Nonek

There is still a thriving trade in hand written scripture as is still practised by quite a few abbeys around the world, indeed the scarcity of the art form has only increased its value.

A bad year for the arts.

Probably Amy Hennig's experience in the field showing there, the later Legacy of Kain games had some similar moments between Kain and Raziel, when they were not trying to kill each other. I got the kids a PS4 and the Uncharted collection for Christmas, and they've been enthralled since, I was thinking of getting them the two new Lara Croft games but they don't seem so tongue in cheek or as fun as Uncharted so I went with Mr Drake.

More information being released from the Rosetta mission by Dr Matt Taylor and his team: Firstly, in this particular case the "tail" of the comet stretching back millions of miles and emitted from the main body is formed of water ice crystals. Secondly, there was far more proto matter on the surface of the comet than expected, not the building blocks of life, but the building blocks of those building blocks if you will. These two finds raise interesting possibilities, that comets may well be the seeds of life for worlds, which is a nice change from what we see of heavenly bodies causing extinction events, A Shiva like entity if ever there was one. Was life on Earth sparked by such an impact?

I just wanted to point out it wasn't exactly a new claim for those who hadn't heard or who had forgotten. Yes I suppose Mr Volourn will have to explain why he believes she has been slandering Mr Bowie prior to his death for confirmation, I was merely passing on what i'd read recently and thought might be his reason.

Perhaps the general public have not read her autobiography, or are being re-acquainted with the lady, and are not aware of her personal matters. I was certainly surprised to hear her name brought up the other day, as i'd largely forgotten her.

Warrior Kings, an old RTS that recently came to GOG. Upon seeing the game advertised I was overcome by nostalgia and decided to purchase and play the game, seems a mite stabler than when last experienced (though that was near release,) and the atmosphere of the piece has not diminished one iota.

Good one. It is amazing news for you? Good news for the companies I guess but piracy hasn't done any in. Hm..guess we just need to turn a Denuvo developer. Oh sorry, I thought you were making a joke because one expects consumers to pay for what they consume while piracy allows one to not do so. I thought it was quite a witty ironic slant making light of the whole matter, guess I was just reading too much into things as usual. Personally I have no feelings on piracy, I don't use such methods because as a moderately wealthy gentleman who has been in continuous employment for almost four decades, I can't justify using someone elses product without their permission and the usual exchange of renumeration. However others are free to do as they wish, and I realise that this is a far cleaner and less dangerous form of theft than mugging etcetera.

Link? On Celebrity Big Brother Ms Bowie was apparently (I read this in the Metro) complaining before his death that Mr Bowie had purposely turned their son Duncan against her, because the gentleman no longer speaks or has any contact with her. Seems a little strange to discount her sons own feelings and logic as a grown man and blame Mr Bowie, but then again i'm with Philip Larkin on families.

Good one.

Meanwhile in the Caspian Sea a huge isthmus of land sprang from the waters and licked along the jagged shoreline, now twisted and reshaped into a lustful grin. A black island pupil arose from the Aral Sea, was blinked away by the waves and then returned to cast its lecherous gaze upon the soft, succulent green lands huddled around the Mediterranean. Slowly the Taiga waggled suggestively, as if it were the forested eyebrows of the West Siberian Plains, and the whole mass of Asia pushed itself towards the frail form of maiden Europe.

I've read a few of the later ones and you're not missing anything Mr Raithe, though he does narrate the transition of our Old World into Shannaras New World. He began from a series which was set in the Old World and featured proto Druid Characters, named Knights of the Word, implying an Old Testament connection it seemed.

Elves were seperate and apart all the time weren't they, hiding in the manner of the King of the Silver River, and chose to emerge when the new world came to be? Which makes me wonder if the Magic Kingdom For Sale world is a part of the same continuum?

The Grim Reaper doesn't seem to have any musical taste at all.

I have to agree, thus why i'd never try and change any game or take up the nonsensical conspiracy theories about games causing violence or sexism. Therefore I have to arrive at the same conclusion, i'm just a big wuss. Wolves are especially frustrating however, the yelping and frightened barks which are recorded so well in games make my Fido look up at me with his big brown eyes, and I feel as guilty as sin.

I think it was worse in the ones Crystal Dynamics did before the latest reboot, they had me shooting Bengal Tigers! I chose to give up at that point.

Perhaps it shows a distinct lack of empathy to my fellow man but the sheer amount of endangered species that Ms Croft slew in her earlier outings really made me uncomfortable, as opposed to her few runs in with fellow treasure hunters. I'm such a big wuss when it comes to this, in the Witcher i'll ride away from bears and wolves when at all possible. As for her slaying of the dinosaurs she found, I was aghast to say the least, 65 million years of extinction and the young lady decides she has a right to decide their fate once more?

