Deadhouse Gates

First we got the bomb, and that was good,
‘Cause we love peace and motherhood.

Then Russia got the bomb, but that’s okay,
‘Cause the balance of power’s maintained that way.

Who’s next?

France got the bomb, but don’t you grieve,
‘Cause they’re on our side (I believe).

China got the bomb, but have no fears,
They can’t wipe us out for at least five years.

Who’s next?

Then Indonesia claimed that they
Were gonna get one any day.

South Africa wants two, that’s right:
One for the black and one for the white.

Who’s next?

Egypt’s gonna get one too,
Just to use on you know who.

So Israel’s getting tense.
Wants one in self defense.

“The Lord’s our shepherd,” says the psalm,
But just in case, we better get a bomb.

Who’s next?

Luxembourg is next to go,
And (who knows?) maybe Monaco.

We’ll try to stay serene and calm
When Alabama gets the bomb.

After reading this book,  I felt… conflicted. I don’t know, it almost felt like I had to struggle with finishing it sometimes. I wanted to really just love this book, but at the end, it was just okay…

First off, Dru; The main character, she needs to stand out above the rest. This is her story, her life, her situation. And while I did find her bad-ass attitude refreshing, I also found it annoying at the same time. She was a bit to cold and to cruel for a main character. Yes, she’s made to be this way, and she definitely has her reasons, but at times, it was a bit much. Her thought process and what she says and does are to different things. It was very hard to relate to and hard to keep up.

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A sad day when I heard the verdict 1 minute ago. The sentence was 1 year in prison, and a fine of 30million swedish kronor. (3.6 million US dollars)

Must say I was a little bit shocked of the verdict when I read about this on vg.no and dagbladet.no (Norwegian online newspapers). But then again, not totally shocked, since I read Sunde’s  message on his twitter last night, where he posted “inside” confirmation that they had already lost from a trustworthy source.

Nothing will really happen, and I agree that most of it is just a media circus. TPB will appeal on the spot, taking the case further up into the system of law.  Which is something the music industry would have done as well, if they had lost.

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You are like a sports car
you are so fast
the smell of sex and money,
and you can go far

but I am like a tractor
I am slow but I am fit
and eventually I’ll find you,
I’ll crush you like a little shit

Now, who really has the dirty mind?

The book opens with a scene from Drizzt in the future 100 years. The scene is an interesting idea but really should have been saved for the end of the book. It ruins the little suspense that is present in any of the recent Drizzt books. The foreshadowing technique being used in the scene is ham-handed at best.

Quite a few minor plot lines are closed in some rather brutally short ways. The number of side characters killed is fairly high which actually makes sense given the orc army situations. It is good to see the orc using some actual tactics and strategies… evil does not mean you are stupid.

The truce between the Dwarves and the Orcs is an interesting plot twist that has reach into the very structure of the Forgotten Realms multiverse. R.A. Salvatore pushes a philosophy of live and let live through Drizzt’s musings and the truce. The entire book seemed to be an analog for the US involvement in the war in Iraq where the US are the Dwarves.
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Happy New Years everyone. Here is a nice video from last nights fireworks here in Oslo, Norway.

Running late on your Christmas shopping? Missing a few presents and unsure what to buy? Well, then you are just like me. It’s only 5 days left to Christmas and I myself was poking around in the shops today to find the last items to buy. And it was hell! Streets and shops alike where crowded with people. Impossible to find a parking place anywhere. But after a good 30min driving around, an spot popped open. I literally spent hours trying to find the right presents, and was starting to think I’ve made a bad planning of this day. But in the end I got what I was looking for, but it came at a price of high stress levels, lots of caffeine and a good deal of patience.
So I thought I should write a small guide for those who is in the same desperate situation that I myself was in. I’ve compiled a short list of good products which should be rather easy to find, and most likely in stock as well.

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Originally this book was a computer game, but Raymond Feist decided that he wanted to make a novel about it. He took the core story, eliminated some of the sillier side quests that RPGs are known for and wrote the book. The book has turned out to be the weakest in the world of the Riftwar. The characters, including those that were favorites and well known from the Riftwar Saga, just feel to be flat and not nearly as interesting as they were in the earlier novels. The time frame of this book comes about ten years after A Darkness at Sethanon (Princess Anita is pregnant with Nicholas) and several years before A Prince of the Blood.

Krondor: The Betrayal introduces two new characters that will serve as the protagonists: Owyn, a magician and Gorath, a Dark Elf. We also get to revisit Locklear, Jimmy, Pug, and Arutha and other minor characters who appear in the Riftwar Saga. Locklear is on patrol in the Northern lands of the Kingdom and comes across a band of moredhel chasing someone. Upon being rescued, that someone turns out to be Gorath, a moredhel himself. He has an urgent message for Prince Arutha: Murmandamus lives! Murmandamus was the big bad in A Darkness at Sethanon and was killed at that city. The threat, rumor, risk that he might be alive, or that the moredhel could believe that, is cause for alarm and Arutha immediately sends Jimmy and Locklear (with Owyn and Gorath) to investigate while Arutha marshals the armies.

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