The High King of Montival and Mass Effect 2

The High King of Montival
Amazon

Synopsis
The High King of Montival is the latest book in the emberverse series by S. M. Stirling. This book recounts Rudi and friend's journey back from the island of Nantucket to his territory in the newly minted land of Montival. This book is short on action, with only one major battle that I can think of off the top of my head and that action only occurs at the beginning and the end of the novel. In general though, this novel was more about character development and setting the stage of Rudi as the new high king. Rudi is developing and displaying the skills of kingcraft that will be so crucial to him in the coming novels. Rudi cements alliances on his way back from Nantucket, and in general builds an army that will help him defeat Corwin and the CUT. This book also brought into the storyline the lore of the Sword of the Lady, showing off its powers and abilities to do everything from turning Rudi into an indestructible war machine, to allowing rivals to see into each others minds so that they might come to a mutual understanding of each other.

Analysis

This entry into the emberverse series did not disappoint. The character development (especially of the sword) sets the stage for further developments in the series. It was also necessary to get the group back to their homeland after such a long (2 years in the story) departure. I can't help but feel a little bit cheated though. With so much opposition on Rudi's trek to the sword, it almost seemed like he breezed back through the ruins of old Canada on his way back to Montival. Then again, I suppose Rudi did deliver devastating blows to his opponents numbers, who must regroup in their efforts to destroy Montival and establish the Church Universal and Triumphant as the rulers of the ruins of America.

Personally, I also feel as though this is the first book that introduced true magic into the series. Others have said that events in the series could be construed as magical. I took those events to be more as a result of the charisma of a strong leader and the desire to believe of the people (which can create magical events all on their own). This is the first time in the series where REAL magic that cannot be explained away with science or charisma occurs. That makes me really happy for some reason. I want to believe that the Event occurred as the result of some direct intervention as opposed to just a cosmic happenstance that destroyed technology and blasted the world back to the stone age.

I also took a bit of exception with some of the terms that Stirling used throughout this novel. In general, Stirling tends to use location appropriate words. What I mean by this is that the gaelic speaking peoples use gaelic terms for objects and events, while the Norse derived peoples use a Norse sort of language for their naming conventions. This sort of thing has been peppered into the series from the beginning, and I enjoy it as a bit of immersion. This particular book though, especially in the beginning, used this technique almost constantly. There were many words I was forced to look up due to the lack of context clues. With this great abundance of foreign words and terminology, immersion was destroyed rather than aided. Being forced to look outside of the book for a definition will tend to ground one back in today's earth as opposed to the world of the change. I give Montival a 3.5/5.0. Not all fans will find the lack of action and character development to their liking...but many others will. The usage of foreign terms at the beginning was a strong detriment for me in this book. I don't want to look up words and do outside work for my leisurely reading. If instead I was forced to use my mind to discover who a killer is in a mystery, that is something entirely different. I am still using my mind within the confines of the story. This forcing me outside of the novels world was unacceptable. This was quite possibly the weakest novel of an otherwise stellar series.

Mass Effect 2

I know, I know, I said that L.A. Noire would be my next game. Mass Effect 2 however, sucked me in and I finished the game rather quickly. Noire WILL be the next game I play however. Mass Effect 2 introduced a 'new' species of bad guys called the collectors. The collectors are trying to do the same thing as Saren from the previous game...that is, they are trying to bring back the Reapers who will destroy all life in the universe.

