Book Review: "Deadlocked" by Charlaine Harris

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oh, my.

"Deadlocked" by Charlaine Harris... sucks.

The plot picks up the previously mentioned plot threads from the rest of the series. There is Eric's fiance as arranged by his maker, Sookie's magical fairy wish, what to do with the remaining fae, the birth of J.P and Tara's twins, blah blah blah. It felt as though Ms. Harris went through the previous books, wrote down the open threads, and tried to end as many of them as she could.

The main story concerns a dead girl showing up in Eric's front yard during a party with the King of Nevada. But honestly? Who cares?

I felt this story flew out of the window, parts being edited willy nilly. I say this because the author mentions a new character as if we already know her, then later in the book does the introduction. I chalk that up to bad editing. In fact, while there are several scene of good dialogue and/or action, taken in its entirety the book falls flat on its proverbial face.

I know that some people say this series is dead. But I think the series is salvageable if the next book get edited more.

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Poem: "The Labyrinth"

I went to go exploring
The Labyrinth I had found;
In a dark cavern hidden by the river
Exposed only on tide ebb.

I told my uncle about the Labyrinth.
He pontificated on the dangerous discovery,
Presenting me with a dour picture of my looming destruction.

I told my aunt about the Labyrinth.
She uttered a few ersatz cachinnations
Before turning to my uncle to discuss their arbitrage of the morrow.

I told my mother about the Labyrinth.
She fluttered around the dining room
Ignoring my statement as she served polyglot cuisine.

I told my brother about the Labyrinth.
He flaunted a convoluted concoction concerning the creation of caverns
In a flamboyant attempt to appear erudite to his girlfriend.

I told my father about the Labyrinth.
He winked at me, promising me a grand adventure,
Before falling into a drunken stupor.

So I went to go exploring
The Labyrinth I found.
The silence promised to listen to my story as I strolled.
The shadows promised to watch me as I went down new paths.
My lantern provided my comfort as I wandered round and round.

I decided that I had found my new home.

Book Review: "Smite Me, Oh Dark One" by Steve Thomas

Smite Me, Oh Dark One by Steve Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Smite Me, Oh Dark One" by Steve Thomas is a short story about the stupidity of gods. Or the stupidity of humans. Or, well, something like that.

The narrator of the story is Acerbus, the God of Darkness. He seems to be the only power with any common sense at all. Lux, the God of Light, leads the other gods to perform some fairly inane actions, while Acerbus stands there wondering how he ended up in this particular funny farm.

In the end, Acerbus gets his own bit of revenge.

I love the humor in this story, especially the characterizations that Acerbus gives of the other gods and humans. It's a quick, funny read, perfect for a rainy day.

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Remembering the Legacy of Ray Bradbury, 1920 - 2012

Ray Bradbury, the man who wrote classic books such as Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and The Illustrated Man, died yesterday in Los Angeles.  

I shed a few tears when I read that this morning. Ray Bradbury was one of the first science fiction authors that I read, introducing me to a genre that influences me to this very day.  

I could ramble on for pages over the insights reading Bradbury books bring to readers, or how even Hollywood loves Ray Bradbury with the making of several books into movies. I could wax eloquently over the evil of burning books, or the destinies which mankind faces, or any of the other topics that Bradbury covers.

But I think that Bradbury himself said it best:

"People ask me to predict the future, when all I want to do is prevent it. "Better yet, build it. Predicting the future is much too easy, anyway. You look at the people around you, the street you stand on, the visible air you breathe, and predict more of the same. To hell with more. I want better."

- Beyond 1984: The People Machines

Here's hoping that we manage to build a better future. Thank you and goodbye, Mr. Bradbury.

(E)Motions - A Video Game Playground!!!

Last week, I took a risk and had a video game party to celebrate the end of the school year.  The risk was that I paid money to a unknown place called (E)Motions, located in Doraville, that supposedly provided a decent video game experience. Let's be honest, it's a bit of a drive from East Cobb.  But since we have nothing here like that, I took a chance.

Thank goodness I took that risk!!  (E)Motions completely and utterly rocks!! My kids and their friends had a fantastic time there, playing various video games, eating pizza, and cheering each other on.  Even the other Moms and I had a good time, sitting around and chatting.

(E)Motions is located on the second floor of a brand new shopping center. As soon as we arrived,  Armando greeted us and immediately went to work showing the kids around the store and getting everyone started on the game of their choice.  The adults got a quick tour, including bathrooms clean up to eat from the floor.

This place has it all, with over 200 video games to choose from on the Xbox, Xbox Kinect, Playstation 3, or Wii.  I did not request any particular game, but they handle game requests if you or your kid desires a particular game.  And for every console, not only does (E)Motion have regular game controller, but also the specialty game controllers that most people do not buy.  

I cannot say enough how much fun all of the kids had.  Everyone wanted to go back there, and several kids are now planning birthday parties there.  At $50 an hour to use the venue, a two-hour party only costs $100, which is a bargain these days.  

Now, if only they would open a store in East Cobb... But for now, I don't mind going to Doraville.  It only took me about 25-30 minutes to get there.  The storefront is located directly off I-285, easily located, so even that is not as much of a hassle as you might expect.