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Just picked up a large selection at the library after finishing the books I was on.
Fiction
Cry of the Newborn by James Barclay. The first book in the Ascendants of Estorea world, so excellent I just grabbed it's sequel from the library. Fantasy genre, no other races, Romanish (Roman type armies, toga's, not so much the bloodthirsty infighting) with magic not in common usage, very large book at just over 800 pages.
If you want to be made to smile, steer well away from this book. It is a world where characters will suffer and they will die, some of the suffering is such I would not recommend it to anyone below 15 myself, I can't think of one chapter were I felt cheery afterwards. One battle song caused me to cry, a major plot point caused me to go and seek a huggle for comfort but that is part of the world he created, that it can cause such emotion reflects well on the author. There are a lot of characters, some only appearing for a chapter or two while others throughout, and it is too Barclay's credit that it is hard to confuse them with each other as many of them remain distinct from each other, they are also very believable with their own flaws and strengths. There are a lot of battles, seemingly well researched though perhaps gets too many battles near the end. However an ability to surprise, good characters and excellent descriptions help make battles enjoyable as you see it through a person's eyes. It is also a book where you don't get told "General A has been utterly destroyed as have all his legions" or "Our army of the West has won a great victory", Barclay instead shows you the said battle.
The real strength is entertaining dialog, the banter, the arguments, all done so very well and the ability to pull at the emotions. One or two flaws, one small part of the book plot didn't quite feel it was pulled off well, felt the Tsard kingdom was very poorly represented in terms of characters. Yet it doesn't detract from a engrossing read in an excellent book.
Non Fiction:
Ancient Rome On Five Denarii A Day by Philip Matyszak. Essentially a small guidebook based on what a traveller to Rome in 200 A.D might need to know. Was quite funny in patches, some excellent quotes and anecdotes in a very short but solid book.
Venus of Empire: The Life of Pauline Bonaparte by Flora Fraser. About the sister of an Emperor whose name was known for deviancy as people looked to blacken the name of the Bonaparte. A lack of sources for her early life and a not always pleasant character doesn't help Fraser's efforts but I do wonder if a better job then this could have been done. Fraser describing Pauline's time in Haiti was fascinating, perhaps due to combining army, political as well as love life but sometimes Fraser confused me. One page, explaining how so and so was not her lover but then next page she suddenly has a lover who Fraser doesn't seem to name for example. She fails to address the rumors/charges against her subject sometimes and when she does, like the incest one, Fraser explanation wasn't always convincing. Didn't often seem to get into the head of her on her lovers but that may be due to lack of sources. For all that, a decent book but no more then that, you may be able to find a better biography out there.
Talleyrand by Philip G.Dwyer. Part of the Profiles in Power series (different writers for different people), it is rather small meaning Dwyer has had to cut certain things out. Talleyrand's time in America, his educational suggestions, his personal life and a few things near the end are cut though for those looking for more detail, he does have a list of books in English. The book requires some basic knowledge of the French Revolution though elsewhere Dwyer does brief background stuff to avoid confusion. Leaving aside the limits imposed on the work, Dwyer writes well and is informative about the subject though I feel he is slightly too forgiving of the subject in this case (my sister disagrees). Did get a feel of his abilities, the difficulties he was in as a minister and only wish Dwyer would write a full biography.
Europe's Tragedy: A history of the Thirty Years War by Peter H.Wilson. Very large book, makes a good overview of the war in and out of Germany, dealing with the politics and the battles well, going into just enough detail for the large battles. It isn't a book that manages to convey personalities that well and would prefer he didn't give all the info of a guy's career/personality/reputation when we first meet them but this is really a book of overview and theory about the period. For those who already know a lot about thirty years war, some might find Wilson's assertions interesting, for those like me who knew nearly nothing, this is an excellent way of learning about it.
1939: Countdown to War by Richard Overy. More a treatise in paperback then a book, it covers from 24 Aug till the fateful day the Allies declared war. The concentration is on events in Germany, England and France, to a lesser extent Poland, with Italy being a minor part and on the major personalities involved. Informative as you would expect from someone with Overy's reputation, it challenges a fair few things commonly thought about the Prime Minster Neville Chamberlain. My only wish for this excellent work is for it to have been longer.
A Gambling Man: Charles II and the Restoration by Jenny Uglow. A surprising choice of subject by Uglow and a difficult one for any biographer who likes to get inside their subjects head. In that sense, Uglow was never going to succeed but it is still a good book, making a solid overview of the period and the characters, of how people viewed the court. Having a quote, usually from a poem or a play, at the start of each chapter is a nice touch with Uglow concentrating the book on the period between Charles becoming King and his signing a secret treaty with France. Won't provide anything new if you have fairly good knowledge of Charles II, one of England's more popular and well known monarchs, but will provide a good introduction to the subject for those who do not have such knowledge.
