There have been a number of rumors recently as to what the Kindle 3 is going to be and when it is going to be out. This time last year there was a bunch of rumors about the "Kindle 3", most of which involved a larger screen. As it turns out, that was the Kindle DX, and that came out. As of late the rumor mill seems to have started up again with new talk of a Kindle 3 being released/announced at some point this month. The Kindle 2 was released in February of 2009, so if Amazon plays by the Apple rules and releases a new version around the same time each year, we're looking to have the Kindle 3 here shortly.
I was surfing about looking at Kindle 3 rumors, most of which were from last year (and for what turned out to be the DX). I have combined these along with some thinking of my own and put together what I'd like from the Kindle 3. I kept it to the "big" items, meaning I'm not bitching about the desire for a new browser, enhanced MP3 player or other software tweaks. Yes, I do desire all those "niceties", but they can be firmwared at anytime. If I'm gonna wish for something, I'll wish big(ish), and hope that it is still reasonable.
Continue reading "Wishlist for a "Kindle 3"" »
Thursday, January 14. 2010
Review: StarCraft Ghost: Nova
Before you start, No, this is not the video game. I read StarCraft Ghost: Nova the book. It is supposed to give you some back story on the character "Nova" who was to be the heroine of StarCraft: Ghost (the video game). The book release was supposed to coincide with the game, but alas the game never materialized. Fortunately for us, the book was still written so they still went ahead and published it (way back in 2006). I realize this review is a wee bit late, but I read it and enjoyed it and thought it was worth sharing.
So the first thing that I must say is that this is not the first video game series gone book that I've read. I've read and enjoyed all of the Halo books, when I started with Halo: Contact Harvest which I've previously blogged about. This was my first book in the StarCraft realm though, and it was most definitely enjoyable.
(No Plot Spoilers) Continue reading "Review: StarCraft Ghost: Nova" »
So the first thing that I must say is that this is not the first video game series gone book that I've read. I've read and enjoyed all of the Halo books, when I started with Halo: Contact Harvest which I've previously blogged about. This was my first book in the StarCraft realm though, and it was most definitely enjoyable.
(No Plot Spoilers) Continue reading "Review: StarCraft Ghost: Nova" »
Monday, January 4. 2010
Review: Flashforward (book)
This fall the new series "FlashForward" premiered on ABC. I'd seen the previews of it and thought it was an interesting concept. It didn't catch my attention as a good concept for a TV show, but more from a "What if this were real?" scenario. What would you do if you saw the the future? How would it effect you? If it was something bad, would you try to change the outcome? If it was something good, would you try to hasten it? Is our destiny predetermined?
All of these questions sprung to mind, which made me curious and interested to see how the the TV show would handle all this (and more). So far, it isn't great, but it isn't bad. I know the review's aren't terribly positive, but I'm sticking with the "wait and see". During that "waiting" period (re-enforced by yet another mid-season break), I found out that there was a book by the same name (not that this should surprise me). Over the holidays I had time so my kindle.
Overall, I'm not terribly enthusiastic about the book. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Now, the TV show is based on the book, but there are some major differences. First off, in the book the FlashFoward is 21 years, not 6 months. The second major change is that in the book the FBI isn't involved at all, the protagonists are Lloyd Simcoe and Theo Procpides, who work at CERN (just like the TV show). The third and final major difference is that there is no major conspiracy (as there is in the TV show).
(No major plot spoilers) Continue reading "Review: Flashforward (book)" »
All of these questions sprung to mind, which made me curious and interested to see how the the TV show would handle all this (and more). So far, it isn't great, but it isn't bad. I know the review's aren't terribly positive, but I'm sticking with the "wait and see". During that "waiting" period (re-enforced by yet another mid-season break), I found out that there was a book by the same name (not that this should surprise me). Over the holidays I had time so my kindle.
Overall, I'm not terribly enthusiastic about the book. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Now, the TV show is based on the book, but there are some major differences. First off, in the book the FlashFoward is 21 years, not 6 months. The second major change is that in the book the FBI isn't involved at all, the protagonists are Lloyd Simcoe and Theo Procpides, who work at CERN (just like the TV show). The third and final major difference is that there is no major conspiracy (as there is in the TV show).
(No major plot spoilers) Continue reading "Review: Flashforward (book)" »
Monday, December 14. 2009
Review: High Fidelity - Book and Film
Recently, I read High Fidelity on my Kindle.
