Yearly Archives: 2011

Videogames

Videogames | DRAGON QUEST X looks like crap, fans still unhappy

By Aidan Moher October 20th, 2011

From 4gamer:

DRAGON QUEST X looks like crap DRAGON QUEST X looks like crap DRAGON QUEST X looks like crap

Like, what the fuck, Square Enix?

This was the best of the bunch:

DRAGON QUEST X looks like crap

The best. It’s especially egregious when Level 5, the developers responsible for several previous Dragon Quest games, is making a game that looks like this:

Ni No Kuni, developed by Level 5 Ni No Kuni, developed by Level 5 Ni No Kuni, developed by Level 5

I mean, sure, you could use the Wii’s lack of horsepower as an excuse when put next to Ni No Kuni, which was developed for the Playstation 3… but even the damn Nintendo DS version of Ni No Kuni has more heart and complexity to its environments, despite the low resolution and ancient hardware. See:

Ni No Kuni, developed by Level 5

Try harder, Square Enix. It’s early (though the game’s been in development for several years), it’s an MMO (kinda) and Dragon Quest has never been graphical powerhouse… but this is just embarrassing. I want to be excited for this game, I’ve been hard at work trying since it was first revealed… but I’m finding it exceptionally difficult to imagine this being any less of a trainwreck than Final Fantasy XIV, which Square Enix are tearing down and rebuilding from scratch because it was so bad.

News

(Almost) Free Readin’ | ‘The Butcher of Anderson Station’ by James S.A. Corey

By Aidan Moher October 18th, 2011
'The Butcher of Anderson Station' by James S.A. Corey

A new story set in the world of The Expanse. One day, Colonel Fred Johnson will be hailed as a hero to the system. One day, he will meet a desperate man in possession of a stolen spaceship and a deadly secret and extend a hand of friendship. But long before he became the leader of the Outer Planets Alliance, Fred Johnson had a very different name. The Butcher of Anderson Station.

This is his story.

Well this is just music to my ears. Leviathan Wakes is one of the best novels I’ve read this year (REVIEW). It’s sequel (COVER ART) is one of my most anticipated novels of 2012. And a short story, completely out of the blue, revolving around one of the first novel’s most interesting characters and events? Sign me right on up.

A quick excerpt:

When Fred was a kid back on Earth, maybe five or six years old, he’d seen a weed growing in the darkness of his uncle’s cellar. The plant had been pale and thin but twice as tall as the ones out in the side yard, deformed by reaching for the sunlight. The man behind the bar looked just like that: too tall, too pale, too hungry for something he’d never had and never would. Belters were all like that.

The music in the bar mixed Punjabi rhythms with a high-voiced woman rapping in the polyglot mess of languages that made up Belter creole. The battered pachinko machine in the back rang and skittered. Hashish smoke sweetened the air. Fred leaned back on a bar stool meant for someone ten centimeters taller than he was and smiled gently.

“Is there a fucking problem?” he asked.

‘The Butcher of Anderson Station’ is 9,000 words long and available on all the major eBook platforms and costs as much as a bad gas station latte. Go buy it now. I already have.

Cover Art

Cover Art | KING OF THORNS by Mark Lawrence

By Aidan Moher October 17th, 2011
KING OF THORNS by Mark Lawrence

Another Fantasy cover, another hooded figure.

So, why do I like this one when so many others have frustrated and left me feeling hollow? There’s panache, it’s got chutzpah, character, personality. Seemingly influenced by Michael Komarck’s famous portrait of Jaime Lannister, the main character of Lawrence’s trilogy just oozes charisma. He looks like an absolute jackass, but somehow you want to know more about him and the situation that led to him lounging confidently on a throne atop a pile of dead bodies. What’s he holding. Who is he?

It also helps that the cover is entirely illustrated, instead of a photo manipulation featuring Mark Charan Newton in a hood with a photoshopped sword of fireball super-imposed over his white knuckles.

