I fancy myself a writer, sure. I've always wanted an old-fashioned mechanical typewriter to work on, despite the wild impracticality of it. I need to save my documents to the cloud, I need to be able to use my phone to check on my various projects and to be able to export to different file formats. And I'd really rather not have to go through reams of paper and retyping them onto my computer as I go.
And because of that, the Hemingwrite (really guys? Ugh) looks like a dream to me. Sure, I'd look like the most hipster of hipster, but if this actually lives up to the promise of writing-paradise that it looks like, then who am I to pretend to be something that I'm not?
I suppose now, we wait.
Being a history buff, writing a series set immediately after World War I, and a sucker for story-driven games with an interesting premise, this game is right up my alley.
I've talked about Evan Currie's Odyssey One series on this blog before, and about how it's a rather straightforward space opera with a hard military sci-fi focus that makes it a lot of fun. You get these human ships, fresh from World War III, encountering aliens for the first time and discovering that we're intergalactic badasses. Kind of Man-Khzin stuff here, nothing fancy.
And that worked to make the first two books a good time. Something changed with this book, though, that really elevated the quality. I'm not sure if Currie's style is simply improving as the series goes on (though there are still definite issues here, such as how much he enjoys to rehash the same metaphors over and over), or if the story is taking it to a more interesting place. Probably both.
I'm not going to go on at length about the pros and cons of the book. If you liked the first two entries in the series, I absolutely recommend sticking with it and picking up Homeworld . If you like military sci-fi, absolutely recommend picking this up as well. Hell, if you like Star Trek style sci-fi and like the idea of it blended with the rebooted Battlestar Galactica, then this is absolutely your cup of tea.
After finishing this one up, I really cannot wait for the next volume; Currie's really set the stage for an exciting fourth book in the series.
Rating: 8/10
Since I first read Sanderson's Mistborn series, I've been a fan. Mistborn took a common fantasy trope, that of the Chosen Hero of the Ages, and inverted it, which made for a pretty fun and interesting read.
In Sanderson's latest novel, Steelheart, Sanderson once again finds a common trope and inverts it, this time that of the advent of superpowered humans who, in Sanderson's version, are corrupted by their superpowers and become tyrants that rule over humanity. Called "Epics," these beings are sociopaths of the highest order, considering unpowered humans to be insects that they were born to rule.
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The house is unfamiliar to you, strange and mysterious in its grandeur. Lightning flickers in the windows, the panes shaken by the accompanying thunder, briefly drowning out the constant patter of rain drops on the glass. You approach the door, and on it is a note from your little sister, Sam, warning you from exploring the house too thoroughly. She's gone, and she doesn't want to be found. Thus does Gone Home, a new game by the Fullbright Company begin.
You play as Katie Greenbriar, who is just arriving at her family's new home after traveling in Europe for a year. The year is 1995, and a lot has happened since you left. In search of answers, you ignore Sam's pleas explore the dark hallways of this old, and worn mansion. Clues are presented by examining objects that are scattered about the house: a crumpled note in a waste basket or an audio cassette in a sock drawer begin to unfold what happened in your absence.
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