Buckle up, because there’s a lot to talk about….
27/11/2015
31/10/2015
Mighty Switch Force 1 & 2
Mighty
Switch Force is a series that managed to keep my brain entertained for quite
some time, and after buying both games on the 3DS e-shop, the puzzle speedrunning-mania
started.
16/05/2015
03/05/2015
Borderlands
17/09/2014
Beat Hazard Ultra
What is Beat Hazard Ultra? Well, the best way to describe it would be a mix of Asteroids and Audiosurf. Beat Hazard is a simple yet effective and addicting concept that provides endless hours of gameplay, arcade style: you control a ship and the objective, obviously, is to survive. For that you will have to keep cleaning entire armadas of enemy ships off of your screen. Nothing new here, except this time, everything depends on the soundtrack: your soundtrack.
19/08/2014
All My Puny Sorrows, by Miriam Toews
Publisher: Faber & Faber Publication date: June 5th 2014
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9780571305285
Synopsis
A funny, serious and heart felt new novel about the biggest question of all.
Yolanda is conflicted. Her sister Elf has battled depression for her whole adult life, and is in a psychiatric ward under permanent observation after attempting suicide - again.
Yolanda has always looked up to Elf as her talented and beautiful older sister. She loves her with a fierce passion and wants to believe in the possibility of a future together, one in which Elf gets better. But it's looking unlikely and Yolanda has to decide; if the person you love is tired of living, is it kinder just to let them go?
All My Puny Sorrows (a line from a Coleridge poem) is written out of Miriam Toews's personal experience and is, in some ways, a grown-up version of A Complicated Kindness, the novel that catapulted Toews to her bestselling status in Canada. This story allows Toews's beguiling narrative voice - her easy, snappy, darkly comic intimacy - to sing through.
14/08/2014
Copper Magic, by Julia Mary Gibson
Publisher: StarscapePublication date: July 1st 2014
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9780765332110
Synopsis
Debut author Julia Mary Gibson explores turn-of-the-century Native American culture, ecology, and conservation, in her historical fiction novel, Copper Magic.
The year is 1906, and on the shores of Lake Michigan twelve-year-old Violet Blake unearths an ancient talisman—a copper hand. Violet’s touch warms the copper hand and it begins to reveal glimpses of another time. Violet is certain that the copper hand is magic—and if anyone is in need of its powers, it’s Violet. Her mother and adored baby brother are gone, perhaps never to return. Her heartbroken father can’t seem to sustain the failing farm on the outskirts of Pigeon Harbor, on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Surely the magic of the copper hand can make things right for Violet and restore her fractured family. Violet makes a wish. But her ignorant carelessness unleashes formidable powers—and her attempts to control them jeopardizes not only herself, but the entire town of Pigeon Harbor.
In Copper Magic, land and waters are alive with memories, intentions, and impulses. Magic alters Violet and brings her gifts—but not always the kind she thinks she needs. First-time author Julia Mary Gibson brings Violet and her community to life in this impressive and assured debut.
09/08/2014
Coin Heist, by Elisa Ludwig
Publisher: Adaptive StudiosPublication date: June 10th 2014
Pages: 225
ASIN: B00JAGN4JO
Synopsis
The last place you’d expect to find a team of criminals is at a prestigious Philadelphia prep school. But on a class trip to the U.S. Mint—which prints a million new coins every 30 minutes—an overlooked security flaw becomes far too tempting for a small group of students to ignore. United by dire circumstances, these unlikely allies—the slacker, the nerd, the athlete, and the “perfect” student—band together to attempt the impossible: rob the U.S. Mint. This diverse crew is forced to confront their true beliefs about each other and themselves as they do the wrong thing for the right reasons.
COIN HEIST is a dynamic young adult caper told from the revolving perspectives of four teens, each with their own motive for committing a crime that could change all of their lives for the better—that is, if they can pull it off.
03/08/2014
I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
Publisher: Vintage Classics Publication date: 1948
Pages: 408
ISBN: 0099460874
Synopsis
'This book has one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met' J. K. Rowling.
‘I write this sitting in the kitchen sink’ is the first line of this timeless, witty and enchanting novel about growing up. Cassandra Mortmain lives with her bohemian and impoverished family in a crumbling castle in the middle of nowhere. Her journal records her life with her beautiful, bored sister, Rose, her fadingly glamorous stepmother, Topaz, her little brother Thomas and her eccentric novelist father who suffers from a financially crippling writer’s block. However, all their lives are turned upside down when the American heirs to the castle arrive and Cassandra finds herself falling in love for the first time…
20/07/2014
Destruction, by Sharon Bayliss
Publisher: Curiosity Quills PressPublication date: April 14th 2014
Pages: 250
ISBN: 9781620075159
Synopsis
David Vandergraff wants to be a good man. He goes to church every Sunday, keeps his lawn trim and green, and loves his wife and kids more than anything. Unfortunately, being a dark wizard isn’t a choice.
