#destruction review

[ladyloveandjustice]

Summer 2024 Anime Overview: DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION

A giant mothership is hovering over Tokyo. The aliens haven’t done anything or even made themselves known yet, but Japan and America are already trying to blow that UFO up, and show off who has the best weapons, causing many civilian casualties along the way. While all this happens, two girls are just casually living their lives. But are they as normal as they appear?

One thing I want to say is if you watch this anime and care about being intensely spoiled, do not watch "episode 0" until you've finished episode 16. It actually slots chronologically between episode 16 and 17, and that's where the episode took place in the manga, so I have no idea why they did that. Fortunately I had someone to warn me about that, so I will be that someone for you.

Dead Dead Demons DeDeDeDe Destruction or De x 8 as I will be calling it, can be really tough show to watch—not because it’s bad, it’s very good, but because of how depressing and visceral it is at times, and how devastatingly accurate it is to the shitshow of our world. This tends to be balanced a bit by the touching friendships (and possibly? More?) of the very likeable cast of teenagers…but you also feel a huge sense of dread about their safety as things ramp up and their stories deepen.

The anime goes hard on criticizing the military industrial complex, Japan’s government, America’s government, xenophobia, treatment of immigrants, rich people, and conspiracy theorists. All things I also hate, so that’s great. What hurts is how you could easily see the events happening—waging war on the aliens despite no provocation, people using an app to to hunt down and slaughter them...

It shows how even some of the protestors of the genocide use their movement to cover their own selfish motivations, meanwhile countries taking the situation as an opportunity to vie for power and dominance, rich government officials lie to their people and abandon them…obviously there's a lot of commentary here on how we dehumanize immigrants and minorities and enable genocides for capitalism and political power.

It's very bleak, and there were a lot of episode that had me just feeling sad, especially comparing it to current events. But there's also this interesting focus on normal people trying to live their lives during this alien "invasion", and the kids who still go through the dramas and upsets of everyday life. And especially the “I’d burn down the world for you” intense emotional relationship between Kadode and Ouran, the two teen girl leads.

Ouran is the main lead, and she’s a chuuni beyond chuuni, acting wacky and cheerful and spouting nonsense-- except if you pay attention, she's saying some pretty valid things—critiques of capitalism, war, government surveillance—but then following it up with something wild like “and that’s why I should rule the world”. You get the sense she’s cloaking an awareness of how shit the world is in humor, and as the show goes on and as her surprisingly intense and weird backstory unfolds, it becomes clear why that is.

The relationship between Ouran and Kadode is the center of everything--their bond IS the show. It's that kind of ride-or-die, I'd-kill-for-you, I'll-be-by-your-side-even-if-the-whole-world-is-against-you, in-every-life-i'd-find-you-and-love-you, soul-bonded, fiery devotion and love. They are the most important person in each other's lives, full stop. It's those kind of relationships that are so transcendent it goes beyond simple definitions of romantic and platonic. In other words, my kind of shit exactly.

But, as far as romance goes, Ouran, at least, is definitely queer and the depths of her determination to keep Kadode safe in a world that wants to destroy her girl that would make Homura Madoka Magica blush. (Kadode is more ambiguous, but she’s definitely soul bonded with Ouran. And honestly should just date Ouran because god she needs to be rescued).

There’s also a gentle empathy for marginalized people underneath all the horror—the girls befriend an alien trying to survive in the guise of a human, and it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that the first person our alien tells absolutely everything to is the gnc/potentially trans person of the group, Makoto (To be specific, they seem to still be figuring out their identity, but they definitely present feminine and specifically came to Tokyo because their small town wouldn’t be okay with how they like to dress). The way Makoto immediately shields their alien friend from others when they make the reveal that they saying “Don’t let them see, it’s not safe” and how it’s followed up by the alien reassuring Makoto that their friends will be okay with it if they take their wig off to swim...it makes the metaphor extremely clear, and it’s always nice when a series can explore marginalized characters both textually and metaphorically.

