Doors, Windows, Pictures, Dreams, Hearts

And so it has come to this, the end of our tale. I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling last week. I actually stayed up until 2:15 AM to finish it. There was just no sleeping when I was that close. And so now I’ll attempt my final entry on the series. If you would like to read the others simply follow the links: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth.

Well this is it. The end. The last of the line. And… I was pleased. Quite pleased in fact. This book is still not the longest of the bunch, but it is lengthy. The biggest part is that there are great stretches where nothing happens, punctuated by an almost lurching of the plot forward at a very rapid pace. The beginning is like that, and various parts in the middle. Even the beginning of the end almost seems to happen by accident. It is as if it wasn’t intended, it just came to be despite the wishes of the main characters. Honestly, it’s what I liked most about it. The book really does communicate frustration, boredom, anxiety, and a feeling of wayward destiny. It’s like being stuck at sea with no wind for your sails with periodic typhoons rolling by. I liked it, but I can see how some people would get bored or aggravated.

I’ve altered the following text for those that don’t want spoilers. Copy the text to here to decode it.

Znal bs gur cvrprf jrer gurer, ohg gurl jrer qvssvphyg gb frr. Vg nyfb qvqa’g uheg gung gurl pbhyq svg gbtrgure va zber guna bar jnl, vs lbh qvqa’g unir gur xrl ovgf. Gb gur urneg bs vg, Fancr’f eriryngvba jnf unaqyrq ornhgvshyyl. Vg jnf n terng eryvrs gb zr. V unq ubcrq gur qbr jnf sebz Fancr, ohg V jnf abjurer arne fher. V oryvrirq vg unq gb or fbzrbar sbe jubz Yvyl jnf nf vzcbegnag nf ure uhfonaq, gur fgnt, jnf gb Uneel. Gbax’f punatr bs Cngebahf urycrq fbyvqvsl gung vqrn. V jnf ernyyl fjrngvat orpnhfr gur vqrn jnf fhpu n fgergpu. Ubjrire Ebjyvat chyyrq vg bss jvgubhg gbb zhpu fhfcrafvba bs qvforyvrs. Gur qrnguf bs uvz naq bs gur bgure punenpgref jr jrer vagebqhprq gb uvg uneq, ohg nqqrq zber ernyvfz gb gur fgbel. Vg nyfb urycrq qevir gur oryvrinovyvgl bs gur frys fnpevsvpr bs Uneel.

V zhfg fnl bar guvat gubhtu. Gurer vf bar yvar gung V pna’g jnvg gb frr ba gur fvyire fperra. Jura Zef. Jrnfyrl lryyf ng Orngevk Yrfgenatr (frevbhfyl Yrfgenatr pbzr ba) “ABG ZL QNHTUGRE LBH OVGPU!” V ernyyl jnag gb frr gung. Qba’g zrff jvgu n erq urnqrq jbzna’f puvyqera.

And so the series is over. And the recommendation is to read it for all who care for entertaining, well written literature. Beyond that I could talk, but I don’t know what else to say here. Though I will admit I pondered and pondered over a title for this entry. It was not easy. I am still not sure I like what I chose, but I needed something didn’t I. So I chose some nouns the book brought to mind, and below I put some adjectives. Match them up any way you wish. I know how I did it.

Closed, Opened, Changing, Shattered, Lost

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The Values of Halfs

I have been neglectful yet again. I have finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for almost a week, and I haven’t re viewed it. I also neglected other reviews, but I may do those later. I will tell you of my tardiness at the end of this entry. This is of course the 6^th in the Potter series by J. K. Rowling. You can read what I said about the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth books following the links.

This is actually the first book in the series to contain fewer pages of text that the previous book. You can tell when reading it. It feels like it contains less things happening, but the events seem to carry a greater importance. I had originally hoped that the movie would come out right before I was ready to read this book. That way I would have seen 6 of the movies before reading the books, but alas they moved the release date back. Rather than wait for 6 more months I went ahead and read it. As a consequence there is no movie to compare it to. That means straight on to my take on the book.

