Jonas Reviews Skylanders(Part 2)

Check out all the new additions to Jonas's increasingly massive Skylanders collection!


http://youtu.be/hayaiay2Ioo

-Brian

Friday Review - Revisit Review 1: Mistborn

I've decided to spend some time this year reading back through some of my favorite fantasy books, mostly Brandon Sanderson's(yeah, I'm a Sanderson fanboy), and post brief "revisit reviews" of them.  I'm starting with the Mistborn Trilogy, so this first review is of my favorite fantasy book of all time, Mistborn: The Final Empire. 

Revisit Review 1

Mistborn: The Final Empire
by Brandon Sanderson

Though I refer to Mistborn as my favorite fantasy novel(well, favorite novel), I've only read through it once before now.  It just had that much of an impact on me.  While Sanderson has often spoke of how the idea for this first entry in the trilogy stemmed from his love of caper films such as Ocean's Eleven, Mistborn goes far beyond the simple caper concept of its back-cover blurb.

Really, everything about this book defies convention.  The Final Empire is a land which was once threatened by a great evil called the Deepness.  A hero was prophesized to arise and defeat the evil, and thereby save the world.  The problem was, he failed.  Now the Final Empire is ruled by the Lord Ruler, a ruthless and immortal god-like man, and those outside the nobility(the skaa) are persecuted, used as little more than slaves.  Both the skaa and the nobility are under constant watch of the Lord Ruler's obligators, and even worse, his inquisitors, seemingly immortal men characterized by giant metal spikes driven through their eye sockets.  The sun burns read.  The nights are shrouded in mysterious and dangerous mists.  The skies rain ash.  Plants are brown.  Much of the world suffers under the persecution of the Lord Ruler.

Mistborn introduces the concept of allomancy, a form of magic implemented through ingested metals. Yes, it sounds weird, and I was a little put off by the concept until I experienced the first major scene in which it is explicitly being used.  Overall, allomancy is as interesting and exciting as it is complex, and allows for incredible action scenes that never fail to amaze. By ingesting and then "burning" certain metals, an allomancer may enhance their senses, push or pull on metals(which can involve simple attacks with metal projectiles, or even flying through the air), grow stronger, among many other abilities.  Most allomancers are restricted to the ability to burn only one type of metal.  Certain allomancers, however, can burn all the metals, and are known as mistborn.

Sanderson is well known for his magic systems, and Mistborn is a prime example of how creative he can be with these.  Many scenes involving allomancy in this book will have you wanting to see it put to the screen, whether in movie, television, or video game format(at least two of these have been optioned - we'll see if anything ever comes of it).

This first book introduces us to a man named Kelsier, and chronicles his quest to incite a skaa rebellion, and take down the Lord Ruler in the process.  Kelsier is a mistborn, known as the "Survivor" after escaping from the a slavish life in the Lord Ruler's mines.  Kelsier aims to carry out his plan with a specialized team of allomancers, hence the whole caper concept.  In the beginning of the story, he locates a young female thief, a mistborn unaware of her powers,named Vin.  Raised in skaa slums, Vin has no friends or family, and joins Kelsier's crew readily for the promise of knowledge about her newfound powers.  However, she soon finds friendship she never knew existed among her new comrades, and learns of the value of sacrificing for the sake of love.  Vin is essentially the primary protagonist of this trilogy, and watching her grow throughout this book is a sheer pleasure.

There are many other major characters throughout the book, each with a distinct and believable personality, both lovable and detestable at times.  You know, like real people.  From Ham, a warrior-type who loves to talk philosophy, to Breeze, the self-important smart-ass who never hesitates to set his ego aside for his friends, each character avoids falling into your typical fantasy tropes.  

Honestly, I have no problems with this book.  Seriously.  None.  

I don't want to go too deep into the plot; to do so would take away from the joy of experiencing the amazing story, numerous plot twists, and incredible world building contained within this volume.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, even if only a passing interest in the genre. 

-Brian  

Throwback Thursday - Spiky Hair Edition

Yep.