Through the kids, we get kernels of hope in this story, a reassurance there are kinder people in this world, and a hope that kindness will endure.

As depressing as the story can be, what it has to say is important and it doesn’t hold back in making you see what it’s going for—from the “Cool Japan” logo flashing right before the  Japanese government gives a weapons demonstration that will later kill citizens and destroy innocents...

...to the Trump-alike American President (and let me tell you it’s startling to be watching a show in Japanese and suddenly Donald Trump impression in perfect English) *(had to use the manga here because Crunchyroll didn't close-caption this part :/)

Then there's the American tourists, who were clearly va’d by someone really good at English, potentially a native speaker, and it’s incredibly funny how much of their dialogue has “fuck” in it and seeing the subtitles skip over that. Also much of their dialogue is treating the devastated Japan as a tourist attraction and saying how funny it all is to them. Logan Paul has entered the chat.

De x 8 very clearly hates America and recognizes it as a blood thirsty colonial power, which is correct, but the show is just as hard on it’s own country, saying the Japanese government would happily get back on the colonizing horse if they had an excuse, and many citizwns would mindlessly support them.

A small thing I appreciate is far from the usual anime aesthetic where everyone is blandly cute, the anime gives a ton of people ridiculously cartoony features that make everyone distinct—and being goofy looking is not meant to indicate a character is stupid or ugly—Makoto’s a super sympathetic character with giant cartoon buck teeth and one character that’s even pointed out as pretty has like, a pig snout nose. (It also makes it so the character noted as being drop dead gorgeous...actually is, instead of coming off as just as conventionally attractive as the rest)

Soooo a lot of good stuff going into this story. Let’s talk about some caveats.

There’s a continuing storyline between Kadode and her adult teacher, who takes her to his place to have sex with her. When he does, she ends up ditching him because of her feels for Ouran (gay) and I thought that would be the end of it, but nooope he’s a groomer, they pick up dating again when she’s in college, literally months after the previous encounter. The dude is presented as a scumbag, he cheats on his girlfriend, he seems generally apathetic, his clear discomfort with Kadode calling him “sensei” shows that he knows what he’s doing is wrong …and ultimately the relationship is shown to be unfulfilling, with Kadode directly stating so and acknowledging he’s just advantage. That doesn’t stop it from being uncomfortable though, especially since it’s confirmed he and Kadode have sex eventually (offscreen, thank god) and honestly, I felt it dragged on way too long. The first encounter pretty much demonstrated everything we needed to know about the whole thing in my view.

And of course there’s a ton of potentially triggering content in a story like this—from genocide to suicide to child murder to almost anything you can think of. Also like, one character has a sister complex, but on the milder side for anime. One where it’s conceivably platonic, and it’s not like he goes after her boyfriend Yuri Forger style, so it doesn’t bother me too much. There's also a good dose of fatphobia. And finally moment where a woman reveals she has ADHD (which I've never actually heard anyone say in anime so I actually got a little excited the more fool me) and then is almost immediately shown to be faking it.

The ending…is another big sticking point for me. It feels disconnected from the rest of the series, mainly focusing on a character we barely know and likely don’t care about and spending very little time with the characters we do, presenting an interesting status quo and immediately abandoning it, and while earlier episodes of the series presented "actions have consequences and we gotta live with them" as a major theme, it was suddenly like, actually they don’t!

The ultimate ending, again, hinges on a decision from a character we don’t care about and honestly feels like a deus ex machina. It felt almost like the author really wanted a happier ending but knew that wasn’t in line with the story he’s told so far, so he just tacked it on. Or maybe it was an editorial mandate, who knows. I think the most satisfying way to see watch episode 1-16 as its own pretty satisfying complete story (which works really well), and then treat episodes 0 and 17 as their own separate thing, a potential additional ending but not the definitive one. At least that’s what I did.

