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Kyera (8 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books
Jan 31, 2018
Despite the fact that I didn't experience the 80's, I was surprised by the number of references that I understood. Although this book is likely most enjoyable for people who grew up in that decade or teen boys who love video game/sci-fi/fantasy-elements, I believe that this story is accessible to everyone. It will appeal most to gamers and sci-fi fans. I wouldn't want anyone to decide they don't want to give it a chance because it was a really enjoyable book.
Beyond the incredible amount of 80's references dropping over the course of this novel is <i>the plot</i>. The year is 2044 and the world spends most of its time inside OASIS, a virtual reality world that allows the masses to escape from the horrors of the real world. Upon the death of its creator, a contest is launched that could change someone's life and the entire world becomes obsessed. Players are tasked with testing their knowledge and skills of the creator's favourite era, the 80's - upon completion of all tasks they win the creator's entire fortune.
We are introduced to Wade Watts, a teen boy with a poor home life and lack of interest in school, but an overwhelming obsession with all things 80's. He is our introduction to the world of OASIS and the wonders that it can hold. His life isn't great and he's not happy, but I never felt that he drew the book down with him. He recognized the way the world was and adapted to combat it. I felt that he was very easy to relate to and didn't suffer from being the "Chosen One".
I really enjoyed getting to know his friends in OASIS and felt that they were well developed. Each had their own struggles, flaws, and strengths. The way their relationships developed over the course of the novel felt authentic because they struggled and questioned. They were all competitors and didn't know who to trust, yet at the end of the day, they put the well-being of everyone over their own success.
While sometimes I felt that the worlds being described were using the method of telling, rather than showing - overall I thought that the millions of worlds inside OASIS were detailed. I felt that I received enough information to see a detailed, yet rough structure of the world and then fill in most of the details myself. There were some scenes however that were very vividly described.
Overall, I was completely drawn into this book within a few chapters and didn't want to put it down. I kept picking it up every opportunity that I had and just needed to know what happened next.
Beyond the incredible amount of 80's references dropping over the course of this novel is <i>the plot</i>. The year is 2044 and the world spends most of its time inside OASIS, a virtual reality world that allows the masses to escape from the horrors of the real world. Upon the death of its creator, a contest is launched that could change someone's life and the entire world becomes obsessed. Players are tasked with testing their knowledge and skills of the creator's favourite era, the 80's - upon completion of all tasks they win the creator's entire fortune.
We are introduced to Wade Watts, a teen boy with a poor home life and lack of interest in school, but an overwhelming obsession with all things 80's. He is our introduction to the world of OASIS and the wonders that it can hold. His life isn't great and he's not happy, but I never felt that he drew the book down with him. He recognized the way the world was and adapted to combat it. I felt that he was very easy to relate to and didn't suffer from being the "Chosen One".
I really enjoyed getting to know his friends in OASIS and felt that they were well developed. Each had their own struggles, flaws, and strengths. The way their relationships developed over the course of the novel felt authentic because they struggled and questioned. They were all competitors and didn't know who to trust, yet at the end of the day, they put the well-being of everyone over their own success.
While sometimes I felt that the worlds being described were using the method of telling, rather than showing - overall I thought that the millions of worlds inside OASIS were detailed. I felt that I received enough information to see a detailed, yet rough structure of the world and then fill in most of the details myself. There were some scenes however that were very vividly described.
Overall, I was completely drawn into this book within a few chapters and didn't want to put it down. I kept picking it up every opportunity that I had and just needed to know what happened next.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated How to Draw Anything in Books
Dec 17, 2018
Author/artist Mark Linley believes that anyone can learn to draw and inspires everyone to pick up a pencil and create a work of art. Unlike many ‘how to draw’ books – those that provide step by step visual aids but no further insight – Linley goes into a lot more written detail.
First of all an artist needs to be able to look properly. Without studying the subject or object properly, no one would be able to produce an accurate sketch. Starting with landscapes, Linley tells the reader how to and what to look for when beginning a drawing in order to get a basic outline. It is only after this is down on paper that specific details can be added.
Linley explains various methods of shading and line marks to give a suggestion of perspective, and emphasises that an illustration does not need to be 100% accurate – that is what cameras are for. After landscapes, Linley takes the reader/future artist through plants, animals, people and cartoons in a similar manner.
Each chapter provides the reader with a few assignments to undertake based on what they have read, or the example illustrations. Many of these tasks are to copy Linley’s own examples, however he stresses that the outcome does not need to – or rather should not – look exactly like his. Each artist needs to develop their own style.
I found <i>How To Draw Anything</i> a lot more useful than the ever popular step-by-step guides that most people gravitate to. In those types of books we are NOT taught to draw, we are taught to copy. You may be able to accurately draw the same cat as the artist/author of the book, but you would not know where to start when face with a real life cat. Linley tells us what to look out for and where to start in these situations – you feel like you are actually learning something.
