The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Trailer

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Trailer

Dragon Age III: Inquisition Trailer- "The Fires Above"

What I'm Reading- 6/5/13

~The Pillars of Creation~

by Terry Goodkind

This book is kind of strange...but in a good way, I guess. This series- at least so far- is centered around two characters: Richard and Kahlan. This book, however, doesn't include them at all. It's about two young adults named Jensen and Oba. I know because I skimmed through the whole book, not reading anything, but looking for names to see which characters were talking. As far as I know, they're only mentioned, but they aren't actually in the story. They may actually be in it, but only for small stretches that I just missed. It's kind of throwing me for a loop. It's not like it's bad reading, but it's just weird that the main characters aren't present. It is set in the same world/timeline, so it's indirectly pertinent, but I don't think that this kind of thing is done very often. The book is interesting so far, but I'm just waiting to see the point of telling me all of this information. I may need to wait until the next book (Naked Empire) to see why...hmmmm. I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm only on page 122 of about 725, so it may take a while.

~Treasure Island~

by Robert Louis Stevenson

I recently started reading Treasure Island, and of the few pages I've read, I like it already. I'm really only a couple chapters in, but Stevenson's writing style appeals to me. It's simple, yet fun to read, and the language isn't archaic. This is good, especially because I don't really like reading books with a maritime setting. They're just so boring most of the time. I hated "Moby Dick" and "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" (which I had to read in 7th grade). The only books set at sea that I liked are "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Odyssey" or books that are only partially on the water, like "The Swiss Family Robinson" or "Robinson Crusoe". I have a good feeling that I'll like this book, but we'll see what happens. I'm going to try to block out memories of the many variations of this story in movies that I've seen (Muppet Treasure Island is my favorite) so that I read and understand the "real"/original story. Looking forward to the rest of the book!

The Elder Scrolls Online- "Alliances at War" Trailer

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

*SPOILER ALERT- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*

While this movie was not what I was expecting, and certainly not what I would call "perfect", it was still an amazing movie, that I already want to see again. It is definitely worth your time whether you've read the book or not! Let me get the not-so-good out of the way and then I'll talk about the good stuff. I also want to preface this by saying that I have read The Hobbit more than once, but it has been a long time since I re-read it last, so please don't jump down my throat if I don't remember something exactly how it happened. Okay... here we go!

The one thing that was bugging me almost the entire movie, is that Gandalf tells Bilbo that since his blade was of Elvish make from Gondolin, it will glow when orcs are about. The problem with that is that it only started glowing when goblins were around. That, and why didn't Orcrist and Glamdring glow? They were made from the same Elves from the same city! It's not a big deal, but it was really bothering me.

Okay... I like the fact that they added Radagast the Brown to the movie, but did they have to make his wig have bird poop all over it? He's supposed to be weird- not freaking insane! And the rabbit/hare sled? I'm not sure that's Tolkien kosher, but I could be wrong...

To me, there was too much comedy in the film. Most of the time it was welcome, but it made the balance of epicness, suspense, drama, and funny bits off-kilter. I think it would have been better if they had made the jokes less frequent. That would make them more memorable and special. I think this was just another case of "Gimli-fying" the movie. By that I mean that they made characters that were pretty serious in the book the comedic relief. Don't get me wrong- it doesn't usually take away from the movie, but I feel like it was taken a bit too far in The Hobbit.

Alright Peter Jackson... if you're going to put pictures of Beorn in the posters, pictures, and ads for The Hobbit #1, then PUT HIM IN THE FREAKING MOVIE! I know that he's going to be in #2 (especially since the rock/outcrop/thing that the Dwaves, Bilbo, & Gandalf gets dropped off of at the end by the eagles strongly resembles a bear's head), but why put him in posters, and then not have him in the movie your advertising partially using him. I just don't get it.

I'm just gonna come out and say it... Nori's hair is freaking ridiculous and I hate it! His beard and moustache are cool, but his hair is stinking dumb. Ugh! Honestly, at first, when I first saw the character design for the Dwarves, I wasn't really all that impressed, but most of them kind of grew on me. Nori did not.

This one isn't really a bad thing or a complaint, but I found it very strange that Bombur said absolutely NOTHING the whole movie... it was kinda weird. Not bad, just weird. Also- he uses a huge spoon/ladle thing as a weapon... not sure how I feel about that yet.

...And now to the good stuff :)

OH MY GOSH, THE MUSIC!! I freaking love Howard Shore, and he did an amazing job with An Unexpected Journey. Also, the Misty Mountains Cold song/theme is my favorite part of the movie- don't ask why because it just is. I love it! Totally going to buy the soundtrack!