Overall, De x 8 is a show with a lot to say and it gives you plenty to chew on. While it is often depressing, it is very rewarding. The unbreakable bond between two messy girls, as well as the moments of ordinary joy and small human/alien journeys are the core of the show, and what makes it shine. I definitely encourage you to give it a watch. It's being really slept on, and it shouldn't be.

[yourleftpinkytoe-blog]

That’s a review on the ravin king and idk I find the line about “no connection no sex no joy” really fucking funny…. Cause like no shit. It’s an important book to the series but bro it is the bridge between book one and book three. Sad shits gonna happen and NOT EVERY BOOK WITH AN UNDERLYING ROMANCE NEEDS SEX ALL THE GOD DAMN TIME!!! It’s sad cause it’s exploring sad topics. What dose this person want unending fluff? That’s boring lol

[hardcore-gaming-101]

Worms Clan Wars / Worms Battlegrounds

Worms Clan Wars could perhaps be compared to Worms World Party – a small update from the previous game featuring a bigger focus on multiplayer. While its additions are, to its credit, far more substantial than World Party, Clan Wars is best seen as a refinement on the previous game and its bounty of new ideas. That said, there’s been more than enough improvements made that it wouldn’t be a mistake to pick it up even if you have Revolution in your library. So long as you find a deep discount for it, at least.

Read more...

[ali3nboyfriend]

the amount of times i go to look at dog training equipment or toys and see dozens of negative reviews that are like “NOT durable left it alone with my 110lb german shepherd lab mix and he TORE IT UP in MINUTES 😡😤🤬😡😡😡” and it’s like girl if you know your enormous high energy dog you don’t spend enough time with is prone to destructive tendencies why the fuck did you leave the equipment alone with him……….

[californiannostalgia]

bnha does something so real, it's like "the pain was real and this rage will be known," while also going like "that is true, and because that is true, you need to stop directing your violence to the task of hatred and murder"

honestly breaking the cycle is the most thankless, effective thing a trauma survivor can do

[gofancyninjaworld]

OPM Webcomic Chapter 145 Review

Another Sunday, another review. At this rate, I may just about catch up on my OPM reviews by September! Anyway, it's been a while, so the summary is going to be a bit detailed.

Summary

Cast your mind back a little bit (if you're a lucky lately-come reader reading the story in one session) or a lot bit (if you've been following it chapter-by-chapter). Back then, the three Machine Gods sent to assassinate Dr Kuseno told Genos that the Plan would be happening at the breaking of dawn. Why do I bring your attention to this? Because as this chapter shows, not long has passed since.

We open to a page on which the headquarters of the Hero Association and the Neo Heroes are juxtaposed. While the Hero Association has no idea of what is happening in all the cities under attack owing to the communications going down -- and something else has come to their attentions that looks even more dire -- over at Neo Hero HQ, all is in hand. The first attack has been 'allowed', the Neo Hero teams have been deployed, and it's just a matter of time before the source of the robots is found.

McCoy is shaking with horror. He's all for stunts, but faced with such widespread catastrophe, can't the pro-heroes be given battle suits so they too can fight effectively, instead of being targets?

The answer he receives is even more chilling, as the team overseeing efforts shuts him down in no uncertain terms, asking him to focus and not feel nostalgia for the HA. They also refuse to deploy the S-Class heroes in the Neo Heroes, with Metal Bat still in custody, Super Alloy Darkshine clueless, and Child Emperor deemed too hard to control.

Speaking of Child Emperor, shall we check in on our boy hero? We find him giving a resume of what's happened to date. He's reprising his role in the MA arc, only with a key difference: his chilling notes on what is happening are addressed to himself as an aide to his understanding. He no longer looks to Bofoi, nor indeed to any adult, for help. From him, we understand that the attack started at 05:41 and that the robots would systematically eliminate any sources of local resistance before moving to destroy the cities they were deployed to. He continues his narration as he finally manages to gain access to the data table of one of the captured robots and care it to the database of industrial robots he'd built earlier.