Finished Bioshock and reviewed it here . Wobbled between 8.5 and 9 but felt there was slightly too much boredom for me during the game. I love whoever made the Bioshock wallpaper for the PS3, I will be surprised if I change it for awhile. Also thank you to the game makers for livening up the credits, usually I grab a book for the next half an hour but it was done in two minutes, half of which had me reading each one with interest.
I remember when Bioshock first came out and I was pondering whether to get it so tried the demo at 9pm. By the time I finished it an hour later, I knew I would not get to sleep for some time. So many times I was alarmed by something from the dark or heard something that made my heart beat a little faster so I decided to buy it soon after the game was released. When I first came across a Little Sister, I decided to harvest her as I do tend to play the evil characters. Moments later I was loading up, my heart tearing itself apart on seeing what I had done in her little face. I was going to rescue them all but then an error happened, killed a Big Daddy but the girl didn't appear, so I put Bioshock away for awhile.
Why it took me a year to pick it up and start a new game, I have no idea. I had enjoyed it the first time round and I enjoyed it even more the second time, appreciating the atmosphere, hunting down every diary and every sister, hacking everything I could find that wasn't rated impossible. This time I played it during the day, lights off, curtains closed thus giving me several hours to settle down and there were times when I needed it. I don't play many horror games and the last time I recalled a game having such a haunting atmosphere, so many shocks was way back when I was a child and first discovered Silent Hill.
I don't recall which one,I also never completed it but when I played myself or peeked over my fathers shoulder I was scared. Silent Hill had the isolated town, the mist, the static radio, the splicers, the horrifying monsters, the story that contained many a surprise, it was a true horror game for me. Bioshock may allow you to shoot the splicers in the face till dead and not worry about ammo or the consequences of death but it was the first time I have felt such fear again so often, felt such an atmosphere. How I have missed it!
Bioshock, for me, will forever be a Horror game and not an FPS. Is there any other PS3 that will provide me with some scares?
I played this game mostly when I was not in the mood for the more emotionally draining Valkyria Chronicles or didn't have an afternoon free but just an hour or two. Then I would roam the streets, buying up shops, completing missions, just having a relaxing time spreading my gang's lands with a . It is nice to have two so very different games, Valkryia Chronicles is the game that I will remember most of all and will remain on my best ever game list long after I have forgotten Saints Row 2. It got inside my heart and tore me up a few times, the effort to keep my troops alive and seeing what was happening left me pleasantly drained at the end of each chapter. Everyone has different favorite characters from the umpteen excellent choices, the world is so rich an animie and manga have been made out of it, though surprisingly little fanfiction out there, it was a game of excellence that has kept on in my mind ever since I finished it. It was gaming's ability to wrap people into a world at it's best, the kind of game I would put naysayers of gaming and show how a game can be as enthralling as an excellent book.
Saints Row 2 (my copy was buggy) could simply be described as fun for the most part, an escapist route where I don't need to think. True, certain cutscenes fully earn the 18 rating by themselves for showing a brutal side to game yet somehow, the game still comes across as amusing even during such moments though not sure if that was intentional. Put my guy and have him run around a thousand cute things with an evil laugh, it would still lack a emotional punch. Yet it isn't a game for those looking for an awesome story or great characters but a game where you shoot stuff and have fun, laughing as you go. For me, it was also a chance to watch my sister playing only the third full PS3 game (the dreadful Untold Legends, GTA and strangely, since she doesn't like football, the Fifa10 demo) so I have been delighted at that. She will happily learn the storyline of games she likes enough to hear about (MGS, Overlord, Valkyria Chronicles for examples) but it is even greater joy for me to see her playing something. Mostly so I can tease her about it
It may generally lack the excellence of Valkyria Chronicles but then Saints Row 2 doesn't try to be a heart puller, it fills it's own most valuable niche. Long may there always be room for "if I wanted story, I would go to a film" games and "mindless tosh, insert some insult about anyone who plays it here" games.
One area I felt Saints Row 2 excelled more then any other I have played is character customisation, now a regular part of sports games and comes into other area's now and again. Too often the choice is limited in terms of clothes, lucky to get a voice at all, no man wears a dress and (if your allowed to have a female. Or in case of Smackdown, allowed to have a female storymode, hugely disappointed when they stopped that) woman are limited to pretty things to an extent. In Saints Row 2, a man can wear a bra (I went with bandages but had eyeshadow, looked really good on him) and a woman a bowler hat and the selection of clothing was wide. I have always enjoyed buying clothing for my characters in games and if certain clothing doesn't affect skills, I'll buy ones that make my character look good after careful consideration, same with houses if I can decorate them. Saints Row2 allowed my character to look nice in terms of body and face then had a wide range of clothing from hats, shoes to glasses (how many games actually have decent glasses to choose from? Saints Row2 does) and earrings, a choice I don't think I have ever had before. It wasn't perfect, voices will always be a limited choice and the female ones are bad (whereas the men have a nice British one that I went for), I think the bra's are ugly and the makers are a bit keen to call some house decoration a Pimp style/bed/TV/thing but overall, they have set a good marker for PS3 games looking for character customisation.