-Brian

Friday Review: Prison Planet of the Mah Lahkt

Friday Review:

Forging of a Knight

Prison Planet of the Mah Lahkt

Hugo Negron has treated us with an exhilarating end to a major story arc in this third volume of Forging of a Knight.  In this epic volume, Qualton, the titular knight of the series,  and a band of the world's greatest heroes(well, one world at least . . .), set out to prevent Shaz of Those That Stand in Shadow from obtaining the power of a greater evil after a warning from an unlikely ally(ish).  The mission takes them to an entirely different world, and pits them against the greatest trials and tribulations they have ever faced.

Negron continues to write some of the most exciting fantasy action scenes I've seen from any author, brilliantly composed with the tendency to suck you into the action like a triple A blockbuster movie.  The returning characters(Qualton, Jesepha, Cassandra, Aurelus, and a couple others) are well written and for the most part gain even more depth in this volume.  These are definitely the characters we've grown to know over the previous books, showing no hints of becoming watered down or reduced to nothing more than simple plot devices as some authors allow their characters to do over the course of epic series.

The general story lacks the depth of the preceding volume(Rise of the Slavekeepers), but I think the reason is simply because this is what the previous two books was building towards.  There's a couple surprises thrown in here and there, but for the most part the book is straight forward, at times reading like an epic fantasy road movie(hmm . . . that makes two movie comparisons now).

The world is, as always, brilliantly detailed and developed, the strange, wondrous, and ofttimes dangerous prison planet of the Mah Lahkt vivid and breathtaking.  I'm fairly certain Hugo Negron's imagination has no boundaries, the lands and the creatures who inhabit them endlessly creative.

Although this book easily deserves the five stars I've rated it, I do have a few small quibbles.  Looking at the primary hero, Qualton, and the primary villain, Shaz, I feel that the story presents as an almost too perfect display of good versus evil.  Shaz has absolutely no redeeming qualities.  Yes, he's evil. Yes, he's kind of insane.  But it would be nice if he had a little more depth . . . a gray area, if you will.  The same goes with Qualton being a little too good.  I in no way feel that he should be written as an antihero(as seems to be the current trend with fantasy protagonists), but it would be nice to see him swayed towards the darker side a little more, to see his values and honor truly put to the test.  I'd love to read a scene and be surprised by what actions he takes to reach an end.

Other than that, I was slightly disappointed that Glaive was relegated to a single scene early on in the story.  To the best of my understanding, the next book will bring him back to the forefront, his tiny part in this book serving to set up his story in it, but he's such a great character that I sorely missed him in this adventure.  Oh, well, new characters Tarkanus and Finbar offer plenty of comic relief!

Overall, this is a more-than-worthy end to a major story arc, and it leaves several interesting threads that I am eager to follow into future volumes.  If you haven't read any of the books in this series, you need to start from book 1, and I urge any fans of swords and sorcery fantasy to do just that.  For those following this series, you don't want to miss out on this action-packed adventure.

  

5/5

Be sure to check out Hugo V. Negron at:

Amazon

Facebook

Goodreads

-Brian

 

Jonas Reviews - The Book With No Pictures

First of all, if you have a small child or grandchild, you should buy them B.J. Novak's The Book With No Pictures.  Second, if you need an actual reason, Jonas's "review" will give you a hilarious two-ish minute long one.

Disclaimer:

- If there is nothing more magical than a child's laughter, then watching this video is like following a white rabbit through a wardrobe to take classes at Hogwarts in Middle Earth.

- If there is nothing sweeter than a child's laughter, this video may give you diabetes.

- If there is nothing more contagious than a child's laughter, then prepare to be infected.

- And, if laughter is the best medicine, then I'm pretty sure that reading The Book With No Pictures may have given Jonas superpowers.  I'll keep you updated.

http://youtu.be/de-s5cYpB-w

 -Brian

Friday Review: Keepers of the Dawn

Friday Review

Keepers of the Dawn

Herb J Smith’s debut science fantasy novel, Keepers of the Dawn, is an exciting and unique adventure that I’d recommend to any fan of epic fantasy. This is one that will leave you thinking for days after the last page is turned. 

