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Microsoft Flight Simulator X For Pilots Real World Training

Microsoft Flight Simulator X For Pilots Real World Training

“I keep this book on visual at all times, as it’s destined to become a classic. THE book to read about serious flight-simulation”. (fs-dev-support.com/jarn, Monday

Paranormals

Paranormals

… another delightful journey … [intriguing] writing style … the ability to draw the reader into each [character] … highly [recommended] … — Diane Sewell, Denisemclark.com, September, 2003

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars If you like Wild Cards and/or Watchmen, this is an excellent addition to your library!
A friend recommended this book to me since it was well known that I am a fan of the Wild Cards series. My friend thought I would enjoy this book as well. “Enjoy” proved to be an understatement. I can’t say enough about Paranormals. I am always on the lookout for good fiction set in the “superhero” genre. This book pulls it off in grand fashion. It has super powered individuals, of course, but these are not two dimensional characters who slug it out just for the heck of it. Each character is a real person with “real” issues. These characters just happen to also have extreme abilities. The story moves at an excellent pace and would make a fantastic film. I have not written many reviews on Amazon. I tend to reserve reviews for books that really strike me. If you like superhero stories that are just darn cool, then read this book!

To make a long review short…this book rocks!

5 Stars So much more than a comic book…
Christopher Andrews is a master of character development, and his gift serves him well in his novel “Paranormals.”

“Paranormals” is the story of how the world changes when a mysterious white flash in the sky endows a portion of the population with incredible mutant powers. With a premise like this, “Paranormals” could have very easily turned into a second-rate “X-Men” knock off, but Andrews avoids this trap through his deftly painted characters.

The reader almost immediately feels for these people as we begin to see their motivations and dreams (sometimes quite literally). These paranormal heroes are more than just “the strong guy” or “the dude who can shoot lasers out of his eyes.” These are richly executed personalities that drive the plot forward with their interactions as they work to accomplish their individual goals.

That is not to say that Andrews takes himself, or his paranormals, too seriously. The book is full of clever winks to the audience and references to his pop-culture inspirations. In “Paranormals,” if a character is going to act like he’s Batman, he’ll have the decency to call himself on it.

The last page of “Paranormals” suggests an impending sequel. I look forward to meeting up with all of my paranormal friends again in the next book.

5 Stars His best yet!
If you’ve been following my reviews, you already know that I am a big fan of Dean R. Koontz and Christopher Andrews. Until now, Koontz has held the edge as my overall favorite with his books “Velocity” and “Intensity,” with Andrews in a very solid second place with “Dream Parlor” and “Pandora’s Game.”

After reading “Paranormals,” I might have to rethink which is my favorite.

“Paranormals” is EXCELLENT. Like Keith R.A. DeCandido did with “Spider-Man: Down These Mean Streets,”Andrews has taken the subject of super humans and elevated it to a more “meaningful” level. Sure, it’s got vigilantes wearing costumes and women communicating with dogs and guys strong enough to bend steel in their bare hands and laser beams and force fields … you get the idea.

But while all of THAT will definitely appeal to younger readers, or those young at heart (like me), Andrews deals with them on a mature level. There are explorations of what people would do if they suddenly became super human. There are villains who will kill your whole family or threaten to sell your children into slavery. There are even villains who sincerely don’t WANT to be villains, but are forced to by circumstances beyond their control. A book that seems “light” on the surface has a lot more depth than you might expect.

We are introduced into this world in 5 chapters that are basically short stories, and then the four “real” main characters are introduced. As with “Pandora’s Game,” Andrews writes with an interesting back and forth style, weaving different story lines all together with impressive skill. Sometimes we see the same events twice, but from different points of view. Again, it gives the “simple” action sequences a surprising amount of depth.

I was very pleased to find that “Paranormals” is the first in an on going series. As with “Pandora’s Game,” I look forward to following these characters through further adventures. I loved this book, and I very much look forward to reading the next Christopher Andrews novel.

3 Stars “Paranormals” — a comic book tale brought to life
As Christopher’s Mother, I read his books with
pride. As a professional book and movie
critic, I read his books with an objective eye.

“Paranormals” is an interesting read. There’s
mystery, twists and plot turns, awesome
characters and a stand up and cheer ending.

If you’re a comic book fan, this book is
one you will especially enjoy. With shades
of “X-Men,” “Paranormals” leaves a vivid
picture in your mind of extradorinary heroes
that become bigger than life. My favorite character in
“Paranomrals” has to be “Powerhouse.” My favorite
author is Christopher Andrews. He’s a genious
story teller.

Lynda Andrews

4 Stars A great book.
I’ve never read a book quite like this one, but I can appreciate the comparison to X-men and Wild Cards. On the one hand it feels almost like a young-adult novel, but it has just enough of a mature writing style that I didn’t feel it was being “written down” at all. The characters are diverse and sympathetic, especially Lincoln. I also liked how the four characters in their three storylines moved around and through one another; I understand Andrews did something similar to this in his first book, Pandora’s Game, which I definitely plan to read next. All in all, a very entertaining work of escapism that is also thought-provoking: What would YOU do if you were a paranormal? It tells us right at the end that a sequel is to come, and I for one am looking forward to it. Well done!

