Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Paladin of the Lost Hour [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the premise of this story.]

"Paladin of the Lost Hour" is a short science fiction story by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1986. I can't help but feel like I've seen this one before. I did notice that it was adapted into a Twilight Zone episode, but I looked it up and don't really remember it. It might just be Deja Vu.

The story here is about an old man who is actually carrying around the universe's last hour in an old pocket watch. Basically, he is not allowed to use any of that time or else the world will end. And that is a really neat idea. Imagine if you were in charge of keeping the end of the world at bay.

I did spoil this story because the entire premise of it is revealed in the final moments, and I still wanted to write this review. I do like the idea of it, but one weird thing about it is just how secular it is. A pocket watch like this would easily fall under the realm of God, but it seems like it just sort of exists or is the result of the actions of ancient men. But what are you gonna do? It's modern science fiction.

Either way, this one was a fun read, and the way they presented the pocket watch was really surreal and interesting. The author definitely had some really fascinating visuals in his head when he wrote this one. I do recommend it.

This blog was written on August 15, 2024.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Also stop by my Amazon.com listing by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/T.K.-Wade/e/B07BQK9RTZ

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, November 4, 2024

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Naked Lunch [Movie Review]

Well, here I am again.

"Naked Lunch" is a movie released in 1991. It was written and directed by David Cronenberg. Yes, that David Cronenberg. The "Scanners" guy. Him. Somewhat more astounding is that this movie was not in any way made by David Lynch. How did that happen? They got a different David to make a Lynchian movie. It is, of course, based off the book of the same name, written by William S. Burroughs.

Anyone who reads the book will probably wonder how in the world are they going to interpret it into a movie. It seems impossible! And in many ways, it is impossible. I'm not joking. It really is. No one should make a movie for that book. It's a bad idea. Of course, they actually did make a movie, and the movie is about as close to the book as it can be. I'm actually surprised. They actually did it.

It would be impossible to do a movie word-for-word of the book, but they did their very best to get as much of the content into the film while trying so very hard to both capture the feel of the book while also being a movie. By the latter point, I mean that this really is a movie. It has actors, and there is a script, and they are reading their lines at the appointed places, and I really don't think there is any adlibbing going on. Don't quote me on that, but everything seems to be done very purposefully. But this is not a normal movie. This is a surreal drug-scape with a story that is still very interesting... as long as you just relax and pay close attention.

The main character is a man named William Lee, but he is very clearly William S. Burroughs. They made the author of the book the main character. This was a great idea since that is the impression I got from the book. Almost in every scene, William is on drugs and fully addicted to them. Like the book, the movie makes his altered perception of reality part of the story. It is extremely hard to figure out what is real and what isn't. The hallucinations are mixed in with the reality. It is one big trip from beginning to end.

And during this long drug trip, you have a very intricate spy vs. spy intrigue story that you have to circumvent. It's all very good, and I really did notice that a lot of it was directly taken from the book and implemented in a fascinating way into the film. Cronenberg did this flawlessly, and I loved it.

Even though it is hard to really figure anything in the book out, the book did have characters in it, and my favorite was always a certain Doctor Benway. He is in the movie, but he doesn't have a whole lot of airtime. Even so, he is very important to the plot and his few scenes are spectacular. If this story has a high priest character, it would be Benway.

I do recommend this movie. If you read the book, it's even better. If you haven't read the book, the movie may make you wonder how the book would actually go, and visa versa for reading the book first and then wondering about the movie. I really like both of them, and I am very pleased they went through the trouble to make this film interpretation.

One warning though! This movie will make you feel filthy. You will want to take a shower when you are done watching it. It is one of the most filthy films I have seen in a long time. I felt gross.

Also to David Lynch, I really disliked his movie "Inland Empire." I would say that it was similar in feel to "Naked Lunch," but it did not seem to have any good direction to it. "Naked Lunch" actually sells the "sureality mixed with actual plot" better in my opinion. I know that comparing those two movies might be kind of a stretch, but I just felt the need to mention that because of how they both made me feel when I watched them.

[And if you are seeing this David Lynch, I am actually a huge fan of yours and "Inland Empire" is literally the only movie you ever did that I did not like. Keep up the great work.]

This blog was written on August 14, 2024.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Also stop by my Amazon.com listing by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/T.K.-Wade/e/B07BQK9RTZ

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Naked Lunch [Book Review]

"Naked Lunch" is a novel (or rather antinovel) written by William S. Burroughs. It was published in 1959. It is a complete mess to read, but it's also not really that bad. I'll try and explain.

This is less of a story and more of a book written by a man absolutely blasted on opium. He's also a beatnik, so he was already kind of "out there" to begin with. There is no real story here. It's just a man who is writing what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants. If you go into it expecting a traditional structure, you will not find it. Go somewhere else.

