Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass: My audio book selection this month returns to the past of Roland the Gunslinger, before he went west on his titanic quest to hunt down the Man in Black. It’s a tragic tale that deals with Roland’s star-crossed first love and it’s a painful read. Nonetheless, in this second … Read more
I first read Robert Jordan’s The Eye of the World six years ago when I was near the top of our own world. My wife and I were hiking outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, and on a clear day, you could see the Artic Circle from the top of the ridges we were walking along. Eye … Read more
George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones offers fantasy fans a gritty, realistic medieval adventure that stands in sharp contrast to the aloof elves and all-pervasive magic populating endless Tolkien knockoffs. The book is set in the land of Westeros, a fantastic realm removed in time and space from our own medieval period. In this … Read more
I love Amazon’s personalization features, constantly offering up new products for me to check out, but occasionally its recommendations veer into the surreal. Take, for example, this recent recommendation: Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shadow Ranch was released just 4 days ago on July 16, 2004; We thought you’d be interested because you bought Diablo … Read more
I’ve been reading a fair number of gaming magazines recently, foremost among them being Electronic Gaming Monthly, in a quest to find new games to review. As I’ve paged through them, one thing’s become obvious: these magazines weren’t written for me. They’re aimed at people who live to game …rather than gamers who have lives. … Read more
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian: Historical naval fiction set in the waning years of the 18th century, this novel follows the adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and his enlightened ship’s surgeon, Doctor Stephen Maturin as they wages war against foes of the British Empire. This book inspired half of last year’s movie Master & … Read more
Here’s a rundown of everything I’m reading right now (March 8), from audio books to comic books to good ol’fashioned novels. Audio A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (Amazon): A tale of political scheming set in a world in which the summers and winters can last for years. So far I’m enjoying it, … Read more
A rundown of everything I’m reading right now (March 8), from audio books to comic books to good ol’fashioned novels.
I’ve always loved going to the bookstore, even more than going to the library. As a kid in middle school, my mom would leave me at Encore Books in Chester, N.J. while she went grocery shopping in the nearby Shoprite. I’d happily sit on the floor, browsing my way through the science fiction and humor … Read more
I bet the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is making a heck of a lot of school administrators very, very nervous. And if they’re not … they should be. The latest Harry Potter book — the fifth in the series — is a story of quiet rebellion and passive-aggressive resistance against the … Read more