News

An Aside | First synopsis for THE DAYLIGHT WAR by Peter V. Brett

By Aidan Moher October 13th, 2011
The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett

Continuing the impressive debut fantasy series from author Peter V. Brett, The DAYLIGHT WAR is book three of the Demon cycle, pulling the reader into a world of demons, darkness and heroes.

Humanity is fighting back. Although the night still belongs to the demons that arise as the sun sets, new wards and weapons are giving those willing to fight in the darkness a chance to retaliate against their core-spawned enemies.

But, as humanity is about to learn, not all monsters are confined to the dark.

Civil war ravages the north and south, battles fought between those who should be working together. It is up to Arlen – the Painted Man – and Jardir – the self-proclaimed Shar’Dama Ka, the Deliverer – to put aside their differences and bring their people to terms if they are to have any chance of saving their civilisation from demon-rule.

Not a lot to go on, especially for fans of the series who’re familiar with where the story left off at the end of The Desert Spear, but it’s encouraging nonetheless. There are a lot of eager people waiting for this novel. It should be interesting to see Jardir and Arlen forced work together as they had wonderful chemistry in The Desert Spear. Because of the common misconception, it’s also worth noting that this is the third volume in the cycle, but it’s not the final book. As far as I know, we’re looking at five volumes at the low end and likely more, given the success of the series and Brett’s comments about the potential length:

I have a rough outline planned for book three, which will be titled The Daylight War, and will focus further on humanity’s tendency to fight amongst ourselves even when demons are clawing at the door. I have many, many pages of notes for what comes next, but I haven’t yet arranged them into the final story arcs.

Given my feelings that The Desert Spear was meandering and somewhat self-absorbed, I wouldn’t be surprised if, down the road, The Daylight Road winds up being an early-to-middle volume of a long story (of potentially interconnecting stories featuring a large cast of characters.) I just hope that The Daylight War has more in common with The Painted Man and the first third of The Desert Spear than it does with the majority of the second novel. One thing is certain, though, and that’s great cover art.

Art

Art | The kitschy castles of George R.R. Martin’s A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE by Kevin Cook

By Aidan Moher October 12th, 2011
The kitschy castles of George R.R. Martin's A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE by Kevin Cook

From Cook’s kickstarter campaign:

Taking my love for these books (and recent HBO television series), I set out to harness this inspiration and produce artwork in my preferred medium. My goal was to produce tasteful and minimalistic pieces that conveyed the emotions of their respective settings without sacrificing the spirit of the series. I also wanted to create something I could display in the house without my wife hiding it every time friends came over (she’s not too in to fantasy art).

And I’d like to share these with you – the Kickstarter community. When you pledge, you’ll be part of the premiere printing of these digital paintings. To make these unique originals, each piece will be numbered and hand signed.

I’ve set the project goal to meet minimum printing costs for a 500 print run, and cover continental US shipping costs. The prints are high quality, ready for framing, hanging, and displaying your Ice and Fire love.

So, what are you getting? I’ve created four digital paintings, each featuring a different castle: Stoic Winterfell, majestic King’s Landing, the vertigo-inducing Eyrie, and one in-progress piece. The last one is a surprise, but it will be a piece that burns against the cold*.

If funding is successful, all prints will be mailed within one week of the project closing. All artwork should be received late November, and well before the December holidays.

Everyone here knows of my love for fine art and nerd culture clashing together with beautiful results. Like these Middle Earth travel posters, these are a wonderful melding of a classic art style with Martin’s creations. Few fantasy series have such iconic set pieces as A Song of Ice and Fire, and The Red Keep, The Eyrie and Winterfell are immediately recognizable, even in their stylized form. Cook also promise (somewhat slyly, that Castle Black is also in the pipeline and will be available/included for those who fund his kickstarter campaign.

So, what’re you waiting for? Love this art as much as I do? All it takes is ten bucks and you’ll get a signed print of the four castles. Tell me that wouldn’t look great hanging above your computer desk. More Cook’s art can be found on his blog.