Like previously I’m really not going to say much about specific things in the book. That really affects this review more than previous, because this books starts to bring to a head the themes and questions that have carried through all the novels. This one doesn’t really have the nice beginning, middle, close of the previous books. Those all had good closure for the conflict of that book. This one felt more like the first quarter of a game. The book ended but it wasn’t really closure. All of the buildup of the previous books built up to the point that it just exploded, and then it said to be continued. That’s why I chose to go ahead and read the next book right away. Yes that is why I didn’t write the review right away. I was busy polishing off number seven. But that means I now have to reconstruct some of my thoughts from last week and not have them tainted by having read book seven.

So basically this one is well written and planned, but the reader may not realize how well until they read the seventh book. Previously I had mentioned that The Order of the Phoenix, TOoTP, had diminished the likely hood of some possibilities for some of the characters, and that it left me wondering. Well this book did something odd. It seemed to have decreased the chances even more, BUT… I think it actually increased the likely hood of the things I had hoped for. I know that sounds odd, but that’s how it felt. That is why I think it is quite well written, even though it may not feel like it is as good at TOotP on first read. I urge all to dive deeper and think like a weaver of tales. And now for spoilers.

I’ve altered the following text for those that don’t want spoilers. Copy the text to here to decode it.

V jnf cyrnfrq ng gur tebjgu bs frevbhfarff naq senaxyl qrnguf bs yvxnoyr punenpgref va gur cerivbhf obbxf. V xabj gung fbhaqf bqq, ohg vg nqqf na nve bs ernyvfz naq “srne bs ybff” gb gur frevrf. Vg znxrf lbh gnxr zber pner va jung vf tbvat ba naq gelvat gb svther bhg jung vf unccravat. Lbh nyfb qba’g gnxr n punenpgre’f cerfrapr sbe tenagrq nf zhpu. Naq gurer unf orra na rfpnyngvba bs gur vzcbegnapr bs gur punenpgref gung qvrq. Gung yrnqf zr gb gur cbvag gung Qhzoyrqber unf gb qvr. V guvax V ernyvmrq guvf nsgre gur svefg pbhcyr bs zbivrf. V fnj gurz orsber ernqvat gur obbxf nsgre nyy. Vg jnf qevira ubzr gbb bsgra gung Uneel jnf eryngviryl fnsr ng Ubtjnegf nf ybat nf Qhzoyrqber jnf gurer. Ur jnf gbb jvfr naq cbjreshy naq sbe Uneel gb or va erny qnatre naq srry ybfg, ur unq gb or erzbirq. V erzrzore jura Ahzore 6 pnzr bhg naq V urneq fbzrbar fnl gurl pbhyqa’g oryvrir fur xvyyrq uvz. V vzzrqvngryl xarj Nyohf jnf qrnq, naq vg cyrnfrq zr sbe gur tbbq bs gur gnyr. Vg’f shaal, ohg xabjvat gung znqr vg rnfvre sbe zr gb ernq gur obbxf zber yrvfheryl. Qenpb’f jbex gb yrg gur Qrngu Rngref va jbeevrq zr, ohg uvf ernpgvba gb Terlonpx naq urfvgngvba ba gur gbjre erarjrq zl ubcrf. Fancr’f zheqre bs Nyohf ba gur gbjre znqr zr fpnerq gung zl ubcrf sbe gur obbxf zvtug or pehfurq, ohg gur synzr bs ubcr crefvfgrq va gur qnexarff gung Qhzoyrqber unq cynaarq, creuncf rira erdhrfgrq, uvf bja qrngu.

And that question forced me to jump straight to the next book. I said screw it, I’m going to read it now. The suspense was killing me. I feel sorry for those that waited two years for it to be published. Anyway as you expect I highly recommend the series, but I think that goes without saying. And so the next review comes shortly.

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Fire and Ash

Well I finished Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling. It’s the fifth year book. You can read the first , second, third, and fourth books in the series.

I finished this one the Monday after Thanksgiving. That’s not bad considering I started it over the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Like the last book this one came in at around 130+ pages longer. What you may not have noticed was that the font seems to have dropped by about one point size, maybe a drop from 12 pt to 11 pt. It may seem a small change, but it probably added a couple dozen pages to the book. Of course I didn’t measure it, so my eyes may be playing tricks on me. It also seems they used a thinner paper to curtail the book thickness growth as well.