Smith introduces us to a world enclosed by the Teeth, barriers said to have been erected by an ancient deity to cut the world off from Paradise for its sins, filled with a population whose thoughts can be transmitted and read telepathically through the “ether.” I absolutely loved this mindspeak concept, in that it opens up so many unique storytelling/plot possibilities, and Smith takes full advantage of employing those possibilities, showing how such can be used for good, bad, or plain deception. Bartu, the unlikely protagonist, is a mental deaf-mute, unable to gain access to the ether. Plagued by this seeming handicap, he comes to discover that his condition, as well as the ancient relic passed down for generations in his family, may be the key to bringing down the Teeth and defeating Rue-A-Kai, and ancient evil regarded as the Destroyer. 

There’s a lot to enjoy in this first volume of the series: action, intrigue, betrayal, and adventure, to say the least. Also, with the concept of mishappens(a portion of the population with physical anomalies), Smith delves into topics of prejudice and persecution. 

I did feel there were some pacing issues about three-quarters through the story. Things come to something of a halt, and there are a series of conversations essentially recapping the major events in the book up to that point. Granted, some new information is revealed, but the reader is still presented with a fairly lengthy recap that could probably have been whittled down or presented with a smoother flow.

This one criticism is basically moot, however, considering all the amazing aspects of this book. The twist ending is unexpected, original, and hints at endless possibilities for future volumes. And, given this amazing first entry, I can’t wait to see what Smith does with them.

5/5

To learn more about Keepers of the Dawn and Herb J, Smith II,

check out:

Author Website

Facebook

Twitter

Amazon

Goodreads

Smashwords

-Brian

Jonas Reviews - Skylanders

Jonas introduces us to some of his favorite Skylanders characters.  Happy Monday, everyone!

http://youtu.be/8YodpNB8vdw

-Brian

Jonas Reviews - PEZ Dispensers

Jonas "reviews" his PEZ dispensers.

http://youtu.be/AZnZR0wOcig

-Brian

Jonas Reviews - Dungeon!

Check out Jonas's "review" of the updated Dungeon! board game :).

http://youtu.be/dVNBQAEqL4M

-Brian

Jonas Reviews - Mega Man 8

Jonas "reviews" one of his favorite Mega Man Games, Mega Man 8 while wearing his Mario costume :).

http://youtu.be/jAa1HS0ZXDA

-Brian

On my lack of writing . . .

So, since making it to the quarter-way mark on the first draft of the last Korin's Journal a couple of weeks ago, I literally haven't written a word.

The reason?

Everyone(except my wife, that is) in this household has had one sickness or another to the point that I'm not sure who has what or where one illness ended and the next began.  I do know I got a cold-ish thing from my older son which turned into a sinus infection, and that I got pink eye from the other.  That makes 2 of us currently on oral antibiotics, 2 on antibiotic eye drops, not to mention the various cough medicines, fever reducers, etc.   Oh, and my youngest(7 months) spiked a temp of 103.9 today at daycare.  And, on top of that, just a couple weeks ago I was diagnosed with bilateral kidney stones and diverticulosis.

Long story short, we're a sickly bunch in this house, and writing will have to wait.  I doubt anything written while on all these meds would be worth much anyway . . .

Hope everyone else is happy and healthy out there!

-Brian

Throwback Thursday - Like Father, Like Son

I know I have a picture of my son, Gavin, that matches my Throwback Thursday picture here, but you can still see the resemblance :)

Brian

Gavin

-Brian

Jonas Reviews Mouse Trap

Remember the classic build-a-trap fun of Mouse Trap?  Well, now there's a new edition for younger children under an Elefun and Friends label, and Jonas absolutely loves it!  Check out his "review" HERE or below!

-Brian

Friday Review - Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1

Friday Review

Keepers of Arden:

The Brothers Volume 1

Wow.  L.K. Evans's Keepers of Arden is an amazing debut novel that stole me away into its world from the very beginning and refused to let me leave.  The world of Arden is one well worth visiting, and Evans has populated it with interesting characters, many whom break free of the traditional swords and sorcery fantasy tropes.

The majority of the story revolves around Wilhelm and his brother, Salvarias, a mage whose conception early in the story bears the touch of an evil, malicious force.  Salvarias, already reviled by many for being a mage, bears the horrible burden of feeling this evil force within him, and Wilhelm's pure nature and unconditional love for him could possibly be the only thing that can save him from being consumed by it.  On top of that, an ancient evil is once again vying to gain power over Arden and has its eyes set on Salvarias to help achieve its goals.

