Fairy Tale Spotlight: Legacy of Rust [Video Game Review]

"Legacy of Rust" is the newest installment to the original Doom. It was released in 2024. Yes, they are still making new official content for original Doom, and I absolutely love it.

"Legacy of Rust" has two episodes included: "The Vulcan Abyss" and "Counterfeit Eden." The story is about the UAC's attempt to find the actual Garden of Eden which turns out is hidden away inside Hell itself. Of course, they shouldn't be messing around with stuff like that, and you get caught in the middle of the whole mess. Time to kill things!

First of all... Wow! It looks like the original Doom, but there are effects and map designs never before seen in the old Doom games. They even created a portal that takes you from the UAC into Hell itself. Brilliantly done! It was all practical effects too. They used the old engine in ways that blew my mind. There was even a bridge that you could walk under. I know that doesn't sound like anything special, but that was previously impossible in the older games. I'm not even sure how they did it.

"Legacy of Rust" also has new enemies and weapons. The latter shocked me most of all. Doom has not seen new weapons since Doom II with its double barreled shotgun. I'll list it all out and tell you a little bit about them.

New Weapon - Incinerator: Very cool. I don't normally like flame throwers in games, but this one was really interesting. It throws out a flame that will stick to surfaces and enemies and burn them during contact. The only downside is that those flames will burn you too. This weapons completely replaces the Plasma Rifle.

New Weapon - Calamity Blade: I am a little surprised it is called this. It is obviously the Ballista from "Doom Eternal." It works about the same way too. It throws out a wave of fire that just about takes up the entire screen, and it slices through enemies. It completely replaces the BFG9000. This is an extremely efficient killing weapon that can clear an entire screen of enemies very quickly and cheaply. By the end of the mission, I was using this gun exclusively.

New Enemy - Banshee: They would have been incredibly stupid if it wasn't for the noise they make. They slowly float towards you, screaming the entire time. It is very unnerving. They explode if they make contact with you and also when you kill them.

New Enemy - Ghoul: I have mentioned these in an old blog. They were in "Doom Zero," but they were called Alpha Souls in that one. They are basically Lost Souls that fire projectiles at you. They never gave me any trouble, but they do make creepy noises.

New Enemy - Mindweaver: Basically weaker versions of the Spiderdemons. Never gave me any trouble unless they showed up in large numbers.

New Enemy - Shock Trooper: These guys are awesome. They basically look like the sprite for Doom Guy, but they are carrying plasma rifles. They fire fast too. They are very dangerous, but they get killed pretty easily. I always prioritized them when they showed up. They have a cut-off scream when they die that I absolutely love. I think this ended up being my favorite of the new enemies.

New Enemy - Tyrant: It's like a weaker version of a Cyberdemon, and I don't really like them. They are kind of deformed which makes them ugly and no fun to look at.

New Enemy - Vassago: This is my second favorite of the new enemies. It's like a charred-black demon with wings. He throws fire at you which sticks to surfaces and burns for a bit. It's basically the same attack as the Incinerator but not as rapid. I like them a lot and want to see more of them. They look amazing, and you get to see them a whole lot too.

That's all the new stuff. Both episodes were amazing and fun. The secret levels were really interesting too. Not really hard, but strange. I really liked the variations from map to map. You never quite knew what they were going to throw at you.

The music was all new as well. It was all done in the old MIDI style of the original game too. Although all the pieces were well produced, I only liked a few of them. Most of the music reminded me of anime tunes. When I play Doom, I wanna hear heavy metal influences. All said though, I still enjoyed how well made they were.

I recommend "Legacy of Rust." You should play it! It proves that new Doom games can still be made on the classic game engine.  This particular game takes everything Doom has already been, adds to it, innovates, and brings out a new experience that blew me away. Bravo! May Classic Doom live forever!

This blog was written on September 4, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Prescription: Murder [Play Review]

"Prescription: Murder" is a play written by William Link and Richard Levinson. It was published in 1963. It is the very first appearance by Columbo, although he was not at the time played by Peter Falk. Columbo was actually played by a man named Thomas Mitchell. This play ultimately lead to the making of the movie of the same name, as well as the beginning of the long series.

I was well-familiar with the original movie when I read this script. The film and the play are almost identical. There were just a few things changed from one to the other. There was a scene at the airport that was missing in the play, probably because it would have been too difficult to create a set for that. A scene set in one of the character's home was gone for likely the same reason. The ending was also different.