Normally I don’t compare movies to the books that much. It’s a self defeating pastime in most cases. They are two different media with their own strengths and shortcomings. The storytelling has to be tailored to each in order to make the best story. I covered that in the last review. This book however, almost necessitates it. This is the longest book so far. It is jam packed with information. In fact there really isn’t much that could be removed from the book without diminishing the story. That is the problem. There was simply too much to put in the movie at its given length. You can see that in the review I wrote 18 months ago. Rereading the review I feel better about the review itself than I probably did at the time. After reading the book, I am amazed at what they managed to get in. Truly it is remarkable. I just watched the movie again to make sure I was comparing properly. There is a whole lot cut out to make the film, but the cuts were surgeon precise. They eliminated scenes that retold information and combined characters and changed who said lines. I am impressed. In fact it probably makes me admire the movie more. It would have had to have been two movies if done closer to the book. I think the movie suffered from a lack of more background, environment, and some cooling down time, but it holds up well.

This book is really just great. I think it is the best so far. There is a bunch of character development, the washing away of childhood simplicity, and the black and white nature of the world dissolves. It’s just great. It’s the first one that really had me yearning to get back to the book to finish it. I can see why some people read it straight through in one sitting, but that it a bit much for me. One sad thing though. The movie had left enough out of the storytelling that I had some hopes for some of the characters. With the book however, that seems less likely, but it is still a possibility. I’ll just have to wait to see. But honestly, this one has made it tough for me to wait my normal cycle of 2 fiction one non-fiction for the next one. I had hoped the next movie would be out now, but they pushed it back to Summer. Should I move on with the books or wait for the movie? Feel free to give advice on that one.

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Out of the Frying Pan

Well I finally got to and finished the fourth in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Here’s my sparing comments about the first, second, and third books.

I said the last book was a decent leap in size by going up 100 pages. Well this one makes a leap from that one of around 300 pages. And you can tell it. I don’t just mean the physical size of the book either. The characters, descriptions, plot development, and critical thinking have all improved greatly in this one step. Although I will say the book didn’t have to be this long, the additional environmental development was enjoyable. There is still weakness in the storytelling, but taken as a series it is working out well.

I want to read the rest, but I only have one more book before I am caught up with the movies. I hoped they might finish the movies before I finished the books, but that doesn’t seem likely. I don’t usually hold books and movies to the same light of scrutiny. They are different media and require different handling. The first three movies weren’t too far a departure from the books, but this one, with its length, you really start to see where they had to compromise when they translated it to movie form. There is far more obviousness in the movie, but that again is a limitation of the media. When an author wants to call your attention to something it can be accomplished by merely including it in the text. Then the author can fill in other details to hide, but not completely obscure the important data. Movies are filled with so much visual information not included in books that the pertinent visual information can be lost in the low signal to noise ratio. So maybe I’ll get the next one around the time of the movie. Then I probably won’t be able to wait for Deathly Hallows.

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Work Release

This is the third of the Harry Potter series I have been able to work my way through. That’s right I have finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The short reviews of the first and second books are available too.

This was a pretty decent jump from the last book to this one. It’s almost 100 pages longer. It makes it a little longer to read, but it also makes the book feel much heftier. And the inside of it does so as well. I like how the books are starting to take on darker, more serious tones. The characters are growing nicely, and the situations are becoming more complex and less black and white. I can see why so many people have praised the series, and I’m looking forward to the fourth book.

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Even more movies

I tell you this is a great summer for good movies. I don’t think I gave the theater this much money in all of last year. So last weekend I went to see “WALL-E.” Yeah I was lazy and didn’t write a review right away. So what the pay for writing this is crap so it say until today. And yesterday I went with some friends to watch “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”

First I’ll do “WALL-E.” This is just another fantastic movie by Pixar. Frankly I don’t know how they keep hitting them out of the park. They have some talented people there and must have the management willing to let them run where they need to run. I don’t know what it’s like to work there, but I can’t imagine how overstressed, depressed people could turn out stuff like this. I congratulate everyone that worked on it.

