Fairy Tale Spotlight: No Rest for the Living [Video Game Review]

"No Rest for the Living" is an episode for Doom II. It was released in 2010. Originally this episode was made for the Xbox Live Arcade version of Doom II, but it was also released for the BFG Edition of Doom 3. It is only 9 maps, but there are some things about this episode that stand out.

I really needed to play this episode after the miserable experience I had with "Master Levels for Doom II." I had actually played this one before but just forgot about it. I quickly began to recognize some areas and realized that it had just been a long while since I had encountered these maps before.

All in all, these are some pretty difficult maps, but they never seem unfair. There are also a lot of outdoor areas that look really amazing. Apparently, these outdoor areas could not have been made in the original Doom II. New technology had to be invented for them to exist in the complicated way that they were presented. It really gave a lot of these maps a very open feel that I thought was quite good.

The plot is actually about one particular Cyberdemon that was angry at Doom Guy and was building up his own army to kill him. Hilariously, I did not know this and ended up not even killing him in the final map. I just went directly for the exit. I guess he'll just keep on trying!

These maps are well known for tossing a hell of a lot of enemies at you at one time, even on the easier difficulties. They also often throw in a few high level baddies into the mix just to freak you out all the more. I liked it, but it was rough. I can remember a few moments where I just "noped" out of a room to gather up my sanity. None of this is a complaint. I like the maps where they toss everything and the kitchen sink at me.

I guess the only real drawback is how short this episode is. It sort of comes and goes, and then you may feel a little sad. I would have liked to have seen more of those open outdoor areas in later episodes. Good stuff. Also I don't really feel bad for not killing the Cyberdemon. I'm good with slaughtering his whole army instead.

I absolutely recommend "No Rest for the Living" to Doom enthusiasts. Hey, isn't it great that Classic Doom is still coming out with new original content? The Nightdive produced remaster is so good!

This blog was written on August 21, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Master Levels for Doom II [Video Game Review]

"Master Levels for Doom II" is a series of 21 Doom II maps released commercially by id Software in 1995. It was originally released without any sort of map order. People had to load them up manually which kind of sucked. Through the recent Nightdive remaster of Doom and Doom II, we can actually play this game as its own episode.

The first half of this episode is very good. The level designs were very solid. The enemies come at you fiercely and in great numbers. That's just the sort of Doom experience I am looking for. The trouble began with most of the second half. The problem here is mainly the confusing map design. Everything looks really good, but to circumvent the map, you have to find a lot of secret paths. They broke a major rule in Doom map-making. The secret areas are not suppose to lead to crucial areas.

It got so bad that I would often spent up to an hour, searching around a map where all the enemies were already dead. It was boring. I don't play Doom to solve complicated puzzles. I play it to fight tons of enemies in various interesting environments!

That said, the maps themselves were still well-built. I actually do like solving puzzles, but I just don't play Doom for that sort of thing. This felt more like I was playing a game like "The Room." I spent so much time just dragging my face against every single wall, desperately hoping to find some hidden door. It sucked. I mean... it really sucked.

The last few missions were not as bad, but they still suffered from the puzzle bug. I did like that it all leads up to a fight with John Romero's severed head at the very end. This time you could actually see him, although he was still kind of far away. I kind of enjoyed that mission, despite how long it took me to figure it out.

There was one hidden mission. I could not find the secret entrance to it, so I had to load it up with only a pistol. Unfortunately, it was something called a "slaughter map," which basically means it's just absolutely packed full of enemies. In this case, there looked to be a room full of at least 30 Cyber Demons. I was actually able to finish it. The mission was designed in such a way that you could actually beat it and even kill everybody even if you go in with no weapons. I liked it!

Sorry to say this, but I am not going to recommend "Master Levels for Doom II," however I do recommend just poking around at the maps individually. They are not all bad, and I am actually happy that the maps were put together into an episodic format. There really isn't a downside to doing that, but the maps are still what they are.