Without seeing the movie, I was really nervous about the characters themselves, specifically the Dwarves. After seeing the movie, I have no problems with any of the characters, personality-wise. My favorites are Balin and Bofur. I actually was surprised myself, but I actually like Kili and Fili as well (explanation of this in the next paragraph)! The characters I'm still nervous about- at least in personality and/or execution- are the ones entering in the later movies. Those characters being Tauriel, Bard, Thranduil, and Legolas.

I love the explanations to things I read and understood in the book, but never really thought about how it might have come about, like when Gandalf brought the sunlight about to turn the trolls to stone. I also like the reasoning behind why Kili and Fili don't have beards (which really bothered me before- I thought that the reason why they did that was to create a man-candy character for girls to drool over like they did in Lord of the Rings *cough*Legolas*cough*), but I like the idea that they haven't grown their beards out yet due to the fact that they are at least 50 years younger than all of the other Dwarves in the party (and that's a fact from the book!). That and they played well off of each other in the movie. I also dug all of the Lord of the Rings, appendices, and Silmarillion references throughout the movie.

The 3D is great, and this is seriously how it should be done from now on. No more crappy, post-production afterthought, wallet fattener 3D, but good, intentional 3D. This is coming from a person that is not a fan of 3D at all, and has said that it's just a money-mongering gimmick. The only movies that I've seen that have had good 3D effects in so far have been Avatar and The Hobbit. That's it, and that's a crying shame. More movie makers should be following Peter Jackson and James Cameron's lead- at least in the realm of 3D movies.

I will be seeing this movie again, so I may come back to this review and explain things further, change my mind, etc. Also keep in mind that while I did gripe and nitpick about a few things, they certainly did not detract from the movie as a whole, I'm just a huge nerd who loves J.R.R. Tolkien's books!

Overall, it was a great movie, and a good film adaptation to the book. I give it 5 out of 5 stars! GO SEE IT ALREADY!!

Skyrim Dragonborn DLC Trailer

Skyrim Inspired Minecraft

11 Incredible Skyrim-Inspired Minecraft Builds

Also, Minecraft for the Xbox360 is getting an update soon- with creative mode! Yay update 1.8.2!!

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen DLC Trailer

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Trailer #2

Dragon Age III: Inquisition

I feel like I should be way more excited for this game than I am. I loved Dragon Age: Origins, and though there were many flaws and changes I didn't care for, I liked Dragon Age II. I will buy DA3 when it comes out, it's inevitable, but I want to find out more information before I can geek out about it. BioWare's panel at PAX East this year helped to explain some things and assure me that they're at least trying to not screw this up. I think that they will be able to combine the good parts of both DA:O and DA2 to make an amazing game. BioWare is totally capable of that (as long as EA isn't involved). Here is a link to a couple videos of their PAX panel. One is a brief overview of their panel, and the other is a Q&A video. Pretty interesting info should be coming out soon!

BioWare PAX East panel

I Can't Decide...

So I am close to finishing one of the books I'm reading and I'm having trouble deciding on which book I should read next. Let me know what you think! Should I...

A) Continue on with the series I'm currently in?

Faith of the Fallen- Terry Goodkind

B) Read another fantasy novel?

The Name of the Wind- Patrick Rothfuss

C) Continue with a previous series?

The Templar Salvation- Raymond Khoury

D) Read a historical fiction novel?

1356- Bernard Cornwell

E) Re-read a favorite book from my childhood?

The Swiss Family Robinson- Johann David Wyss

What I'm Reading- 9/16/12

Wow, it has been a long time! Even though it has not been as often as I would have liked, I have been reading since my last update in January. My last semester of college and the current job search have made that more difficult, but I'm managing. Here's what I've been getting myself into as of late:

Soul of the Fire- Terry Goodkind

Yes, I'm still reading this book... a bit shameful, yes, but it's a long book! My last semester was VERY busy (...and I admit, I read The Hunger Games trilogy instead of this for a while...). I did get a chance to read quite a bit this week while my girlfriend was visiting. She just got around to reading The Hunger Games, and I worked on finishing this one. While I'm not done yet, I am 617 pages in on a 788 page book. So that makes me 78.3% through the book with  only 171 pages left. I can do this! It is an enjoyable read, and I am looking  forward to how it ends, as well as the next book of this series (Faith of the Fallen) when I finish Soul of the Fire.