In the movie, the villain was as cold and heartless as he possibly could be. I actually saw him as borderline demonic. In the play, he does have a conscience that does come out at the very last moment. He actually does do the right thing after being tricked by Columbo. This is a very interesting change! The movie actually made the villain more of a cold-hearted individual.

These changes, however impactful, are actually very small, and I felt like I was really just reading the script for the film. It's a great murder story, and it started the formula of making the villain the main character, which was the standard for all of the Columbo episodes. And just because this Columbo was played by a different person, I could still easily see Peter Falk doing these lines. After all... I kind of did.

It was an interesting read, but I did not get as much out of it as I hoped. It was so close to the movie that I felt like I was just treading old ground. But as a play, there's nothing wrong with it. If this is something you'd be interested in checking out, I totally recommend it. Columbo is amazing no matter what format he appears in.

This blog was written on September 2, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Eidolons [Short Story Review]

"Eidolons" is a short science fiction story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1989. It's a weird one for sure.

There is a story here, but it is presented in a very surreal way. As far as I can tell, there is a man named Vizinczey who is looking to purchase soldier figurines. He ends up in the house of a Mr. Brown who collects them, but these soldiers look extremely real and they all have the face of men who are about to die.

The moment Vizinczey speaks to Mr. Brown, the collector dies on the spot but not before telling him of a special scroll that allowed him to accomplish his strange hobby. He then asks Vizinczey to take the scroll and continue his work. The rest of the story is the author relating 13 passages from the scroll that sound a lot like moments from the lives of different people throughout history: past, present, and future. This part of the story is absolutely hypnotic and surreal.

The thing that makes this story so strange is how it almost feels like its taking place as you read it. It gets into your head and makes you wonder if the supernatural thing that is happening is actually happening. I know it is a work of fiction, but it was a very well-written one. It was a story intended to have emersion. Emersion is not always necessary for good fiction, but it sure as hell is great when it is accomplished.

I do recommend "Eidolons" to readers who like surreal content. If you aren't into that though, you may find this one confusing or boring.

This blog was written on August 29, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: From A to Z, in the Chocolate Alphabet [Short Story Review]

"From A to Z, in the Chocolate Alphabet" is a short science fiction story (sort of) written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1976.

There is no single narrative happening here. Harlan uses each letter of the alphabet to tell 26 mini-stories all based on various scifi concepts. An example would be the letter A which was for Atlantis. H was for Hamadryad. J was for Jabberwock. L was for Loup-Garou. O was for Ouroboros. Q was for Quetzalcoatl. And Y was for Yggdrasil. The ones I mentioned were the few that I was familiar with. He also had a bunch that I was not as familiar with.

Each one of these was accompanied by a mini-story that was unrelated to all the other ones. These stories could range from just a couple of sentences to a few pages. Their themes ranged from very dark to comedic and silly. You never quite knew what you were getting until you got there. It was like opening up 26 presents.

I actually really liked this one, but I do want to criticize the Hamadryad story for its anti-Christian rhetoric, something that Harlan just cannot help himself from doing most of the time. And what made this so egregious was that he had an opportunity to tell a very interesting story of the Hamadryad which had already been well-accomplished in 1934 with the book "Mary Poppins." Lost opportunity.

As far as the title... I don't know. I don't understand the "chocolate" thing. It's a reference that goes over my head.

I do recommend this one. It's very interesting and full of ideas. I just wish Harlan would have stopped being so angry towards Christians.

This blog was written on August 29, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: How's the Night Life on Cissalda? [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the main points of the story but not the actual ending.]

"How's the Night Life on Cissalda?" is a short science fiction story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1977. This is another comedy story.

The idea here is that there is a scientific excursion team sent through time and space to alternate versions of Earth. One traveler, interestingly named Enoch, finds a version of Earth that's been taken over by a race of gross looking aliens called the Cissaldans. These ugly creatures give off some sort of aura or pheromone that makes people want to have sex with them... forever. Like they just have sex with them nonstop until they starve to death. Enoch is pulled back to his own world while engaged sexually with one of this creatures.

The way these creatures travel through space is through spontaneous teleportation. They just think of where they want to be and then they poof into that spot. They are always looking for people to have sex with... forever. When Enoch brings back his own Cissaldan, that creature sends a telepathic thought to its home planet, and suddenly every man, woman, and animal on Earth ends up having their own Cissaldan to have fun with... forever.

