Walking Dead Season 2 Video Game Review

Walking Dead Season 2

I love TellTale games so much!!!  I actually beat this one a while back but am just now getting around to reviewing it.   I got to play it as each chapter came out ... sometimes it was torture waiting for each chapter... and now I have to wait for season 3!  Of course this ends on a cliffhanger. For those of you who haven't played these TellTale games yet they are fun and easy for all gamers.  Really you just push buttons with prompts and the best part is you make decisions for the characters and your choices will affect future story lines in the game. 

This particular game has like 5 different outcomes!  I of course had to look them all up and I still think I might the right choice. In this season you play Clementine again and join a group that is running out of food, supplies running low, trying to keep a baby alive, and so on.  You have to make hard choices in this game and that is what I love about it.  I try to make myself really feel like I am in a zombie apocalypse. 

I am very curious about season 3 because in season one basically everyone playing made different choices but we all ended up in the same story line eventually. This time the start of season 3 can start people at all kinds of different plot points.  So it will have to be a much larger game.  I am now really excited about playing the TaleTell game Game of Thrones.  Though that one I will wait for all 6 chapters to come out instead of buying the season pass.  I am going to skip the Borderlands TellTale game because I am just not a fan of the series.  I might play it when all the episodes are out but we'll see. This game gets an A!

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

Title: Eldest
Author: Christopher Paolini
Pages: 668
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers March 23rd 2007
Source: Books Owned
Links: goodreads, The Inheritance Cycle

Darkness falls ...Despair abounds ...Evil reigns ...Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in magic and swordsmanship, the vital skills of the Dragon Rider. It is the journey of a lifetime, filled with awe-inspiring new places and people, each day a fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and Eragon isn't sure whom he can trust. Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle back home in Carvahall - one that puts Eragon in even graver danger. Will the king's dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life . A wonderful fantasy book.

I really am having fun reading this series. I actually thought I read this one ... the whole time I have owned it. but then when I started reading it I discovered I hadn't!!I don't know why I thought this entire time that I had read it.  I do enjoy this series, though it is very wordy. WORDY.  This book is sooo detailed.  But sometimes I am in the mood for that.  In fact... that is what I think makes a good fantasy. I want to feel like I am in that world.  Paolini does this and does it well. If you looks at the reviews that give this book 1 star or less it is because they didn't like the detail... so if you don't like a book that goes on about what a room looks like this series is not for you.

This books picks up pretty much where Eragon leaves off. We find the lead character Eragon now in the land of the elves where he will be trained to be a Rider. Eldest has two stories in one.  We read chapters from Eragon's point of view and Roran's (Eragorn's cousin) point of view. Again I love books that have two events going on.  It's like I am reading two books! Most of the beginning of this book deals with Eragon dealing with a scar he received in the first book on his back.  He does whine about it a little too much.  My big problem with this scar is that he is dealing with it and then BOOM two elves perform some sort of dance and their tattoos turn into a dragon and the dragon cures Eragon's scar and pain and then magically makes Eragon's Rider training complete.  What normal takes Riders a lifetime to learn Eragon learns in one second.  I get that this has to happen because the books aren't going to span hundreds of years but it made it seem like us reading through the entire book of his training was a waste.

The book is long... LONG... all the books in the series are.  Which is why I put off reading them for so long. There is a love story in the book too... Eragon loves an elf Arya but she feels she can't be with him because she is much older in elf years and because he is training to be a Rider. Yeah Yeah... a little predictable here.. but I am pretty sure they will end up together.  One of the problems with Paolini's writing is that the story is predictable.   The most interesting character in the series is the witch Angela.  She is elusive and only shows up for like one chapter in each book but her page time is wonderful.  I really hope she gets more roles in the next two books.

I don't think this is a bad book 2.  I have read worse.  I think the book does do a good job of continuing the series along the right course.  I do remember reading that it was supposed to be a trilogy but then Paolini added a fourth book.  That makes me nervous that the third book might actually have "the second book syndrome" where we get drug along for no reason.  We will see and I am looking forward to getting started reading it.

Other reviews:

Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Fog is coming.....  in the middle of the road on this book!

Sunday Post

Let's chat about what's going on this week... on my blog.. on other blogs... on the internet... and just everywhere!    I link up my post to Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Reader. 

