While I was on my vacation this year, I read an omnibus of three books of The Black Company series by Glen Cook. I bought the omnibus earlier this year, but only just got around to it on vacation. The story as to how I bought the book is kind of funny. I was in a Borders in December buying volumes 3 and 4 of Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and I see this book "Chronicles of the Black Company," with a really cool cover design. I would have bought it then, but I recalled past experiences of buying books based purely on the cover and synopsis alone and not liking them. Upon getting home, I hit up Amazon for more information and reviews for the books, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they were actually rather good. I bought it later with a gift certificate I got in January.
The Black Company series is dark fantasy, detailing the history of the titular Black Company through approximately 40 years of its history over 10 books. The main character of these books is a physician/Annalist called Croaker, a man I believe in his 20s when we first meet him. I say "Annalist" as Croaker himself is writing these books as chronicles of the company. They are part of a larger series of books, the Annals, written by many different authors and chronicling the company throughout its centuries-long history. At the beginning of the first book, the Black Company is hired by an empire in the north as part of its army as it tries to conquer the world. The ruler of this empire is an enigmatic sorceress known only as the Lady, whom Croaker develops something of an interest in, mostly because she's so mysterious. I'm afraid I can't really reveal any more, as that would be spoiling this great tale. I don't even know the whole story, as I've only read the first six, the next four have yet to be released in convenient omnibus form.
What I like about these books most is their treatment of morality. The Black Company has been hired by many various people and causes that could be called "evil", but the company itself has a strict code of honor that ensures they are never led away from their ideals. The Lady's Empire mentioned earlier is certainly an evil empire at first glance, but we learn that it is actually a rather ordered and even safe society. That's not really a spoiler, don't worry. Even the Lady herself, my favorite character of the series, isn't one-sidedly evil, she's actually quite human and multifaceted. We learn quite a bit about her throughout the series, somewhat ironically as we are first introduced to her as a very mysterious person.
These are some of the best fantasy novels I've read in a while, and recommend you reader(s) to look into them.
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Monday, August 17, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Shine
I'm writing this while listening to the Mirror's Edge main menu theme, and eventually the main theme to Mirror's Edge, Shine.
I love Mirror's Edge. It's one of the most brilliant ideas I've ever seen in gaming, and it was executed beautifully. The City it takes place in is beautiful, working with simple colors (most buildings are either white stone or black glass), and any actual color is simple. No gradients, nothing like that. It's beautiful in its simplicity. It also feels like I'm not really missing anything when I'm running full bore across rooftops (Of which there are sadly few, more on that later).
God, this music is so relaxing.
I also really like the main character, Faith. She's, well, human. It's easy to side with her, and she doesn't talk much while running, so it's easy to imagine what she's thinking. The other characters are really just there to advance the plot, so they're not really that important in the big scheme of things. Faith is the real star here, and it's a very personal experience to control her. It kind of feels like I'm really her when I play this game, it's a game that I can get immersed in very easily. Soon after I start playing, I start to think like a runner, like she would. It's amazing. Try to find character like this in Halo's Master Chief or Gears of War's Marcus Fenix. I dare you.
I have two main qualms with this game. First off, it's very easy to die. I died so many times getting through the campaign, whether it was mistiming or misaiming (That's a word, right?) a jump, or getting shot to Hell by the many soldiers later in the campaign. But, I can forgive Mirror's Edge for that. I die all the time in games like this, so I'm used to it. My second qualm is that there aren't nearly enough actual rooftops to cross in this game. Half of the campaign is set elsewhere, like warehouses, office buildings, or even freighters. I don't have that much of a problem with that, but I would like a lot more of the open freedom of rooftops in this game, I don't want to have to rely on the time trial maps for this. Granted, a lot of the non-rooftop areas were still interesting, with the same great level design, but come on.
Mirror's Edge is pretty much my favorite game of 2008, except for Metal Gear Solid 4, since, well, it's freaking MGS4. I'm so glad I own this game, and I really can't wait until they come out with a sequel. I'm going to preorder that as soon as it's announced, I assure you. What do I want in ME2? Other than more rooftops and maybe even a few gameplay enhancements, more than anything I want a free roaming mode. Think the Spider-Man games, I want to be able to run around the city not really doing anything, except maybe find some hidden items or something like that, but nothing really obtrusive, more like something to keep in the back of your mind while you play.
I don't think I've ever played a game where I've felt so immersed in it. As I said before, as I was running across rooftops, I quickly started thinking like Faith would, thinking of possible ways to go forward. It was an amazing experience, one I haven't felt in any other game. I just have to pray that EA and DICE don't screw up the sequel.
I love Mirror's Edge. It's one of the most brilliant ideas I've ever seen in gaming, and it was executed beautifully. The City it takes place in is beautiful, working with simple colors (most buildings are either white stone or black glass), and any actual color is simple. No gradients, nothing like that. It's beautiful in its simplicity. It also feels like I'm not really missing anything when I'm running full bore across rooftops (Of which there are sadly few, more on that later).
God, this music is so relaxing.
I also really like the main character, Faith. She's, well, human. It's easy to side with her, and she doesn't talk much while running, so it's easy to imagine what she's thinking. The other characters are really just there to advance the plot, so they're not really that important in the big scheme of things. Faith is the real star here, and it's a very personal experience to control her. It kind of feels like I'm really her when I play this game, it's a game that I can get immersed in very easily. Soon after I start playing, I start to think like a runner, like she would. It's amazing. Try to find character like this in Halo's Master Chief or Gears of War's Marcus Fenix. I dare you.
I have two main qualms with this game. First off, it's very easy to die. I died so many times getting through the campaign, whether it was mistiming or misaiming (That's a word, right?) a jump, or getting shot to Hell by the many soldiers later in the campaign. But, I can forgive Mirror's Edge for that. I die all the time in games like this, so I'm used to it. My second qualm is that there aren't nearly enough actual rooftops to cross in this game. Half of the campaign is set elsewhere, like warehouses, office buildings, or even freighters. I don't have that much of a problem with that, but I would like a lot more of the open freedom of rooftops in this game, I don't want to have to rely on the time trial maps for this. Granted, a lot of the non-rooftop areas were still interesting, with the same great level design, but come on.
Mirror's Edge is pretty much my favorite game of 2008, except for Metal Gear Solid 4, since, well, it's freaking MGS4. I'm so glad I own this game, and I really can't wait until they come out with a sequel. I'm going to preorder that as soon as it's announced, I assure you. What do I want in ME2? Other than more rooftops and maybe even a few gameplay enhancements, more than anything I want a free roaming mode. Think the Spider-Man games, I want to be able to run around the city not really doing anything, except maybe find some hidden items or something like that, but nothing really obtrusive, more like something to keep in the back of your mind while you play.
I don't think I've ever played a game where I've felt so immersed in it. As I said before, as I was running across rooftops, I quickly started thinking like Faith would, thinking of possible ways to go forward. It was an amazing experience, one I haven't felt in any other game. I just have to pray that EA and DICE don't screw up the sequel.
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