Andrew Krivak’s, “The Bear” is pure propaganda. The writing is sparse and well down, but the story fails due to poor plot and characters. Everyone is portrayed as being smart until they need to be stupid in order for the plot to move forward. By far, the worst problems of the book are its morals. It promotes a neo-pagan idolization of nature while portraying humanity and human civilization as evil. It finally concludes that the death of mankind is a natural good.
Category: Reviews
Review: Alan Wake 2 Is One of the Best Games Ever
Alan Wake 2 is one of the greatest video games that I have ever played. Its story is full of twists and turns that will surprise you, and has the kind of detail that will cause you to care for the characters in it. The music is superb and not only elevates the gameplaying experience but is legitimately great to listen to on its own. The gameplay is fun, balancing the tension of the survival horror genre with moments of levity and action that make for a rich gaming experience. And it incorporates various media, everything from video to interpretative dance to prove that video games can be true art. The depth of meaning in the story’s symbolism and storytelling is surprising and provides insight into the importance of ritual in the lives of the faithful.
Total War: Exposing The Vicious Nature of the State/Government
These past few weeks I’ve been playing the most anarchist game ever made, one that reveals the absolute truth of exactly how the State/government functions, why it functions that way, the true motives of those in power, and the impact this has on the societies over which it rules. Honestly, it is quite shocking just how revealing it is of the tyranny and violence at the heart of modern politics and statism. In this article, I not only explain what the game is but how it completely exposes how the state functions, how the state corrupts society, how the state is founded upon violence and theft, and why we should utterly reject it.
Hocus Pocus 2 Is Terrible In Every Way
No, I’m not over exaggerating just to get clicks. The plot is full of holes so big you could drive a freight train through them. It contradicts itself, repeatedly. There are no character arcs for any of the characters. It tries to elevate message over story, but fails to deliver either a coherent message or a logical story. And, worst of all, it sloppily tries to redeem the child eating, soul sucking, mind raping, slave mongering, tyrannical, sociopathic, insane, Devil worshipping, power mad Sanderson sisters in the absolutely worst way possible. In short, Hocus Pocus 2 is everything wrong with modern storytelling. It ends up doing far more damage than good and ends up glorifying Evil and diminishing Righteousness. Here I explain all these reasons in detail and why you shouldn’t waste your time on this movie.
Bioshock 2 and the Redeeming Power of Mercy
I recently completed by playthrough of the Bioshock Trilogy Remastered with 2010’s Bioshock 2. After playing the original Bioshock and then its pre-sequel, Bioshock Infinite, both by Ken Levine, Bioshock 2 is like a breath of fresh air. Both the gameplay and the storytelling in Bioshock is far superior to the other games. But the best thing about the game is that it has an actual message – about the importance of family, the power of mercy, the strength of love, and the possibility of redemption. in its own weird, dystopian way, Bioshock 2 is really about Zion.
Bioshock Infinite: Great Ideas, Faulty Storytelling
Herein I review the game Bioshock Infinite and its two DLC extensions, Burial At Sea Episodes 1 & 2. I mostly eschew gameplay (it is a typical first-person shooter with some small variety) in order to focus on the storytelling and character elements in the game. I look at the major characters of the game, important elements, and notable settings and evaluate what they tell us about one another/themselves and how they fit in the overall story. And while I find much to laud in specific memorable moments of the game, the overall storytelling in Infinite and its DLCs leave a lot to be desired. Much of it is contradictory, nonsensical, vague, ill-defined, caricaturistic, and out of character for those involved in the events taking place. The game is enjoyable and playable. It even flirts with some grand ideas. But ultimately it has plot holes big enough to drive a semi-truck through, which brings the entire experience down.
Book Reviews: The Dystopian Technocracy of “The Last Crime”
Herein I review Ian Kennedy Martin’s, “The Last Crime,” a near future dystopia that combines Orwell and Huxley’s insights into a single story. The story also reveals the true basis of the State and why almost every revolution is as bad, if not worse, than what it replaced.
How Mormonism Influenced The First Mistborn Trilogy
I recently finished Brandon Sanderson’s first Mistborn trilogy -The Final Empire through Heroes of Ages – and loved all three books. They’re incredible works of storytelling and some of the best fantasy out there. Sanderson is easily one of the best fantasy writers alive. He is also a devout Latter-day Saint. As I was reading his books again and again I kept coming across ways that Mormonism influenced his writing in crucial ways, but was shocked to find so little online exploring these influences. This article is my attempt to demonstrate some of the major ways that LDS scripture, history, theology, and culture deeply influence Sanderson’s writing and appear in these books.
“A Quiet Place” And The Terror of Social Media
The “A Quiet Place” movies have both seemingly struck a cord with society in recent years, racking up both praise and dollars in the process. This makes sense. Good horror does more than shock us or even scare us. Good horror tells stories about human fears and thereby helps us understand ourselves and our society better. The “A Quiet Place” movies do this very well. Its stories full of monsters ready to kill people and destroy lives for speaking mirrors well the very real dangers we face in today’s toxic social media world. This article explores how the “A Quiet Place” movies explore the dangers of social media as well as the message of hope these movies have about how to defeat those dangers.
Stephen King’s Roadwork: A Parable of Life in a Fallen World and the Light of Hope
Using the lesser known but well written Stephen King novel, “Roadwork,” as a jumping off point, this article explores the vicissitudes of life and how it seems like mortality just piles suffering and pain on top of suffering and pain until we either are crushed under the weight, seek escape in mind-numbing hedonism, or snap and engage in retaliatory violence at the world that has so hurt us. I explore how this happens and why it happens, augmenting the fictional story with a real life example of Marvin Heemeyer, a man driven to the breaking point who struck back at his persecutors, and why we don’t need to similarly give in to such despair. There is a source of hope in the despair, a blinding light in the darkness that can rescue us from the suffering and depression in life. That Light is Jesus Christ which I explain as the solution and salvation to the problems of the world. There is a better way than either suffering or vengeance and the is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power it gives us to tame the monster within us and create a world of light and joy.