The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia – Reviewed

The Legend of Zelda series is 25-years-old this year, and to celebrate, Dark Horse and Nintendo have released the English translation of the book Hyrule Historia by Shigeru Miyamoto (the creator of The Legend of Zelda).  Currently, it’s Amazon’s top seller, and it’s no wonder why: The Legend of Zelda has had gamers yearning for a comprehensive look at the Zelda games almost as long as the series has existed!  For years, gamers have been begging for the lineage and extra details that Miyamoto has held  very close to his chest these few decades.  So, what can you expect from this little bundle of joy?  Sit tight and find out as we jump into what you get with your purchase (avoiding spoilers, of course). Read On »

Book Report – Gamers At Work

The videogames industry pulled in over $25 billion in 2011 and has crept into the everyday lives of not only hardcore enthusiasts, but casual users as well.  With home consoles, portable devices and mobile smartphones, every person is touched to some degree or another by this money-making juggernaut. Read On »

Tempting the Fates of Time: Tempest Book Report

Jackson Meyer has led a relatively normal life up until recently.  He’s got a job, he goes to school, he has a girlfriend… and then he discovers that he can travel back in time.  Unlike most time travel stories, this seems to be more of a glancing back in time, interacting with people, yet never able to change the course of events.  At least that seemed to be the case until he and his girlfriend are attacked one night and she is fatally shot.  In a flash of panic, Jackson manages to jump away from the scene and finds himself trapped two years earlier and unable to leave. Read On »

Book Report – Cinder: Throwing a Monkeywrench into Fairy Tales

Adding to a long line of fairy tale retellings is Marissa Meyer with Cinder, the first title of The Lunar Chronicles series. Although we’ve seen and heard the story of Cinderella many times in different forms and styles of creativity, Meyer’s may be the freshest idea yet. If you’ve come across the simple cover art of a woman’s lower leg adorned by a cherry-red, spike-heeled shoe, you may already have an inkling as to why Cinder isn’t your typical tale of a kind, beautiful maiden who eventually gets a happily-ever-after ending with her prince. For those of you looking for a romantic read filled with cute animals, mild adversity, and a straight-shot to a predictable ending, Cinder is most likely not for you. However, if you want a story with depth, filled with political intrigue, mystery, in-your-face realism, and an underlying hint of romance, read on… and mind the mild spoilers! Read On »

Book Report – Sisterhood of Dune

People who are familiar with Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction masterpiece Dune will undoubtedly know about a few organizations; The Bene Gesserit, the Swordmasters, the Mentats, the Spacing Guild – even anyone who’s seen any of the film versions should be able to recall their importance.

In the world of Dune, these societies act as a backdrop, an Establishment the book’s hero subverts.

However, in Sisterhood of Dune, Kevin J. Anderson, prolific author of spin-off and tie-in novelizations in many popular science fiction IPs, and Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert’s son and auteur of the Dune expanded universe, attempt to anchor the creation of these institutions some 10,000 years before the events of the original story.   Sisterhood is the first novel in the Schools of Dune trilogy. Read On »

Shadows in Flight – A Book Review

 

 

Back in 1977, Orson Scott Card wrote a gem of a short story called Ender’s Game which he expanded into a full length novel in 1985.  This tale captured the minds of readers around the world.  Telling the story of Andrew Wiggin, Ender’s Game presents the life of the third child in a family living in an overpopulated world that is under siege by an alien race.  These Buggers invaded Earth twice before and humanity barely managed to fend them off.  Enlisted at an early age, Ender (Andrew’s nickname earned from his sister’s inability to pronounce Andrew properly) is to train with the best and brightest children from around the globe in the arts of war and tactics.  Their sole goal: defeat the aliens, the greatest threat humanity has ever known.  While Ender trains at the Battle School space station, readers are introduced to several other key characters in the Ender saga, one of whom is Bean: a brilliant but tiny child who becomes almost a confidant to Ender throughout his story. Read On »

Book Report – The Thirteen Hallows

In Britain, there are thirteen powerful, magical artifacts, called the Hallows, that are solely responsible for keeping a race of hungry demonic beings at bay.  Poised on the borders of the Otherworld and itching for a chance to devour the unsuspecting, apathetic denizens of modern Britain, these beings are simply biding their time while other forces maneuver to let them in.  It certainly doesn’t help that the Keepers of the artifacts are pensioners nearing the edge of their lives.

Things are looking grim in Britain these days. Read On »

Mass Effect: Deception Set On Fire By Fans Due To Mass Errors

William C. Dietz, a sci-fi author who has penned numerous books including The Drifter Series, Halo: The Flood,  and a number of Star Wars: Dark Forces books is in the hot seat with fans today over Mass Effect: Deception. Read On »

Book Review – Halo: Glasslands

Being an avid (make that rabid) fan of the Halo universe, I am constantly scouring the internet for every scrap of information relating to the next release of the hit franchise.  In between game releases, I spend my time reading the expanded mythologies in the many books and graphic novels – the latest of these being Halo: Glasslands, by Karen Traviss. Read On »