Game Review: Ironcalypse

Hey everyone! Today I'm reviewing another random flash game, because random flash games have pretty much been my only way of passing the long hours while I'm sitting around and waiting until I can walk. Today, we have Ironcalypse, a platformer by ParaArt.

You play as one of several adorable robots escaping some kind of apocalypse. What kind of apocalypse, you ask? Good question; they never really specify.  Either way, you've gotta escape it.

The Good Stuff: Aw, look at dem cute little robots! Good music (when you can hear it over the ridiculously loud sound effects) and a nice industrial-style design.

The Bad Stuff: I noted a lot of people had complaints about lag in this game. While I personally never noticed any, that might have been sheer luck. What I did have some issues with was the lack of control the player has over the character. You cannot control speed, direction, or anything other than jumping and ducking.

The Verdict: It's okay. Not really good, not really bad.
It was fun at first, but it got repetitive very quickly. There's potential there, but it just isn't that well-executed. I guess its worth checking out if you have nothing better to do. It's not like it costs you anything.

Play for free here: http://armorgames.com/play/15743/ironcalypse

Game Review: The Gentleman

As I've mentioned before, I've spent a great deal of time on the internet lately, seeking free games to pass the time as I wait for a broken ankle to heal, and I thought I would review a few of these. Up today: The Gentleman. Produced by SoulGame Studios, this simple platformer features the adventures of a top-hat-wearing gentleman as he explores a vintage-styled city.

The Good Stuff: DAT ATMOSPHERE! Really, it's fantastic! A moonlit city, reminiscent of old London, filled with rats and bats and black cats... Oh, and that music--I love it!

The Bad Stuff: There's nothing really wrong with this game, per se, although it isn't exactly anything groundbreaking about it. It's a standard 2d platformer.

The Verdict: A fantastic and challenging time-killer! If you have the spare time, it's absolutely worth a look.

Play for free here: http://armorgames.com/play/15405/the-gentleman

Book Review: Larklight

Phillip Reeve has done it again, folks! Another steampunk series has begun! I read the first books of his other series, The Mortal Engines and Fever Crumb, enjoyed the clever world building and general steampunkness, but never really felt invested enough to finish with a desperate desire for more. When I saw his name on the cover of Larklight, I wondered if this would be the one to get me hooked on his writing...

The Plot: In the 1850's Art Mumby and his sister Myrtle live drifting through the solar system in a house called Larklight--until a giant man-eating spider in a bowler hat crashes into their house and captures and/or eats their father. Shenanigans ensue. 

The Good Stuff: The overall mood of this book is delightfully whimsical in a way that's hard to put one's finger on. In a way, it really seems to remind me of a lot of classic kid's books like The Borrowers or Dr. Dolittle. One can easily tell that Mr. Reeve is not only well-acquainted with the Victorian mindset, but he's also quite capable of putting it seamlessly into the setting of outer space, giving this book a rather unique and fun feel. Likewise, David Wyatt's illustrations are very Victorian-looking, not to mention just lovely in general. As with Reeve's other works, Larklight is filled with clever little details about it's world--space pirates, flying pigs that do housework, etc.--and whimsical moments that on occasion made me laugh awkwardly out loud when I should have been paying attention in class.

The Bad Stuff: To be honest, I actually put this book down for several weeks about halfway through. Not because of anything in particular that I didn't like; I just put it down and entirely forgot that I was reading it, which really says a lot.
It definitely did have plenty of cliche going on. A reptilian character who speaks with an exaggerated lisp, evil giant spiders--although one of the spiders wears a bowler hat, which is pretty awesome.
I didn't really engage in the characters either. I really wanted to like them, but the only ones I actually found myself caring about were all fairly minor. Art makes for a rather dull hero, as he did so little throughout the course of the book that he might as well have just been a narrator describing everybody else's stories in third person.
As for his sister, Myrtle... Well, excuse me while I Caps Lock for a moment.
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THAT GIRL! I DON'T THINK THERE WAS A PAGE OF THIS BOOK WHERE I DIDN'T WANT TO SLAP HER PERSONALITY-LESS FACE! Seriously, though, I normally have problems with Mary-Sues, that is, "perfect characters," but I didn't realize that it was possible to go the opposite direction and create a character who's such a dim-witted, ugly, and downright useless loser that it actually makes her unrealistic.Sure, there are moments that imply that by the end of the series, she just might improve, but it's gonna be a long, tedious process at the rate she's gone in the first book. I understand how the twelve-year-old narrator might have a low opinion of his sister, in a teasing, brother-sister way, but the author clearly doesn't like her either. Or maybe--or probably, in fact--she's supposed to be a satire of "Victorian values" and gender roles, but that's really no excuse to make such a whiny, helpless brat a main character. Maybe I've been spoiled by the likes of Katniss Everdeen and her bad-ass-girl brethren, but Myrtle quite nearly ruined this book for me.