Call of the Wild and White Fang- Jack London

I decided a while back that I wanted to expand out of my reading rut. While I love reading fantasy novels, it's pretty much all I read. I wanted to read more of the classics. This is fortunate because I have a shelf full of them, and I haven't read most of them! I resolved to read one fantasy novel and one classic at a time, and started out by reading The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling (which was during my 9 month long-time-no-post period), which I liked for the most part. I have read some of the classics (or at least books I consider classics), like The Iliad, The Swiss Family Robinson, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc., so it's not like I'm some uncultured ingrate or anything... I just really enjoy fantasy. I haven't gotten very far with Call of the Wild, since I just started reading it, and I have been trying to finish Soul of the Fire. The reason this book piqued my interest is because I watched the 1991 Disney version of White Fang (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103247/) when I was little and really enjoyed it. It will be interesting to see the similarities and differences in both mediums.

The Crystal Shard- R.A. Salvatore

Yeeeeeep, still "reading" this one. Definitely putting this one on the back burner for a while. Not that it's a bad novel, it's just that there are other books I'd rather be reading right now. I'll get around to finishing it one of these days- I promise :)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Trailer

This movie is going to be so epic! Super excited!!

Skyrim: Dawnguard DLC Trailer

Skyrim Game Jam

Future DLC? I sure hope so! All of these ideas are really cool!

Skyrim Mod Ideas

There are tons of Skyrim mods out there, and a lot of them are really cool, but there are some things that I think should be added. Unfortunately I have no ability to mod, but it's not going to stop me from suggesting my ideas.

Oblivion Mods to Port to Skyrim

• Alir's Armor
• Capt. Molly Armor
• Acolyte of Kynareth
• Adelina Armor
• Baron Armor
• Wisteria Armor
• Serenity Armor
• Morrowind Robes and Dresses
• Bow of the Mongolian Horsemen
• Dall's Kukri

Mods to Add

• Rapiers
• Spears
• Halberds
• Falcata
• Kopis
• Throwing knives, hatchets, stars, javelins
• LotR Elven armor (2nd and 3rd Age) + shield
• LotR Rohirrim (Eomer & Theoden's) armor + shield
• LotR Gondorian infantry armor + shield
• LotR Istari staffs (Both of Gandalf's and Saruman's)
• LotR Gil-Galad's spear
• LotR Gimli's axes
• LotR Elven prologue spear
• LotR Isildur's sword
• LotR Haldir's bow and sword
• LotR Aragorn's dagger
• LotR Eowyn's sword
• LotR Eomer's sword
• LotR Boromir's sword
• LotR Faramir's sword
• Kit Rae Archeros dagger

Inheritance Review

Inheritance- Christopher Paolini

Just finished this book last week, and I have to say it is Paolini's best book yet. It was a little hard to get through in the first section, but it got exponentially better as it progressed. Am I the only one that doesn't care for Roran? I basically skimmed the chapters focusing on him. I feel like there wasn't a point to pay attention to him, mainly because THE BOOK IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT ERAGON, not Roran! Anyway... great book, I highly recommend that you start/finish this series!

5 stars out of 5

What I'm Reading- 1/23/12

Man, I haven't done one of these in a long time! Well, here you go!

Soul of the Fire- Terry Goodkind

Continuing on with The Sword of Truth series, and as in past novels, Goodkind takes his sweet time setting the main plot of the book. As much as I love these books, it's like walking through molasses on a cold day trying to get to the "good" parts (which sometimes is a long time/many pages). I really don't know why I'm complaining though, I know I'll love the rest of it, and whatever Goodkind writes in the last half will make up for the first half being a bit boring.

The Crystal Shard- R.A. Salvatore

This one's been on the back-burner for a while. Wanted to read Inheritance and finish Temple of the Winds over Christmas break. It will continue to be on the back-burner because of this next book!

Death of Kings- Bernard Cornwell

I have been waiting for this book for a while, and I'm super excited about it. I love this author, and he is my favorite historical fiction writer (so far). Ordered it on Barnes and Noble at the end of last week and will start reading it as soon as possible!

Temple of the Winds Review

GO READ THIS BOOK SERIES!!

This is not really a review, but I wanted to tell you guys about this book/series, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. Just as a note- this book series should be read my adults only (as in 18 and up) as it deals with some pretty mature issues at times.

I've said this before, but Terry Goodkind is an amazing author. He is very adept at getting you emotionally involved into the characters and the story, and then toying with you the majority of the novel. He builds up the tension and the sense of urgency the whole book, then takes away all hope, and somehow resolves it in the end, making everything better. So amazing! He is one of my favorite authors of all time; right up there with Tolkien, Cornwell, and Crichton! It's a crying shame that Goodind isn't all that popular.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.