On the Verge of Lunacy

This seventh installment of the Dynasty Warriors franchise has a lot of new things to offer. The game still follows the story of the three kingdoms period which succeeded the end of the Han dynasty. Wei, Wu, Shu emerged as the contenders for the unification of the land and hope to end the chaos. What happens to each faction is determined by battles (although the results are slightly altered in this game). What's New? Dynasty Warriors 7 features a new faction, Jin, led by the wily Sima Yi. It also includes the Conquest Mode where players can unlock different stages, characters, weapons, and others. Each character also has his/her own missions, called legendary stages, which consist of 2 to 3 stages.  Each character can now use two weapons in the battles. The weapon's effectiveness is based on its compatibility with the character. The player can also change the weapons at any time of the game. Various weapons can also be obtained from the merchant and blacksmith....

Jay Williams gives a narrative version of the history of the Crusades in this nine-part book. The contents can be divided into three major parts. First is the introduction of the feudal knight which will help the reader understand his characteristics, the changes he undergoes in the wars, and his motivation, besides religious obligation, in the crusades. Second is the recollection of the major campaigns and figures, notably King Richard I of England and Sultan Saladin of Egypt and Syria. Lastly, the change of methods and weapons used in the wars and the impact of the crusades in culture and government. Unlike the usual informative sections in textbooks about the crusades, Williams gives the readers an intimate look at the wars and intrigues involved. The information given here is limited however. The author mentions only the major events and figures and he has a tendency to go off tangent; granted, a short discussion on troubadours gives the reader an idea of the climate of ti...

When two boys, Will Halloway and Jim Nightshade, heard that a carnival was coming to town, they sneaked out one night to watch Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show set up. A sense of foreboding surrounded the town even before the carnival arrived; they felt something was wrong. They were right to suspect however as excitement became apprehension when they discovered Mr. Dark's, the owner of the carnival, secrets. A mix of horror and fantasy, Something Wicked This Way Comes is slow-paced at the beginning but the action picks up when Mr. Dark discovered the boys' intrusion and the chase began. Bradbury however was able to establish early in the novel the differences in character between the boys and Charles', Will's father, role in the events to come. The characters are well-defined. Mr. Dark as the "bad guy" is a striking contrast to the boys, the "good guys," in his physical appearance and persistence to capture the boys. Mr. Dark...