Episode 34: “Wow. yoo hoo”

Wall-E is just the cutest robot ever! I’ve been dying to see this movie ever since the first trailer came out and this new clip only makes me want to see it more. [Via /Film]

Episode 33: “Oh, fabuleux”

I wonder how many takes it took to get this perfect shot:

 Amazing Skill - Watch more amazing videos here

Episode 32: “I think it’s some kind of protest. Either that or acting class”

The missions of Improv Everywhere are always pure brilliance. This time more than 200 “agents” froze at exactly the same time at Grand Central Station in New York. The confusion of the non-agents is priceless. [Via Boing Boing]

Interesting links for February 1st:

• Funny Kitten – Awh, it’s a dancing ASCII art kitten! Some people have too much spare time.
• Only in Russia? – Are these for real? Some of these photos are just ridiculous. That street lamp? The door above the heater?
• How To Solve A Rubik’s Cube – Pictures for Beginners! – A tutorial on how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. Haven’t tried it out yet, but it’s one of those skills I’ve always wanted to learn. Yes, I’m that much of a geek.

Welcome to this new recurring topic PageTurner, where I will be reviewing books (and in some cases book series). I mainly read fantasy, preferably with a touch of romance (in other words some love plot, but not too gooey and corny) and a well defined world and mythology. First up is The Runelords Series by David Farland [Official Website].

The complete series is supposed to be ten books long with the first four books forming the story of the Earth King, Gaborn, and the remaining six books about his son, Fallion. The sixth book has just come out in hardcover and I read the fifth book last month, but I’ll be only covering the first four books here. The plot and characters are significantly different, so it’s better to split it up. In the future though I will review the newer books; I just don’t want to start with my reviews in the middle of a series.

The Plot

The series begins with Gaborn Val Orden, a young Runelord and a prince of Mystarria, seeking the hand of Princess Iome Sylvarresta, the daughter of the King of Heredon. Both nations are part of the kingdom of Rofehaven, a peaceful medieval-like land. While traveling from Mystarria to Heredon, the prince’s party learns that Raj Ahten, the most powerful Runelord in existence, is leading his army into Heredon, his first step of invading all of Rofehaven. Raj Ahten has already conquered all the nations of the neighbouring Indhopal and Gaborn realizes he must be stopped at all costs. Along the way though, Gaborn and his companions find out that Raj Ahten is not the only threat – their world is threatened by a race of resilient subterranean creatures: the Reavers.

The World

The Runelords contains one of the most original and creative forms of magic and powers I’ve ever seen. Everything is based on “endowments”, a magical transfer of a sense or an attribute from one person to another. The transferred sense or skill is amplified in the receiver, the Runelord, while the giver, the Dedicate, looses it completely until the death of one or the other. For instance, if someone gave you an endowment of sight, you would be able to see twice as far, but you would leave the other person blind. If that person dies though, you loose the double sight. If you die, the Dedicate receives his sight back again.

The transfer is done through a magical ritual of branding, leaving runes on the skin (hence the name Runelords). Besides sight, endowments can be given for voice, smell, hearing, touch, brawn, grace, stamina, wit, metabolism and glamour. The weirdest is metabolism which slows down the world for the receiver, granting him increased physical speed. It also reduces your lifespan though, cause you’re living your life twice as fast.

Most kings and warriors in this world are Runelords, all receiving their strengths from Dedicates. This creates a complete new type of context for ethics, social hierarchy and battle strategy, producing a wonderful different world.

The Verdict

These books can not be missed from any fantasy lover’s library. Besides a refreshing original world, the story flows smoothly from one chapter till the next. The characters are likable and you can easily imagine yourself reacting the same way in some situations they are in. This was one of those book series I couldn’t put down, reading all four books in one weekend. At the time though I thought that the fourth book was the end of the series. Thinking this, the last book felt very incomplete. Farland raises certain questions and at the end of the fourth book they are still not answered. Knowing though that these four books are only the start and that the world will be revisited in subsequent books, I am sure these loose ends will be tied up in the future. All in all, it’s a great read that can’t be missed.

[rating:4/5]

Take a look at the books on Amazon:

Interesting links for January 30th through January 31st:

• Another 20 Unfortunate Product Names – The List Universe – A list of products that don’t have the most advantageous names. Seriously though, why would companies even bother naming their products like this? Isn’t this just plain stupidness?
• Muxicall – Create music online with other people. Trust me it’s not what you expect. There’s a grid of all the possible notes and the played notes of you and the other people are visualized on it.
• Don’t Click It – Experimental web design without buttons. It’s kind of weird not having anything to click.
• Creative photos by Chema Madoz – Very cool set of photos. I especially love the cherry in the scales and the ladder against the mirror.