Eleven years ago, David’s secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can’t imagine living without.
Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David’s wife admits a secret of her own—she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children.
Now, David must parent two hurting children from a dark world he doesn’t understand and keep his family from falling apart. All while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself, may be evil.
Eleven years ago, David’s secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can’t imagine living without.
Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David’s wife admits a secret of her own—she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children.
Now, David must parent two hurting children from a dark world he doesn’t understand and keep his family from falling apart. All while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself, may be evil.
15/07/2014
The Boy with the Porcelain Blade, by Den Patrick
Publisher: GollanczPublication date: March 20th 2014
Pages: 336
ISBN: 057513383X
Synopsis
An ornate yet dark fantasy, with echoes of Mervyn Peake, Robin Hobb and Jon Courtenay Grimwood. An original and beautifully imagined world, populated by unforgettable characters.
Lucien de Fontein has grown up different. One of the mysterious and misshapen Orfano who appear around the Kingdom of Landfall, he is a talented fighter yet constantly lonely, tormented by his deformity, and well aware that he is a mere pawn in a political game. Ruled by an insane King and the venomous Majordomo, it is a world where corruption and decay are deeply rooted - but to a degree Lucien never dreams possible when he first discovers the plight of the 'insane' women kept in the haunting Sanatoria.
Told in a continuous narrative interspersed with flashbacks we see Lucien grow up under the care of his tutors. We watch him forced through rigorous Testings, and fall in love, set against his yearning to discover where he comes from, and how his fate is tied to that of every one of the deformed Orfano in the Kingdom, and of the eerie Sanatoria itself.
Lucien de Fontein has grown up different. One of the mysterious and misshapen Orfano who appear around the Kingdom of Landfall, he is a talented fighter yet constantly lonely, tormented by his deformity, and well aware that he is a mere pawn in a political game. Ruled by an insane King and the venomous Majordomo, it is a world where corruption and decay are deeply rooted - but to a degree Lucien never dreams possible when he first discovers the plight of the 'insane' women kept in the haunting Sanatoria.
Told in a continuous narrative interspersed with flashbacks we see Lucien grow up under the care of his tutors. We watch him forced through rigorous Testings, and fall in love, set against his yearning to discover where he comes from, and how his fate is tied to that of every one of the deformed Orfano in the Kingdom, and of the eerie Sanatoria itself.
11/07/2014
To the Moon (PC)
In the last
few years, pixelated games seem to have made a pretty strong comeback, much to
the delight of older gamers, who fondly remember the 8/16-bit gems of ages
past. And yet, even in the middle of this pixel revolution, the name RPG Maker still seems to carry a
negative connotation strong enough to keep many potential players at bay. This is where To the Moon comes in.
Made by Freebird Games, To the Moon is pretty
much a story-driven game. Truth be told, the gameplay is very simple, and it
consists of walking around in a 2D world looking for objects and talking to
characters, which…sounds like every RPG ever. However, save for a humorous
moment near the start of the game, there is no battling in here.
09/07/2014
Chasers of the Wind, by Alexey Pehov
Publisher: Tor BooksPublication date: June 17th 2014
Pages: 400
ISBN: 9780765334893
Synopsis
Centuries after the disastrous War of the Necromancers, the Nabatorians, aligned with the evil necromancers of Sdis, mount an invasion of the Empire. Luk, a soldier, and Ga-Nor, a Northern barbarian, are thrown together as they attempt to escape the Nabatorian hordes and find their way back to their comrades.
Gray and Layan are a married couple, master thieves who are hiding out and trying to escape their former gang. They hope to evade the bounty hunters that hound them and retire to a faraway land in peace.
Tia is a powerful dark sorceress and one of The Damned—a group trying to take over the world and using the Nabatorian invasion as a diversion.
Unfortunately, for Gray and Layan, they unwittingly hold the key to a powerful magical weapon that could bring The Damned back to power.
Hounded by the killers on their trail and by the fearsome creatures sent by The Damned, Gray and Layan are aided by Luk and Ga-Nor—and Harold, the hero of The Chronicles of Siala. Realizing what’s at stake they decide that, against all odds, they must stop The Damned.
Chasers of the Wind is the first book in a new series from internationally bestselling author Alexey Pehov.
