How to slay a Dragon: A Fantasy's Hero's guide to the real middle ages

I saw this book in the Gaming section of a Barnes and Noble, no idea why it would be there.  It has nothing to do with games.  But I was hooked by the premise of the back of the book telling me this was how real world medieval people would deal with fantastical beyond real life things.  This is How to slay a Dragon, by Cait Stevenson.

Who doesn't like dragons?  aside from the knight being roasted on the cover.

So this book is basically a history book in disguise, but viewed through the lens of the tropes of sword and magic fantasy.  How to trick the genie, how to tame the dragon, how to rescue the princess, etc, etc.  That's not me just saying this, the author herself in the intro says as much, that this is a history book in disguise.  But it's a very good, entertaining history book.  

The book is separated into different sections not by time period but by trope of fantasy stories, further separated by how far into 'the heros journey' the hero is.  How to prepare for the journey, hazards on the way, reaping the rewards, etc etc.  The subjects range from How to deal with the bard, how to win a barfight, how to slay the dragon, and how to traverse the cursed swamp.  

However not all titles are indicative of what is in the chapter, like the cursed swamp one was about medieval plumbing for example.  But, the books overall is a very good read and tells very exciting and wonderful facts about medieval history. 

My only two complaints are that without a proper timeline anywhere in the book, I had no idea what time period each event took place in, since it hopped around a bit.  The other is equally minor, the book spends a bit of time insulting the reader.  Which, might be funny but I've been bullied enough both by others and myself that I don't find it so.  

Anyway, I give this book 4 our of 5 stars, which is a damn good score for something that cost me only 15 bucks, or maybe 20.  It was quite awhile ago I read this book, hence the short review.

Anyway, the reason why my review stopped is due to a mental break down in February that I have since recovered from, but depression/anxiety/laziness stopped me from resuming reviews.  Hopefully this will resume them.

See you all, next time.

Ori and the Blind Forest

This was finished awhile ago, I have quite a back log of reviews that need to be posted.  I might start posting twice a month.  Without further ado, the review,

Holy shit this game is BRUTAL.  I mean dear god.  I'm sure you're thinking, what game could it possibly be for me to call it brutal?  I'll tell you what, it's Ori and the goddamn Blind Forest.

Stop looking so innocent, cover art!

Make no mistake, the cute, amazing, beautiful and almost dream like graphics and art is a ruse.  A con to lure you into the world, to care about the characters and story.  

The music was arranged by an evil genius, able to elicit any emotion from your mind, but instead brings about soul crushing sadness and makes you weep.

The animation, gorgeous, the soundtrack, amazing, the art, stellar.  But make no mistake, this game should be rated M, for mental breakdown.

It's not the gameplay, hard as it is at my 450 plus deaths after finishing the game, a tough as nails platformer that puts Hollow Knight to shame, that involves precise jumps, dashes, and bouncing off enemies and projectiles like mad.  

It's the story that will bring you to your knees, that will make you sob uncontrollably, and you think, ' maybe if I do something differently it won't make me cry'.  NOPE, the ending will bring you to tears.

This game is treacherous.  Downright evil.  Do not play this game without plenty of tissues!

...with that said I give it 4.5 stars out of five.  The only reason I don't give 5 out of 5 stars is because in the Definitive Edition, if you don't do the DE only part of the game you might be lagging behind in unlockable skills to better withstand the trails Ori faces.  I found it a little too difficult to be 100% fun at the end.  If you can withstand or even like hard platformers, buy this game immediately.

...No I will not spoil the story, not even the prologue.  But even that is heart-breaking.