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...

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel about a fireman who burns books, Guy Montag, who begins to doubt everything that he has learned, saw, and heard when he met Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse kept bothering him with questions and her carefree ways seems to him in contrast of what he's accustomed to. Clarisse's disappearance and his encounter with a woman who volunteered to be burned with her books has shaken his beliefs. He realized that he had had a desire all along to break away from the oppressive censorship and control of the government when he examines his secret collection of books saved from previous raids. Consequently, his life changed. Abandoned by his wife and hunted by his fellow firemen and the government, Guy Montag seeks answers and refuge. Although Fahrenheit 451 was inspired by a specific setting and event, the idea of the media's tremendous influence on people is similar to today's dependence on technology. Censorship and control might not be as ...

San Antonio Spurs

Most of Howard Phillips Lovecraft's writings are in this volume, the majority of which are short stories. As a fan of the horror genre I consider it important to not bypass H.P. Lovecraft. After all, he has inspired so many horror writers over the years. Although there is a tendency for his stories to become predictable, his style makes you want to read more. His characters are memorable; they can amuse, disgust, inspire, and horrify. Meanwhile his choice of words are excellent. He is a master at imagery; the play on words never fail to amaze me every time. What makes his stories so terrifying is the usual theme of probing the unknown and the consequences of that curiosity. Unlike most horror stories and movies today, Lovecraft doesn't use too much gore, sex and violence, and even ghosts. Yet his disturbing characters and the pervading atmosphere of hopelessness make all those mentioned above insignificant. Indeed the universe he created in his stories makes man insignific...

When Robin Sena was sent to replace a member in STN-J she had no idea that her job to capture witches whose powers have awakened will not only affect her later but endanger her as well. STN-J is the Japanese branch of an organization known as Solomon which captures witches identified through its database. Robin herself is a craft user, the significance of which did not matter to her until the organization decided she needs to be hunted.  Members of STN-J. From left: Dojima Yurika, Amon, Robin Sena, Sakaki Haruto, Karasuma Miho, and Michael Lee This 26-episode supernatural/detective series started slow but becomes interesting as Robin starts to notice and question the things done by the organization. The atmosphere has a more supernatural feel than a faster-paced detective story so it takes a while to grasp what the series is all about. Those who are used to fast-paced action series will find this series too dark and slow to appreciate but supernatural fans will fi...