Stories and Stuff
So, I have gotten back to some reading lately, at least. Both recent books have been continuing parts of series.
First up, is Magic Breaks, another Kate Daniels story about Atlanta in the topsy-turvy world of flopping magic and technology with shapeshifters and stuff. Some odd reactions to this one. Hugh makes a decent antagonist with his obsession with Kate, and that carries over from the previous book. Pack politics are phased out a little bit, and that's a touch disappointing.
The big event, however, is meeting Roland. Here's a "big bad" who's been built up as perhaps the single most powerful being in the world, father of vampires, and tyrant who's taking over the world. So it's a little bit of a let down that at their first actual meeting, several obstacles are thrown out for Kate to cut down, but he's virtually passive himself. There is a secondary magical confrontation later where Kate opposes his claim to Atlanta, and there's something to that one, but Roland turns out to be a lot less alien, ominous, and scary than he was made out to be. Oh, he's still really powerful and set on ultimate conquest, but he's not out to kill Kate like we've been led to believe by the series thus far. So... while I find this makes him perhaps a better and more sympathetic character, there's the dissatisfaction of having expectations built up over several novels and then subverted.
I also read Cast in Flame of the Chronicles of Elantra. The series remains almost a guilty pleasure for me. Relatively little actually happens in the book, and there's still waaay too much explaining going on. But... there are a lot of characters that I like here, and it's fun to watch them anyway. The patterns feel old, but it's still an entertaining read.
What else?
Blizzard released a cinematic trailer and release date for Warlords of Draenor. Mid-November is not far off from my estimate (based on previous releases) of October, so that's not really a surprise. The trailer looks cool and has some neat alternate-history lore for those familiar with such, but it doesn't actually increase my interest in playing the game. Too much orc, maybe?
Guild Wars 2 just released their "mid-season finale" for their second Living Story season. I'm not even clear on what that terminology is supposed to mean, other than we'll be going for some stretch without story patches. The two-week release cycle doesn't really seem to be holding over the long haul, and I don't hear that being the pitch so much anymore. Not that I find this necessarily bad.
As to how it is... well, ups and downs. I give credit for evoking some emotional response, as one of the situations really had me charging (somewhat foolishly) into battle to save someone. On the other hand, one potentially emotional thread wasn't followed up on, and that's a bit disappointing. I like seeing some of the politics at play. The final fight is rough and annoying solo (or was for me), and the vision offered is... annoying vague to my eye. The new guard characters remain a strength. And I find myself somewhat uneasy about Countess Anise's actions, though they aren't given a whole lot of focus.
And... cuuurses, From Software! I finally get to loading up the DLC for Dark Souls 2 only to find that to access the DLC, I need to reach a portion of the game that isn't open to me yet because I finished and started in on a second play through, but didn't get far in it.
First up, is Magic Breaks, another Kate Daniels story about Atlanta in the topsy-turvy world of flopping magic and technology with shapeshifters and stuff. Some odd reactions to this one. Hugh makes a decent antagonist with his obsession with Kate, and that carries over from the previous book. Pack politics are phased out a little bit, and that's a touch disappointing.
The big event, however, is meeting Roland. Here's a "big bad" who's been built up as perhaps the single most powerful being in the world, father of vampires, and tyrant who's taking over the world. So it's a little bit of a let down that at their first actual meeting, several obstacles are thrown out for Kate to cut down, but he's virtually passive himself. There is a secondary magical confrontation later where Kate opposes his claim to Atlanta, and there's something to that one, but Roland turns out to be a lot less alien, ominous, and scary than he was made out to be. Oh, he's still really powerful and set on ultimate conquest, but he's not out to kill Kate like we've been led to believe by the series thus far. So... while I find this makes him perhaps a better and more sympathetic character, there's the dissatisfaction of having expectations built up over several novels and then subverted.
I also read Cast in Flame of the Chronicles of Elantra. The series remains almost a guilty pleasure for me. Relatively little actually happens in the book, and there's still waaay too much explaining going on. But... there are a lot of characters that I like here, and it's fun to watch them anyway. The patterns feel old, but it's still an entertaining read.
What else?
Blizzard released a cinematic trailer and release date for Warlords of Draenor. Mid-November is not far off from my estimate (based on previous releases) of October, so that's not really a surprise. The trailer looks cool and has some neat alternate-history lore for those familiar with such, but it doesn't actually increase my interest in playing the game. Too much orc, maybe?
Guild Wars 2 just released their "mid-season finale" for their second Living Story season. I'm not even clear on what that terminology is supposed to mean, other than we'll be going for some stretch without story patches. The two-week release cycle doesn't really seem to be holding over the long haul, and I don't hear that being the pitch so much anymore. Not that I find this necessarily bad.
As to how it is... well, ups and downs. I give credit for evoking some emotional response, as one of the situations really had me charging (somewhat foolishly) into battle to save someone. On the other hand, one potentially emotional thread wasn't followed up on, and that's a bit disappointing. I like seeing some of the politics at play. The final fight is rough and annoying solo (or was for me), and the vision offered is... annoying vague to my eye. The new guard characters remain a strength. And I find myself somewhat uneasy about Countess Anise's actions, though they aren't given a whole lot of focus.
And... cuuurses, From Software! I finally get to loading up the DLC for Dark Souls 2 only to find that to access the DLC, I need to reach a portion of the game that isn't open to me yet because I finished and started in on a second play through, but didn't get far in it.
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