Review: Octopath Traveler on Nintendo Switch

Octopath Traveler is an old-timey turn-based RPG for the Nintendo Switch. You start as 1 of 8 characters, and travel around the map, optionally collecting the other 7 characters, and completing the disparate stories of the party members. I enjoy this type of game, so I had fun with it. The fighting system reminds me a bit of Bravely Default, where you can save up turns to unleash a powerful attack later on. The lovely picture below is somewhat misleading, as the game is entirely pixel art and you only see those images on the character status page.

I enjoyed the game as I liked most of the stories, and the boss fights were pretty good. The biggest weakness is the lack of connection between the characters.

‘The Secret Commonwealth’ by Philip Pullman

‘His Dark Materials’ was one of my favourite series as a child. When I heard a new series was coming out, I reread it all over again. The original series was as enchanting, sorrowful and satisfying as I remembered. The new series is enjoyable, but I find it lacks some of the mystery of the original. I enjoyed ‘La Belle Sauvage’ and ‘The Secret Commonwealth’, but they also feel unnecessary.

‘The Future For Curious People’ by Gregory Sherl

‘The Future For Curious People’ is an amusing romance novel based on the premise that people can now view their romantic future. The story follows two people, Evelyn Shriner and Godfrey Burkes. Evelyn views the future with her boyfriend, decides it involves too many arguments about cheese and singing to dogs, and breaks up with him. Godfrey tries very hard to get engaged to his girlfriend, however she’s not super impressed with their future either.

The story has a predictable ending (particularly if you read the blurb…), but I very much enjoyed the journey.

The story switches back and forth between Evelyn and Godfrey. Godfrey is a vague, mildly unhappy man, and is a little bit afraid of his girlfriend. His girlfriend had a ‘very affirmed childhood’. Evelyn has a tendency to try and borrow other people’s families. She often tells her friend Dot’s mother that ‘Dot is like a sister’, in the hopes that Dot’s mother will say ‘you’re like a daughter to me.’

It’s a short, snappy book. Amusing throughout, even when you know where it’s going. The novel also felt vaguely familiar (is it a movie? Is Evelyn Shriner a common name?). I enjoyed the journey more than I enjoyed the ending (not that the ending was bad, just predictable and less fun than what came before). Recommended for anyone with a high tolerance for aimless, quirky 20-somethings and a few hours to spare.

 

 

‘City of Saints and Madmen’ by Jeff Vandermeer

‘City of Saints and Madmen’ is one of the oddest books I’ve read. It’s a series of short stories set in the city of Ambergris, a city of ‘functional anarchy’. The short stories aren’t stories about Amerbergris, they’re written by the people of Ambergris, complete with footnotes, bibliographies that go on for several pages, and a glossary. One of stand out stories, ‘The Exchange’ is both a story written by a famous Ambergrisian author, as well as a critique of the story by another citizen of Ambergris.

The book is a marvelous hodge-podge of fonts and styles, and I’d recommend picking it up just to flip through it and look at it.

Review: ‘Great North Road’ by Peter F. Hamilton

I acquired this book temporarily after one of my husband’s clients gave it to him to give to me. I’ve never read anything by Peter F. Hamilton, but the front of the book informed me he’s famous. If the rest of his work is like ‘Great North Road’, I can see why. ‘Great North Road’ is a murder mystery sci-fi alien hunt with clones. The best parts however are the characters, the sense of place, of majesty and beauty, and a satisfying ending.

Review: ‘Dark Cloud 2’

I first played Dark Cloud 2 about seven years ago. It was one of my favourite games back then, so when I saw it was available on the PlayStation Store I picked it up. It’s over ten years old now, but it’s still one of my favourite games. The georama, weapon upgrading and invention system are all really fun, and I’d gladly recommend it to anyone who enjoys RPGs.

Review: ‘truly, madly, guilty’ by Liane Moriarty

‘truly, madly, guilty’ begins with an awkward presentation at a public library. You know something has happened, something bad, but you won’t know what until near the end of the book. Instead you see snippets of the aftermath, the emotional fallout from whatever bad thing happened, and try to piece together the event that caused it all.

It’s humorous and engaging. Once I started, I found I had to keep reading to find out what happened. It’s an enjoyable read, and like ‘big little lies’, not super dark.

Review: ‘Annihilation’ by Jeff VanderMeer

A friend recommend the ‘Southern Reach’ trilogy to me a few years ago. It’s been on my list for a while, but I never got around to it until a different friend wanted to watch the netflix movie of the first book in the trilogy, ‘Annihilation’, which meant I had to read the book first. That was a poor decision, since everyone else had already borrowed it from the library. I should have read it sooner. To summarize the review that follows: Read it!

Review: ‘The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier’ by Jack Campbell

‘The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier’ follows on from the ‘The Lost Fleet’ after Geary and company return to the alliance. I was initially skeptical of this series, as sequel series never seem to be as good as the original. In this case, I was wrong. Campbell hasn’t run out of interesting military problems for Geary to get into, and the politics and surrounding story are as good as or even better than the original series. As in the original books, repetition is a problem, but I’d still highly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the original.

Review: ‘The Three-Body Problem’ by Cixin Liu

‘The Three-Body Problem’ starts off with the cultural revolution in China. Ye Wenjie, an astrophysicist,  witnesses her father’s murder. After months in a labour camp in the mountains, she is accused of distributing reactionary propaganda. Her scientific background helps her avoid prison, but she must join a mysterious project in the mountains.  Once she enters the research facility, she will never be allowed to leave. From then, the book switches between the present and Wenjie’s story in the past.