Then he goes white as he bites through his lollipop in horror. Almost at the same time, one of the Neo Hero functionaries comes to summon him, which seems to engender further horror. However, when he swivels around to face the visitor, he is the picture of calm. He shoulders his backpack, sans body armour and declares himself ready to act.

Elsewhere, Suiryu's team is making short work of the robots. Suiryu pays scant attention to them as he thinks of his sister with concern. It looks like he may be paying the Hero Association another visit. This time to tell the heroes there not to come.

Speaking of the Hero Association, we see that Suiko is indeed living up to her brother's prediction and oversleeping. She barely stirs when her 7 am alarm goes off and is only roused by the All Hands emergency summons. She gets ready and dashes to where the rest of the heroes are gathered. She asks where to deploy, only to learn that things are well beyond deploying. With only about 40 heroes on site, none of them Class S, they're all that's left to hold out against the r4 million-- and counting -- robots battering at the gates. Metal Knight's defence robots do their best, but it's not long before they're brought down. The mood is bleak indeed.

In the midst of the gloom, Forte walks off. To feed the dog. He pours the usual ration of food for Rover and Black Sperm and bids them eat slowly. He hopes that Saitama will somehow link up with Blue and come through.

As he eats, Black Sperm reflects on what's going on. He can afford to be analytical: as little monsters, he and Rover are very likely to survive. This is a deliberate push to eliminate the poorly-performing heroes and leave only a predictable group. A group Black Sperm doesn't fear. With Saitama away, the Hero Association is finally out of luck, brought down by an enemy who has prepared very carefully. Works for him.

Speaking of devastation, Blue is coming to a realisation similar to that of Webigaza's last chapter: that 'winning' is hollow indeed in the face of the destruction wrought by the robots. Despite having expended a lot of energy, he calls HQ, asking them to hurry up and locate the source of the robots. He can't save people, restore lives, or repair livelihoods. But he can at least fight.

And finally, speaking of sources of evil, we close the chapter with Genos having arrived at the first of the installations that Bofoi has. As he walks forward, alarms go off an an armed defence boots up. The chapter ends with Genos walking into the howling dark.

Meta: True Enemies

Nothing is as scary as a human being

I'm going to ask you to look at the expressions on McCoy's and Child Emperor's faces. McCoy is looking at the executives of the Neo Heroes as if he's truly seeing them for the first time, while Child Emperor is frozen as if the person who has appeared behind him is an enemy. They've just put it together -- the true enemy is paying their wages.

Not all cyborgs advertise their non-human side. I may not be a betting person, but the entirety of Neo Hero brass is almost certainly cyborgs. There's a reason Erimin and Destro had to take out Koko stat before he rumbled them. Nothing can be allowed to get in the way of The Plan.

That said, it's not the mechanical side of cyborgs that came up with The Plan. It's the greedy, cruel, and entirely human side that came up with an ambition to control the world and worked out how to make it happen. Their being cyborgs is an identity that separates them from the rest of humanity, affording them a vantage point from which they look down on people, and also, as we've learned, you cannot become a cyborg without an extraordinary amount of willpower and self-discipline. This is a plan not only dreamed up by cruel, greedy people (who are common) but by people possessed of extraordinary self-discipline and determination... and money. It's not cheap to be a cyborg. What a terrible combination that is!

Remember way back when Genos was talking about a rampaging cyborg and how hard it had proved to find in the four years since? It starts to make perfect sense now.

Measure Twice, Destroy Once

In earlier chapters, I had thought that the goal of today's attack was to discredit the Hero Association once and for all and establish the Neo Heroes as the true heroes. I thought way too small. Never mind discredit the Hero Association: The Organization is out to erase them completely. Just as they sent 10 powerful robots, at least three of them highly intelligent dragon-level threats, to ensure that one little scientist got killed without fail, they're sending millions of robots to ensure that the HA is made a bad memory.  It's clear that Bofoi isn't responsible for this: with the HA slated for elimination, the best thing for him to do as a collaborator would have been to stand down his robots and open the gates wide. It's not like there are going to be any witnesses to care about whether or not Bofoi betrayed them.

