[EDIT: Getting this post up because of the death of DW Jones] All right, I am going to write down a few reading ideas, here, grouped by author… Here are the first. The author is Diana Wynne Jones, you know her if you saw the most recent Miyazaki, “The Moving Castle“. And yes, it is based on one of her books, “Howl’s Moving Castle“.

The merlin conspiracy: Two stories, on one side the young Roddy and her friend Grundo, both following the King’s Progress on Blest, and on the other side Nick Mallory’s story, a young man from Earth, and Romanov’s, too, a powerfull magician. The two stories seem unconnected and happen in two different places, but the truth is that in this group of universes, everything is intertwined, and when Roddy and Grundo discover a conspiracy, it is Nick they ask for help, and so as well to Romanov.

The Dalemark Quartet: (Cart and Cwidder – Drowned Ammet – The Spellcoats – The Crown of Dalemark) In the realm of Dalemark, everything is very wrong, since a tyrant has the power. A few resist, other live despite the bad situation. Clennen the singer seems to be of the second category, apparently at least. With his wife and children, he journeys through the realm, presenting his show, and also being a messenger for everyone. Could some messages be dangerous, more dangerous than weapons ?

Chrestomanci: (The Lives of Christopher Chant – Charmed Life – Witch Week – The Magicians of Caprona – Mixed Magic; A few novels more difficult to find) All these books are about the theme of the Enchanter Chrestomanci, a kind of “controler” of magic, who has 9 lives, and both of his past lives and past “missions” he had, as well as about the people who are / were the Chrestomanci.

Fire and Hemlock: Polly is a teenager with a problem. She seems to have two “sets” of memories of her past. One implies a strange painting and a man named Tom Lynn, with whom she has / had epistolary exchange about the mysterious story of Mr. Piper. The other is… rather dull, even dreary. But which is the right one ? And where does the second come from ?

Hexwood: Hexwood Farm is a group of strange buildings, with machines that are at least as unusual. And when one of these machines begins to work anormaly, it is logical that the surrounding woods are the first tainted by the anomalies, isn’t it ? In the woods, Mordion, Ann, and a very strange child named Hume will meet really unsympathetic men called Controlers and Reigners.

Derkholm: (Dark lord of Derkholm – Year of the Griffin) I have only read the second one since my orders did not arrive But this volume alone is beautiful, with magician, an university, griffins (no I am not looking at someone), etc etc etc… A must read.

And now a few Websites:
- http://www.dianawynnejones.com/
- http://suberic.net/dwj/
- http://www.leemac.freeserve.co.uk/

Stories of magicians, sealed rooms, mysteries… and humour!

Infos
A BBC series that fits both in Comedy and Detective styles, where you can surprisingly find actors like Colin Baker, Peter Davison, Bill Bailey, Anthony Head, and so on.
Written by: David Renwick
Director: Marcus Mortimer

Cast
Alan Davies: Jonathan Creek
Caroline Quentin: Maddy Magellan
Anthony Head (1 episode), then Stuart Milligan: Adam Klaus

Summary

Madeline Magellan, investigation journalist, is called by a burglar who affirms that the thieving and murder accusation on him is wrong. She quickly realises that in fact, the police has the wrong culprit, but cannot understand how the person she suspects, the victim’s wife, could come out of her office unnoticed. During her inquiry, she meety Jonathan Creek and decides to ask for his help as an expert of impossible things…

Jonathan Creek is an inventor of many magic acts for several “famous” artists, the man behind all the mad tricks but is not interested (and even refuses) to be on the stage. Timid and uneasy in love and romance, he is a genius. He is often wearing a Trench-Coat, and has long curly hair. Maddy is brilliant but unappreciated by editors. She always manages to get in places were a good investigation is needed, and has a slightly shady reputation… Adam Klaus is Jonathan’s “boss”, a magician comfortable on stage and anywhere he can make conquests (love ones, naturally).

My advice
Loaded at the same time with British humour, life stories and a very good detective story with intricate plots, Jonathan Creek is often broadcast as a repeat on the BBC Entertainment (after several showings on BBC channels and on France 4). The series ends after the fourth season, because of a drop in the audience at the main actress change, but a new Christmas Special could be watched in 2008 and an Easter Special is programmed for April 2010.

Various
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/jonathancreek/ [EN]
http://www.jonathancreek.net/ [EN]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118363/ [EN]

(Images source: BBC)

I think it is Anubis who first told me about Braid, “download the demo game, I think you will like it…”, but I was also told by other people “you will see, it is finally a platform game in which you might succeed” (sic). Thanks for the trust! Anyway, I tried the demo, and bought the whole game at the end of it.

