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Jul. 21st, 2013 03:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jtniehofThe Book of God and Physics, The Left Hand of Darkness, Apollo 18, Top Secret!, Dog Days, A Roiling Original, No-One Has to Die, Sacrilege.
The Book of God and Physics (Enrique Joven): The most interesting parts of the novel are the long explanations on the history of the Voynich Manuscript itself; I suppose one's mystery novel tends to get overshadowed when it's interwoven with one of the greatest real-life mysteries! As a result, the central questions never get resolved and the ending fizzles out. Otherwise it's a fun read for those who like their religious conspiracy theories at least somewhat plausible. The translation is not that great; there are places where English is quoted and it's been round-tripped to Spanish and back rather than restoring the original. I know someone who had an email discussion (in English) with Joven over a few points, which apparently arose from poor translations.
The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin): Difficult, although not to the extent of The Dispossessed (for one, it gets a followable plot going eventually). And again, the invented vocabulary detracts.
Apollo 18: Horror of the things-jumping-out-of-shadows ilk. First third highly realistic "near" sci-fi, middle third tension and mystery of almost Hitchcockian proportions, last third "when is it over" cliche. When the DVD has five or six alternate endings it's clear they didn't know where they were going. Hard to recommend unconditionally since they clearly had more premise than plot in mind, but I did enjoy at least the first half.
Top Secret!: Liz hadn't seen this, and I couldn't let her miss Val Kilmer's debut (plus, it's another Abrahams/Zucker film. Er, movie. Flick?) Yes, it flags in the second half when it has to deliver on the plot, but otherwise it's so damn funny. "Deadpan slapstick" is probably the best description of these guys; chances are you've seen one of their movies and you know whether you love or hate them. (I still can't believe they got away with "skeet surfing"; you'd never be able to film that today.)
Dog Days: The first episode piqued my interest, contrasting Mighty Battles with no consequences, but then a good chunk of episode 2 went to describe the battle system itself. Nothing in the characters hooked me (plot? no plot so far, except a lackluster "twist"). There's fanservice, and then there's exploding clothing...so, pass.
A Roiling Original: The start (and finish) of my attempt to judge for Spring Thing this year. Never really grabbed my attention: more interactive than fiction, with one central puzzle I couldn't figure out. Constant references to its predecessor made me wonder if playing that was a requirement. Ditched after a few hours.
No-One Has to Die: Not as good as some people were raving (I found the central gimmick unsatisfying). Although getting all the branches involves a little tedium, that still only takes about 30 minutes to play. One of the better marriages of system and narrative I've seen in gaming, though.
Sacrilege: I rather like Cara's writing so I was eager to play this. Indeed the writing is great, despite a slight personal sense of oddness coming from playing as a female character in a game where the goal is apparently to get laid. The main weakness is in the "ending," apparently a mildly preachy giant wall of text. Perhaps there simply isn't a "good ending".
The Book of God and Physics (Enrique Joven): The most interesting parts of the novel are the long explanations on the history of the Voynich Manuscript itself; I suppose one's mystery novel tends to get overshadowed when it's interwoven with one of the greatest real-life mysteries! As a result, the central questions never get resolved and the ending fizzles out. Otherwise it's a fun read for those who like their religious conspiracy theories at least somewhat plausible. The translation is not that great; there are places where English is quoted and it's been round-tripped to Spanish and back rather than restoring the original. I know someone who had an email discussion (in English) with Joven over a few points, which apparently arose from poor translations.
The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin): Difficult, although not to the extent of The Dispossessed (for one, it gets a followable plot going eventually). And again, the invented vocabulary detracts.
Apollo 18: Horror of the things-jumping-out-of-shadows ilk. First third highly realistic "near" sci-fi, middle third tension and mystery of almost Hitchcockian proportions, last third "when is it over" cliche. When the DVD has five or six alternate endings it's clear they didn't know where they were going. Hard to recommend unconditionally since they clearly had more premise than plot in mind, but I did enjoy at least the first half.
Top Secret!: Liz hadn't seen this, and I couldn't let her miss Val Kilmer's debut (plus, it's another Abrahams/Zucker film. Er, movie. Flick?) Yes, it flags in the second half when it has to deliver on the plot, but otherwise it's so damn funny. "Deadpan slapstick" is probably the best description of these guys; chances are you've seen one of their movies and you know whether you love or hate them. (I still can't believe they got away with "skeet surfing"; you'd never be able to film that today.)
Dog Days: The first episode piqued my interest, contrasting Mighty Battles with no consequences, but then a good chunk of episode 2 went to describe the battle system itself. Nothing in the characters hooked me (plot? no plot so far, except a lackluster "twist"). There's fanservice, and then there's exploding clothing...so, pass.
A Roiling Original: The start (and finish) of my attempt to judge for Spring Thing this year. Never really grabbed my attention: more interactive than fiction, with one central puzzle I couldn't figure out. Constant references to its predecessor made me wonder if playing that was a requirement. Ditched after a few hours.
No-One Has to Die: Not as good as some people were raving (I found the central gimmick unsatisfying). Although getting all the branches involves a little tedium, that still only takes about 30 minutes to play. One of the better marriages of system and narrative I've seen in gaming, though.
Sacrilege: I rather like Cara's writing so I was eager to play this. Indeed the writing is great, despite a slight personal sense of oddness coming from playing as a female character in a game where the goal is apparently to get laid. The main weakness is in the "ending," apparently a mildly preachy giant wall of text. Perhaps there simply isn't a "good ending".