22/06/2014
The Mark of the Tala, by Jeffe Kennedy
Publisher: Kensington BooksPublication date: May 27th 2014
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9780758294432
Synopsis
The tales tell of three sisters, daughters of the high king. The eldest, a valiant warrior-woman, heir to the kingdom. The youngest, the sweet beauty with her Prince Charming. No one says much about the middle princess, Andromeda. Andi, the other one.
Andi doesn't mind being invisible. She enjoys the company of her horse more than court, and she has a way of blending into the shadows. Until the day she meets a strange man riding, who keeps company with wolves and ravens, who rules a land of shapeshifters and demons. A country she'd thought was no more than legend--until he claims her as its queen.
In a moment everything changes: Her father, the wise king, becomes a warlord, suspicious and strategic. Whispers call her dead mother a traitor and a witch. Andi doesn't know if her own instincts can be trusted, as visions appear to her and her body begins to rebel.
For Andi, the time to learn her true nature has come. . .
17/06/2014
The Fifth Voice, by Paul Connolly
Publisher: Silverwood BooksFirst publication date: April 16th 2014
Pages: 288
ISBN: 9781781321195
Synopsis
The lives of four singers are far from harmonious. Danny’s marriage is on the rocks, while Vince is struggling with a debilitating illness. Henry is having a mid-life crisis, and Neil is at war with his father. But when they sing together none of that matters. Because something magical happens.
On a mission to compete against the best quartet singers in Britain, they turn to veteran entertainer, Ken, who inspires them to discover a curious vocal technique called The Fifth Voice.
Over the course of a year and several adventures, they make discoveries about the power of music and friendship that help each of them shape the rest of their lives. And when they eventually find The Fifth Voice, they discover a prize much greater than the one they imagined.
'The Fifth Voice' is a poignant and comic tale of four lives and a single passion.
On a mission to compete against the best quartet singers in Britain, they turn to veteran entertainer, Ken, who inspires them to discover a curious vocal technique called The Fifth Voice.
Over the course of a year and several adventures, they make discoveries about the power of music and friendship that help each of them shape the rest of their lives. And when they eventually find The Fifth Voice, they discover a prize much greater than the one they imagined.
'The Fifth Voice' is a poignant and comic tale of four lives and a single passion.
13/06/2014
Pandemic
 |
| Image: http://www.trollandtoad.com/ |
Players:
2-4
Duration:
45 minutes
Style: cooperative
Year: 2008
Price:
$39,99
Designer: Matt
Leacock
Publisher: Z-ManGames
The
might of the CDC!
Atlanta,
Georgia. The Center for Disease Control receives dreadful news: four viruses
are spreading at an alarming speed! It’s their job – and yours, as members of
the taskforce – to limit worldwide casualties and prevent a true pandemic! In
this cooperative game, players must work together and coordinate their specific
skills, in a race against the clock and the board itself.
Designed by
Matt Leacock and published firstly by Z-Man Games, this popular game is the
first of the cooperative kind that I played, and I earnestly recommend it as an
introduction to this style of play. Pandemic is incredibly flexible,
accommodating less experienced players as well as veterans. A strong gaming
group will welcome a change of pace from competition-heavy games, and families
will gather everyone around the table to brainstorm the fastest and most
effective way to put out the overwhelming outspreads of disease across the
globe.
10/06/2014
Thief's Magic, by Trudi Canavan
Publisher: OrbitFirst publication date: May 13th 2014
Pages: 528
ISBN: 9780748132379
Synopsis
In a world where an industrial revolution is powered by magic, Tyen, a student of archaeology, discovers a sentient book in an ancient tomb. Vella was once a young sorcerer-maker, until she was transformed into a useful tool by one of the greatest sorcerers of history. Since then she has been gathering information, including a vital clue to the disaster Tyen’s world faces.
Elsewhere, in a land ruled by the priests since a terrible war depleted all but a little magic, Rielle the dyer’s daughter has been taught that to use magic is to steal from the Angels. Yet she knows from her ability to sense the stain it leaves behind that she has a talent for it, and that there are people willing to teach her how to use it, should she ever need to risks the Angels’ wrath.
Further away, a people called the Travelers live their entire lives on the move, trading goods from one world to another. They know that each world has its own store of magic, reducing or increasing a sorcerer’s abilities, so that if one entered a weak world they may be unable to leave it again. Each family maintains a safe trading route passed down through countless generations and modified whenever local strife makes visiting dangerous. But this is not the only knowledge the Travelers store within their stories and songs, collected over millennia spent roaming the universe. They know a great change is due, and that change brings both loss and opportunity.
Elsewhere, in a land ruled by the priests since a terrible war depleted all but a little magic, Rielle the dyer’s daughter has been taught that to use magic is to steal from the Angels. Yet she knows from her ability to sense the stain it leaves behind that she has a talent for it, and that there are people willing to teach her how to use it, should she ever need to risks the Angels’ wrath.