It is tough to talk about the plot of Mass Effect 2 without giving away any spoilers, so instead I will concentrate on my thoughts of the game. ME2 used a similar paradigm as ME1, however in every area of the game, improvements were made in terms of immersion, gameplay and fun. The environments you play in are much more fleshed out and look much more diverse and interesting than in ME1. The same can be said of the storyline, even though from an outward glance the storyline seems simpler (simply recruit your friends, obtain their loyalty, and then 3 or 4 main storyline quests and you are done). This seeming simplicity hides a greater wealth of storyline options though than the original game did. The expansion of your crew from only a handful of soldiers to a diverse gang of criminals, warlords, and assassins also aids in the volume of the storyline. Mass Effect 2 took me a good 10 to 15 more hours to finish than ME1. That includes the no nonsense way I took on ME2 as opposed to the meandering, slow path through ME1. The storyline that is being built in the Mass Effect Universe is also turning out to be one of my favorite storylines of all time. If you consider yourself a fan of Sci-Fi, you are doing yourself a disservice by not playing this game. I will be sad when Shepard's story is finally finished being told. Lastly, another positive aspect of this game is its greater leaning towards a FPS, without sacrificing (and indeed adding to) its roleplaying aspects. Bioware is truly the trendsetter in FPS/RPG mashups, and more of these types of games need to be made...the success speaks for itself.

The only complaint I have for this game is (again) the inventory and quest system. While both of these systems saw significant improvement from ME1, they are still not nearly what they should be. The quest system should be more easily sortable and your goals more easy to come across. The inventory system discards the 'version 2, version 3' bullshit that I absolutely hated about the first game, and instead adopts a new name and new graphic for each of the weapons. The weapons also had different aspects to them that made a change in artillery more than just a change in power or speed of the weapon. For instance, one sniper rifle was extremely power, but had a ridiculously low number of bullets. Another rifle had a larger supply of ammunition, but shot three of them at a time...each shot doing a small amount of damage, but if all three landed significant damage was incurred. Now...to get something like this for the armor...which stayed roughly stagnant throughout the entire game. Especially if you had DLC armor. One last thing which was greatly improved (so improved that I didn't even realize it was a complaint on ME1 until I saw how it was handled in ME2) is the squad powers selection. In ME2 the powers are greatly streamlined, yet more fleshed out and actualized. The powers are also well balanced and incredibly fun to use. The inclusion of ammunition in this game (which was not in ME1) was originally thought by me to be a hindrance to the enjoyment of ME2. In reality it was merely a mechanic to force me to use powers which were rarely used and awkward to use in ME1. I no longer think of ammunition as a detriment.

What's Next?

Well, in terms of games, L.A. Noire is next. I am so close to finishing it, that I can smell it. Mass Effect just drew me into its universe and caused me to forget all about my investigator. I will finish L.A. Noire soon. After that? It will probably be a DS game. I am scheduled to have surgery in the coming weeks, and will be unable to get out of bed for at least one week, and needing to take things easy for at least 2 - 3 weeks. A DS game more than lends itself to that kind of convalescence. Perhaps one of the Dragon Quests that have been released? Or maybe finally beating Pokemon HeartGold? Who knows. I'm thinking about Noire right now and don't want to get ahead of myself.

Speaking of not having much to do while recuperating...I will be reading books during this time. The next book for me will be Fever Dream by Preston and Child. I know, it seems like all I read are Preston&Child/Stirling...but trust me, there is more to my repertoire than just those authors. They just happen to be the ones that get me really excited when a new book comes out. After Fever Dream...I'm not sure what I'll read. Between the last time I wrote in this blog (meaning the long absence) and now, I acquired an IPad and have moved to digital books. I have a large backlog on the device already (hehe, what can I say? I like to collect). As anyone who reads this blog knows (does anyone?)...my plans are never set in stone and something else could easily grab my attention (but damnit, I know I will finish Noire, I MUST!)

Mass Effect

So. Yeah. It's been a year. I know. Not like I have anyone reading or anything, but for some reason, this log of what I've done makes me happy. I've read a few books, and beaten a few games (ok, not really. I save games for as long as I possibly can) since the last time I was on here. I'm going to forget about all of them though, and skip right ahead to the game I just finished beating. Ironically enough, that game is Mass Effect (the game I was discussing in my last blog post from over a year ago). I don't remember having ever played it then, and I only played it now, because Jill was so gung-ho to play Mass Effect 2, and I felt like it would be a gimped, incomplete experience without a ME1 save game to continue from. I mean, why play the game, if you can't get everything out of it that you should be getting? That being said:

