Dragon Age: The Calling

Greetings, Dragon Age: The Calling is a book written by David Gaider and is a sequel to his other novel, The Stolen Throne, as well as being a prequel to Dragon Age: Origins. It expands on a few characters from the video game such as Duncan who was a character that was used to introduce the world of Thedas in Origins to the player. Another is a darkspawn emissary by the name of the Architect who came from the Dragon Age expansion pack. The book delves deeper into his plan for ensuring peace between the darkspawn and the other species on the planet through destructive mean as well as revealing a little about his past but mostly keeping it shrouded in mystery.

It is set several years after the events of the first book with King Maric having returned to his throne and ruling Ferelden after he had reclaimed it from the Orlesian Empire through military force. A group of Grey Wardens, which includes the newly recruited Duncan, is led by an experienced veteran known as Genevieve ask Maric for his help to lead them through the Deep Roads. They want the king to direct them towards an abandoned Dwarven city called Ortan Thaigh which Maric had travelled to several years previously when he attempted to oust the Orsleians during his adventures in the first novel. It had been revealed to Genevieve in a dream that her brother Bregan, an important figure in the Grey Wardens, had been kidnapped by the darkspawn and was being held underground in the Deep Roads.

It is an unusual action by the creatures as they normally kill rather than take prisoners and is made even more unnerving as Bregan was one of the few in order who knew of the location of the Old Gods. The Old Gods are what the darkspawn strive to find and awaken so they can rise to the surface in a bloody event known as a Blight and physically corrupt the world with their presence. As such it is important that the Grey Wardens find Bregan and rescue him before he reveals the coordinates under interrogation. Maric agrees to aid them in their quest. Meanwhile, in the Deep Roads Bregan meets the Architect while imprisoned and is slowly convinced to help him in a risky as well as lethal plan to achieve peace between the darkspawn and the other creatures in Thedas.

While I mostly enjoyed the book I felt it was a little lacking in story which Gaider tried to fill with a few unnecessary battle scenes in order to kill off a few main characters. An additional villain was also created and reviled shortly towards the end of the book and could have expanded upon during the plot but he received little attention until the novel was almost over. There is also a romantic subplot near the end of the book that is almost identical to one in the first novel that involved one of the same characters and as such felt a little too familiar. Another issue I had with it was that several characters from across the Dragon Age media have a very similar personality such as Maric, a young version of Duncan and Alistar who is a main character from the original videogame. Despite this I still enjoyed the experience and look forward to his next novel Dragon Age: Asunder.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Wording=8/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

I CAN'T GO BACK TO JAIL!

Art

Monsters University

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Greetings, the Desolation of Smaug is the sequel to 2012 film An Unexpected Journey and is the second instalment in the Hobbit trilogy. Unlike my experience with first movie my expectations weren’t high in the hope that the Hobbit would be as good as, if not better, than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. With this change in attitude I felt the film was better than the original but still contained some aspects that prevented it from becoming a great movie. For instance, the majority of the 13 dwarves still lack any sort of character development or interesting characteristics that make them distinguishable from each other.

The plot begins with the dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf fleeing from Azog. They are still on the same mission in which the Hobbit has to find and steal the Arkenstone from the dragon called Smaug. It becomes clear early on that they are also being chased by a black bear, which Gandalf is able to identify as Beorn , a skin-changer that takes on the forms of animals. They escape to the safety of Beorn’s house and spend the night there after nearly getting caught by the black bear during the chase to his home. In the morning Gandalf leaves Bilbo and the dwarves, in order to have a subplot of his own about the necromancer, making the team travel to the Lonely Mountain by themselves. As they continue their quest by travelling through a dark forest the company is ambushed by giant spiders and it is up to Bilbo to help them escape.

The running time was a little too long for my tastes, but it wasn’t as noticeable as the first, as there were some unnecessary scenes and added characters that didn’t add much to the plot. While I didn’t think they were necessary it will be interesting to see what Jackson has planned for a younger Legolas and his companion Tauriel, a character made especially for the sequel, in the third film.