The Verdict: Larklight is fun once you get past its flaws. I'm not urging you to run out and buy this right away, but there really were quite a few cool moments, and, for all its bumps in the middle, it really did leave me in a good mood. All in all, this was a pretty good read, but I have to admit that I'm glad I bought it used for a buck at Goodwill.

Book Review: Who Could That Be at This Hour?

When I was a young cog-ling, I had a borderline-creepy-obsessive love for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. In fact, it was in withdrawal after the end of the series that I found steampunk as a whole--looking for something similar to read. Even as I outgrew the books, some repressed part of my mind has always wished that Mr. Snicket/Daniel Handler would write something for my own age group.

Why We Broke Up came out around a year ago, and I eagerly devoured the elegant, poetry-like writing, only to turn the final page with a sense of disappointment  Sure, it was a very good work of ultra-realism, but I couldn't help but wonder a few things: Where are the mysterious fires? Where are the secret organisations? Where's the freaking plot? Isn't there supposed to be something more interesting than an egotistical jock cheating on his girlfriend? And for that matter, what are hippies doing in the twenty-first century?

 Thus, when I first saw Who Could That be at This Hour? I actually passed it by, figuring I'd just wait for it to come out in libraries. Sure, it looked like it had a plot, but it also looked like a book to childish for I, a self-conscious teenager, to be purchasing in public. If not for the generosity of a friend's Christmas gifts, I wouldn't have discovered this little pile of awesomeness. I warn you now that this review will be very much biased, as I read it in a joyous state of nostalgia.

The Plot:
Lemony Snicket, a twelve year old boy in training for a rather mysterious organisation, is dispatched to a small seaside town to investigate the apparent theft of a small statue, which, by the way, is described as resembling a rather vicious seahorse. But, he soon comes to wonder, is it really a theft? If not, why would such an incident be faked, and who, in such a secretive little town, can be trusted? *cue dramatic music*

The Good Stuff:
Not only did it turn out to be a book by my favorite childhood author, but an actually prequel to my favorite childhood book series. The quirky writing and glorious historical anachronisms are indeed left in place, with the overall mood being changed to more of a film-noir-esque mystery. One will discover such small details as gramophones, typewriters, and emo librarians all in one book.

For those who where left wondering at the end of ASOUE, some of the dangling questions left over from that do seem to be moving towards answers. Even so, just about every page left me guessing about some new mystery or another. By no means was this plot even remotely predictable.

The Bad Stuff:
There wasn't really anything I found unbearably annoying about this book, but, once again, I'm most definitely biased.

The readers of this book will be required to create their own suspension of disbelief--it isn't really science fiction or fantasy, but there are plenty of outrageous and silly details that could detract from the realism, and may, to readers who are uncreative and/or not raised on Snicket's work may find them distracting.

If I may nit-pick, I will say that I would have liked to see more of the characters from A Series of Unfortunate Events. The book will stand just fine on its own, but as an avid reader of its companion series, I kept wishing more more of the old characters I know and love to come popping up, only to find, for the most part, passing mentions of a few familiar names.

On a bigger note, the ending was just plain strange. The plot built up tremendously, but, after looking forward to an epic confrontation with the mysterious villain, I found myself finishing the book without really encountering anything that seemed like a marked climax. Maybe there was one and I just didn't notice--which is entirely possible, knowing myself--but I felt a little cheated at its absence.

The Verdict:
Yes, it did, in fact, turn out to be a kids' book--but a damn good one. Reading it brought back plenty of good memories for me, but even if you haven't read ASOUE, I think it's worthwhile to give it a read, since, on the whole, it's a fun and exciting mystery story. There is, of course, a chance that the latter books of this series will eventually jump the shark into the zombie-like state of repetition that seems to happen when authors do the same thing for too long.  As of right now, however, it doesn't seem to be heading in that direction, and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequel.

Cookbook Review: Fuel for the Boiler

With Thanksgiving coming up here in the States, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a fair number of this month's posts to the subject of food. The topic of steampunk food is one that I've spent many hours wandering the vast recesses of the aethernet in search of, usually with little luck. Needless to say, I was just about drooling in sheer joy when I discovered the existence of a steampunk cookbook, that is Fuel for the Boiler, compiled by Elizabeth Stockton.

To begin with, this is not going to be the most professionally organized and edited cookbook you'll ever read. Being compiled from an online forum, it contains the best and worst of the aethernet--great ideas, terrible grammar. Likewise, this is the first cookbook I've ever read which includes the phrase "stir the shit out of it."

Some of the recipes require hard-to-find ingredients (do they even sell buttermilk at the grocery store?) or imprecise measurements, which make them rather hard to prepare, while many others are both simple and delicious, and have become staple foods in my home. In fact, I ate macaroni and cheese made using a recipe from this book for breakfast this morning. Mmmmm... Nothing like a little mac and cheese with the morning tea...