Mass Effect is a startlingly good game. I had heard that Dragon Age was merely a testing ground for the things they planned to add to the ME franchise. Judging from the amount of storytelling effort put into ME1 and DA:O, I would have to agree. DAO seems an afterthought almost. The storyline is good, but predictable and cliche compared to ME1. ME1 had a truly engaging storyline that drew me into it. I felt for the characters and their problems. I was upset when a character died, especially when it was as a result of my choice. There were other events...moving ones in the game that made me feel good about myself for the decisions I made, or badly for the characters involved if the situation was a poor one. I don't usually become invested in a storyline like that. Don't get me wrong, storyline is the most important thing in a game to me. I just manage to stay aloof from it during the course of a game. This one got to me though.

In terms of game play, ME1 blends a traditional RPG with aspects of a FPS. I, quite honestly, liked the blend. I'm not into FPS games, but that aspect was not the focal point of ME1, just a tool to play the game. The inventory management system blew horrible, horrible chunks. Instead of naming the gear upgrades something different that would evoke the imagination, every upgrade was named the same thing as the previous upgrade, just 'version 2' or 'version 3' etc. Don't get me wrong, there was a large range of items to choose from and customize your character. However, with the same few names for every item, it seemed more like upgrading the previous piece rather than getting a whole new gun or armor piece. Additionally, inventory management was horrible as well. A sorting procedure would have been nice. Ditto with the quest screen. Quests could be sorted, but it would have been nice if they had a more DA:O style quest list screen.

All in all, ME1 was a decent game, and I am so looking forward to ME2, that I am installing it as a I type. My future reviews will follow the same format as previous posts (as soon as I look at the blog and figure out what format I was previously using). Additionally, expect a review on "The High King of Montival", the book I am currently reading in the emberverse series. Also, I was playing LA Noire at the same time as ME1, so expect something about that before ME2.

Atlantis by David Gibbins

Amazon

Atlantis by David Gibbins is a novel that attempts to be a thriller, attempts to be an archaeological treatise, and attempts to be entertaining. It comes up only partially successful on all three accounts. David Gibbins was an archaeologist before turning to writing, so it's only natural that his books are filled with what he knows best. Gibbins however misses the train a bit when it comes to causing the reader to sit up all night, not knowing what is going to happen to the main character. I, being an anthropology student, find this type of book to be highly enjoyable, however I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has not at least taken a few introductory courses in archaeology.

Synopsis

Two startling discoveries are made almost concurrently. The first is another disc, similar to the Phaistos disc, this one seems to be analogous to the Rosetta stone though, translating Linear A into Greek. The second discovery is a village, buried underwater. Mix in some Russians who are after nuclear missiles they lost (but were meaning to sell illegally anyway), a few more professors who know a lot more about fighting than they should, and you've got yourself a novel.

Review

I'm an anthropology student. I'm going to say that right away, because I tend to think I liked this book better than most people will. This book is heavy on the details of doing archaeology and low on the suspense/tension that a good thriller needs to have. That being said, the book was quite enjoyable. I especially liked how Gibbins linked his Atlanteans to all of the extent cultures in the world, and explained many of the myths and other religious traditions as having their origin in Atlantis. That said, I didn't feel a need to finish this book, I didn't particularly care what happened to the main characters. I read this book more to figure out what secrets Atlantis held (perhaps that was the goal of the book). In the end, the characters were uninteresting, and the villains were uninteresting. The bad guys...don't get me started. They had little to no reason to be there, and being there, they were not very good at being bad guys. I give this book a 3/5 for an anthropologist interested in the subject matter more than the story, and 1.5/5 for anyone else who would only be interested in the value of the story (of which there was very little).

Up next? I'm already about halfway through The Sword of the Lady. The nook is incredibly awesome and I love it. It also seems a lot quicker reading books on this device than actually flipping through them. Don't ask me why. I also finished up Dragon Age a second time and got most of the achievements. I need to finish it a third time to get those last pestering little achievements and then I will post a review of that. The next game? Well, I got my wii fixed, so I might finish up super mario galaxy (which has been 9/10 finished for almost a year while I farted around fixing the wii). The next serious game though will be Mass Effect (I'm so itching to play the second game, but i will restrain myself and do this the right way, getting a proper save before I head in).