I liked the way Jackson linked the Hobbit to the Lord of the Rings by using future references, such as the short conversation between Gloin and Legolas about his son, Gimli. Even though I preferred this film, I am still under the impression that making the Hobbit into a prequel trilogy is stretching the story too thin. With the introduction of Smaug as well as the Bard and his back story, the plot is set up for the final film which could still prove to be more entertaining than its prequels.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Special Effects=8/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the day

I believe in Sherlock Holmes.

Anderson

Sherlock

Happy New Year, 2013 review

Greetings, with this last blog update of 2013 I want to wish you a happy Ney Year. I intend to quickly cover a few categories of entertainment with my favourite television shows, books, games and films that I have experienced over the year. Those on the list are merely ones that were reviewed on the blog this year rather than being any media that was produced in 2013.

Television show of the year-Breaking Bad

One of the best television shows I have seen in a while with well developed, interesting characters that often blur the lines of morality and it has an intriguing plot to keep the audience entertained. Walter’s fall from grace and the rise of his alter ego and meth cook, Heisenberg, proves to be an exciting experience that was responsible for a lot of the show’s attraction. It managed to maintain its high quality throughout the five seasons and I am eager to see what will happen with Saul’s own prequel and spinoff.

Game of the year-Portal 2

The sequel to Valve’s Portal is humorous, intelligent and filled with colourful characters. While there were only a few actors and actresses in the game they still managed to bring enjoyable characters to life with well delivered as well as comedic lines. I particularly liked the twist in the plot which I believe worked very well by placing Chell against a rather clumsy, incompetent and rambling villain.

Book of the year-Game of Thrones

The first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series which creates a vast world to explore that is filled with underhanded, unscrupulous and downright mischievous characters that are compelling. There are many interesting characters that are conspiring against each other but in my opinion the most intriguing is Tyrion Lannister. Much happened in the first novel and concluded with the reader wanting to know more about the world, its lore and supernatural creatures as well as how is going to win in the power struggle.

Film of the year-ParaNorman

I haven’t seen or reviewed many movies this year but I decided to claim that ParaNorman as film of the year despite being released in 2012. It is an entertaining film about a young boy, called Norman, who can interact with ghosts and as such is ostracised by society as the small community of Blithe Hollow don’t believe him. It has an enjoyable storyline built around the dead rising from their graves and the return of a witch. The plot twist is also unexpected and nicely carried out by challenging the audience’s perceptions via going against certain tropes.

I would also like to point out that this is the 200th entry on my blog. I have enjoyed my time here in this small community and liked interacting with it through projects such as Warehouse 17 as well my continuing contribution to Write Wise. It will be interesting to look back on the blog’s progress when I have reached 300 entries. I hope you have enjoyed 2013 and look forward to what 2014 will bring.

Quote of the day

This next test applies the principles of momentum to movement through portals. If the laws of physics no longer apply in the future … God help you.

Announcer

Portal 2

Merry Christmas 2013!

Greetings, this is a small blog update wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. In the past Christmas Eve would have been dedicated to a special Christmas episode of the Adventures of Roman and Fletch. This is no longer the case as it was concluded in November last year. In its place, I created a Christmas version of Frontier Planet, which was set shortly after the original, and I hope you enjoyed it. I intend to keep writing Christmas themed entries for Write Wise’s December Challenge in the future. The entries could be a special version of an established series or a one off like Cogworld. The next update will be on New Year’s Eve consisting of a quick summary of the year and will be the 200th entry on this blog!

Quote of the day

In a hole in a ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole full of worms and oozy smells. This was a hobbit-hole and that means good food, a warm hearth, and all the comforts of home.

Bilbo Baggins

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Breaking Bad

Greetings, Breaking Bad is a television show that was created by Vince Gilligan and last five series. It stars Bryan Cranston as high school chemistry teacher turned meth cook Walter White, best known for his work as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle, and Aaron Paul plays drug addict Jesse Pinkman. The show has created many great characters including the drug lord with an unclear past named Gus Fring, the charismatic lawyer known as Saul and the professional hit man called Mike to name just a few. It should be noted that Saul is getting his own television show that will be a prequel to Breaking Bad.