Everyone knows WALL-E is a robot, and it takes place in the future. I’m not telling much else, because you have to see the movie. Wait. No. You HAVE TO see the movie! There. That’s better. If you like any of Pixar’s movies, then you will like this one. There’s loads of humor, drama, and moral lessons. It’s worth seeing at full theater price, and the kids should love it.

As for Hellboy, if you liked the first one you should like this one as well. Some things are done better in this one, and some things aren’t quite as good. But the action and the humor are there. I recommend anyone who liked the first one go see it. Full price is warranted if you loved the first one. If you merely liked it then catch a matinee.

And now I await “The Dark Knight.” I’m all excited.

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A Prince Among Narnians

Okay I’ve been remiss in putting this up. Almost two weeks back I went to see “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” at the movie theater. I’ll keep this short though. There’s my original review of the book that tells about the plot and such. As far as the movie, this is a worthy successor to the first one. In fact I think I liked this one just a little better, which is opposite to the books. It is a great movie for the whole family and I recommend people go see at a matinee if it is still playing in your area. If not, then rent it.

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Clear the Chamber

Well, I have finished the second in the illustrious Harry Potter series. Some have expressed surprise that I am managing to keep to my earlier goal of reading one per cycle, two fiction and 1 non-fiction. I read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets relatively quickly, but I didn’t read it nonstop like some people have done. I don’t think I’ve ever done that with a book. Anyway my review of the first book is here, and I’ll ramble on about this one below.

This is a nice baby step up from the last book. It’s more complex. The characters are more ambiguous. I kind of want to watch the movie again now. I don’t usually have as big a problem with changes from a book to a movie as some people do. You go from a written medium to a visual one and you have to change some things. Plus there is the time limitation.

I digress. I don’t even have to say the book is good and a fitting second addition to the series. Everyone else already has. I will say I am pleased with where this is going and look forward to the next in the series.

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The First Stone is Cast

Well after much fanfare, gnashing of teeth, and taunts from friends I finally started the Harry Potter series. I purchased the entire set on sale after Christmas. It made each book about $16, which was a pretty decent price at the time. Anyway I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone after only a few days. I probably could have read it in one, but I don’t read that fast and had other things to do. It was asked if I was going to read them all together, but I plan on continuing my two fiction one nonfiction pattern for the time being. So on with the rambling.

This is I believe the shortest of the books. Shoot I’m not even going to go into the story itself. Most of you are familiar with it aready. You can tell somewhat that they made some wording changes to move the book from Britain to the US. Frankly it’s probably the largest font I’ve read in a while. And yes it is a good children’s book, though it is a bit darker than the movie version. I also understand the changes they made for the movie. I usually don’t have as big of a problem with a book and movie being different, and some of my friends do. I just want them both to be good. Being different media means that changes have to take place to make the story flow and look right.

In short, I liked it. It was fun and a nice break. It was well written and engaging for a book aimed mostly at young people. I’m curious to see how the style evolves as the characters get older and their views of the world become more complex. I hope the writing style and plots become more complex as well. It would be interesting to see it grow like the human psyche and intellectual capability evolves through those formative years. And no spoilers please.

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Eternal Knight

As you can tell I’ve finished Fall of Knight by Peter David. A can’t believe that it’s been over two years since I read the previous book of the series, and the first before that. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this one, but in actuality it has been sitting on my shelf for a little while. I kind of stopped reading for several months there, but I’m trying to make a comeback. I took a pause 1/3 of the way though the Franklin biography. It’s good, but I needed a respite from 700+ pages of 10 point font.

