Catch up, again

On 07/03/2014 at 01:57 PM by rejo1479

I have been gone WAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY too long. I actually feel pretty bad about that, but work kept me away from gaming and most of life for a while. But I've been laid off, so now I have a bit of time to devote to writing and gaming and writing about gaming and maybe some gaming about writing (anyone know any writing games? Call of Duty: Elements of Style).

So what HAVE I done?

I finished the main campaign of Borderlands 2 and am now working on the DLC with a friend. I'll definitely write a way too late review of this game and why I'm excited for The Pre-Sequel.

I finished Infamous: Second Son, which also deserves a review, though not as late as Borderlands'.

I've read The Inhuman Condition by Clive Barker, who I binged on back in high school. Going back and reading this early short story collection was nice. He always manages to do some very interesting fantasy/horror mix in his work.

I also managed to finish From A Buick 8 by Stephen King. Like Barker, I read tons of King in high school, but let it aside afterwards. So most of his work from about 98 and after are unknown to me (aside from the Dark Tower novels, those were always to interesting to forget about). I DEVOURED this book. Some might complain that it felt like a bloated short story--and I can understand that--but I loved how while it had it's strange elements, they were not the focus of the narrative. It was a story about a group of older folk helping a kid come to terms with the loss of a father. It also was a brilliant little study on how some people would react to intrusions to reality that can't be explained.

I normally dislike film adaptations of King's work, but I feel that if done well, From A Buick 8 could be a solid little movie. It could fall in line with great King horror adaptations like 1408 and The Mist. (I said horror to differentiate it from Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption.)

I also read Searoad by Ursula K Le Guin. She's been one of my favorite authors for a very long time, despite my odd reluctance to read anything from her that I didn't find at my local second-hand bookstore. I've managed to find quite of few of her books though, so I feel comfortable saying she's a fave author.

She's known for working in the SF/fantasy genre, always with a focus of sociological issues, from gender equality to the impact of governments on it's citizens. However, Searoad is different. It's a short story collection set in a small Washington State town.

There was nothing fantastical about this book. It was just snippets of people's lives. Sometimes when something important was happening, sometimes not. All of them were beautiful. Seriously. I nearly cried while reading some of these. Then I got angry because she'll never get the recognition she deserves as a high-caliber writer due to her focus on genre fiction. I don't know if I should be happy or sad that Oprah never lauded Le Guin on her contemptible book club.

Phew! So how y'all doing?

Super Step Contributing Writer

07/03/2014 at 02:16 PM

I'm ok. Why were you laid off? And I need to read more books.

rejo1479

07/03/2014 at 05:52 PM

I worked at a call center and my quality was pretty low. Of course, the requested changes thet were making of us were coming pretty much every week for about 3 months and sometimes contradictory. Being me, I just called BS on it all and helped the callers the way I thought they should be. Not following the script was frowned on and sooooo...yeah. Lol

Reading is a slippery slope, so be careful if you start up!

KnightDriver

07/03/2014 at 04:17 PM

Scibblenauts is as close to a writing game as i can think of. Mavis Beacon's Typing Tutor is practically a game. I think they modeled the whole program to be like a game. Typing of the Dead also, but neither of these games has you writing anything really. Only Scribblenauts has you actually coming up with words to use in the game. Bravo to those guys.

I live near where Ursula Le Guin went to college. Bryn Mawr College. My Mom got her PHD in biochem there too. I've read her Earthsea trilogy and some short stories. One in particular reversed gender roles in a story about men having to go through some emasculation process. It kinda infuriated me, but I guess that's to be expected. Way to turn the tables Ursula. Bravo!

07/03/2014 at 05:55 PM

I've heard of Scribblenauts. I'll check it out!

Yeah, that what she does! lol

BrokenH

07/03/2014 at 05:56 PM

Clive is responible for a big majority of my favorite horror films. Everything from Hell-raiser to night-breed! Lord of illusions and Candy-man were gems as well.

07/04/2014 at 11:41 AM

His movies are always great fun. It's too bad most had a pretty low budget. I've wanted to see Midnight Meat Train, but haven't had a chance to. Have you seen it?

07/05/2014 at 09:08 PM

Incidentally I have not seen midnight meat train either. The title makes me wonder if it's a Clive Barker zombie flick that takes place on a train.

"There are too many zombies on this mother f%ckin train!" ~Samuel L Jackson

Matt Snee Staff Writer

07/03/2014 at 07:29 PM

I've read some Clive, and have read a lot of King. Love them both. HAve you ever read "Left Hand of Darkness" by Leguinn? That's a weird book.

07/04/2014 at 11:43 AM

That's actually the first book I ever read of hers! It is weird, but I loved it. I went out and got The Lathe of Heaven as soon as I finished it.

07/04/2014 at 03:31 PM

i haven't read Lathe of Heaven but I'd like to. She's a great author. HAve you ever read James Tiptree? He is actually a she, a woman writing under a man's name who is a GREAT sci fi writer. Look her/him up if you get the chance.

07/05/2014 at 07:57 PM

I've only read The Girl Who Was Plugged In and Brightness Falls From the Air. I've never been able to find collections of her short stories, sadly.

mothman

07/04/2014 at 11:29 AM

Big fan of both Barker and King. My first Barker novel was Cabal.

I'm currently reading SK's Under The Dome which so far as very little to do with the TV series other than the names of the characters and the titular dome. Still it's probably closer to the novel than Haven is to The Colorado Kid.

07/04/2014 at 11:50 AM

My first Barker was Imajica. All the stuff he put in it were pretty astounding to read as a kid in high school.

I haven't read Under the Dome, but the CVS where I pick up my meds has the two paperbacks. I've been tempted to pick them up everytime I get my refills.

PixlBit

Catch up, again

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