The plot is centred mainly on Walter White, his relationship with his family and a parental figure for former student Jesse, as well as his transformation into his alter ego Heisenberg. The story begins with Walter receiving news that he has lung cancer. This comes as a financial blow to him as he is already struggling to provide for his family that consists of Walter Junior, who has cerebral palsy, and his pregnant wife Skylar. In a ride along with his brother in law and DEA agent, Hank, Walter witnesses a drug raid on a meth lab and finds an old former student of his called Jesse Pinkman running from the crime scene. Later on White tracks down Pinkman and offers him a deal to combine his chemical knowledge and Jesse’s distribution system to sell high quality meth in order to pay of his medical bills. Pinkman agrees and they by an RV and use it as a mobile lab.

Their entrance into their underworld occupations starts violently as White’s morality is called into question early on in the show. The two become more professional, cooking meth to such as high standard that they come to the attention of drug kingpins such as the sociopathic Tuco and the reserved Gustavo Fring. Walter attempts to hide his secret life from his family but he causes suspicions with his lies that threaten to reveal his alter ego. As the series moves on his morality breaks down and his greed, fuelled by his disappointment in life, begins to take over allowing White to do more ethically questionable things.

It is a very entertaining show in my opinion, with many complex as well as compelling characters with intriguing and ever changing relationships that seem to decay as time moves on. While it takes its time in building up the story, I believe it was paced well, enhanced with memorable music and excellent acting to make it a brilliant show that has earned its place in popular culture. I look forward to what Gilligan plans to do with Saul Goodman in his own prequel storyline and if some of the original characters will appear.

Plot=10/10

Characters=10/10

Special effect=10/10

Overall=10/10

Quote of the day

I'M A BLOW FISH! BLOW FISH! YEEEAAAH! BLOW FISHIN' THIS UP!

Jesse Pinkman

Breaking Bad

Dark Tower: Wolves of the Calla

Greetings, Wolves of the Calla is the fifth novel in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. It follows the adventures of Roland Deschain and his small group of comrades as they continue their search for the mystical Dark Tower. By finding the Tower, they hope to understand why their worlds as well as time itself are beginning to fall apart and once discovered Deschain hopes to reverse the trend. The book is a mixture of the fantasy and western genres and in this series King seems to be connecting his novels together. Father Callahan, the protagonist from Salem’s Lot, became a prominent character in this story and it is suggested that he will remain for the other books as he becomes a member of Roland’s group.

The plot begins with Roland and his team coming across a small farming community called Calla Bryn Sturgis in their travels. This is the first inhabited settlement they have come across for a long period of time and it is where they meet Father Callahan, who had originally lived in Earth but managed to find his way into Mid-World after the events of Salem’s Lot. It is revealed to the gunslinger by the villagers that the little village would soon be plunged into danger by a recurring threat known as the Wolves of Thunderclap. Initially, the nature of the Wolves is unknown but it is uncovered that they take one young child from a set of twins away from their families once every generation for an unknown reason.

The children are taken to Thunderclap, a hostile region that the villagers do not enter, and eventually the kids are returned to their families but lose their intelligence as well as die young in a violent manner. Andy, a messenger robot whose origins are unknown, informs the villagers that the Wolves would return to steal the children in one month’s time and so the people of Calla Bryn Sturgis are divided amongst themselves. Some want to resist the Wolves, believing that the arrival of the gunslingers could ensure victory while others are too frightened of the consequences if they resisted. A secondary plot is also established as it is revealed that Susannah, one of the five team members, is pregnant with a monster child and has developed another personality that threatens to take control of her mind.

As usual King builds up the pace slowly with an action scene at the end. This story was mostly based on tales of other characters and building lore for Calla Bryn Surgis, a large portion of the book is dedicated to Father Callahan recalling the events of Salem’s Lot which is based on vampires in America. The interaction between the five main characters, who all meet in the third book, is still a strong point of the adventure and helps move the bizarre storyline move along. The Dark Tower has expanded outside of the original novels, with prequel comic books centred on Roland and there are rumours of a possible film.

Plot=8/10

Characters=9/10

Wording=8/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the day

You know what you are? You're a beard with an idiot hanging off it.

Bernard Black

Black Books