At some point, the attack will end, and at that point, only the Neo Heroes will be left to provide security. Society will be broken, and survivors will have to be grateful for whatever protection they can get.

Bofoi is probably the only source of widespread opposition they could face (where is his robot army?) but it looks like they've got a plan for that too. Unless Metal Knight is a very good talker and Genos is in a listening mood, a gross miscarriage of justice looks set to occur.

There is, of course, a wild card The Organization has kept missing, Saitama. But where is he? What is he doing? And will it be enough to make a difference to people? Who can tell? ONE, where is the next instalment?!

[exhausted-review]

Doctor Who- Project Parameters and getting up to speed.

I'm gonna review all of Doctor Who, one story at a time.

It's gonna take a while.

What follows are the guidelines I'm using for this project, brief reviews for the stories I've watched thus far, and a ranking of the stories as I like them so far.

Hello again. My plan is to watch every story of doctor who that is complete. This does mean I'm going to be missing quite a bit of Doctor Who's first six seasons. The service I'm using does contain some of the animated reconstructions of currently missing episodes, for which I shall watch them, however I do not intend to listen to the audio for all such episodes. Also I'll be keeping primarily to mainline Doctor Who. I'll make detours for things like special episodes and the film from the 1990's, but primarily I'm just watching through it with the question of "What makes a Doctor Who story effective?". Finding out which ones I prefer goes a long way to doing this. If you notice that I skip a number in between stories, it's because there was an incomplete serial in there 1. An Unearthly Child

This particular Story I find interesting. The primitive power struggle storyline does very little to interest me, and the character dynamics between our four protagonists are still early on at this stage. This story is likely going to avoid the absolute dregs of unwatchability on my ranking off the grounds of its first episode, which promises much more than it delivers. Susan's weirdness and technical competency is more or less immediately undermined by her actual role in these storylines, but in its' first episode she remains an enigma, and I really like that for her. I like Barbara and Ian a lot as companions, but it's the Doctor acting in a much more sinister role that really drives this first part of the story forward. He's not just remarkably cold and at times openly hostile to Ian and Barbara, this incarnation is also prone to physical violence in a mode altogether alien for fans of the newer series. I love this. Knowing that you get to see the doctor change from a malevolent figure to a warm and at times heroic presence is really nice, but for this episode he's just a cantankerous old wizard and I love that for him. Rest of the serial is not special. 2. The Daleks

Knocked it right out of the park in 1963 with the second ever episode. The characters of our main cast are still forming, and their dynamic is not yet clear- The Doctor is much more foolish and cruel than he will be, and the companions are captive and mistrusting. But the Daleks haven't changed all that much. Genocidal, violent, and conniving, Doctor Who kicks it off with the introduction of its most infamous villains, and the resulting war story is terrifying and effective. For my liking, it's a bit too long. The section between them convincing the Thals to fight back and the episode's dramatic climax where they fight the daleks as they count down to launching atomic weapons takes a little too long to get where it's going, but the climax itself is quite good. I'm a big fan of this episode.

3. The Edge of Destruction

This is the episode that I think makes Doctor Who into a recognizable shape. The confusion and open hostility of this episode makes for tense and dramatic television, and the Doctor's active malice is countered with suspicion and fine arguments. This is the episode where the doctor stops being actively hostile and starts the long road towards being a warm and friendly figure. And it takes a lot of darkness to get there. The famous scene in which Susan threatens to stab Ian with scissors is a great bit of dramatic tension from a pretty good bottle episode.