Other Earths and Dragon Age: Origins

Amazon

Other Earths is a magnificent collection of alternate history short stories. This genre lends itself quite marvelously to short stories and any that I can get my hands on are good ones. However as is typical with collections from multiple authors, the quality can vary from story to story. This one in particular travels up and down the scale quite frequently as it is a combination of well established authors and some up and comers that I suppose the more established authors are helping to get their name out there.

Synopsis

A synopsis is difficult to give due to the nature of this book. However, in general the idea of alternate fiction is to take a point in time and to ponder 'what would happen if this decision had been made in the other direction?' or 'what if the other side had won that war?', or evidently in this book 'what if x, y, or z fictional creature were real?' This particular compilation seemed to roughly have the theme of alternate dimensions. In several of the stories, the action took place on an alternate earth, however the story did acknowledge the normal earth that you and I know exists. This is definitely not a rule to this book however.

Review

As I grow older, I increasingly like short stories. I think that it requires much more skill and imagination on the author's part to achieve good characterization and to tell a story in a shorter framework. In addition, I've found that many short stories are quite a lot better than longer stories. As I mentioned previously, the stories in this book are very hit and miss, with some genuine gems and some steaming piles of crap. I'm particularly fond of the story by Lucius Shepard. As a matter of fact, I'd have to say that I've found a new author to put on my top 5 list. Lucius Shepard (at least in this short story I read) is awesome. Before I deify him (along with Stirling, Weiss and Hickman, Salvatore, Asimov) I'm going to get a few more of his books. This particular book gets a 2.5/5 (How else can you mix such utter crap in some instances with gold in others? average them of course!). If only judged on the quality work, it gets a 5/5.

Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age origins is the latest release by BioWare, who will be coming out with Mass Effect 2, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Dragon Age however is the spiritual successor to BioWare's older Dungeons and Dragons games: Baldur's Gate 1 and 2. I recently beat Dragon Age...however I have not perfected it yet (thanks to the achievement system so common in today's games...I have a built in measuring stick to a games perfection!). That review will be coming soon! What's next for me? After Dragon Age, I think I'm going to go after Assassin's Creed 1. In terms of books, I'm not quite sure yet. I've been looking at a few on my bookshelves and nothing has jumped out at me. So far among the contenders, "The Dante Club" is the favorite...don't take that to heart though.

This is my biggest break of the year, seeing as how I attend summer school each year. I'm getting kind of bored with myself to be honest...so be expecting that Dragon Age review soon, and the next book to be finished!

"The Scourge of God" by S.M. Stirling

Amazon

This book took slightly longer to read than I expected. That's not a bad thing however, as I was able to savor every word and nuance of this master of the craft. Truthfully schoolwork took a large portion of the time I could have been reading, and that contributed primarily to the long time it took me to complete.

Synopsis

The Scourge of God follows the adventures of Rudi and company as they continue to traverse the changed North American continent on a trek to Nantucket. This portion of the series is almost beginning to become akin to the Odyssey by Homer, essentially a series of interconnected encounters with peoples who are different from the main character. The main character (Rudi in this case, Odysseus in Homer's) must solve a problem at each location. This problem might be his own, such as devising a method of escape, or helping the locals to achieve some goal. In terms of plot...this book doesn't advance the overarching goal of the series very much, but it does provide necessary time for Rudi and Mathilda to get to know each other more, and for the audience to get to know the characters more as well.

Review

Once again, a superlative outing for Stirling. The editing in this book is far superior to any other of his works I've seen so far. The storyline, though it doesn't advance very far does give us insight on what is going on in the characters minds, especially Rudi's. I do like that the magic and mystery of the world is becoming more and more aparent to the reader. I also like that there is just enough information about what is going on back home to keep our interest in affairs there, without it intruding into Rudi's Odyssey. Another excellent change novel. I can't wait to read the sword of the lady...