But what is there is really very interesting, if you are willing to just relax a bit. There are thoughts and ideas sort of blasted at you from the author's pen. A lot of drug use. A lot of sex. A lot of extremely violent and gross stuff. Stuff I cannot even go into in this blog. This book has probably offended a lot of people, but at the same time, this book has been a soldier for free speech in both America and Europe. I guess that's the point. Maybe it's something else. I don't really know. The book reads like gibberish.

But that gibberish is often poetic and interesting in its presentation. Once you get past that you probably are not going to understand most anything you are reading, it becomes a lot easier to just... read it. And that's really all that's expected of you here. You are just supposed to read it and move on. Or don't read it. I don't think anyone will care if you do or don't. "Naked Lunch" just is what it is. It doesn't try to be anything it isn't. You are either going to like it or hate it.

Do I recommend it though? Well, see if you can't get ahold of one of the chapters. It doesn't matter which one. They can be read out of order. Read a few pages, and if you want more, go read the entire book. If not, move on--this book is not for you. It's really that simple, and I have nothing left to say on the matter.

This blog was written on August 14, 2024.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Also stop by my Amazon.com listing by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/T.K.-Wade/e/B07BQK9RTZ

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, October 28, 2024

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Project Eden [Video Game Review]

"Project Eden" is a video game developed by Core Design of "Tomb Raider" fame. It was released in 2001 on PC and PlayStation 2. I have actually attempted to play this game multiple times since it came out, but I only recently finished it. It's one of those games I would give up on over and over but still somehow obsess over it.

The game takes place in a world where civilization just kept building on top of itself, working its way up into the heavens. The world below would get forsaken and only the top level actually got policed. The people living in the many levels below were just people who wanted to get away from the laws of the top level. Now, you might see this as one of those stories where the oppressively rich people live on the top with the peasants down below, but no. It's nothing like that. Human civilization just moved upwards, and there doesn't seem to be anything bad about life there at all.

You play as four security forces that are trying to figure out what's going on in one of the facilities. Carter is the point man and the one with all your security clearance. Andre is a mechanic, and he can repair things. Minoko is a hacker girl. And then there is Amber who is a big strong battle robot. You have to go through the entire game playing all of these characters (one at a time) in order to solve each mission, which in a very big way is a puzzle unto itself.

There is combat too. As you go lower and lower into the forsaken cities down below, you will run into all sorts of enemies... and eventually some sort of mutants. You have to balance your puzzle solving with the combat. It isn't always an easy thing to do, but I did eventually get the hang of it. By this I mean that I just sent Amber ahead of everybody until I found something for the others to do. You don't have to play it this way, but it was the strategy that made me the most comfortable.

As you proceed down, down, deep into the most forsaken places of the past cities, the story that unfolds is quite interesting. I don't want to spoil it, but I really got into it. I wanted to know why all this was happening. It is one of the strangest stories I have ever encountered in video games. That said, the ending felt a bit rushed and... kind of silly. It wasn't awful. I got a chuckle out of it, but I think it could have been better.

I still really enjoyed the journey though. Everything about this game is interesting, and sometimes it's legitimately scary. Imagine coming out of an old run-down building, but instead of seeing sky, you just see darkness and other buildings going off as if into infinity above you. Exploring the lower levels in this game is so dark and atmospheric. And I actually do respect that they didn't make the topside to be all that corrupt. I felt like I was on a good team working for a respectable organization, just trying to solve a very complicated problem.

I do recommend "Project Eden," but I don't think it is for everybody. The reason I quit this game a few times I played it previously had to do with respawning enemies. This seems like something that might get on people's nerves. Just know that if you push forward past these moments, the enemies tend to stop respawning. It's annoying, but I think the experience of this game is worth the hassle. Give this one a try if you can find yourself a copy.

This blog was written on August 14, 2024.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Also stop by my Amazon.com listing by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/T.K.-Wade/e/B07BQK9RTZ

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Fairy Tale Spotlight: On the Downhill Side [Short Story Review]

"On the Downhill Side" is a short story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1972. It is a ghost story.

But this isn't just any ghost story. It is a ghost story about ghosts... not people encountering ghosts. In fact, ghosts are the only characters in the story. There is also a unicorn. I'm not sure why... but there is a unicorn.

The story is about two ghosts, male and female, who are trying to mend mistakes of their past lives, which seem to be fairly ancient. They are meant for one another, but they can't seem to tie the knot. This is like a "last chance" scenario. They have to figure this out, or else someone needs to be sacrificed.

I won't spoil this one because the ending is actually kind of shocking and dramatic, but I will say that this one took me a while to even get into. It was written in such a sudden way... with there being a random unicorn in it and all... that I was already kind of bored of it by the time I got to the good parts. I basically finished it because I was going to do that anyhow.

