C.T. Phipps's Blog, page 99

The Riyria Revelations: Heir of Novron review

    I've mentioned how much I enjoy the Riyria Revelations. They're a collection of fun books which are a breath of fresh air in the dreary darkness which is otherwise my kind of fantasy. As big a grimdark fan as I am, I don't mind taking a break in a land where good guys are good and bad guys are awful. It's a world with a lot of familiar elements (elves, dwarves, magic swords, lost lineages) but handles them in a way which is competent if not original.

    Unfor...

Dead Space 3 review

    Dead Space is a series which changed the way horror video games were made. It released three very well-received video games (though not without controversy), a pair of animated movies, many comic books, and quite a bit of merchandise before essentially ceasing to exist as a franchise. That is in large part due to the financial difficulties at Electronic Arts but more particularly due to the mixed reception of this game.

    Dead Space 3 is a big transition fro...

The Riyria Revelations: Rise of Empire review

    The Riyria Revelations remains one of my favorite popcorn fantasy series. They're not perfect books with their simplistic good and evil morality as well as somewhat generic fantasy setting but they're fun. The characters are likable, the dialogue is sharp, and the world-building (while not terribly original) is consistent as well as used intelligently. If I were to describe it, I'd probably say it's what would happen if you combined Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar series with some...

The Magicians review

    Syfy has recently begun showing their adaptation of Lev Grossman's The Magicians. I'm extremely fond of it so far and very interested in sharing my review of it. Heck, I even considered reviewing all of the individual episodes but don't have the time for it with all of my current projects. However, in anticipation of the first season ending, I've decided to review the original novel which inspired it all. I have mixed feelings regarding the story and its sequels but I think...

Dead Tide: Surge review

    The Dead Tide series is one of my favorite zombie series and one of the few which I think actually takes advantage of the format. They're not flawless and not for everyone but if I had to recommend zombie fiction for a connoisseur then it would be up there with the Time of Death books, World War Z, Ex-Heroes. and The Becoming series.

    The story doesn't do anything particularly unique with the format, zombies functioning under Romero rules, but Stephen A. No...

The Wheel of Time: Lord of Chaos review

    I tend to consider The Wheel of Time one of the greatest works of fantasy ever completed, even though it does have its serious flaws. These include over-reliance on stock characters, everything being just a little too twee, and the fact the morality is Black and White with the only occasional smattering of gray. Despite this, it's an amazing work which contains hundreds upon hundreds of characters interacting with their own distinct plotlines in various ways which sometimes...

Dead Space: Catalyst review

    Dead Space: Catalyst is an excellent book with a really awful opening. The writing isn't bad, don't get me wrong, but it's a bit of a case of the author doing a set up which is far removed from the premise of what the audience came here to enjoy. For those who may be put off by the introduction, I encourage readers to stick with it as you'll be rewarded with plenty of traditional Dead Space fun with Unitologists, Necromorphs, Markers, action, and horror.

    T...

Dead Space 2 review

    Dead Space was a really enjoyable game to me. It was a wonderful homage to Alien, The Thing, Event Horizon, and just about every other good science-fiction horror movie made during the Eighties. The game suffered for the fact there were too many killable monsters and after slaying your 60th or 70th Necromorph, they're not really all that intimidating. Despite this, I was entertained and decided to pick up the remaining two in the trilogy.

    The premise of De...

Killjoys (Season One) review

    The SyFy channel has recently done something amazing: it's started showing science fiction again. The show has never been entirely without science fiction but the Sharknados and werewolf shows have been outnumbering the Battlestar Galacticas for some time. This is changing with series like Dark Matter, The Expanse, and Killjoys. I, for one, am very intrigued as the majority of these series are taking a decidedly dark take toward the material.

    Killjoys, at...

Killjoys (Season 1) review

    The SyFy channel has recently done something amazing: it's started showing science fiction again. The show has never been entirely without science fiction but the Sharknados and werewolf shows have been outnumbering the Battlestar Galacticas for some time. This is changing with series like Dark Matter, The Expanse, and Killjoys. I, for one, am very intrigued as the majority of these series are taking a decidedly dark take toward the material.

    Killjoys, at...