Mark Linley comes across as a humorous individual – his writing is full of puns and quips, intending to make the reader smile or laugh out loud, thus making them feel more relaxed about the subject. Linley does not only attempt to teach people how to draw, he tries to make each of us feel more comfortable about our abilities and encourages us to keep on trying.
Before reading this book I had already begun developing my own illustration style, however I gave a few of Linley’s assignments a try (see <a href="https://hazelstainer.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/how-to-draw-anything-a-review/">here</a>;). I am pleased with my outcomes and feel inspired to try more landscape drawings in the future.
First of all an artist needs to be able to look properly. Without studying the subject or object properly, no one would be able to produce an accurate sketch. Starting with landscapes, Linley tells the reader how to and what to look for when beginning a drawing in order to get a basic outline. It is only after this is down on paper that specific details can be added.
Linley explains various methods of shading and line marks to give a suggestion of perspective, and emphasises that an illustration does not need to be 100% accurate – that is what cameras are for. After landscapes, Linley takes the reader/future artist through plants, animals, people and cartoons in a similar manner.
Each chapter provides the reader with a few assignments to undertake based on what they have read, or the example illustrations. Many of these tasks are to copy Linley’s own examples, however he stresses that the outcome does not need to – or rather should not – look exactly like his. Each artist needs to develop their own style.
I found <i>How To Draw Anything</i> a lot more useful than the ever popular step-by-step guides that most people gravitate to. In those types of books we are NOT taught to draw, we are taught to copy. You may be able to accurately draw the same cat as the artist/author of the book, but you would not know where to start when face with a real life cat. Linley tells us what to look out for and where to start in these situations – you feel like you are actually learning something.
Mark Linley comes across as a humorous individual – his writing is full of puns and quips, intending to make the reader smile or laugh out loud, thus making them feel more relaxed about the subject. Linley does not only attempt to teach people how to draw, he tries to make each of us feel more comfortable about our abilities and encourages us to keep on trying.
Before reading this book I had already begun developing my own illustration style, however I gave a few of Linley’s assignments a try (see <a href="https://hazelstainer.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/how-to-draw-anything-a-review/">here</a>;). I am pleased with my outcomes and feel inspired to try more landscape drawings in the future.
Tiny Farm: Animal & Tractor App for Kids
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RETRAIN THE BRAIN to move the eyes correctly by scanning from left to right across the screen....
Tractor Driver Transport 2017 – Farm Simulator
Games and Entertainment
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Are you expert driver to transport on tractor? Have you ever tried to drive a tractor in present...
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Reference and Education
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Stuart Britton and Igor Seidov
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The Korean War (1950-1953) was the first - and only - full-scale air war in the jet age. It was in...
PHP and MySQL Web Development
Luke Welling and Laura Thomson
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Doors: Twilight in Books
Mar 24, 2021
Great idea, poorly executed
The idea behind the Doors books is that of three different versions of a story with a shared beginning, but the stories diverge when the characters go through one of three (actually five but two are ignored as far as I'm aware!) doors. A team of people, each hired for their own area of expertise, are tasked with rescuing a rich German man's daughter who has wandered down into the mysterious cellar of their former family home, where a series of doors are believed to lead to strange new places.
The first quarter of these books is identical, with the damsel in distress being introduced and the team coming together and being given their tasks. At this stage, there is next to no organisation around their approach, it really is simply a bunch of people heading into the unknown and being drastically under-prepared. When the team quickly find the missing and take her back to the surface, the reader is left somewhat taken aback at the speed with which it was resolved. This is nothing compared to how the reader feels when the team go back looking for the real missing woman, simply based on their employer's assistant's momentary mistake that the woman's eyes were the wrong colour. This is not challenged by anyone in the team, who head back downstairs. It's a bigger WTF moment than the Batman vs Superman 'Martha' fiasco.
As with some of Heitz's Dwarves books, I think this suffered from fairly poor translation, as a number of phrases and words just are not clear. At no point did i really know where the team were heading, forwards or backwards, which door they went through etc.
And the promise of heading into the future was very much an empty one. Some members of the team briefly find themselves in near-future Frankfurt and there is a short section of the book which adds no value and has no connection to the rest of the book whatsoever. Thereafter, there is just some cliched mysterious dark maze adventures, with some unexplained conspiracy around the use and beginnings of the doors and their purpose. (I am currently around 80% of the way through the 'Colony' book, having mercifully skipped the first, repeated, quarter, and am starting to realise that there is likely to be an overall story arch that only becomes clear once the reader has read all three books).
This book, and the series as a whole, offered so much potential and teased so much, but this one at least completely failed to deliver for me.