I had watched the movie a while back and remembered it fondly, so I decided to read it on my Kindle.
After reading the book, I thought it seemed a bit different than what I recalled form the movie, so I netflixed it and watched it on Wednesday.
Warning: Potential Spoilers Abound - I'm comparing a book and a movie so that should be fairly obvious. Continue reading "Review: High Fidelity - Book and Film" »
I had watched the movie a while back and remembered it fondly, so I decided to read it on my Kindle.
After reading the book, I thought it seemed a bit different than what I recalled form the movie, so I netflixed it and watched it on Wednesday.
Warning: Potential Spoilers Abound - I'm comparing a book and a movie so that should be fairly obvious. Continue reading "Review: High Fidelity - Book and Film" »
Monday, October 19. 2009
Review: Heat Wave
For those of you living under a rock, the ever awesome Nathan Fillion (of Firefly fame) is back at it again. This time he plays "Richard Castle", a novelist, on a TV series called Castle. As previously stated, Nathan Fillion is awesome, ergo, Castle is an awesome show. Well, props to ABC because not only do they have an excellent show, they are releasing books for it. Not just a book about the series, the book that Richard Castle (the character) is writing while on the series. The book, Heat Wave, is written entirely by "Richard Castle" (the character). All the way down to the dedication being made out to 'KB' (Kate Becket, the character in the show) and the acknowledgments in the back talk about his mother and daughter (also characters in the show). It is really... unusual, but super cool. So, about the book.
While I don't normally read mystery and detective books, I really enjoyed this one. While I'm not an expert, I thought it was very well written. It seems to me that it was probably written by or in close cooperation with the team that writes Castle, the TV show. It has the same tone and humor that the show utilizes, which is a good thing. I think the show is awesomely hilarious, and the book keeps that humor and wit up. Also a really cool continuation of the show is the fact that you can find certain scenes from the show being translated into the written book. For example in one episode Richard Castle asks what they call "bad guys" and the crew lists a bunch of names in an amusing fashion. The book has a very similar scene which, I'm sure if I checked, used most (if not all) of the same terms. Of course the book isn't just "another TV episode", it does have a story of it's own and certain events take place in the book that aren't in the series. For example, Jameson Rook (Richard Castle's character) and Niki Heat have sex. Now, I know someone who hasn't read the book might be a little miffed that I "spoiled" it, but... uh... they talk about it on Castle (the show, talks about the book). Anyways, it probably doesn't have much to offer in terms of being a ground breaking mystery/detective story, but I thought it kept up well with enough twists and turns and the slow release of clues to keep the reader guessing. More importantly, it keeps you interested and reading for things other thanNathan Fillion, sorry Richard Castle, sorry... Rook being awesome.
The entire thing of a real book being written by a fictitious character from a TV series seems very confusing, but it really isn't. It doesn't really matter, because if you like the show Castle, you'll like the book Heat Wave. So stop reading my dribble and go buy the book.
While I don't normally read mystery and detective books, I really enjoyed this one. While I'm not an expert, I thought it was very well written. It seems to me that it was probably written by or in close cooperation with the team that writes Castle, the TV show. It has the same tone and humor that the show utilizes, which is a good thing. I think the show is awesomely hilarious, and the book keeps that humor and wit up. Also a really cool continuation of the show is the fact that you can find certain scenes from the show being translated into the written book. For example in one episode Richard Castle asks what they call "bad guys" and the crew lists a bunch of names in an amusing fashion. The book has a very similar scene which, I'm sure if I checked, used most (if not all) of the same terms. Of course the book isn't just "another TV episode", it does have a story of it's own and certain events take place in the book that aren't in the series. For example, Jameson Rook (Richard Castle's character) and Niki Heat have sex. Now, I know someone who hasn't read the book might be a little miffed that I "spoiled" it, but... uh... they talk about it on Castle (the show, talks about the book). Anyways, it probably doesn't have much to offer in terms of being a ground breaking mystery/detective story, but I thought it kept up well with enough twists and turns and the slow release of clues to keep the reader guessing. More importantly, it keeps you interested and reading for things other than
The entire thing of a real book being written by a fictitious character from a TV series seems very confusing, but it really isn't. It doesn't really matter, because if you like the show Castle, you'll like the book Heat Wave. So stop reading my dribble and go buy the book.
Monday, October 5. 2009
Review: The Lost Symbol
It's hip, it's new, it's popular, it's Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.