This is the third and probably final of the series. This book is more like the previous one than like the first. Look at my previous review for what I’m talking about. Most of what I said about the quality of the second book applies here as well, but first the plot points. Basically this book starts a couple months after Arthur fights for the Grail and heals his wife Gwen. She and he are keeping a low profile alone on a sail boat in the Pacific. I mean how can Arthur explain the miraculous recovery of the former First Lady after a sniper round to the head? Surprise of surprises they are found out and rumors start flying all over the place about secret government treatments not available to the public and such. Arthur comes back to Washington and comes clean about what happened. Pilgrims start surrounding the White House wanting help from the Grail. Arthur goes into hiding, Merlin disappears, and some yahoo shows up with the Spear of Destiny. They seem to work something out about using the Grail to help people, but then all Hell tries to break lose. In the end it goes to show that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as much as the second. It gets a bit darker, and some won’t like it for some of the religious stance it takes. I mean come on it has the Grail and the Spear of Longinus in it. How can it not be controversial? If differing ideas don’t daunt you then I recommend this to anyone who likes the genre.

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Potter’s Wheeling

Well last Thursday I went to the theater with my brother to see “Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix.” I reviewed the previous movie a year and a half ago. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long, until you see how the actors have aged. Anyway, on with the show.

I said in the previous review that I thought the movie was rushed. It was based on a long book and there were scenes that felt like the last minute of dialog were cut. Well this movie is based on an even longer book, but there didn’t seem to be as many scene fragments lying around. It seems that they spent more time figuring out what they could prune and making the rest mesh together better. The editing was better. However, it was pretty obvious that there was a lot missing. Characters that received only fleeting air time in the previous movies were there a lot more, but didn’t develop much. New characters hit the ground running without much back story. It makes the watcher beg for more information about characters. A friend said he thought it should have been about 30 minutes longer. Well I haven’t read the books, so I don’t know all the stuff that was left out. However, listening to others talk about it indicates to me that the additional elements might have been difficult to mesh in 30 minutes, and may have already been left out of previous movies. In any event, the missing explanations and character development makes me want to read the books even more. And that should be considered a success for any author.

This one was better than the last movie. I will read the books at some point, probably when I can by all of them in one boxed set. At that point I may have some more words to say about the films, but for now it’s a good movie and worthy successor to the rest. Go see it.

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Three for the Money

Well this past weekend I went and saw "Shrek the Third" at the theater. First of all I am terebly upset. I used to go to the theater by the interstate and they were bought by Regal. They stopped honoring the free movie every 9 cards and the matinée cost went up a quarter. I was a little frustrated cause the year before they had moved from a free every 7 card to the free every 9 card. That was ok. What killed me, and made me stop going there, was that concession prices jumped 30-50%+, plus they stopped serving Mountain Dew. This was after they had removed Dr. Pepper about 1 1/2 years earlier. So I started frequenting the theater near the Lowe's and Target farther into town. The ticket prices became the same after the price increase, and the extra distance was mitigated by them having both Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew. And all was good, for a time. Well we went into the theater this weekend and Dadblame it if they didn't switch to all Coke products like the other theater did. They don't even have Cherry Coke, and Mr. Pibb does not taste like Dr. Pepper any more than Pepsi tastes like Coke. But I digress.

Shrek III didn't get particularly good reviews on RT and I can understand why. It's the least entertaining of the three. I think most of the good lines and story point were used up in the first two movies. There's just too much drama and the movie takes itself too seriously. Give it a rental or go see the matinée with children, but don't bother paying full price for it.

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Fight to the Last

Well stick me with a fork, I am done. Just the other day I finished The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis, the seventh in the Chronicles of Narnia Series. If you want you can read my takes on the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth books.

This is the final book in the Narnia series, and it brings to a close the tale of almost all the characters you come to know and love in the series. It covers the last battle for the land of Narnia, and all those that reside in it. I’m not even going to go into the contents of the book much. This seems to be the most controversial book of the series, and it is also the only one to win the Carnegie Metal. It’s the one that should spark the most contemplation and discussion. I recommend reading it with your children and talking about it.

And now, on to other things in the ever growing pile of books.

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He’s Flaaaaming

Well Sunday it was raining all day, so I couldn’t very well burn some of the branches I have piled up in the back yard. So I did something else. I went and saw “Ghost Rider.”