The thing that makes this special is that it is a ghost-only story. That's cool. I haven't seen anything like that before. However I don't think I'll recommend it. He's written better stuff than this that were more fun to digest.

This blog was written on August 9, 2024.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Also stop by my Amazon.com listing by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/T.K.-Wade/e/B07BQK9RTZ

Check out my books! Thanks!

Monday, October 21, 2024

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Mefisto in Onyx [Novella Review]

"Mefisto in Onyx" is a science fiction novella written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1993. It is a good story but has some problems that I will try and cover in this review.

The story is about a black man who had the ability to jump into people's minds. He could instantly walk around in there and learn everything about them. He is asked by a friend to jump into the mind of a serial killer on death row to see if he is innocent or not. The reason he does this at all is because the girl he is doing it for is in love with the killer and thinks he may be falsely accused.

I don't want to spoil this one. If I go any further then the whole twist of it is revealed and that really ruins the story and makes it not worth the read. I do want to say that the narrative, which is in the first person, is very hard-edged and impactful. You really get to know this physic man for who he is, and the ultimate conclusion of this story is actually fairly fun and brilliant.

The problem with this story is a small one but it was enough to annoy me. There is one part where the main character dumps really hard on Christians. There was no real need for it. It did not help the story in any way. It was in very bad taste, and I really wish the author had not done it. This was neither a Christian or atheist story. It was a fantasy tale about ESP.

This sort of thing can make people dislike what would otherwise be a wonderful science fiction tale. And it is good. Genuinely good. Riveting even.

If you are capable of getting past the garbage attack on Christianity that happens in one paragraph then you'll enjoy yourself just fine. Otherwise, I should recommend some other story.

This blog was written on August 3, 2024.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Also stop by my Amazon.com listing by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/T.K.-Wade/e/B07BQK9RTZ

Check out my books! Thanks!

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Fairy Tale Spotlight: I Am Fish [Video Game Review]

"I Am Fish" is a video game developed by Bossa Studios. It was released in 2021 on a number of platforms. It is a physics-based action/puzzle game.

The ridiculous idea behind "I Am Fish" is very simple: four fish consume sentient bread which makes them sentient fish. They quickly become intelligent creatures that think and problem solve like human beings, but they are still fish. They also get separated, and the point of the game is to get all four fish back together in the ocean where they can be free.

As silly as the actual premise is, the story itself plays out something like a children's movie. Even the animation and the sets of this world look like it came from a Pixar or a DreamWorks movie. The fish cannot talk though, although they do squeak in a way that makes them sound like people.

Although the game does involve some puzzle solving sections, the bulk of the game has you trying to manipulate physics to your favor. Remember that you cannot last long outside of water, so in order to traverse your environment, you have to keep to areas where there is water. Sometimes this means rolling around in a fish bowl, a mason jar (I hated those), a mop bucket, and the occasional rolling trashcan. Even though the physics of this makes no sense, you can push these around from inside them. It's something you just have to accept and move on about.

There are four types of fish, and each of them has something that makes them special:

-The Goldfish does not have any powers, but he does have really shiny scales that act as a beacon for the other fish to eventually find him. Other than that, he's just a regular fish.

-The Flying Fish can glide through the air for a while before he dries out. He can actually cover a large distance while out of water, probably way more than the others. He is also the most difficult to control, in my opinion.

-The Puffer Fish can blow up like a balloon. If you do this while at the bottom of the water, he will fly up and out really quite high. He can also roll around on dry ground for a little bit and is very easy to control. I found him to be the easiest to play with.

-The Piranha is all about destruction and violence. He is way stronger than he should be. A normal mission with him is all about flooding homes by ripping into the water pipes. The idea is to fill the house full of water until he can escape through a window or something. His music was my favorite. It had a good beat and was full of mischief.

Once you get them all to the ocean, you have one final mission where you have to play all four of them at once. Along the way, there is this poor guy who keeps having a bad day, because, by random chance, he continuously has ban run-ins with each of these four fish. It's sort of an ongoing gag and very funny.

The game is extremely fun, but it is also very difficult. The maps are really not that big, but you may end up getting stuck in some parts trying to get your fish to jump just right or glide the way he's supposed to. It's one of those games where the premise is simple, but it is so hard to master. The ending, however, made the whole journey so worth it.

I absolutely recommend "I Am Fish." I'll go a step further. This game needs to be a movie. I really loved the premise and the whole adventure aspect of it. To see how far four sentient fish go to join together in the ocean made all the frustrating aspects of the game worth it. Just be prepared to fail a lot.

This blog was written on August 2, 2024.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. Also stop by my Amazon.com listing by clicking this link: https://www.amazon.com/T.K.-Wade/e/B07BQK9RTZ

Check out my books! Thanks!