...and indeed it won't take nearly as long as it did to get The Scourge of God. On November 30, Barnes and Nobles is releasing the Nook. What I believe to be a better solution to the mobile e-reader problem. With memory cards that can be taken out and native PDF support...it makes me feel sorry for anyone who purchased a kindle.

Whats next literarily? I'm beginning a short story collection entitled Other Earths edited by jack nevers and jay lake. So far it's very interesting and i'm very into it. School ends soon, so I'll have more time to read, and in addition to that, I would like to finish dragon age: origins and Dragon Warrior 2.

Review of "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown

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Quite frankly, I'm honestly surprised at how quickly I was able to finish this book. I ended up reading it in roughly 10 days. That includes time to do homework and to study for tests, as well as attend a Bucs game. I must admit, Dan Brown books do not necessarily stretch the old gray matter. However, given my schedule, I thought it would take a bit longer at the least. Perhaps it was because I got a digital copy of this book and was able to read it wherever I was in a much more portable format. I can't wait to get a kindle, I think that it will be even easier then to read on the go. First, I have to say that I don't like the cover of this book very much. Especially when compared to what they were advertising the cover to be prior to publication (as seen below). What gets me even more though, is the change of
name. This book was originally titled "The Solomon Key". After having completed the book, I believe that would have been a much more fitting title.

Synopsis

Professor of Symbology Robert Langdon is surprised by an early morning phone call from his best friend and replacement father figure. Peter Solomon wants Langdon to give a speech at the US Capitol building later that night. Langdon happens to have a speech prepared (presumeably for just such occasions!) and aggrees. When he arrives however, he learns that he has been told the entire truth, or even been told the truth at all. His friend, Peter, has been taken hostage, and the villian will only let him free if Peter can recover and interpret a pyramid which will guide him to the Ancient Mysteries. What follows is a search through Washington D.C. for a piece of esoteric freemasonry lore which will save his friends life.

Review

I've been a fan of Dan Brown's since Angels and Demons. This book...quite frankly let me down. The characters tended to be cardboard cut outs compared to early Brown efforts. I didn't feel the need for haste that he should have engendered in me. I didn't feel the attraction that may, or may not have been built between Langdon and Solomon's younger sister. The characters appeared to resemble an encyclopedia on their subject of interest rather than a facsimile of a living breathing person.

In addition, there was a twist in this story. One that the average reader could see coming from miles away. Being a fan of twists, this one let me down heavily. It was so obvious that I thought it to be a mere aspect of the story. When it was presented as a plot twist towards the end, I thought to myself 'that's it?' The denouement (thank you Mrs. Knots, my 7th grade english teacher) was far too long. I got bored about half way through, and with no further action to look forward to, nearly abandoned the novel. The final reveal as to just what the Ancient Mysteries were, was an extreme cop out. Instead of inventing his own mystical, great mystery to astound his readers...Brown used a tired old prop stand in, and attempted to throw a new light on it (poorly).

This isn't entirely a bad book though. The actual subject matter was great. I do enjoy being lectured to (to a point) and so many of the encyclopedic characters were not a total annoyance. The freemasonry is an interesting subject, and the idea of lost knowledge of the ages is a great plot device. Honestly though, there was no immediacy. No pope to elect with the main electors held captive. Peter was a relatively minor character, and the prospect of his death didn't make me feel badly for either him, or Langdon. Only for Mr. Brown in the end. 2/5...he gets points for the subject matter, but the lack of a real story formula hurts him. My advice Mr. Brown? Take a bit of time off from Langdon and explore another character concept. Langdon is great...but just how much trouble CAN a professor of symbology get into...hmm?