Book Review: The Steampunk Gazette

A short while ago, I was wandering a local bookstore in search of some manga and having no luck whatsoever. I was about to give up and go elsewhere when I turned around to see the words "The Steampunk Gazette" just a short distance from my face, and thus, I reacted something like this:

Ok, so maybe this whole review was just an excuse for a meme parody,  but I simply couldn't resist.

In all seriousness, however, Major Thadeus Tinker's The Steampunk Gazette was quite the entertaining and informative read, covering steampunk from just about every angle in little one-paragraph blurbs. Beautifully designed as a Victorian-style newspaper, this makes a nice intro for a steampunk noob or just a collection of pretty pictures for those more familiar with the scene.
On the downside, all this lovely design tends to bump up the price a little. While twenty-five dollars is a reasonable price for a fully-illustrated two hundred page book, I get the impression that it's apt to be a regular installment featuring the latest steampunk news. If so, it seems a bit fancy for a regularly printed gazette.

Book Review: The Agency: The Body at the Tower

Please pardon the copyright infringement, as I found it
necessary to include cover art in this review.

I picked up this book not realizing that it was somewhere (though I'm still not sure where--would it really have been too much effort for the publishers to put numbers on the damn books?) in Y.S. Lee's  The Agency series, so this review might not turn out as positive as it otherwise would, due to the fact that wasn't always sure what the heck was going on. The story centers around the life of a young detective, Mary Quinn, who works for a detective agency in Victorian London, kind of like a female Sherlock Holmes.

The Story: When a construction worker falls--or, perhaps, is pushed--from St. Steven's Tower, Mary Quinn, disguised as a laborer, is dispatched to investigate. But before long, she finds herself entangled in the mystery not only intellectually, but also personally.

The Good Stuff: The historical details. The author's descriptions are brilliant--portraying a thorough, all-senses-included view of the setting without interfering with the story itself. Reading this book is about as close to walking the streets of Victorian London as a modern person can get without a time machine.

The Bad Stuff: This didn't really feel like a mystery to me. The heroine spends more time thinking about her personal life than she does about the murder she's supposedly trying to solve, and she's never really in legitimate danger until the last ten pages or so. I also think I could have connected more with the characters. The point of view quite frequently shifted with no warning, and the supporting cast was so large that I had a hard time remembering which one was which. Keeping track of James, Jones, and Jenkins was hardly an easy task.

The Overall: In spite of how long the Bad Stuff list for this is, I rather liked it. I probably wouldn't recommend it for readers who don't have any particular interest in Victorian London, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that most of the readers of this blog do. I intend to read at least the first book in the series, once I figure out which one that is.

Book Review: The Orphan of Awkward Falls

I've decided to add book reviews to this blog occasionally, since I've just read a really good book and I can't think of anything else to write. This is my first one, so it's probably going to be really awkward. The Orphan of Awkward Falls, by Keith Graves, isn't strictly steampunk, since it takes place in the modern day, but it does feature a robotic butler, a murderous insane asylum escapee, and a plethora of mad scientists. 

The Plot: After moving to the small town of Awkward Falls, twelve-year-old Josephine Cravitz expects her      life there to be dull--until she meets her next door neighbor, Thaddeus Hibble. Thaddeus is a brilliant but reclusive tween who enjoys performing bizarre experiments  in the basement of his decaying mansion. Upon discovering that Thaddeus in the intended victim of a mad cannibal, Josephine is determined to keep him safe--even if it means risking her own life in the process. 

The Good Stuff: It was mostly the title that made this book leap off the shelf at me. I mean, really, can you think of a better title than "The Orphan of Awkward Falls"? A good title is often a sign of a creative author, and this one does not dissapoint. While it features a whole slew of Gothic archetypes--mad scientists, boy geniuses, cloning, decaying mansions, etc.--the clever and lightly satirical details of these things make them feel as fresh and unpredictable as they are familiar.  

The blending of humor and horror was fantastic. Quirky characters and dark humor provide spectacular comic relief throughout the story. Some of the horror elements might have been done a little too well, considering that this is a children's book. While kids in their late preteens to early teens should be able to handle it, there are numerous gory scenes that could frighten some younger children. 

The Bad Stuff: The pacing in this book is downright weird. Nearly all of the mysteries are solved about halfway through, while the next hundred pages or so are filled in with well-written but too-long action scenes. I like fast-paced writing, but this early climax made me feel as though I'd been cheated out of time with the plot and characters. 

As much as I loved the characters, the portrayal of their personalities sometimes felt a bit forced. Some of the dialogue was exaggeratedly slangy, and just came out sounding goofy. The narrator would often state things about the characters that had already been shown through action. For example, he at one point writes that Josephine is nosy and curious immediately after a scene where she is caught peeking through a neighbor's window. All these bits of info really do is damage the suspension of disbelief.

The Overall: Although the few issues with this book were fairly large, they did little to distract me from the immense fun that this book is. Even though it's a kids' book, I had great fun reading it as an adult, and I wouldn't hesitate to read more by this author.