Graphics
Though special, in an impressionist painting style, the graphics are absolutely beautifull. Changing with the movements, and with the rewind (see gameplay), the game manages to be both fine and cute.
Grade: 9.5 / 10

Music
As for the settings, the music is beautiful, and what is more, IS PLAYED BACKWARDS DURING REWINDS! This is totally hallucinating.
Grade: 9 / 10

Gameplay
I was worried that for such a game, the commands would cause problems. In the end, it did not, it is 95% of reflection and less than 5% of skill. Jump is A, rewind is X, some other possible things later in the game with Y, and the movement with the left stick. You can speed up or down the rewind with LB and RB. Placing the pièces in the painting is done with the stick and LB/RB. The idea is simple: you play as in a platform game, each level has one or more puzzle pieces to collect, but to do that, you have to use the “monsters”, levers, mobile platforms, … and ESPECIALLY the rewind of the game: as soon as and as long as you use X, the game rewinds, and everything goes backwards. So when you fall in a bad place or get killed, you just use it to go back to a safe moment ! On the images below, you see the rewind (yes, it is a bit more eloquent in the video presentations than in a screenshot) and the atemporal platforms / items (greenish sparkling light, not concerned by the rewind).
Grade: 8.5 / 10

Length / Sidequests
The game (which I have not finish yet) has at least 5 puzzles / levels to solve, and there seems to be “victories” for going through a whole level, for solving a whole puzzle, and for doing it in a record time (and maybe more).
Grade: 8 / 10

Story / characters
It is amusing, the story is rather original and abundant. And there are veiled references… “The princess is in another castle”, savagely attacking rabbits and a main character called… Tim?
Grade: 9 / 10

In the end…
The only things that could have stopped me were the price (use a credit cards for the points, it is more advantageous) and the fact that it is on xbox Live, so on the hard disk, and not on a CD-rom, I would rather have bought a copy in a box. Apart from that, it is must have.
Final grade: 8.8 / 10

Links
http://www.xbox.com/games/b/braidxboxlivearcade/

(Image source: Official Site)

I am in a time where I want to read both mysteries and fantasy. So if I can do it in one book, it is even better !

Dresden Files (Storm Front – Fool Moon – Grave Peril – Summer Knight – Death Masks – Blood Rites – Dead Beat – Proven Guilty – White Night – Small Favor – Turn Coat – Changes – …) Harry Dresden is a Private Investigator and… a magician. They are not mutually exclusive, even the oposite, because in Chicago nowadays there are ghosts, werewolves, vampires, demons, fairies, and so on. He is a consultant for the police, as well as leading his own inquiries. His business card reads as follow:

Harry Dresden – Wizard
Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or
Other Entertainment.

Unfortunately for him, Harry is a magician who respects the rules of the White Counscil, but also has a tendancy to get into trouble. So much that he is almost executed by the White Council, and later placed under a Damocles Sword though he killed someone only in self-defence.

Sites:
Official: http://www.jim-butcher.com/ [EN]
IMDB for the Dresden Files TV Series http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486657/
Publisher in French http://www.bragelonne.fr/auteurs.php?id_auteur=75 [FR]
Dresden Files RPG: http://www.dresdenfilesrpg.com/ [EN]

His Dark Material (Northern Lights – The Subtle Knife – The Amber Spyglass / Lyra’s Oxford – The Science of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials): The story begins in an academic Oxford very different from the one we know. Humans all have a “daemon”, a kind of totem spirit animal or external soul part. When with children, he can transform, and stabilises into a unique animal shape when with an adult. A daemon always goes with his human, who is in great danger of mind damage if the daemon is kept away by force, mistreated or worse, separated (which even brings the human to death). Lyra is brought up in Oxford with her daemon Pantalaimon, because her parents disappeared in an accident. The scholars take care of her education, and the sometimes receives the visit of Lord Asriel, her uncle. Things with change for her when she saves Lord Asriel’s life by preventing him to drink a poisoned wine, is then transferred to Mrs Coulter’s responsibility, and when she receives from the University’s Master a mysterious tool, an Alethiometer.

Sites:

• http://www.apple.com/trailers/newline/thegoldencompass/ [en, the movie !!]
• http://www.philip-pullman.com/ [en, official site]
• http://www.hisdarkmaterials.com/ [en, official site of the series]
• http://www.missmopi.net/article412.html [fr]

Harry Potter   (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows / Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Quidditch Through the Ages): I will still summarise the story somehow, for those of you who do not know it. When I began reading the story, no one knew Rowling, and my summary for a friend was: “you see, it is the story of a young guy going to a sorcery school, whose tutors (his uncle and aunt) are not nice at all, and who, to complicate the story, is apparently the only survivor of an attack by an incarnation of evilness. Ho, and if you have read ‘Charmed Life‘, I think you will like this book”. Now that the heptalogy is closed, I have to add that one follows the young magician throughout his teenage years, and that it is deeper than it could appear at first. And that the overdimensionned mediatic coverage is a pain in…

Some Websites:

• http://www.jkrowling.com/ [multilingual, official site]
• http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/author/index.htm [en, publisher's site]
• http://www.storiesfromtheweb.org/stories/rowling/interview.htm [en]
• http://www.poudlard.org/ [fr]