Discworld in a Year Ending

Well, it’s the end of my “Discworld in a Year” challenge, and I have concluded that it was a resounding failure. However, I have figured out why that challenge failed. First, it was too ambitious. Discworld has dozens of books, and when I started the challenge I only had a small fraction of them. Second, I got tired of it after a while. I don’t mean that Discworld was bad, not by any means. It was similar to having your favorite meal for the twentieth meal in a row. After a while, I just felt like I wanted something different. As a result, it was difficult to get through all of the Discworld books. And third, I’m a lazy rat. Considering that I didn’t make a new post for over six months, there’s no point in avoiding that. I was just too lazy, and, if I’m perfectly honest with myself, that’s probably the main reason that I failed the challenge.

Despite this failure, I have to say that I really enjoyed doing it. Because of this challenge, I discovered a wonderful author and explored a beautiful world that I can’t wait to explore more of. I haven’t written reviews for every Discworld book that I’ve read, but believe me that they’re coming.

I had planned on doing a different challenge every year, but considering how the past year went, I just want to focus on keeping these reviews on schedule. Hopefully this year will be more consistent.

Mort

Cover to Mort

Well, this review is indescribably late. My best explanation is that life happened and that you’re probably not interested in the boring details. You’re here for my reviews, so let’s get back on them. Next Discworld installment.

Overview

In this Discworld installment, Death comes to Mort with an offer he can’t refuse – especially since being, well, dead isn’t compulsory. As Death’s apprentice, he’ll have free board and lodging, use of the company horse, and he won’t need time off for family funerals. The position is everything Mort thought he’d ever wanted, until he discovers that this perfect job can be a killer on his love life.

Still Alive

So, you might have noticed that I haven’t been active lately. I do have an explanation for that: life. Between school, trying to find a job, other personal projects, and all the other things that life has been throwing at me, I haven’t been able to sit and focus on my reviews as much as they deserve.

In regards to my Discworld in A Year challenge, I have still been going through the books, I just haven’t been updating this blog as I’ve been progressing. I know this seems like a bit of a pointless announcement, but I thought I should put this out there for anybody that was wondering (hahahahahaha!)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Cover of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Okay, confession time: I’ve never seen Blade Runner. Despite being a classic that nearly everyone recommends, I haven’t seen it before. However, I plan on rectifying that problem soon. Right after I read the source material, that is.

Overview

By 2021, The World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn’t afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulcrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep…

They even built humans.

Emigrants to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn’t want to be identified, they just blend in.

Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose jo was to find rogue androids, and to “retire” them. But when cornered, androids tend to fight back, with deadly results.

Equal Rites

Cover to Equal Rites

Well, it’s been a while since I reviewed a Discworld book. Since I’m having to take time to find and gather all the books in a series, there will be a few weeks where I’ll be reviewing something other than Discworld. Anyway, on to Discworld #3 titled Equal Rites.

Overview

In Equal Rites, a dying wizard tries to pass on his powers to an eighth son of an eighth son, who is just at that moment being born. The fact that the son is actually a daughter is discovered just a little too late.

Golem and the Jinni

Cover image to The Golem and the Jinni

When I was a teenager, my parents and I would go to the next town over once a month. One of the stores we would frequent was Books-A-Million, and I always saw a copy of The Golem and the Jinni. Not knowing anything about it, I would resolve to go home and skim reviews to see if I should get it (skimming to avoid spoilers, not because I’m lazy). But I would always forget to do that by the time I returned home. And so the process would begin again. When I found a copy of the novel in my library, how could I resist finally learning the novel’s quality?

Overview

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic. When her master, the husband who commissioned her, dies at sea on the voyage from Poland, she is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York in 1899.

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire, born in the ancient Syrian Desert. Trapped in an old copper flask by a Bedouin wizard centuries ago, he is released accidentally by a tinsmith in a Lower Manhattan shop. Though he is no longer imprisoned, Ahmad is not entirely free – an unbreakable band of iron binds him to the physical world.

Undertale

The Kickstarter image for Undertale

GameFaqs ran a recent polling tournament for the title of “Best Game Ever” with the winner being an indie game called Undertale. Now I wouldn’t be a decent game review if I didn’t address this, would I? …Okay, so I may not be decent, but I am a reviewer….Oh, you get the point.

Overview

“Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS. One day, war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell. Many years later… on Mt. Ebott, 201X. Legends say that those who climb the mountain never return.”

The opening text from the game

Slaughterhouse-Five

Cover image to Slaughterhouse-Five

For some time I have heard great things about Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut’s magnum opus about World War II. Like I usually do, I blocked myself off from any other information until I could read a copy in order to avoid spoilers. So you can imagine my surprise when I start reading about freaking time travel and bloody aliens! What the hell did I just read?!

Overview

Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck from time. One moment he’s in a WWII prison camp, and the next moment he’s on his honeymoon. An alien race that sees in four dimensions is able to help him understand what is happening to him.

Life is Strange

Life is Strange

Under normal circumstances when I’m interested in an episodic game, I wait until all of the episodes have been released and then play the whole game in one go. That’s one reason why I haven’t played the Game of Thrones adaptations yet. However, I heard so many good things about Life is Strange that I couldn’t pass it up.

Overview

One day after class, Max Caufield has the harrowing experience of seeing a young woman getting shot and killed. But the very next second, Max is back in the class that she just left. Putting the facts together to realize that she can time travel, Max now has her entire life turned upside down in ways she couldn’t predict.

The Mirror Lied

The Mirror Lied title screen

This game was released by one of my favorite indie game studios, Freebird Games. I realize that the phrase “game studio” makes it sound like I’m a fan of a corporation. However, that is not the case. Indie game studios tend to be a lot smaller, closer knit, and most importantly more consistent with the quality in their products as opposed to Universal Studios or other large media corporations. It’s more like being a fan of a specific author than anything else I can compare it to. Naturally when I found out about the existence of this game, I was drawn to play it.

I didn’t get it. I wish I could say more, but honestly, I didn’t get it. I love when creators design experiences with deep meanings and don’t immediately spell things out for their audience. That is one of the reasons Journey is one of my favorite games. But this game just left me confused and wondering what just happened. It was free when I bought To the Moon, so I fortunately didn’t feel like I was ripped off.

Maybe you can find some deeper meaning in this game. If you did, please feel free to explain it to me. As for me personally, I didn’t get it.