Project Disney- Fox and the Hound

 

Project Disney: The plan is to tackle all of the Disney films, re-reading the classic stories and tales that inspired many of them and to look at how the changes the filmmakers made, the new elements they introduced and the essential elements they kept. We will, of course, be talking about the films as movies as well, saying why we enjoy them and what some of our favorite moments are, but our focus will be on looking at them as adaptations. For the films that are not drawn from any one work we’ll be looking at some of the possible literary influences that we see in the stories. I am participating in Project Disney inspired by Picture Me Reading!

This week's Project Disney is Fox and the Hound based off the book by the same name by by Daniel P Mannix.  I was dreading doing this movie vs book.  I haven't seen this movie in many years.. mainly because I remember it being very sad.  Turns out the book is very hard to find... the physical book. You have to pay almost $100 to own it.   Luckily it has been released on ebook again.  The book was much different then I thought it was going to be.  As you read.. you just live through the eyes of a fox and a hound.  It is pure nature and instincts of two animals and how they live.  Disney of course adds cute animals to go along with it and even great humans.

The movie starts out with a fox whose mother is shot and killed.  This is the same as in the book.. in fact in both the movie and book the fox (who is named Tod) gets adopted into a human home. When you read the book... you read from Tod's point of few so you get to read about how Tod can smell fear and hear the sounds of the hunters and their dogs. In the book... eventually Tod's instincts kick in and he wonders the fields instead of living with the humans. He just could never be tamed. This is probably obvious but Disney also has the animals talking... which of course we need to be able to enjoy the film.  They do not speak in the book though we get to read about what their instincts are telling them.

Now the dogs are introduced.  Cooper is the hound dog in the story.  Disney has him starting out as a puppy learning to to be a hunting dog.  Another dog in the film is named Chief and he an old dog who teaches Cooper all the tricks of the trade. The book is so different.  Cooper is an old dog by the time we meet him, and Chief is a young pup.  They are in total competition on who can impress their master with their hunting skills. There is a big scene in the book where there is a bear that the hunters are tracking and Cooper finds the body of the man who was killed by the bear.  When the hunters and dogs find the bear it is Chief who ends up saving the master from the bear. The dogs tear the bear apart (there are several hunting dogs in the book).

Cooper learns soon that Tod is not to be played with but to be hunted. Cooper is tied up by his owner and Tod still comes to visit him to play.  Chief notices the fox and chases him all over the place.  The owners of the fox and the hound get in a fight and now both Cooper and Tod have to be locked up.  Cooper is taken off to a hunting trip.  When he comes back both Cooper and Tod are adults. In the book... before Cooper even finds Tod a lot has happened.  Tod has found a mate (we get to read all about how foxes find mates an fight over them) and he has a several baby foxes.  Really the fox and the hound have a non-existent relationship in the novel.

Tod and Cooper reunite in the film.  Cooper tells Tod that he is now a hunting dog and they can't be friends.  Chief sees Tod and chases him... Tod runs far away onto some train tracks. Tod ducks into the tracks and Chief falls off with a broken leg (In the book Tod also runs from Chief but Chief is killed by an oncoming train).  Cooper and the hunter vows to get revenge on Tod so the.  lady who has been taking care of Tod decides to let him lose in the game preserve. Tod of course has no idea what to do since he has always been raised by humans.  An owl comes and helps Todout by introducing him to a female fox named Vixy (in the book Tod has many lady friends and a few families all who typically get killed by the hunter).

The hunter and Cooper sneak onto the game preserve and Cooper and Tod get into a big fight. Now the bear that I mentioned earlier appears in the film.  The hunter shoots the bear, gets his foot stuck in a trap he set for Tod, and Cooper gets hurt. Tod to the rescue!  He rushes down and gets the bear.  The fox falls into the river and the hound finds him and doesn't know what to do.  The hunter shows up with his shotgun ready to shoot the fox. The dog stands over the fox to protect him and the hunter lets the fox lives and goes home.  Cooper and Tod share a smile.