The Lost Symbol once again features Robert Langdon, whom we first met in Angels & Demons and followed closely in The Da Vinci Code, which by the way was the correct order. The movie chronology has The Da Vinci Code occurring before Angels & Demons, but that's the way things go. Da Vinci Code was a much more popular novel, which is why it got made first.
Given how much money both of those made, it is only a matter of time (and I suppose Tom Hanks' inclination) before The Lost Symbol is made into a film as well.
This review will be spoiler free with regard to specifics. Continue reading "Review: The Lost Symbol" »
The Lost Symbol once again features Robert Langdon, whom we first met in Angels & Demons and followed closely in The Da Vinci Code, which by the way was the correct order. The movie chronology has The Da Vinci Code occurring before Angels & Demons, but that's the way things go. Da Vinci Code was a much more popular novel, which is why it got made first.
Given how much money both of those made, it is only a matter of time (and I suppose Tom Hanks' inclination) before The Lost Symbol is made into a film as well.
This review will be spoiler free with regard to specifics. Continue reading "Review: The Lost Symbol" »
Wednesday, June 17. 2009
Review: Mass Effect: Revelation
Mass Effect: Revelation takes place before the video game. In it we mostly follow the adventurous David Anderson before he becomes Commander Shepard's CO.
There are a number of items inside the book that should remind readers of the game. For instance, in general when they mention someone's weapon they mention the manufacturer (Alliance personnel generally use Hahne-Kedar weapons); and (almost) all the weapons mentioned are all found in the game (and are in fact likely weapons you picked up during the course of your play through).
The only weapon mentioned that was not in the game was the flashbang grenade, which to be fair, I wouldn't have used even if it was (why throw a flashbang when you can throw something more explosive?). Omni-Tools were also brought up a few times in the book, but never by name.
The First Contact War is mentioned briefly, slightly more in depth than as was in the game. Saren, the antagonist of the video game, is also mentioned in the book and the mission that Anderson went on that was to prove him worthy of being a SPECTRE takes place in the book. We get to see how it really went (from both Saren and Anderson's POV). We meet biotics (who are apparently a rare phenomenon; at this point there aren't any natural human biotics), aliens (including the batarians, who we only found out about in the 1st DLC: Bringing Down the Sky), and the Council.
Commander Sheppard is not mentioned at all in this book, so if you were looking for some more info on him/her, this isn't your book and it is doubtful there ever will be one, since you as the player pick his/her background. The next book, Mass Effect: Ascension, however does mention Commander Sheppard. It takes place post-Mass Effect and mentions the events that occur at the end of the game in vague enough terms that no matter what you chose it still makes sense.
In general, I think fans of the game will enjoy the book. It is a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm in the middle of the next one currently and it seems to be oriented on Cerberus (a pro-Human/anti-Alien criminal organization from the game, not the 3-headed dog) which seems to play a decent role in the upcoming Mass Effect 2.
There are a number of items inside the book that should remind readers of the game. For instance, in general when they mention someone's weapon they mention the manufacturer (Alliance personnel generally use Hahne-Kedar weapons); and (almost) all the weapons mentioned are all found in the game (and are in fact likely weapons you picked up during the course of your play through).
The only weapon mentioned that was not in the game was the flashbang grenade, which to be fair, I wouldn't have used even if it was (why throw a flashbang when you can throw something more explosive?). Omni-Tools were also brought up a few times in the book, but never by name.
The First Contact War is mentioned briefly, slightly more in depth than as was in the game. Saren, the antagonist of the video game, is also mentioned in the book and the mission that Anderson went on that was to prove him worthy of being a SPECTRE takes place in the book. We get to see how it really went (from both Saren and Anderson's POV). We meet biotics (who are apparently a rare phenomenon; at this point there aren't any natural human biotics), aliens (including the batarians, who we only found out about in the 1st DLC: Bringing Down the Sky), and the Council.
Commander Sheppard is not mentioned at all in this book, so if you were looking for some more info on him/her, this isn't your book and it is doubtful there ever will be one, since you as the player pick his/her background. The next book, Mass Effect: Ascension, however does mention Commander Sheppard. It takes place post-Mass Effect and mentions the events that occur at the end of the game in vague enough terms that no matter what you chose it still makes sense.
In general, I think fans of the game will enjoy the book. It is a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm in the middle of the next one currently and it seems to be oriented on Cerberus (a pro-Human/anti-Alien criminal organization from the game, not the 3-headed dog) which seems to play a decent role in the upcoming Mass Effect 2.
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