Most Recent: Etcetera

Ico: Castle in the Mist is a novelization of the video game Ico as imagined by a dedicated fan – Japanese author Miyuki Miyabe. Published in 2004 in Japan, it has finally been brought to our shores, translated by video game localizer Alexander O. Smith. The book is not a direct explanation of what happens in the game; rather, it’s a retelling of the story, with details that flesh out the missing pieces. Instead of coming out a horribly uncreative jumble, as books based on video games often are, Miyabe has woven an intricate and beautiful tale that embellishes and enhances what the game creators have already made. (more…)

Ready Player One is Ernest Cline’s first novel, though it’s not his first foray into a nerdy niche topic. You may have seen the movie for which he wrote the screenplay, the veritable nerdfest Fanboys. Cline definitely has a penchant for this sort of thing – he has a vast store of knowledge of geek culture and a ridiculous ability to transform it into pure entertainment. Lightning strikes twice in this case, as his novel completely won me over. (more…)