Up next for me? THE SCOURGE OF GOD! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Already started on it...but this one might take a while. I think I'd like to savor it...plus school is hitting me with at least 2 tests every week. I'm never going to take this many classes at once again :/

"The Romanov Prophecy" and Buc bits

Amazon

The Romanov Prophecy is a book I picked up a long time ago and was saving for a rainy day. With the next emberverse book taking forever to get into paperback, I figured that for me, it was a literary rainy day and so I grabbed the book from it's place on the shelf and started to read. The Romanov's and the events surrounding their murder have always intrigued me and I'm happy to say that this book did not disappoint in the amount of true history it mixed in along with the fictional story.
Synopsis

The Romanov Prophecy is the story of a young lawyer from the states, who runs afoul of the turmoil in the re-establishment of a monarchy in Russia. Originally, the lawyer was simply there to do research into the claim of the pretender that his firm was supporting, however in his research he learned that it was possible that some of the Romanov children survived the terrible tragedy that occured in 1918 and took the lives of the ruling house of Russia. This, of course, jeopardizes the interests of some very powerful men, who would prefer that they establish their own puppet ruler, instead of the actual person who should be ruling. He ends up running for his life while the Russian mafia tries to put an end to his research.

Review

Honestly? I was a bit disappointed in this book. Don't get me wrong...it was a good book. However, after reading "The Amber Room" and "The Third Secret", I was expecting much more from Steve Berry. This particular tale was just a bit too cliched and predictible for my tastes, however I eagerly look forward to more by Mr. Berry. I must point out as well that this book seemed to be more of an effort to make the public aware of the awful events that destroyed the Romanov family. Truly, one of the most tragic events to befall Russia, and the entire world. This novel brings home the fateful day when the Romanov's were marched down to a cold basement for 'a picture', and ended up being slaughtered by the Bolsheviks. This novel also addresses some of the claims that Romanov children might have survived the slaughter. The story told by Berry was not a very good one, however it didn't really need to be, since the story that occurred in real life is one of the most tragic of all time. Had Berry upstaged the story of the Romanov's with his fiction...this book probably would not have been as good as it was. 4/5






What can I say about the Bucs? Everyone knew this was a rebuilding year. Everyone knew we were not going to contend. Still, with the good preseason play of Leftwich and Johnson, I think there was guarded optimism that the Bucs might end up being a darkhorse contender for the superbowl. Now the Bucs are sitting at 0-3, with no possibility for a win in sight as we head first to Washington, then Philadelphia, come home to face the panthers and then head off to London to take on the Patriots. Perhaps, just perhaps we could eak out a win in the Carolina game...but I wouldn't bet on it. Our offense is doing adequately well. Better than can be expected, but our defense is giving up the long ball and letting the opposing runners gash us for long gains on the ground. Our secondary is in shambles after Tanard Jackson's suspension, the loss of Jermaine Phillips for the year with a destroyed thumb, and the realization that while Sabby Piscatelli has a nose for the ball, he has no nose for making a tackle. The entire team as a matter of fact, needs to take a class on football fundamentals and wrapping up the tackle. There is no excuse for it requiring 3-4 guys to bring down a wide receiver. The only consolation is that with this kind of a showing, the offseason will be more interesting with a high draft pick and the possibility of finding some big name free agents. We sorely need to address the Defensive Tackle position. I don't see why the Bucs don't understand that the Defensive Tackle is nearly the most important defensive position on the field. With a good tackle applying pressure in the middle, the ends don't get double teamed so much and can apply pressure to the qb who will have to get rid of the ball quicker. This allows the corners and safetys to not get as tired in coverage and not have to chase a receiver all over the field. 6 and 7 seconds in the pocket simply allows the qb to scan the field and gives the receivers time to get open. Address the DT position this offseason. Hell, make a trade and address it now. Then again, Gaines Adams is looking more and more like a bust...so even with the help of an elite DT, he might not be able to get any pressure. So it goes I suppose.

So what's next literature-wise? Well, I'm about halfway through Dan Brown's next book "The Lost Symbol". After that, "The Scourge of God" FINALLY came out in paperback and I'm eagerly waiting to devour it as soon as I finish Brown. With tons of school work and a 10 page paper coming up...that appears to be about all I'll be able to finish for a little while.