Much of Keepers follows Wilhelm and Salvarias through their youth, showcasing their growth into adulthood.  In my opinion, this is expertly done, and serves to make these characters so much more endearing.  Following Salvarias's journey to adulthood is a heart-wrenching experience, and watching the misery of his youth compared to Wilhelm's more pleasant upbringing makes it even more so.  Constantly you want Wilhelm to discover the truth about what Salvarias is forced to go through and to make everything better.  The fact that I found myself caring so deeply about Salvarias and his brother, while hating those responsible for Salvarias's troubled youth is testament to L.K. Evan's amazing ability to craft interesting and believable characters.

There are villains, monsters, and heroes in spades throughout Keepers, and Evan's strong imagination shines through each of them.  The story has plenty of twists and turns, answering many questions that arise, while leaving many for future volumes.  The reader should be aware that this is very much an adult fantasy, and there is some very dark moments throughout.

There were only a couple of issues I had with Keepers of Arden.  One was the pacing for the latter portion.  I do understand that the beginning spans nearly two decades, but once the brothers are adults, I felt the transition into something of a "this happened, then this happened, and then this happened" was a bit abrupt.  Also, I was a little let down by the climax of the book.  Being the first book of a series, I didn't expect much closure, but I just didn't feel the protagonists had much at stake.  Yes, there was a city faced with a potential massacre, but there wasn't really a sense of the true consequences for the characters or the story if the good guys, so to speak, lost to the bad guys. 

Those are really small gripes, however, in that I was captivated throughout.  There are rarely any slow sections, and even those few were kept interesting with Evan's brilliant characters.  Truthfully, this is one of the best fantasy books I've had the pleasure of reading this year, and I can't wait to see what Evans has in store for Wilhelm, Salvarias, and the world of Arden in the next volume. 

Easily 5/5 stars.  If you're a fan of fantasy, please check this one out.

5/5 

Warrior Wednesday - Sunset Run

This past Saturday I ran in the Sunset Run 5K here in Salisbury, NC, with my son, Jonas, running in the 1/2 mile fun run.  Jonas got an awesome medal, and I placed 2nd in my age division!  Here's a short video of Jonas finishing his fun run and some boring clips from my 5K run.

http://youtu.be/m_wG5HPt70E

-Brian

Top-Ten Tuesday - Top 10 NES Games

I've already made a list of my top ten favorite video games, but you must know that I am too big of a video game nerd to stop at something so broad.  Oh no, there'll be a top 10 for many of the systems, and possibly even video game genres.  Sorry, getting ahead of my dorky self.  For now, here's my top ten NES(Nintendo Entertainment System) games.

10. Mike Tyson's Punch Out

With a uniquely awesome cast of characters, bare-bones yet extremely difficult and precise gameplay, and Mario as a referee, this was one of the greatest NES games for many people at the time of its release.  There's the original version with Mr. Dream instead of Mike Tyson, but this version takes the win for the precious few who were able to claim they beat Tyson.  Note: I was, and still am, not one of those.  I'm actually a big fan of the Wii sequel/remake-ish as well.

9. Super Mario Bros 2

After the undeniably classic Super Mario Bros., this sequel really came out of left field.  That's mainly because it wasn't even developed as a Mario game at all.  It was instead a game called Doki Doki Panic, released only in Japan.  Some say the decision to turn it into a Mario game for the US is that the Japanese Super Mario Bros 2 was deemed too difficult for US gamers, while others say it's because Nintendo was unsure if US gamers would purchase a game that did little to innovate on its predecessor.  Whatever the reason, we ended up with one of the greatest NES games of all time, even if it's the furthest removed from the typical Mario formula of any numbered entry in the series.

8. Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

Look no further than HERE to see that some people absolutely hate this game.  It's true that in the US version, you're given little to no direction,  vague clues from villagers offer essentially nothing, and there is a glaring lack of iconic boss fights like the first game.  Still, I love the deviation from the first Castlevania's setup, the RPG elements of travelling to towns, leveling up, and saving money to buy items in a side-scrolling platformer making this a trailblazer of its time.  While the lack of direction for players made this seem nothing more than a ploy to get players to call hint lines(remember when these existed??), it makes this game memorable, for the fact that it brought gamers together to share tips and tricks if nothing else.

7. Mega Man 5

I don't know what it is about Mega Man 5 that makes it my favorite NES entry, and most would claim 2 or 3 should hold the top spot.  It may be the innovation in the levels such as the gravity switching in Gravity Man's stage, or the jet-ski portion of Wave Man's stage.  It may be the memorable 8-bit music.  All that really matters, though, is that it's fun as hell to play.    

6. Gargoyle's Quest 2

I stayed over at a friend's one night and he just happened to have this late entry into the NES library.  Once he went to bed, I started playing it and was instantly hooked.  The mix of RPG and side-scrolling, amazing graphics and music, and the atmospheric nature of the game all draw you in until the end.  It took me a while to discover that the first entry was on GameBoy.  I was quick to pick up the amazing sequel, Demon's Crest, on SNES, though.  

5. Ninja Gaiden

Brutally, frustratingly, pull-your-hair-out difficult, but good enough to actually make you enjoy the suffering.  This game not only controls perfectly, has diverse levels, and a challenge bordering sadistic, but it was basically the first cinematic game on the NES.  The intro scene, telling the tale of Ryu Hayabusa's father's supposed death and Ryu's journey to America to avenge him, begins an exciting tale full of plot twists told with anime style cutscenes.  This was definitely a first for the era and made a fun game funner by drawing you through its narrative one painful level at a time.

4. Contra

One of the few games from the NES days that was actually better than the arcade version is was ported from(in my opinion, anyway).  This game is full of run-and-gun action, memorable levels and bosses, and a difficulty to give the aforementioned Ninja Gaiden a run for its money.  Well, without the 30 life code, at least.  Yeah, the infamous Konami code - Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, B, A Start.   Its NES sequel, Super Contra, improved upon an already amazing formula in several ways, but between nostalgia and a slightly more memorable soundtrack, level design, and boos fights, this one will always be my favorite of the 2 NES games(I'm ignoring the horrible Contra Force game).

3. Ninja Gaiden 2

For the 1990 follow-up to Ninja Gaiden, Tecmo dialed back the difficulty  a bit, offering the ability to collect two clones/shadows to help you fight your enemies and allowing the player  to actually climb walls without having to resort to the annoying and awkward wobbling of the left/right buttons while jumping mechanics of wall climbing in the first game.  While this makes the game more accessible, it still offers a meaty challenge that will have you going through plenty of lives, but happily coming back for more.  The story is more complex and full of B-movie type cheesiness.  The bosses are more fun, and most take a little more thinking to defeat.  Also, unlike the first game, the levels offer more variety in terms of gameplay.  In one level, you have snow blowing you in different directions, making timing key when jumping.  One level is shrouded in darkness, lit only by occasional flashes of lightning to help you choose your path.  Again the control is spot on, and deaths are, for the most part, the player's fault, much more so than the first game.  This was one of the few NES games I owned as a kid, and I will always remember the sense of accomplishment when picking it up as a teenager after giving up on it years before, and finally beating it.  I only wish the quality of this game continued on to the third NES installment of the franchise.

 2. The Legend of Zelda

Hands down, this is one of the most classic adventure games of all time, as well as one of the most pivotal.  Aside from something of a strategy guide that came with the US version, the Legend of Zelda set you out with no direction, giving you an open cave on the first screen for you to enter and retrieve your sword from the old man with the oft-quoted advice, "It's dangerous to go alone!  Take this."  Inspired by its creator(Shigeru Miyamoto, or S. Miyahonm as he is mistakingly called in the game's end credits)'s love of exploration as a child, Zelda encourages players to experience the feeling of not knowing what you will find from screen to screen or dungeon to dungeon.  With special items found from level to level being required to find new levels or defeat specific bosses, the game does require some linear gameplay, but for the most part is an open-world experience.  Only with the new 3DS's A Link Between Worlds have players again been given the opportunity to tackle the game as they see fit.