5. The Keys of Marinus

This episode is almost good. It reminds me of early star trek in a very good way- the set up of the computer that arbitrates all legal and moral disputes is a great set-up, and at first I had hoped that all the locations they teleport to in search of the five keys of marinus would deliver questions about such a device at each turn. But unfortunately only half of them are really concerned with those themes, and the entire episode ends up leaving a lot to be desired. The Doctor being actively concerned for his human companions and defending Ian in an alien court is a great story beat, but I wish this was fleshed out more. Measure of a Man this is not.

6. The Aztecs

This episode has some of the best dramatic writing in the series to this point and the conflict between Barbara wanting to save the Aztecs from destruction at the hands of the Spanish and the Doctor understanding the necessity of maintaining the timeline is legitimately well written and acted out. Unfortunately, the entire episode kind of falls apart if you don't agree with the historical argument at the center of this episode- that the Aztecs were killed by the Spanish primarily because of the barbarity of the practice of human sacrifice. I happen to think this is an insane historical argument, and that damages it a lot for me. This episode does some right but, ultimately, sometimes shit just sucks and this sucks.

7. The Sensorites

This storyline is regularly more inoffensive than it is bad or good. The story of the more xenophobic sensorites trying to sabotage the good intentions of the Doctor and company is a strong set-up, and I like it all the more because their reasons for mistrusting humans are sound. The actual story is fairly straight-forward and at times a bit dull. I also don't really care for all the psychic power stuff- the worst of which is one of the human crewmen being able to tell whether a person is good or evil by looking at them and constantly saying so. Ultimately, it's a pretty fun space adventure with only a little working against it.

9. Planet of Giants

This serial is short and sweet, and that does a lot for it. A storyline that doesn't have much behind it but only lasts an hour can be much more fun and enjoyable than a story like Keys of Marinus, which stretches out its story to two and a half. Ultimately, I feel like more could happen in this time and in this scenario, but I like this story and find it more inoffensive than anything else. I do really enjoy how much more friendly the dynamic between the Doctor and the teachers is at this point, and I've come to really appreciate Ian and Barbara's presence.

So there's where we stand now. I'm about halfway through the tenth serial: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, and I intend to post my thoughts sometime tomorrow, as well as for the serial following. Currently though: I'm really enjoying this foray into really classic Doctor Who. Lot to love at this stage, and yet I would still say that the only truly good story to this point is The Daleks. Excited to see more to come.

[insidemeerasmind]

Silent Cries: The Veiled Struggles of The Virgin Suicides

"The Virgin Suicides," directed by Sofia Coppola, opens with a tragic scene where thirteen-year-old Cecilia Lisbon attempts suicide. This moment sets the tone for the film, highlighting serious mental health issues and the challenges of growing up in a strict home.

The story follows her sisters, especially Lux, who rebels against their oppressive environment after Cecilia’s death. Their strict, religious parents isolate them, worsening their mental health. Lux’s struggle with depression shows how these pressures can lead to negative behaviors.

Cecilia's actions reflect common teenage feelings of hopelessness and isolation. Withdrawing the girls from school and keeping them under constant watch makes them feel trapped, demonstrating a lack of control in their lives.

The film is narrated by local boys who become obsessed with the sisters after they die, showing how society often romanticizes girls' struggles without understanding them. This perspective raises questions about whose stories are told, as the girls are largely voiceless.

Coppola’s visual choices, like soft colors and lingering shots, communicate the girls' emotions effectively. For instance, when Lux feels rejected, blue tones emphasize her sadness, connecting viewers to her inner turmoil.

In summary, "The Virgin Suicides" powerfully explores mental health, especially among young women. It stresses the importance of listening to those in pain and recognizing their struggles. Ultimately, the film serves as a reminder of how society often neglects the voices of vulnerable individuals, making it a meaningful story about adolescence and mental health.