Advance copy received from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
The first quarter of these books is identical, with the damsel in distress being introduced and the team coming together and being given their tasks. At this stage, there is next to no organisation around their approach, it really is simply a bunch of people heading into the unknown and being drastically under-prepared. When the team quickly find the missing and take her back to the surface, the reader is left somewhat taken aback at the speed with which it was resolved. This is nothing compared to how the reader feels when the team go back looking for the real missing woman, simply based on their employer's assistant's momentary mistake that the woman's eyes were the wrong colour. This is not challenged by anyone in the team, who head back downstairs. It's a bigger WTF moment than the Batman vs Superman 'Martha' fiasco.
As with some of Heitz's Dwarves books, I think this suffered from fairly poor translation, as a number of phrases and words just are not clear. At no point did i really know where the team were heading, forwards or backwards, which door they went through etc.
And the promise of heading into the future was very much an empty one. Some members of the team briefly find themselves in near-future Frankfurt and there is a short section of the book which adds no value and has no connection to the rest of the book whatsoever. Thereafter, there is just some cliched mysterious dark maze adventures, with some unexplained conspiracy around the use and beginnings of the doors and their purpose. (I am currently around 80% of the way through the 'Colony' book, having mercifully skipped the first, repeated, quarter, and am starting to realise that there is likely to be an overall story arch that only becomes clear once the reader has read all three books).
This book, and the series as a whole, offered so much potential and teased so much, but this one at least completely failed to deliver for me.
Advance copy received from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Dusk in Video Games
May 10, 2021
I am late to the party with this one but DUSK is a game that I have been aware of since it was first announced but only recently had a chance to play. For fans of First Person Shooters and especially those who played early genre classics like DOOM, DOOM 2, and The Wolfenstein series; the recent trend of Indie developers making retro-looking shooters has been growing. While most have been fairly mediocre; there have been some such as Ion Fury which captured the Pixelated action that players embraced before 3D cards became widely used and eventually a necessary part of gaming.
DUSK lovingly blends old and new as it even has a DOS-like startup menu while the game loads to provide plenty of loving nostalgia.
The game is broken down into three chapters and tasks players to survive a dangerous cult and the various creatures and enemies they encounter. The gameplay is fairly simple as players gather weapons, ammunition, health, and other items and dispatch enemies as they race through a level to find various keys needed to open locked doors and advance to the end of the level.
Players will have an impressive arsenal at their disposal from pistols, shotguns, machine guns, hunting rifles, a Rivet gun, grenade launchers, and a sword. All of which will come in handy as there are multiple enemy types that lurk in the darkness.
Players will have a flashlight as well but be warned; there are maps where it will not be functional in certain parts and having to fire guns to provide temporary lighting in order to find a well-hidden path to advance will test your patience.
Players will also be able to double down on some weapons and dual Shotguns can be very enjoyable but may not have the rate of fire that players need.
There are also power-ups along the way that can speed up a player’s rate of fire and other enhancements to help move things along.
Levels were generally very fun and engaging and provided plenty of solid gameplay and enjoyable moments. There is a multiplayer aspect that features the old Deathmatch format but I was unable to find anyone in any of the games during the times I checked.
DUSK was a winning mix of nostalgia and action and had some very clever map designs and sequences such as one frustrating one where gravity was upturned and forced players to be very patient and creative.
I hope we see a DUSK 2 in the near future as the game is a winner and can show bigger studios how to make an engaging shooter that gamers will love without the mega-budget bells and whistles.
DUSK lovingly blends old and new as it even has a DOS-like startup menu while the game loads to provide plenty of loving nostalgia.
The game is broken down into three chapters and tasks players to survive a dangerous cult and the various creatures and enemies they encounter. The gameplay is fairly simple as players gather weapons, ammunition, health, and other items and dispatch enemies as they race through a level to find various keys needed to open locked doors and advance to the end of the level.
Players will have an impressive arsenal at their disposal from pistols, shotguns, machine guns, hunting rifles, a Rivet gun, grenade launchers, and a sword. All of which will come in handy as there are multiple enemy types that lurk in the darkness.
Players will have a flashlight as well but be warned; there are maps where it will not be functional in certain parts and having to fire guns to provide temporary lighting in order to find a well-hidden path to advance will test your patience.
Players will also be able to double down on some weapons and dual Shotguns can be very enjoyable but may not have the rate of fire that players need.
There are also power-ups along the way that can speed up a player’s rate of fire and other enhancements to help move things along.
Levels were generally very fun and engaging and provided plenty of solid gameplay and enjoyable moments. There is a multiplayer aspect that features the old Deathmatch format but I was unable to find anyone in any of the games during the times I checked.
DUSK was a winning mix of nostalgia and action and had some very clever map designs and sequences such as one frustrating one where gravity was upturned and forced players to be very patient and creative.
I hope we see a DUSK 2 in the near future as the game is a winner and can show bigger studios how to make an engaging shooter that gamers will love without the mega-budget bells and whistles.