This blog was written on August 19, 2024.

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This Is My 1000th Blog

I actually had no idea I had written this many blogs. 1000? What the heck?! But here I am. It's a nice whole number. I'm happy to finally get here, and I guess I should say a few things before I move on to 1001.

I started this blog Tuesday, June 18, 2013. It was a bunch of introductions and book promotions. I did not have any idea of where I was going with it, but at least I was writing something. It took a little time, but I soon began experimenting with the whole Spotlight thing. I actually got the idea from some Star Trek comic books I was reading back in the day. They had a special series of comics that would spotlight each alien race in the franchise (such as "Vulcan Spotlight"). I liked the term and how it could be used to focus on one particular thing.

I started off focusing on something I was and am still a fan of: Rodents. "Rodent Spotlight" was a way for me to give to the world a look into one aspect of my interest that I was really into. When I eventually ran out of that, I moved on to other Spotlights, ultimately landing on the final leg of the journey: Fairy Tale Spotlight. The latter probably will never end since it sort of encompasses everything in reality. I've turned it into the whole identity of my blog.

"Fairy Tale Spotlight" ultimately began as a way for me to explore fairy tale concepts, but the further I looked into it I soon realized that I could see fairy tales in just about every facet of reality. Everything had a little fantasy in it, even things that were real. Everything seemed to inspire one thing or another. Even the Bible, a book I consider to be a work of truth, seemed like a fairy tale to me. And that is why I have kept it for as long as I have.

I now use this blog to simply review the books I read, and some movies and video games too. I don't do book promotions anymore because the bulk of my writing is done under an alternate name. Yes, I am still writing. My closest friends knew this for a long time. I am publishing and doing okay with my stuff. Some people already found out about my other penname, and that's okay. But I just felt that I did not have enough literary freedom to write as T.K. Wade. Ann Rice would probably understand the problems I was having, if that makes any sense to you.

As far as the future is concerned, I am just going to continue writing reviews. I am backlogged pretty heavily as I read a lot and am finishing books all the time. I always look forward to working on a review, even if my intention is to bash it. I actually love smacking down on a bad book just as much as I love raving about a good one.

First and foremost, I firmly believe in the First Amendment and literary freedom in this country. A writer should never be cast down for what he writes about. Authors write about what they like and love, and it provides us with a release that we actually really need. We get inspired by the books we read, and then we write out our "corrections" by way of our own stories. It's always been this way. It is a privilege that should never be oppressed in any way. In fact, we should get more freedoms to write fiction in the manner we please. If you don't like it, don't read it. Don't tear people down. Always build them up as much as you can. If you can't do it, then mind your own business.

Even the books I have hated still deserve to exist, and the authors deserved to write them. All you get from me is a recommendation based on my own opinion. There's something out there for everybody at the end of the day.

I think that's all I wanted to say. I'm just going to keep doing what I am doing. I want to thank Shawn O'Toole, Christopher Buffaloe, and Donald White for replying to most of my blogs through the years. They are all close friends of mine, and I always looked forward to their replies.

That's it! Time to just keep going. Lots of books to read and reviews to write.

This blog was written on August 19, 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

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the main premise of the story.]

"The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" is a short science fiction story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1968. This is more of a traditional science fiction with aliens and such, but the premise is still pretty surreal.

The idea here is that there is a seven-headed dragon with dogs heads that is completely insane. As a matter of fact, he is the very spirit of insanity. The aliens who capture him drain him of his insanity and somehow transmit his spirit across all time and all space. This is used to explain why some people in our world throughout history just did horrible things for seemingly no reason.

Where this explanation is a bit dry of substance, the presentation of this story is very ambient. I actually liked how everything was described. It is a very surreal story for something I consider fairly mundane. For that reason, I think it is okay to recommend this one. It has a visual appeal to it if anything. Just understand that there isn't much substance behind the point it's trying to make. Just a simple "what if."

This blog was written on August 15, 2024.

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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

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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.

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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.

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