Thank you.

From what i've read the TV series is adapting the second book "Elfstones of Shannara." This is part of the original trilogy and I believe Mr Brooks writing on this world is still ongoing, though the quality of his content has deteriorated in the last twenty years or so. I'd just read the original trilogy personally, and perhaps use the library or a second hand book shop if the second quartet of books and beyond interest you.

Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands: Utter dreck, filled with the usual cliches and anachronistic elements, do yourself a favour and watch the Beowulf and Grendel film with Gerard Butler from a few years back instead. This cheap Game of Thrones knock off is not even remotely entertaining, and butchers the source material unmercifully.

It's quite difficult to say because as you probably remember the prose is quite cumbersome and that book is where Mr Brooks is learning his craft and form, there are some good points later on but it does tend to drag, its certainly not a classic of the genre but neither is it without high points. Personally I believe that reading of any literature is never wasted time, however i'd read up to the Hadeshorn and the Tomb of Kings beyond if in doubt, or maybe even Paranor, the pace quickens at that point and arcs begin to be resolved. Edit: I've got to wonder whether they found an actor capable of portraying the immense, cowled brooding presence of Allanon, the seven foot Druid who defines the first trilogy, must be hard to find someone of such physicality and yet the appropriate acting chops.

Yes I thought back on my impressions of the Shannara books and they were pretty much teen adventure / boys own mixed with classic fantasy, ocassionally they rose above the formula and later dipped far below. I'd recommend the second book "Elfstones of -" as probably the best of the first trilogy and "The Druid of -" as the best of the Scions quartet. There are some excellent ideas and settings used throughout, though any Englishman whose travelled the Isles will recognise most of the names Mr Brooks uses, but all told it is mainly just quite good fun. Have to have a watch, thanks for the notification chaps. Edit: Garret Jax was a marvellously strong though one dimensional character from the "Wishsong of -," indeed the whole company of Jair in that game was fantastically characterised. I much preferred his quite clever questline to the main protagonists, she was a touch too mary Sue-ish, purposefully so I believe.

One has to look at root causes and i'm afraid that this is most likely a clash of cultures, and a media agenda in both the Middle East and the west set on demonising each other. Obviously this does not excuse the criminals who engaged in these assaults, they should be dealt with to the full extent of the law, and given harsh sentences or deported. However imagine a man from a state where women are wearing the full ninja suit things (sorry I forget the name of it,) and then transplant that individual to the virtual Sodom that is any western city centre on a party night, the shock must be quite something. Add this to the negative reporting on the decadent west, which is being reinforced before their very eyes, and one can see why they would believe that the west is all that they've been told that it is. Why should they obey the laws of this decadent and sinful Gommorah? We are used to our women, their freedom, our drinking culture and how we act, dress and behave, and we enjoy that aspect of our society as we have done for millenia. To others, well it must be a shock, and i'm saying this as an older man who has seen our society grow more outrageous and inebriated over the years. The clothes young ladies wear nowadays when clubbing would be unsuitable for a lady of the night when I was a lad. The way we drink has also changed, no longer is it the sedentary passtime where we quietly got sozzled after fifteen pints and then wobbled home. Now it is a frantic, quick and violent affair, with much shouting, screaming and showing off. This must require some getting used to from more conservative societies. Where is the steady slow integration that helps to adjust immigrants to their new homes? Ensuring that all parties are able to live with each other, find employment and be a valued member of the community. If you're just going to dump a large amount of foreigners into a city without preparation, consent from the local populace or extra police and other sensible precautions and groundwork then expect bad things to happen. If your media and their media are demonising each other and the countries are nearly at war in some manner, well then one must expect integration to be an uphill struggle. However as always I try to remember all of the individuals who are innocent and trying to be good citizens, they outnumber the lawbreakers and always will.

Cossacks: European Wars? As I remember it was visually the spitting image of AoE though more detailed and accurate to the smaller timeframe, while combat played out quite similarly to Total War, in a far more realistic manner than AoE. One could form lines of musketry to beat back opponents with massed fire, form square for defense against cavalry and marching, the standard tactics of the period with an emphasis on that Swedish chap who revolutionised warfare of that age, and obviously terrain played an immense role as always. Very challenging game however even on the lower levels of difficulty for the beginner. The naval battles were also very good, the line actually worked as well.

I missed Witcher 2 Forest Trolls, the Rock Trolls of the thrid game were good but i'd have liked to see a variety.