Most of the story is a comedically written. It goes over all the different people in the world who are stopping what they are doing and having sex with these things. My favorite was the cameo appearance of William Shatner who, acting like his Captain Kirk character, went out of his way to make contact with them. That made me laugh. But the point here is that all activity on Earth suddenly stops because everyone wants to have sex, and nobody is going to stop having sex until they die. It is literally the end of the world.

I actually did enjoy reading "How's the Night Life on Cissalda?" and I do recommend it. It is a funny idea, and it's really just there to put a smile on your face. The ending is a bit dark, but it doesn't subtract too much from the comedy that leads up to it.

This blog was written on August 28, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Djinn, No Chaser [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the main parts of the story.]

"Djinn, No Chaser" is a short science fiction story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1983. It is a very silly story, and I would almost rather call it a comedy story.

A husband and wife are doing some shopping for their new house. Something weird happens and they end up temporarily being transported to an ancient shop that seems to be popping all around time. Inside this shop is a magic lamp that has a djinn inside it. The wife wants it. The husband haggles for it. They end up getting it for real cheap.

The problem here is that the djinn inside the lamp is really just very grumpy and wants to make the lives of this couple complete hell. Even though he has the power to grant their wishes, he is acting more like a curse and just causing awful things to befall them. They can't just get rid of the lamp either. They are only allowed to sell it.

The husband actually goes temporarily mad during all the insanity, but the wife figures out how to make friends with the grumpy djinn. She gives him a can opener. Although it isn't clear why this makes things all right, I can only imagine that the djinn was placed in a lamp full of cans he couldn't open.

Also, is this the missing can opener from "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream?!" I can't be the only person to ask this question. Maybe Harlon Ellison is just obsessed with can openers. Who knows?!

"Djinn, No Chaser" is a funny story. It has a lot of quick-witted humor, and the comedy beats are solid. As I read it, the story felt really familiar, like I had seen it on TV or something. Apparently it was adapted into an episode of "Tales From the Darkside." I actually don't know if I saw it or not. I might have caught it on TV when I was younger and just sort of remembered aspects of it.

I liked this story, and I do recommend it. It's funny and even cute in a way. Definitely not what I have come to expect from Harlan. He is not normally so silly.

This blog was written on August 28, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Reynard the Fox [Book Review]

"Reynard the Fox" is a book that is based on a lot of very old writings. It is very hard to say who the original author was, and to be fair, it was based on the works of many authors over a very long period of time. The earliest writing of the titular character goes all the way back to 1148. That stuff is naturally unreadable to me. The book I presently have was a translation of Reynard's adventures by James Simpson. It was published in 2015.

The story here is about Reynard the Fox who uses trickery to do some pretty horrible things. He tends to get away with much of it though because he has this amazing ability to talk himself out of nearly every situation. He has to do this because he is small and not very strong. Over the course of the book, he is pitted against nearly every type of animal and always seems to come out on top, but not without being placed in what often feels like insurmountable danger to him and his family.

The world of Reynard actually mostly takes place within the court of King Noble the Lion. Much of this story actually is a court scene with Reynard being on trial and having to defend his horrible actions as he causes the maiming and death of his fellow animals. Always he presents himself as a fellow Christian who keeps ending up in bad situations because of the treachery of others.

The presentation of all the characters is taken deadly seriously. You can almost forget that these characters are animals. They could all easily be thought of as humans, for we all know people that behave like these corresponding animals. The book also has extreme continuity with itself. If an animal is injured somehow, that injury remains and has consequences throughout the story onward to its ending. Everything has consequences whether it be gory or of a sexual nature. All the characters have realistic feelings and can hurt both physically and emotionally. Everything feels real, and that is one of the main reasons I found this book so riveting.

Yes, this book is amazing. It is a shockingly wonderful story, and I was surprised to find myself rooting for the fox himself, despite the fact that he really kind of was the villain. There were many times where I did not think he could get out of a situation or two. I'd even go so far as to say that God would have a particular fancy for this fellow for using his talents so wisely in this story.

Now, I do recommend this book, and I think people should read it. I'd even say that this book should be required reading for people who are exploring the classics. Be warned though: This book is not for children. It is very gory and has some very sexual content in it, including rape. There is probably a child version of Reynard floating out there somewhere, but the James Simpson version is very clearly based on the original. Adults only please.

This blog was written on August 26, 2024.

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