Further away, a people called the Travelers live their entire lives on the move, trading goods from one world to another. They know that each world has its own store of magic, reducing or increasing a sorcerer’s abilities, so that if one entered a weak world they may be unable to leave it again. Each family maintains a safe trading route passed down through countless generations and modified whenever local strife makes visiting dangerous. But this is not the only knowledge the Travelers store within their stories and songs, collected over millennia spent roaming the universe. They know a great change is due, and that change brings both loss and opportunity.
02/06/2014
A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain, by Adrianne Harun
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9780670786107
Synopsis
In an isolated town of British Columbia, young girls, mostly native, begin to vanish from the sides of a notorious highway, the Highway of Tears. Leo Kreutzer and four friends are barely touched by these disappearances—until a series of mysterious and troublesome outsiders arrive on the mountain. Then it seems as if the devil himself has appeared among them. A MAN CAME OUT OF A DOOR IN THE MOUNTAIN is a seductive and chilling debut novel about what happens to Leo and his group of friends when evil—both human and otherwise—walks right through their town.
Leo and his friends are engulfed in their final days of summer as kids, trying to hold onto what innocence they have left in this poor, hardscrabble logging town in remote British Columbia. A series of dark strangers arrive on the mountain: Kevin Seven beguiles shy Ursie with his fantastical card tricks; bone-white Hana Swann befriends Jackie, and bewitches Brian with ideas of revenge against the tyrannical local drug dealer and neighborhood torturer. As you follow Leo, his friends and their families throughout the novel, you will become entranced, waiting to see just what evil the devil will sow.
26/05/2014
The Oversight, by Charlie Fletcher
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 464
ISBN: 9780356502892
Synopsis
Only five still guard the borders between the worlds.
Only five hold back what waits on the other side.
Once the Oversight, the secret society that policed the lines between the mundane and the magic, counted hundreds of brave souls among its members. Now their numbers can be counted on a single hand.
When a vagabond brings a screaming girl to the Oversight's London headquarters, it seems their hopes for a new recruit will be fulfilled - but the girl is a trap.
As the borders between this world and the next begin to break down, murders erupt across the city, the Oversight are torn viciously apart, and their enemies close in for the final blow.
This gothic fantasy from Charlie Fletcher (the Stoneheart trilogy) spins a tale of witch-hunters, supra-naturalists, mirror-walkers and magicians. Meet the Oversight, and remember: when they fall, so do we all.
Only five hold back what waits on the other side.
Once the Oversight, the secret society that policed the lines between the mundane and the magic, counted hundreds of brave souls among its members. Now their numbers can be counted on a single hand.
When a vagabond brings a screaming girl to the Oversight's London headquarters, it seems their hopes for a new recruit will be fulfilled - but the girl is a trap.
As the borders between this world and the next begin to break down, murders erupt across the city, the Oversight are torn viciously apart, and their enemies close in for the final blow.
This gothic fantasy from Charlie Fletcher (the Stoneheart trilogy) spins a tale of witch-hunters, supra-naturalists, mirror-walkers and magicians. Meet the Oversight, and remember: when they fall, so do we all.
21/05/2014
Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
First publication date: May 8th 2014Pages: 416
ISBN: 9780330519731
Synopsis
The first things to shift were the doll's eyes, the beautiful grey-green glass eyes. Slowly they swivelled, until their gaze was resting on Triss's face. Then the tiny mouth moved, opened to speak.
'What are you doing here?' It was uttered in tones of outrage and surprise, and in a voice as cold and musical as the clinking of cups. 'Who do you think you are? This is my family.'
When Triss wakes up after an accident, she knows that something is very wrong. She is insatiably hungry; her sister seems scared of her and her parents whisper behind closed doors. She looks through her diary to try to remember, but the pages have been ripped out.
Soon Triss discovers that what happened to her is more strange and terrible than she could ever have imagined, and that she is quite literally not herself. In a quest find the truth she must travel into the terrifying Underbelly of the city to meet a twisted architect who has dark designs on her family - before it's too late...
'What are you doing here?' It was uttered in tones of outrage and surprise, and in a voice as cold and musical as the clinking of cups. 'Who do you think you are? This is my family.'
When Triss wakes up after an accident, she knows that something is very wrong. She is insatiably hungry; her sister seems scared of her and her parents whisper behind closed doors. She looks through her diary to try to remember, but the pages have been ripped out.
Soon Triss discovers that what happened to her is more strange and terrible than she could ever have imagined, and that she is quite literally not herself. In a quest find the truth she must travel into the terrifying Underbelly of the city to meet a twisted architect who has dark designs on her family - before it's too late...
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