Hi Folks! Man, oh man was I sick after Norwescon. ‘Con crud’ I believe is the popular term…Any who, I’m back and ready to post what I’ve been playing and reading the last two weeks.
Reading
As some of you know I’ve been reading UNSEEMLY SCIENCE by Rod Duncan and managed to finish that this past week. This
one to try if you are looking for a more realistic take on steampunk. Not only was it a great change of pace from my usual reads, but there was just enough of the fantastical to keep me interested. A steampunk style mystery that is subtle in it’s use of steampunk aesthetics and trappings, it instead favours plot and storytelling. Slower paced and less of the no-holds-barred adventure than I usually favour, this is none the less absolutely worth picking up and giving a try. The lead protagonist, Elizabeth Barnabus, a women who lives a double life as both herself and her brother, the detective, is a huge treat. Not your typical UF heroine, she is a feminist in an authentic way that left me wanting to read more.
What else is strewn across my desk and nightstand? Patrick Rothfuss‘ THE NAME OF THE WIND. I’ve been reading this book for months now. It’s one of those curious reads for me- I’m enjoying the heck out of it but I find myself reading a chapter then putting it down – sometimes for weeks or months at a time…Hence why I’ve had in my read list for more than 6 months. We’ll call it a slow burn for now. Now that I’ve mentioned it here though I’m hell bent on finishing it in the next month and posting some form of a review/update here. Would love to hear how everyone out there has fared with it!
The other book I’ve been reading is J.A Pitts’ BLACK BLADE BLUES, the signed copy I picked up at Norwescon in fact. It’s an urban fantasy set in the Pacific North West about a master blacksmith and budding dragon slayer named Sarah Beuahill. Peppered with a lot of norse mythology this one has also been a pleasant surprise. A somewhat darker and more serious feel, it veers away from the typical UF female protagonist tropes and lends the novel a more original feel in a genre that relies heavily on tropes. Only half way through but will keep you posted. We’ve also got a show in the cue with John A. Pitts where he talks with us about some specific hiccups that often happen to writers during their writing career and some strategies for handling them. Remember, the writing career isn’t all about getting to published.
Playing
MORTAL KOMBAT X (I used a youtube trailer instead of the company site…felt more appropriate). Just in case you’re not familiar with the games or for some reason inclined to give the title the benefit of the doubt, let me clarify; this is an incredibly violent game. 
On purpose. The goal in Mortal Kombat X game is to give players arcade style match-ups that harken back to the original arcade and early console generation iterations. The main difference (carrying on from the trend set in Mortal Kombat 9) is that the fight sequences are now framed by a narrative that has really kicked up it’s storytelling game in the last two iterations. If you like Mortal Kombat (or this arcade style of fighting game) I think you’ll be impressed by the story. We get to see Johnny Cage and Sonja Blade as more mature adults with a daughter, Cassie, who is also a playable character and central to the story…and not for being rescued. Cassie is the one doing the rescuing…and selfies, but more on those in a minute…. Word of warning- the story is good but we played through the story in one sitting. If arcade games aren’t really your thing and you’re buying this for the story, I’d wait for this to drop in price, otherwise you’ll be done in a weekend. I think that’s what I loved the most about this game was Cassie and the many other female entries. They didn’t go with a prodigal son for Johnny and Sonja, they went with a kick ass daughter. Way to go Mortal Kombat for upping the female fighter ratio. That made my day…well…that and the ‘Selfie’ fatality c/o Cassie in the arcade setting…trust me, check it out here on youtube or Google it.
Also replayed DRAGON AGE 2 (this makes three or four times now- yes it’s my favourite of the three) while to sick to do anything else, and got a bit further in BORDERLANDS THE PRE-SEQUEL (playing couch co-op). It’s fun but there are definitely some play problems on the PS3- namely the split screen in couch co-op mode but there are some other play issues as well. This addition to the series was made in a different studio so that could attribute to the less than user friendly interface. Having said that, it’s a fun game, and one of the few story heavy RPG style shooters that support couch co-op, and the story and characters are consistent with what you expect from the Borderlands game. You can also play Claptrap…again, youtube is your friend. That’s it for this week! Make sure to let us know what you’re reading and/or what you’d like us to read and review!
Kristi Charish – AISFP Co-Host, Interviewer, and Producer Kristi is a scientist and science fiction/urban fantasy author who resides in Vancouver, Canada. The first instalment in her debut urban fantasy series, OWL AND THE JAPANESE CIRCUS (Simon & Schuster Canada/Pocket Books) was released Jan 2015. Her second series, KINCAID STRANGE (Random House Canada), comes out May 2016. She received her BSc and MSc from Simon Fraser University in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and her PhD in Zoology from the University of British Columbia. She is represented by Carolyn Forde at Westwood Creative Artists. You can follow Kristi on Twitter @kristicharish and FB. Subscribe to Adventures in SciFi Publishing podcast on: iTunes |Stitcher Radio (Android users) | RSS | Website RSS |
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