1. Super Mario Bros. 3

Absolute, old-school platforming perfection.  Tons of levels, great music, great control, great graphics, brutal difficulty(if you take on the entire map without using warp whistles), and an overall fun factor make this my favorite NES game of all time.  Several Mario staples, such as the Koopa Kids and multiple power ups were introduced in this game.  Speaking of the power-ups, you can't deny the awesomeness of the Super Leaf, Tanooki, Hammer, and Frog suits, as well as the never-properly-replicated boot!  It is a massive game to take on if you don't find and use the secret warp whistles(unless you are playing on an emulator or on Nintendo's Virtual Console), but players who forge through all the levels will find much to enjoy throughout.  I could say a lot more about the game, such as how the movie, The Wizard, was basically a feature-length commercial for it, but I think I'll go play it instead.

So there you go, another nerdy top ten!  Thoughts?

-Brian

Jonas Reviews - Where Oh Where Is Huggle Buggle Bear?

It's been a couple weeks since I posted a Jonas "review", so here's Jonas talking about one of his favorite books, Where Oh Where Is Huggle Buggle Bear? by Katherine Sully.

Click HERE, or watch the embedded video below.

 

-Brian

Sunday Scoop 8/17/2014

Yes, I know, it's been a loooong time(with a few more o's) since I've provided updates on Book 3 of Korin's Journal's progress.  I'm hoping to be more active in giving updates as I make my way through this first draft.  

First of all, I've been making some major changes as to working on this draft.  For a while, I was sacrificing a ton of sleep to work on this.  I'd come home from work, spend the evening with the family until the kids were in bed, stay up ridiculously late, fall asleep on the couch, wake up, and then go back to work.  Then exhaustion began to kick in, leading to evening naps when I came home, making me feel like a horrible husband and father.  Even with the naps, my late-night writing sessions were leading to multiple rewrites, mainly because I was so tired that what I got onto the computer screen was, well, complete and utter sh$#.  At the end of my current book file, there's multiple pages of stuff I'm not ready to delete just yet because I may use small parts, but is full of horrible ideas that sounded great when I wrote them tired(I guess being tired is very similar to being drunk in that aspect). 

Anyway, while untold numbers of authors go off little sleep and work both wide awake and exhausted, I realized that the no sleep thing wasn't working out for me.  That may be because there's a lot that that I have to cover in this last volume of Korin's Journal, and the meandering of my tired brain was taking me down all kinds of roads that were not only unnecessary, but also uninteresting.  

I've set up a better system and more realistic weekly goals with my writing now, and I'm very confident that I will be pressing forward at a better pace now.  

Moving on.

Two or three weeks ago, I posted on my FB page that I was hoping to be 25% done the week after that post.  Sadly, that didn't happen.  The primary reason is I decided to completely change my approach in introducing a certain character, something that will completely change a subsequent character introduction.  It basically led to a chapter I wasn't anticipating, but it will work out much better for the story.  I'd explain, but there's no way to do so without major spoilers.  They're both important, one of them vital, to the story.  With this hitch, I'm thinking that I'll reach the quarter-way point either this week or the next.  I believe I've mentioned before that I'm basing this percentage off the fact that there are 4 distinct parts to the story of book 3.  Word count wise, I'm probably going to be more than 25% done.  I've decided to sync my progress bar on this blog with those individual parts, however, so it will no longer be based on projected word count.  

As this first part winds down, a still captive Korin is about to be brought before the leader of not only those who captured him, but an entire army presumably fighting the same enemy as he.  He's going to be a little(read: ridiculously) surprised when he learns the leader's identity.  

To compensate for that horribly vague teaser, here's an update on the progress of the cover art!

-Brian 

Jonas Reviews - Xbox 360 Kinect Games

Check out Jonas reviewing a handful of Xbox 360 Kinect Games!

Click HERE or watch below :)

-Brian

Jonas Reviews - Squinkies!

Man, I need to get on the ball with this blogging stuff.  I've kept it quiet around here for the past 3 weeks with only Jonas Reviews posts!  That said, check out Jonas's "review" of his Squinkies :).

Click HERE, or on the embedded video below.

-Brian