Reviews
If you want to see short, <160-word reviews that I’ve written of books, games, movies, and music, you can check out my Blippr account.
Site Reviews
These are unsolicited reviews I’ve done of various web sites because I enjoy critiquing them. You can suggest a site for me to review, though I don’t promise to review it.
- Not-Noticeably.net — 27 Apr 07
“If a site has an overall pleasing layout and structure, then I think focusing on the little details is an important next step. I tend to react better to a site if I can tell the owner has put in a lot of work.”
- Versteckt Sein — 17 Apr 07
“It wouldn’t be difficult to incorporate a variety of colors, or at least two additional ones (the sunshine and the plane text), and I think it would really spice up the layout. It would help to add interest and make the overall look of the place brighter and, I think, friendlier.”
- Jemjabella — 15 Apr 07
“Catty humor can serve a purpose later on in your site when your visitors already feel comfortable there. If you insert it in the middle of your ‘about me’ page, for example, then the user will most likely come across it after having read a few paragraphs about you.”
Game Reviews
See also my reviews of games on Blippr.
- American McGee’s Alice — 1 Nov 07
“5 / 5 stars
By EA Games for the PC and MacI’m a fan of Alice in Wonderland anyway, so when I read about this game in PC Gamer several years ago, I was excited. American McGee, who used to work…”
- Paper Mario — 7 Oct 07
“5 / 5 stars
By Nintendo for the Nintendo 64This was an incredibly fun game for me. You play as Mario, that lovable Italian plumber, and you have to rescue Princess Peach, whom Bowser has kidna…”
- Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door — 7 Oct 07
“3.5 / 5 stars
By Nintendo for the GameCubeThis is the second game in the Paper Mario series and, while not as good as the first, it’s still an excellent game. It’s very akin to the first Paper…”
Book Reviews
Cover images courtesy of Amazon.com. Click any cover to view that book on Amazon. I’ll try not to spoil major events, but I may mention things that give away details of a book. See also my reviews of books on Blippr.
3.5 / 5 stars
Cell by Stephen King
It wasn’t as scary as I was hoping for, but it was a very interesting read. It kept me engaged throughout, wondering how things were going to turn out, and I was fascinated by how the world had become. Some scenes were incredibly nail-biting, such as driving a school bus over a field of zombies. It was sad and violent and kept me interested because I hadn’t read any other book like this, or seen a zombie film with the same ideas.
5 / 5 stars
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
This is my absolute favorite book, and it’s been that way since I read it several years ago. I’m fascinated by the brilliant children and the condition of the world. Seeing how Ender copes with things like Bonzo, the teachers, and being singled out was very interesting to me, and seeing him excel in spite of everything thrown at him just gives me a rush. It’s an interesting book from a philosophical standpoint, too, trying to understand all that Ender is going through; the mind game was a brilliant and intriguing touch on Card’s part. Seeing the juxtaposition of Ender’s increasing brutality with his compassionate side was engaging; you wanted to know which influence would win out, Peter’s or Valentine’s. The ending is sad, wistful, and touching all at once.
4.5 / 5 stars
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
I’ve read the entire Harry Potter series and it’s a favorite of mine, but the fifth book is my favorite of all of them. I loved Dumbledore’s Army and how the students took on Umbridge most of all. The book was well paced and it kept me interested in how it turned out to the very end. I couldn’t put it down because I just had to know what ridiculous thing the administration would come up with next, and how Harry and the gang would counter it.
3.5 / 5 stars
The Shining by Stephen King
This is definitely one of the scariest books I’ve read. I saw the movie with Jack Nicholson before I ever read the book, and the movie made me want to read it. It is a bit different from the movie, such as with the topiary animals. This is a novel I sit down to reread when I’m in the mood for a good horror novel. It keeps you hanging, wondering how it’s all going to progress, even though I knew the ending.
4 / 5 stars
Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
This is definitely the hardest book in the Ender’s Game series to get through, but it was worth it. I initially liked Qing-jao but eventually grew to sneer at and dislike her; I felt the same way at the end of the book. Wang-mu grew to be a favorite of mine, though I disliked her servile attitude and constant “oh you’re so much greater than me, master” crap. I also grew to hate Novinha in this novel because she’s such a whiney, all-suffering character. Nevertheless, reading about the adventures of Miro, Ender, Grego, Planter, and Human was enough to keep me going. It’s a trip at the end when new characters start appearing, but they’re extremely familiar characters—I won’t say any more than that for fear of giving something away.