they’re clearly not the focus. The action is.
WHAT I THOUGHT: Let’s just get this out of the way. Dredd 3D is a fantastic action movie. My first reaction after finishing it was to watch it again. It’s been a while since I saw a pure action movie that just hit all the right notes. Dredd 3D is that action movie.
The mood of the movie is well done. Here is a dystopian future where hundreds of millions live within one massive, unbroken city stretching across the eastern coast of North America. The city seethes with the energy of too many people crammed too tightly together. Its scattered law enforcement can barely hold the chaos at bay. Even though we only get glimpses of this future outside the main story arc, it still manages to feel believable.
The action is exciting, well paced, and very violent. It’s a fun movie to watch. However, all of that focus on action is going to take its toll elsewhere. Judge Dredd, the titular character, isn’t much of a character. He’s more an unstoppable, bullet-spewing force of nature than a human being. His emotional range includes: the scowl, the intense scowl, and the super extra scowly scowl.
There are some brief moments where the movie humanizes Dredd, such as when he stuns two kids holding him at gunpoint instead of shooting them dead (his normal response to problems), but these moments are few and far between.
His sidekick, the rookie judge Anderson, fairs much better. Her story arc is a predictable progression, but it is fun to watch her grow from an unsure newbie that Dredd views with contempt to a capable partner he respects. Her journey is the most interesting in the movie … probably because it’s the only character arc actually in the movie.
To sum it up, Dredd 3D doesn’t try to be a whole lot of things. It sticks to a few core ideas and gets them right. In the end, that’s why it succeeds and why it’s a blast to watch.
VERDICT: Strongly Recommended.
Pacific Rim – Movie Review
IN SHORT: Giant alien monstrosities invade Earth through an interdimensional portal deep in the Pacific Ocean. The solution to this problem? Giant frickin’ robots!
WHAT IT IS: Giant robot versus giant monster porn at its ABSOLUTE FINEST!
WHAT IT IS NOT: Anything that remotely makes sense. Seriously, just check your brain at the door and have a good time.
WHAT I THOUGHT: This is the most fun I’ve had at the movies all year. In fact, I’m hard pressed to recall a recent movie I enjoyed more than Pacific Rim. It’s an absolute blast that should not be missed.
This movie has an unabashed, unquenchable sense of fun. It never lingers on the non-fun for very long. For example, the main character’s brief emo I-don’t-want-to-be-a-pilot phase is beaten out of him by his commander in three sentences.
The movie sets out to entertain, and it achieves this objective marvelously. The fights are tense and exciting, full of delicious visual eye candy. The giant monsters, named Kaiju, are powerful, formidable foes with plenty of variety and dangerous tenacity. Despite the ridiculous premise, I felt the dread of impending human extinction and became emotionally invested in the struggles of our heroes.
The giant robots, called Jaegers, are cool and fun to watch in action. Each one has a distinct feel in terms of design and combat execution. My only complaint is they feel a little too generic. Unlike classic giant robots such as Evangelion, Battletech, or Gundam, there’s no real way to look at a Jaeger and say: Aha! That’s a Jaeger! Notice the [distinguishing feature]. But this is a minor quibble, and does not detract from the movie.
The characters are, almost without exception, likable and fun to follow. Heck, even the hothead jerk pilot ends up being likable. There’s even a small fart of a love story thrown in, but it’s so small it never detracts from the movie. The story stays firmly focused on what works best for a giant robot / giant monster beat ‘em up.
That’s not to say the movie is flawless. Far from it. The plot is absolute nonsense, even by the standards of other giant robot franchises. In most giant robot fiction, we get some sort of excuse for why we need the giant robots, such as how normal weapons bounce off Angel AT fields in Evangelion. Here, it’s just “to fight monsters we created monsters.” Seriously, how exactly is a giant robot better than, say, a thousand cruise missiles? And while we’re at it, how is building a giant wall around the ENTIRE PACIFIC OCEAN more cost effective than building more Jaegers? Seriously, if I start poking holes in this plot, we’ll be here all day.
Also, the way the Jaegers fight is just painfully stupid at times. The hero Jaeger, Gypsy Danger, has two huge plasma cannons and two very deadly swords (post upgrade). You’d think that the pilots would soften up their target at range with the plasma cannons and then close in with swords for the kill, right?
Um, yeah. The Kaiju don’t have guns, and we’ve got these plasma cannons. So let’s just wade in close and start punching them. Wait, that’s not working? I guess we should use this big Kaiju-slaying sword, then.
Seriously, why weren’t they using the sword from the beginning?
Oh, and did I mention the Jaegers need two pilots? Apparently, controlling a humanoid combat weapon is too much mental strain for a single human to handle. It takes two pilots doing a mind-meld sort of thing called a drift. For, you know, plot reasons I guess. Granted, from a story-telling perspective, drifting is very effective for revealing a pilot’s history. It’s also absolute nonsense.
So, yeah. Let’s just recognize the plot for what it is: an excuse to have giant robots brawling with giant monsters. And frankly, I’m perfectly fine with that.
VERDICT: Strongly Recommended.
Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC – Game Review
IN SHORT: Experience one last hurrah with the characters of Mass Effect 3 as you explore new areas within the Citadel and take down a surprising new foe.
WHAT IT IS: A massive amount of new character-based content! Every surviving character in my save file was represented with new scenes and dialogue, some with multiple scenes that clearly have branching content based on past decisions. The player can even throw a party at the end and chose which characters can participate. Oh, and Wrex can be a part of the team! At least for a short time.
WHAT IT IS NOT: Combat heavy. While there are a few hours of new combat to fight through, as well as a very well done boss battle, combat is not the focus of this DLC. The DLC is also not small. On Xbox Live, this is a 4 gigabyte download! Wow!
WHAT I THOUGHT: I’m a big fan of the Mass Effect series. Now, don’t get me wrong. The games are not without their faults, the series not without its missteps. But taken as a whole, it has been one hell of a ride. Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC feels like a love letter from Bioware to the fans, directed at those who wanted more of their favorite characters.
The overall tone of the DLC is light and fun, with various characters competing with each other during combat and enjoying the party afterwards. It contrasts nicely with the grim feel of the main Mass Effect 3 experience. Wrex, in particular, revels in the chance to join a good scrap. The new enemies are similar to fighting Cerberus, but have enough variety in their abilities to keep things interesting. One mission bears some resemblance to Kasumi’s heist DLC from Mass Effect 2, but it’s different enough that it still felt fresh to me.
The focus, however, is definitely on Mass Effect 3’s large cast of characters. With the sheer number of permutations to work through (who lived, who died, what events ended which way), I can only imagine what a nightmare the party scene was to script and program. It’s definitely something I want to replay, just to see what changes a different Shepard character can bring.
I suspect a portion of the new content is going to be hit or miss for some players, depending on how much they like a given character. Fortunately, the scenes are entirely optional, and the player even has control over who is invited to the big party in Shepard’s new apartment. There’s plenty of new story, but it’s not forced on the player if they don’t want it.
On a technical side, I did notice a little weirdness. The sound went a bit funny on me a few times, particularly when a lot of enemies were on screen and biotic explosions were going off. This is something I also heard in the Omega DLC, but not the main game. A few areas had some minor slowdown, but nothing that really detracted from the experience. Overall, the presentation was solid.
So, was it worth $15?
The Mass Effect experience is enlivened by its rich cast of characters, and this DLC gave me exactly what I wanted, more of those great characters. The combat was fun, if brief, but the party afterwards was where it’s at. To me, this is the true ending of Mass Effect series, and it is one I thoroughly enjoyed.
VERDICT: Strongly Recommended.