I was actually going to write a post. An honest to goodness post. But when I logged in I noticed i had about 3000 spam comments so I spent a couple hours deleting all of those and now it’s bed time. So instead of the brilliantly witty post I had half constructed in my mind you get this junk.

I’ve really been wanting to read more science fiction, ever since last fall when I realized I was so poorly read in that genre. In response I read Starship Troopers, The Forever War, and Flatland over Christmas break. Since then I haven’t really read anything. Last night I bought Watchmen, Wanted), and Dune. Wanted you might recognize as graphic novel that was adapted for the recent move with Angelina Jolie. “Watchmen” is probably the most widely praised super hero graphic novel and the only comic book to win the Huge Award. It is apparently being made into a movie and will come out next year.

That’s what I bought. Two graphic novels (comics) and one of the most important science fiction novels ever written. Don’t worry, I have a long list of books on my Amazon wish list.

That’s all for now. Perhaps I will post again soon and I’ll tell you about what I’ve been doing this summer.

I just finished reading A Storm of Swords the third in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. This is the series that inspired A Game of Thrones one of my favorite wargames, named after the first book. I must say that after finishing the third book that this is one of the best series I have read. I rank it up there against the Enders series and Lord of the Rings. In the middle of the book several of the main characters die and I was so depressed I had to stop reading. GRRM is brilliant in how he tells the story. Each book follows a number of characters in third person limited point of view, a chapter at a time. The chapters rotate telling the story of each character as events happen somewhere in the large world. You come to care and love certain characters and can not wait until another chapter about them comes up.

Never before have I read a story where there are so many main characters, and none are clearly defined as “good” or “bad” guys. Even characters you despise in the first book, you learn to sympathise with in later books when you get to follow their lives.

I was going to purchase A Feast for Crows today, but it was $30 and only in hardcover. Instead I will buy the paperback when it comes out and I picked it up at the library. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy epic novels with a bit of fantasy in them. Magic exists, but it doesn’t hit you over the head like it does in other fantasies, such as LotR. If you do not believe me, I have included a good list of pros and cons of the series.

Warning: This is an adult series and involves violence, language, and sexuality. I do not recommend these books for children.

Nodwick

I have been reading Nodwick for quite some time. It follows a small group of adventurers in a fantasy world. The main character is Nodwick, a henchman capable of carying an infinite amount of loot. His companions include a wizard who is constantly trying to improve his magic which generally involves blowing stuff up, a brutish warrior who enjoys drinking and taking on monsters too strong for him, and a priest who likes to de-naughtify dungeons and uses duct tape to patch Nodwick back together after the wizard and the warrior use him as dragon bait. This comic probably won’t make much sense if you aren’t in tune with RPG’s. If you are though, it is quite an enjoyable read.

Full Frontal Nerdity

This is another comic by the same artist and was started rather recently. It follows four middle aged men who enjoy playing table top RPG’s with each other. The slogan pretty much sums it all up: Four geeks. No lives. Roll for initiative.

Both comics only come out once a week on Thursday.

In the second day of my web comic extravaganza, I will be writing about PvP Online. PvP takes place in the office of a game magazine company and follows the employees: Cole, the owner who relishes nostalgic games; Brent, a cynical writer and Mac enthusiast; Jade, an online RPG addict and Brent’s girlfriend, Francis, a high school student who spends more time practicing his gaming than working; and Skull, a mythical troll who can only be seen by the employees and is officially an “intern.” There are a few more characters, but they take back seat to these main characters.

The story progresses in blocks at a time as opposed to following one plot, or changing every day. It really is the interactions between the characters that gives this comic its charm. Often on each other’s nerves they fight with each other a lot. They always manage to have a lot of fun doing so, and that is why this comic is so enjoyable to watch.

Scott Kurtz is fairly well known among web comic artists and it is easy to see why. The panels are well drawn in black and white, though they will be in color if the comics lend themselves.

This wonderful comic is updated daily. On the RaydenUni scale of comic wonderfulness, I have to give this one a 5.

CAD is one of my daily checked web comics. After reading it for probably over a year, I enjoy it just as much today as I did back then. The comics begin back in 2002 and are released several times a week.

