The Light Fantastic (1986)
The direct sequel to The Colour of Magic starts where the previous book stopped (cliffhanger with Rincewind hanging over a cliff (haha)). The cliffhanger gets resolved shortly and then the story gets going. Rincewind, the wizard with only one spell, Twoflower, the odd tourist from the counterweight continent, their magic luggage and assorted other characters try to survive as the whole of the Discworld plunges forward to an ominous red star. Pretty similar in style to the first novel, with the only difference that it’s one big story instead four shorter adventures. Good fun and since it’s actually the second half of The Colour of Magic, a must read for everyone who finished the first book.
The Colour of Magic (1983)
I haven’t reread the first Discworld novel for some years and wasn’t sure how it would hold up. In recent years I’ve often seen the advice to skip the first novels (lack of quality etc.). After reading TCoM I have to disagree. It’s great fun and definitely the best place to start. While it’s more interested in parodying fantasy clichés, the book still manages to tell a good story, has engaging characters and overall is a good introduction to the Discworld. The main ideas are explained, but the book doesn’t overwhelm the new reader with countless in-jokes and references that are part of what makes many of the later books so much fun, but only work if you actually read the preceding volumes. The only drawback of TCoM is that it ends with a cliffhanger (it’s the only Discworld novel to do that, all the others have a proper ending). But if you aren’t hooked by the end of the book, it probably won’t bother you anyway.
Drachenfels (1989)
The first Genevieve novel that takes place in the Warhammer setting. I still remember the big twist of the novel, which was quite effective on my first read. The second time around it doesn’t work anymore, but it’s a well written book that easily captures the reader with good writing and interesting characters and plot. The book is about a magnificent B-movie villain (the magician Drachenfels) who gets killed near the start of the book. Years later, some of those who killed him are involved in a play that repeats the events of Drachenfels ending. As expected, things don’t go as planned. Kim Newman aka Jack Yeovil not only perfectly captures the feel of the Warhammer world, he easily integrates a richly textured history of plays and theatre into it and makes it feel as if it belongs there.
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (2005)
Second Rachel Morgan novel. Very pleasant read, if a bit typical for a urban fantasy/paranormal romance series (not that this is a disadvantage, the whole genre seems to thrive on novels with a very similar style and settings and even similar plots). You’ve have the generic if enjoyable romance bits, you have the killer-driven plot (it’s always someone murdering people or other entities, that’s the aspect the genre has absorbed from crime novels), some revelations you expect and some you don’t. Overall nothing new, but if you know and like the genre you won’t be disappointed.
Gnop (2010)
Gnop is Pong backwards (nomen est omen after all). Instead of the paddle you control the ball, trying to reach the next (right) screen by not hitting the right paddle. There’s a very slight puzzle aspect to the game, but mostly it’s a bit fiddling around with the ball until you pass each level. It’s actually neat to see that there’s still potential in one of the oldest video games, but I wish the game was a bit bigger, as there are only a few levels to beat until you reach the end, which shouldn’t take more than five or six minutes at the most.
Soulless (2009)
Soulless is a mix of typical urban fantasy/paranormal romance fare and a comedy of manners style. The second ingredient was – together with awful characterization – enough to stop me from finishing Susanna Clarke’s famous Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, so I was quite wary of trying Soulless out. As expected, the comedy of manners style still grated on my nerves and there were a few moments I considered to stop reading, but unlike the Clarke book after some time I began to like the characters. They are quite typical of the genre, werewolves, vampires and a very headstrong female main character. The skill of the main character is quite neat, as she has the ability to channel out supernatural powers.
I liked the book in the end, even if I were less thrilled about some aspects. And it’s nice to see this kind of story take place somewhere else than American cities in the present (even if it’s often a slightly changed present).
Canabalt (2009)
Canabalt is the best one-button game I’ve ever seen. It’s a kind of arcade-platformer, where your character is running away (from what seems like an alien invasion, but it’s not really important). All you do with your one button is make the character jump, which seems a little bit lacking until you see the game in action. Your character is running and jumping from building to building, trying not to fall into the gaps between the buildings or get crushed by falling objects. It’s a highly addictive game (I say that a lot, but most effective flash games truly are) and the whole style of Canabalt just adds the right juice to the mix (it’s full of excellent 2d-pixel-graphics and a cool soundscape).
Continuity (2009)
Continuity is an ingenious combination of a platformer and a sliding puzzle. All you have to do is collect all the keys and find the door to pass each level. But to get there you have to change the layout of the whole level by sliding pieces of the level into new places, since the way forward is often shut and only by rearranging the level you’ll get to the exit. The execution of the other aspects (sound, graphics) is as good as the gameplay itself. Minimalistic yet effective. It’s quit an addictive game, but since the difficulty isn’t very high most people will get through it in a short time. But it’s truly fun and it’s not often that see something this original.
Departures (2008)
Departures aka Okuribito is an interesting movie that offers an aspect of Japanese cultures that I didn’t knew anything about (ceremonial preparations for the dead for their departure), but which was really faszinating (especially its depiction and how the common people reacted). Even if it’s not a realistic depiction, it still shows some aspects of the Japanese culture that feel entirely alien to outsiders, yet the movie managed to touch on emotions that most people everywhere could empathize with.
The one thing that I didn’t liked about the movie (sadly a major aspect) was the main character, whose naivety was entirely unfitting. It’s hard to take a grown-up character with such an naive attitude seriously, especially as he’s played completely straight. I wonder if that’s again cultural difference rearing its head. I’ve often seen in Asian movies grown-ups (but not yet old characters) acting completely childish, as if it were the norm. I wonder why that staple of their cinematic tradition (one which I really find annoying) seems to work so well for the Asians.
Dororo (2007)
This live-action movie adaptation of a story by manga giant Osamu Tezuka sports an interesting story and cool action sequences, but whenever the movie veers into dramatic territory, the whole thing becomes unwatchable. Like often with Asian movies I’m not entirely sure whether it’s really a question of quality or of cultural differences, but the dramatic scenes (and the few intended for humor) were completely awful. It’s funny, because I have no problem watching anime, but live-action I find often unwatchable. That said, the action scenes are well done and if you can overlook the rest or happen to like the odd acting, then it might be a good movie for you. I only managed to watch around 80% before I had to stop.
