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Gamers Who Happen To Be Girls

Monday, December 15th, 2008
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A GIRL GAMER?

by Theresa Bane
© Buzzy Multimedia

Someone asked me “what’s it like to be a girl gamer?” Odd question, but I suppose fair enough. At the risk of sounding like some old coot, we chicks had it a lot harder back in my day. Gaming was virtually unheard of, and the only store in the mall that carried gaming stuff was located on the bottom level of the mall in a mazelike area. “Kathy’s Gaming Shop,” which later changed its name to “The Dungeon Masters’” was the only place you could meet, game, and shop all in one place. Kathy became a surrogate mother to about 100 kids and knew us all by name. She more or less babysat us Friday evenings and from mall’s opening to close all day Saturday. She was a sweet lady, and now nicely retired on the countless dimes and dollars we kids willingly gave her hand over fist back in the day. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning.
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Raven’s Shadow - The Raven Duology - BK 1

Monday, December 15th, 2008

Raven’s Shadow
The Raven Duology - Book 1
by Patricia Briggs
Mass Market PB: 352 pages
Publisher: Ace
ISBN-10: 044101187X
ISBN-13: 978-0441011872

Fantasy books, in general, are hard to get into. Most lack the kind of non-stop action and suspense needed to suspend disbelief—especially for a male audience. Then there are the soap opera style plots, incestuous and convoluted in their design. While Patricia Brigg’s “Raven’s Shadow” is no different, it demonstrates the versatility that we have come to expect from the creator of the Mercy Thompson series. For that reason alone, the novel is worth reading, Read More→

Iron Kissed - A Mercy Thompson Novel - Book 3

Monday, December 15th, 2008

Iron Kissed
A Mercy Thompson Novel
Book 3 - Review
by Patricia Briggs
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Ace
ISBN-10: 0441015662
ISBN-13: 978-0441015665

Trilogies or any series in general, are fickle creatures. Ask anyone, and they all have different opinions of them. ‘I liked the original, but I hated the second book’ one person might say. ‘I hated the original, but I loved so and so in the final novel’. And inevitably, everyone seems to hate the sequels. While the Mercy Thompson series has matured over the past three years, with “Iron Kissed”, author Patricia Briggs proves that the paranormal action-fantasy still has heart-not to mention guts. And though the third book in the series finds Mercy coming to terms with new challenges in her life, she still finds herself sleuthing around in Washington State, only this time the mystery is much more personal than she’d like to admit.
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Moon Called: A Mercy Thompson Novel

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

Moon Called
A Mercy Thompson Novel
Book 1 - Review
by Patricia Briggs

Since the “Twilight” series became popular, a spate of novels and books based around vampires, werewolves, and the supernatural have wormed their way into bookstores across the country-not to mention the hearts of teens, tweens and anyone interested in walking on the wild side. Some are sappy romances, others testosterone-laden action fests. Few are worth reading beyond the first page. Few that is, except Patricia Briggs “Moon Called”.
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Australia - The Movie - A Review

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

AUSTRALIA - The Movie
A Review
by June Williams

“Crickey mate she’s a beaut!”

The previews for this film scream screen epic. I won’t lie. It is an epic, yet not the story of an entire country but instead it shows life in one part of that nation continent during a very particular time in history.
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T-Shirts Put the Pop In Culture

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

T-Shirts Put the Pop In Culture
© Buzzy Multimedia
by June Williams

Once free of the workplace most people I know like to kick back and wear t-shirts, jeans, sweats and shorts. Characters in television series, movies and books on the other hand nearly all seem to look like graduates of What Not To Wear. Nearly, but not all.
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Categories : Obscuria

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - Movie Review

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Movie Review
by June Williams

Spoilers Below

I must begin by telling you that I have never read the books upon which this movie is based. My perceptions are influenced only by what I have seen onscreen. I was aware going in that this was to be a movie about teenagers and vampires and having imbibed my share of vampiric fiction as well as been a fan of Forever Knight, Buffy, Ultraviolet and True Blood I am reasonably familiar with the genre.
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The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

The Automatic Detective
by A. Lee Martinez

Ever since Fritz Lang’s Metropolis premiered in theaters in 1928, the concept of the futuristic city as a dark, terrible place where crimes go unpunished and heroes are few and far between has been a constant staple of science fiction authors. Since then, dystopias ranging from political gulags to apocalyptic encampments have been immortalized on paper. However few have managed to capture the foul odor and grit of the urban wasteland in quite the same way as the pulp creations that were inspired by Lang. Not anymore. With A. Lee Martinez’s “The Automatic Detective”, the spirit of the ’30s pulps is back, and not a moment too soon.
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