Drawing and art is important in a comic and the author of CAD does a brilliant job. The strips are noticeably more beautiful now than when they started, but the characters are still recognizable. It bugs me when characters go through an entire paradigm shift and resemble their former selves.

This comic focuses on two guys, Ethan and Lucas, who live together and play games. There are several other characters, a third roommate, a girlfriend, coworkers, but Ethan and Lucas are the focus. Ethan is your stereotypical gamer who is not entirely in touch with reality and goes to great lengths to improve his gaming experience. Lucas is more mature and is continuously attempting, miserably, to save Ethan from his own adventures.

Not only does the comic tell the story of those two, it occasionally has a single strip that takes place in a game. These are generally completely unrelated to any other strips and speak of the author’s most recent gaming experiences.

If that is not enough for you, there is one character who does is not part of the main plot who has his own series of strips. Words cannot describe these.

CAD is one of my favorite strips and if you enjoy video games, you should check it out. I must admit if you are not a gamer, it probably won’t interest you. (Don’t worry, I have some comics for you too!)

On the RaydenUni scale of comics, where 1 is abysmal, and 5 is reserved for my very favorites, this one has to get a 5.

Over the last few years I have begun reading web comics. When I lived at home and there was a regular newspaper to read I read those comics. Now that I am at college I don’t have daily access to a newspaper. But I have found that there is an abundance of great web comics. I would like to share some of these with you. If I can open your eyes to only one of these, then it would be worth it. So for next few days, until I run out, I will be writing a short piece on some of the comics I read.

Everybody’s happy
Everybody?s free
We’ll keep the big door open
Everyone’ll come around
Why are you different
Why are you that way
If you don?t get in line
We’ll lock you away

— Dave Matthews Band

I am taking a popular literature class this quarter. We are reading several genres, including detective, horror, fantasy, and thriller. I just finished reading “The Hedge Knight” by George R.R. Martin, the author of the Song of Ice and Fire series. “The Hedge Knight” is actually a sort of prequel to that series, taking place in the same world. I have played A Game of Thrones, the board game, and so I have heard the names of the houses like Lannister, Baratheon, Tyrel, Stark, and Greyjoy. The short story was quite enjoyable, if not particularly thought provoking, and I am considering buying the series.

I would first like to apologize for the last post not having a link. I won’t go back and add one now, that just doesn’t feel right. To be honest I couldn’t come up with a link that fit with the theme of the post, and then forgot about it.

My week home has been a whirlwind. Friday night my mom picked me up at the airport. We ended up at my friend’s house that evening because my dad and sister’s were out doing something that night. Saturday was a DSS night. I was able to see almost all of my friends. Sunday I hung out with Daniel, played games. Monday the orthodontist adjusted my braces and my mouth still hurts. That evening my group of friends had a LAN party all night. It is luxury to bring a laptop instead of a desktop to a LAN party. I played my first Warcraft III melee game in months. I will need to play this again. Today I recovered from last night by sleeping from the time I got home till about 4:00. This evening we had dinner with some good friends who I hadn’t seen yet. When we got home I watched some tv with my mom and then read Xenocide, the third in the Ender’s Game quadrilogy.

I am realizing that even though I don’t leave for four days, my time here is limited. I am assuming Saturday will be mostly spent preparing for and traveling. Thursday is of course Thanksgiving. This leaves Wednesday and Friday to see all the people I want to see and do all the things I want to do. The first being the one concerning me.

I haven’t really felt like I’ve been away. Nothing is different. The importance of seeing people is more intellectual than emotional right now. In Xenocide the characters can travel at light speed. A journey that takes 6 weeks at lightspeed takes over 20 years for everyone else. On would travel to a far planet and arrive a few weeks later and all their friends would be decades older. My time in Indiana feels like this. The quarter went by so fast it’s like I was in a time bubble. I haven’t felt like I’ve been away, but I’m sure since nothing else changed here, my friend’s notice my absence. This paragraph feels quite awkward… I am far too lazy to proofread my blog posts however, to do anything about it.

I suppose I should justify the link for this post. I am taking my little sister to see The Incredibles for her birthday tomorrow.