First of all this movie doesn’t have particularly good reviews. It’s sitting at 28% on RT, but I’ll go see movies at that percentage if I find something about it interesting. I didn’t have high hopes entering the movie, but it was pleasantly entertaining. I saw it at a matinee in a theater full of people. Basically the movie isn’t a Hellboy, but it does a decent job with a character and story that sounds pretty silly to non-comic book fans. There’s some odd acting in it, but the characters are quite odd themselves. The effects and transformations are somewhat cheesy, but I’m not sure exactly how you could make them not cheesy without making the character gross to look at. In closing movie snobs stay away, comic fans only go if you can stand it not being everything you imagined, and B movie fan head to the matinee. There’s no need to pay full price for this afternoon’s distraction.

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Linked Rings

Well I’ve plowed through one more and have only one left to go. I’m talking about finishing The Magician’s Nephew the sixth publication in the Chronicles of Narnia Series by C. S. Lewis. If you want to read them, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth reviews are available.

This book was published fifth, but in the chronology it takes place first. In fact this is the book that explains how it all began, and why the other books are the way they are.

This book follows the children Digory and Polly. You may remember Digory as the professor in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Digory’s uncle sends the two children on a magical journey that leads to the origin of the White Witch, Narnia, and everything else that follows in the other books.

This book reminds me of Episode One form Star Wars. If it was the first story you saw, you probably wouldn’t be interested in the rest. Reading the other stories first plants questions that draw you through reading this one, despite it not being the most entertaining of the series.

Now It’s off to the last of the series.

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Making Them Drink

Considering the long pause it took me to finish my last book, I have quickly gotten to this one. I just finished reading The Horse and His Boy, the fifth publication in the Chronicles of Narnia Series. You can read the first, second, third, and fourth reviews there.

This book breaks form the previous ones in two ways. It is the first book to jump back in the timeline to a point before the end of the first book. It takes place during the Golden Age rule of the four kings and queens of Narnia. It is also the first book that doesn’t follow characters that enter Narnia from our world. Only Edward and Lucy of the original Pevensie children appear near the end of the story.

The book follows four characters, centering on one primarily. Shasta is the adopted son of a Calormene fisherman. He sets out from the home with Bree, a talking horse from Narnia who was enslaved. On the journey they encounter Aravis, a young noblewoman, and Hwin, her talking horse. They must overcome obstacles to reach their goal of escape to Narnia. On the way they learn more about each other and their past.

This book seems to have gotten a little closer to the entertaining with lessons formula. It should make good reading with children.

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By the games we play

As I said before, I received an Onyx Nintendo DS for Christmas. Since then I have gotten a few cartridges for it. In fact that’s one of the reasons I’ve been taking longer than usual to finish that Jefferson biography. Well hopefully I’ve gotten a handle on that and will be back to my book devouring self before too long. Anyway it occurred to me that I should write up a little something about the games I’ve been playing. I’ll ramble on about them following the link.

When I got the DS I also got a copy of Brain Age. It has a bunch of exercises designed to exercise different functional areas of the brain. I found that I was rusty on some of the tests. Well rusty may not the best description since I hadn’t performed some of the exercises before. Many of the tests I’ve gotten better at, but I still have a problem with the rote memorization of words. I’m going to try forming sentences or stories with them next to help memorization. I’ve been having a good time with it. It’s a really interesting product, but I wouldn’t call it a game. It does inspire competitiveness and drive though. I think exploration into areas of unique game play are going to be a big boon to Nintendo and help draw in a much wider group of consumers. I’m sure that played a big role in the design and marketing of the Wii as well.

The next game I got was Lego Star Wars II. A friend had played the first one on the Game Cube, and I co-played II with a friend on the XBox. I enjoyed the game the short time I played it , and it got good reviews. It’s a really fun game. It’s an interesting combination of game types. It’s easy enough for children to play, but also offers complexity for adults. I haven’t come close to doing everything yet. There are lots of extras that can keep you coming back for a long time. It’s fun to go through the stories we all know, but they also took a little poetic license with the stories. It’s just too much fun to watch the Lego characters wink at the camera or sashay around. The only complaint I really had is that the game seems a little buggy. I’ve had it freeze up a couple of times, but mostly I’ve had textures disappear. That means my ship, enemy ships, walls, etcetera would vanish. Also, sometimes the camera would get stuck in certain locations. It’s these problems that keep this game from being a total joy to play.