[videomessiah]

Hit Parader #255, December 1985 - Import Albums

[ladyloveandjustice]

There are so many moments in Dead Dead Demon's Destruction that are just so pointed and devastating but this one really hits man. I'm kind of wondering if it was written after the Logan Paul thing happened, though of course it's probably referencing a lot of things related to a general American attitude that is, uh, timeless.

[canary-song]

Ah yes, the question I always return to: Should I re-attempt to slog through the Noir Daredevil run or call it quits and do non-90214 research of Daredevil to make up my own version

[techdriveplay]

How WhistlinDiesel Revolutionized Car Reviews

With automotive content, traditional car reviews have long followed a familiar formula: polished shots of vehicles, technical specifications, and reserved commentary on performance. However, with the rise of platforms like YouTube and social media, this formula has been challenged. One creator who stands out in this shift is WhistlinDiesel. Known for his unconventional and often extreme approach,…

[mariocki]

Betty (1992)

"You know, I wanted to ask Thérèse when I saw her in the cellar. I wanted to say: 'Show me your wound.' I wanted to have a wound, too. I've always been chasing that wound. I must be looking for pity. I'm not a victim. I'm not to be pitied. No one ever hurt me. I'm the one who did the hurting. I'm a fool. Say it! I blew it all. I've soiled everything, myself included."

[hardcore-gaming-101]

Worms W.M.D

Since the release of Clan Wars, fortunes had changed for Team 17. The company had managed to move away from total reliance on Worms games to keep themselves afloat, and had reworked themselves into a respectable publisher of independent games. Despite this, an institution of gaming like Worms wasn’t going to disappear that quickly. Eventually, given the near total flop that was Worms Rumble. But before seemingly perishing onto the strange and volatile battlefield that is ‘games as a service’, the series had one more entry.

Read more...

[noahsbookhoard]

📚August 2024 Book Review (Part 1/4)📚

I had soooo much free time in August! Heatwaves meant every outdoor activities were out of the question. There was nothing to do at work outside of my 2 4-hours shift either. I ended up reading a good 8 to 12 hours a day, hence the 16 books of this months review!

La Forteresse du Chaudron Noir (Les Aventures du Pyro-barbare et de Billy #1) by Bob Lennon

Billy is a young farmer in a village decimated by disease. After his mother dies he sets out to the city unaware that an ancient evil was on the rise. Now accompanied by a goliath, Billy will have to use his wits and strength to defeat the terrible power hidden within the fortress. YOU are Billy!

When I was a kid I LOVED Choose Your Own Adventure books! They were fun, novelty, and always had a ton of different characters and places to interact with. I liked the "game" aspect of them as much as the "book" aspect. But after some time you explored every available path and getting the "good" ending was more muscle memory than puzzle solving, the replay value of kid CYOA was generally low.

Now enter Bob Lennon! Most of you won't know him but he is one of the biggest french video game youtuber. He's been on the platform since 2011 and has still the same workaholic energy. He created his own character inspired by Skyrim who is a Fire Barbarian named Le Pyrobarbare and his sidekick Billy. He is also a TTRPG fan.

That was a very long introduction to say that he created his own CYOA book series that are inspired by those characters and have a big TTRPG dynamic to them and THEY. ARE. INCREDIBLE.

It all start with a character creation system: you will always play Billy the farmer but you can choose between a collection of objects and whichever you chose decide which type of Billy you are: warlike, rustic, resourceful or cautious. And all of this influences which decisions you can or can't make. And there are A LOT of decision, we're talking about a 400 pages book. That might not be that many but I have never seen a CYOA above 150 pages.

The combat system is fairly easy to use, while being more interesting than "roll two dice the lowest roll loose". It pairs well with different stats of your Billy, which change depending on the class, the equipment, the event that happened in your adventure.

There is an achievement system on the last two pages of the book that also includes the ending so I counted them: there is a DOZEN ending. I discovered there was a dragon I could have fought to get the Warlike Gold Ending and I missed it! I was so mad!