In the book the hunter and hound pursue the fox for many many years.  So many years in fact that the fields have now become housing developments and the hunter is being forced into a retirement home from fellow neighbors (mainly because they want to develop his land and because he is an alcoholic).  It is discovered that there is still a fox in the area so the hunter is allowed to keep his house a little longer.  Of course that fox is Tod.  The hunt happens... the fox is not what he used to be so eventually he lays down and waits to die. The hound catches up to him and is very old himself and kills the fox then falls on his body. The fox is skinned and hung in the house.  The hunter is forced out of his house but before that happens he takes the hound outside.. puts a blind fold on him and shoots him.

WOW.  This movie is deep. There are just so many lessons here, loyalty, what society makes you do, just sad stuff.  I still don't love this movie.  I want my Disney movies to be happy and magical.  With upbeat songs and all that.  This book was pretty good.  It was not like anything I had read before.  I liked just reading about nature.  It is hard to find the book though so you will probably have to go through your libraries interloan system like I did.

Be sure to check out my other Project Disney:

 Snow White
Cinderella
Peter Pan
Treasure Planet
Sleeping Beauty
The Great Mouse Detective 
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Princess and the Frog
Pinocchio 
Fantasia 
Beauty and the Beast
Lady and the Tramp
Alice in Wonderland
The Rescuers
The Rescuers Down Under
Tangled
Oliver and Company
Mulan
The Little Mermaid
Bambi
101 Dalmatians
Frozen
Fantasia 2000
The Jungle Book
The Emperor's New Groove
The Sword in the Stone
Aladdin
Atlantis
The Aristocats
The Lion King
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
Winnie the Pooh (2011)
Robin Hood
Hercules
Pocahontas
Dumbo
The Black Cauldron 
Mary Poppins
Lilo and Stitch 
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Make Mine Music
Tarzan
Melody Time

Follow Me Friday

This is the day of the week where we get to know each other better by answering a question devised by our lovely hostesses Parajunkee & Alisoncanread.   Thanks to those bloggers for hosting! Be sure to stop by their blogs to see the featured blogger of the week and to see the list of blogs who are also participating.   And now for this week's question....

Author behavoir...to read or not read their books?

Once upon a time I had an author upset me. Yes.. it sounds crazy.  I mean really.. I got all hurt by an author??  It's actually kind of funny now.  Plus I wonder why it even bothered me so much.  I run a group on goodreads called The Young Adult Book Club.  I have run the group since 2007... back then it was one of the only Young Adult book clubs on goodreads.  There was a time when I would contact authors and try to get them to stop by the group for a Q&A.  I kind of stopped doing this because there was a lot of inactivity in the book club though I am going for it again.  At this time though.. things were going great.  We had a month where we were reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.

I was extremely excited because when I contacted Maggie she agreed to do a Q&A with the group! It was the first time an author agreed to do one with the group.  I was in heaven.  I advertised it as best I could.  Got the group to get excited also.  Maggie decided she would do it live even.  Wow.  Well the month went on and we discussed the book.  Maggie even joined in the discussions with the group member.  Mistake #1... don't let authors join in the chat have them ONLY do the Q&A.  I learned that because she was reading the reactions of the group members and the parts they didn't like this turned her off from the Q&A. She emailed me and told me she didn't really like what the group was saying and so wanted to cancel the Q&A.  I was devastated.  I of course didn't tell the group this was the reasoning.  Though I did find out that a week later she hoped over to another YA group on goodreads and did a Q&A there.  My group members found out and went over there and asked the hard questions.

Ok... so now it's years later.  YEARS.  I am still a little butt-hurt about it. But now I feel like maybe in my mind I was too hard on her.  At the time she was a new author.  Her book had only just came out. She might've had a hard time with criticism.   I am sure by now she is much better.  I have put off reading any more of her books because I was so bothered by the incident.  Now I wonder.. am I missing some good books because my pride was hurt????  I was embarrassed by the incident at the time, but now I realize really what does it matter. The people who were group members at the time aren't even members anymore.  Life went on and people love Maggie.  I even tried again with authors after that and many have stopped by the group and the Q&As have gone really really well. Maybe.. just maybe I should give her books another chance. 

 

What about you?  Have you ever had a odd or uncomfortable experience with an author that made you not want to read their books?   

Waiting on Wednesday Fairest by Marissa Meyer

 

 

I cannot wait for this book.... Fairest by Marissa Meyer. The Lunar Chronicle series is amazing.  I devoured Cinder , Scarlet , and  January 27th is the day... and I will buy this book.