I went to Best Buy to buy a game for my brother; he got a DS for Christmas as well. While there I found that Age of Empires: The Age of Kings was there for $20. I had heard good things about the game, and I loved the PC version, so I bought it. I have to say they did a great job with this game. They turned a Real Time Strategy (RTS) game for the PC into a Turn Based Strategy (TBS) game for a mobile system. The graphics and animations are great. In fact I’m surprised at what they could do with the processing power of the DS. This game is entirely as addicting at the PC game was originally. I’m really optimistic for group play, but it requires everyone to have a copy of the game. In case you didn’t know some games can be played by multiple DS with only one needing to have a card. At $20 this game is a fantastic steal. It’s probably the best game I’ve gotten so far. The only caveat I have is that in some complex games the game may lock up after playing for a while. I recommend saving every 5 days in the game. But other than that the game is fantastic.

The last game I got, and have devoted the least time to, is Final Fantasy III. I’m really impressed with the graphics on this game as well. It’s hard to believe it’s a remake of a console game. If this speaks of the future of games on the DS, the system will dominate for quite some time. It’s a turn based Role Playing Game (RPG) like everyone expects of the FF series. It offers all the treasure of the FF series in a easily portable system. So far, I’m loving it, and I think I’m coming closer to convincing some friends to invest in a DS.

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Seat of Government

In keeping with the reviews I’ve made of the first, second, and third books of The Chronicles of Narnia series, in order of publication, I’m writing up this one for The Silver Chair.

TSC is the fourth book in the series, if you go by the publication date, and it is also the first book that doesn’t include any of the original 4 Pevensie children. This book sees Eustace Scrubb from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader being joined by Jill Pole on a trip to Narnia. Eustace isn’t nearly so much of a twit in this book. They are given the task to find the lost son of Eustace’s old friend King Caspian.

This book continues the trend of becoming more thought provoking and complex. The 4 signs the children must follow on their quest are a good opportunity to think about context and different interpretations of phrases. Also this book shows a lot more Christian imagery and almost blatant discussion, especially with Aslan. It also becomes apparent that Lewis didn’t think much of some of the modern teaching environs. It’s still a great book with lots to stimulate conversation among families and friends.

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Beyond the Edge of the Horizon

Today I just finished The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis, the third book I’ve read in The Chronicles of Narnia Series. If you want to see the other two reviews the first is here and the second is here.

TVotDT sees Edmund and Lucy making another journey to Narnia, along with their cousin Eustace. They arrive at the ship Dawn Treader and accompany King Caspian and crew on a journey eastward.

Actually I found this to be right behind The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in entertainment value. However, I think it surpasses it as a story full of lessons and insights that parents and children can talk about and share. It’s definitely a more advanced book with more advanced thoughts. It requires more leaps of logic to follow the hints of action, hence the recommendation of parents reading it with their children. Each of the islands and tests gives interesting lessons about life, but it also makes the story more formulaic. That is both beneficial and detrimental, making it different from the other stories. And now I’ll head on to the next in the series.

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Royal Heir of the Sea

So I said I would think about it and I have. I think I’m going to read the books two at a time, and review them in separate posts. I realize I didn’t actually say much about the book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, in the previous review. It was an unbelievable oversight on my part. I guess I assumed everyone knew about the four children traveling to the magical land of Narnia, and didn’t want to bore people. I’ll give a little more plot for this one since it’s not commonly talked about.

I finished Prince Caspian today. It starts with the children in England about a year after TLtWatW ended. They are again spirited to Narnia, but it has changed ever so much since they last left it. Then the reader is made privy to the tale of Prince Caspian and much of what has happened to Narnia since the children left it. In the end a great battle must take place to decide the future of Narnia. Standard fair actually. The book has the same wonderful story telling style of the first. It doesn’t talk down to the reader, but it also doesn’t seem to have the same excitement of TLtWatW. That is to be expected however, because this book doesn’t get to present everything as brand new. Even with that it still presents excitement and anticipation of what has and will happen. It definitely makes me want to pick up the next one, but for now I’m going to take a break for other books.

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