I could keep of gushing about this book (I didn't talk about the characters, about the city and the castle the story takes place in, ir even the Pyrobarbare who is the funniest) but it was really a lot of fun and I hesitate between starting a new run with a different class of Billy or buy the SECOND book if the series (the 3rd one is being crowdfunded and I can't wait!)

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul

Hollywood icon Kitty Karr died, leaving her fortune to the three St John sister, young wealthy Black women. While dealing with Kitty's affairs (and keeping away from journalists) they find a dairy which uncovers secrets in the background of the South and Hollywood during the Segregation.

I would probably never have picked up this book if it wasn't a draw from the book club pile. I like historical fiction but Hollywood and the stars is not something I have any interest in. I went a bit blindly into it, scared that if I research it I'd create bad expectations.

I was surprise: it isn't the drama filled story I was dreading! This is a dive into the segregated USA and in a community I had never really read about: white passing POC. Even when Kitty starts to work in the film industry (as a phone operator at first then climbing the ladder to become a famous actress) the focus is always on social issues, racism, the careful balance of being a black woman in white spaces, the fight for civil rights and the work these woman did for this cause. Atop of all this there is the thread of family legacy and secrets and what ties Kitty and the St Johns together.

It is a very interesting book, nuanced and deep. I don't know how much of it is was researched but it felt fairly accurate from perspective.

The Oleander Sword (The Burning Kingdom #2) by Tasha Suri

Malini and Priya parted ways: the Princess is marching to the capital city, gathering allies to otherthrow her brother; the Priestess is working with her siblings to rebuilt the Temple and restore her city. But when Malini's fight encounter divine resistance she will once again draw from Priya's magic to get her end, with their fragile relationship, and Priya's own goals in the way.

I adored book 1, The Jasmine Throne and I was so excited to read the rest of the story! I loved having my favorite characters back, I loved the politic developing after the events of the previous tome and as usual I loved the angst, the complicated relationship between Malini and Priya, the mysterious happening in Ahiranya,Malini's change as her goal draws closer...

The writing is still gold, perfectly highlighting the feelings and doubts of the characters. I love having so much insight in the characters mind. The switch between multiples point of view is really well handles.

Unfortunately it suffers from Middle Book Syndrome: very little new element introduced and very little resolution of previous elements. That's to be expected, but when the third and final book is not yet available it is really frustrating.

I am still hyped for the last book, The Lotus Empire, it should be releases in November but the TBR is so high, I'm afraid I'll have to keep it for next year

Path of Destruction (Darth Bane Trilogy #1) by Drew Karpyshyn

A thousand year before the events of the first Trilogy, Des is a disillusioned miner in the Outer Rim. He joins the Sith to escape his misery and discover his connection to the Force. Through the training of the Sith Masters he develops his talent and as his power grows so does his ambition. He is now Darth Bane and he will be more powerful than them all!

I had been disappointed by novelisation of series before so I approached this one with caution, even though I heard everywhere that it was one of the best Star Wars novel (if you disagree don't blame me, blame Reddit)

That's a recurring event: I was dead wrong, this book floored me. The writing is good, the plot is even better, characters are incredible and I never thought I would be cheering so hard for a Sith!

I was a bit scared having no previous knowledge of this period of the Star Wars universe would make it impossible to understand the book. Maybe I misses some references but it never was obscur. The Star Wars lingo is also always explicited with context clues. That's really agreable because that's not always a given when you dive into work on the further edge of canon.

The characters are almost exclusively Sith (and some usual brand of assholes) but they are still relatable, even though they are cunning, vicious, calculating. Bane especially has some redeeming circonstances that made him endearing even though he joined the dark side and dives deep into its ways.

A really really good surprise and a really really good book. I'd really like to read the rest of this trilogy, it sparked back my interest for Star Wars when the recenr series and just bored me to death.

[ungoliantschilde]

“Now That We’re Dead”, live in Switzerland 2019.