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Futurama Benders Game

Futurama Benders Game

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 11/04/2008 Run time: 90 minutes Rating: Nr

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars An ode to Dungeons and Dragons and the best Futurama film so far!
Futurama: Bender’s Game brings Dungeons and Dragons to the thirty first century. With Bender hooked on the popular role-playing game, Fry and the rest of the gang try to get to the bottom of a dark matter shortage. What they find on the way is surely going to rock their world! A tribute to Gary Gygax, the late creator of Dungeons and Dragons, the movie also makes references to Star Wars and Star Trek, the latter with a guest appearance by George Takei!

All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows (the animation does come alive)! Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few laughs.

The setting, the plot, the dialogues, the humor, and the music are all excellent!

Following the cancellation of the show (I wonder what “genius” came up with that idea???) life was pretty hard without these amazing characters. The comic books are good, but nothing beats the actual show, so it’s so good to have everybody back.

Strongly recommended along with the other three Futurama films: Bender’s Big Score, The Beast with a Billion Backs, and Into the Wild Green Yonder.

In short, KEEP’EM COMING!!!

4 Stars anathor great futurama flick
This movie is a lot like all the other futurama movies but takes a very interesting turn. There is a “shortage” of dark matter and fuel prices are sky rocketing, meanwhile bender wants to play dungeons and dragons but he wasn’t programmed with imagination. these story seem totally diffrent but they do cross paths eventully when they enter a fantasy land were dice have all power. this is anathor hilarious futurama movie that is sure to please.

3 Stars Pretty good movie, HORRIBLE DVD case
I like movies where they poke fun of D&D and other RPGs, so this one does take the cake. My main gripe is the casing: To be carbon neutral, they make a cardboard case? Jeez man, these cases last a few weeks in the best of care, and there’s no replacement for this. If you buy this movie, make a copy of the DVD art and place all in a real case, then ship the POS case back to Groenig.

5 Stars Would you like a taste of Scroto?
I love all of Futurama. I have seen all four of the movies and this is my favorite.

I’m an owl exterminator!

Please buy the movies so that they bring the show back!

2 Stars No one wanted this to be great more than myself, but…
Note: No one wanted this movie to be great more than myself. With that said…

Fearfully I say unto thee, Futurama Faithful: the series has taken another hit. That’s not to say “Bender’s Game is a hit!” but rather the third installment of direct-to-DVD movies leaves Futurama fans unfulfilled. Now, for those of you who sat through Beast with a Billion Backs biting back bitter, beleaguered bellows of disappointment - you might think Bender’s Game takes the series back in a better direction. And you might be right but that doesn’t solve the very low volume of laughs to be found here. I’ve found that Beast with a Billion Backs, though initially disappointing, gets better with age and I can only hope the same is true of Bender’s Game.

The price of dark matter has reached an all-time high in the year 3000 and after a series of costly events Professor Farnsworth decides to take steps against Mom and her outrageously high profits in times of “dark matter shortages” (sounds oddly familiar…huh). In order to destroy Mom and her conglomeration, the Planet Express crew sets out to recombine the two crystals that when joined will render all dark matter useless and usher in a new era of scientific fuel research (instead of spending that money on makeup for dogs). Amidst all this, Bender finds himself lost in the imagination activated while playing Dungeons and Dragons ultimately leading to his insanity and eventual mental implosion into the world of D&D - taking the entire world with him.

Herein begins every conceivable Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons and fantasy fiction joke you could imagine. With Leela taking on the body of a centaur and Fry a ring-burdened hobbit the story restarts with the good guys once again setting out to defeat Mom and her three enjoyably incompetent sons.

While the plot is fittingly geeky in premise, which is why I still like it, it simply fails to deliver on the funny. I remember laughing a grand total of three times - listen for the explanation on where hobbits come from, awesome. The jokes that work may be few and far between but Bender’s Game successfully achieves two objectives essential to Futurama glory.

First overarching plot develops. Unlike the Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park the world of Futurama doesn’t simply revert back to normal when the story comes to a close. In fact, after Bender’s Game, there are a few rather important plot points that alter the Futurama universe forever. Few shows allow themselves such extensive plots and for that reason Futurama deserves all sorts of credit (for proof please see Bender’s Big Score - you don’t get more complicated than that).

The second beautiful aspect of Bender’s Game is the layered references. While any doofus can pick out the Lord of the Rings and D&D nods to be found within it’ll be the more dedicated viewer who truly benefits from the glorious comedy buried within. For example there’s a Home Shopping Channel reference in the movie with a hilarious - research worthy - jab that you’ll find on YouTube if you’re so inclined. These Easter eggs are littered throughout the feature and add a desperately needed entertainment value to what is otherwise a comically empty installment. Maybe it’s just that Lord of the Ring jokes have been done to death - maybe Futurama just got there too late, but Bender’s Game’s ability to parody the material is greatly hindered by all those who have already done so.

The DVD’s special features include the typical audio commentary with the typical Futurama crew and sadly, I found the commentary audio track funnier than the feature. Granted there was a bit of talk about how Gary Gygax, the D&D founder, had influenced the writers but beyond that there’s nothing more entertaining than hearing Billy West and John DiMaggio laughing hysterically. Some of the more amusing features come in the form of a humorous “How to Draw Futurama characters” and the Futurama Genetics Lab. The “How to” featurette gives the Rough Draft animators a little bit of camera time while the Genetics Lab gives you an “Anthology of Interest”-worthy look of how two characters would work when spliced together. Beyond that the featurettes are pretty typical and run for less than five minutes. What may be of greatest interest to all your Futurama fans is the trailer of the upcoming (and regretfully) final Futurama epic. I’ll say this - the trailer for the fourth Futurama movie made me laugh more than the entirety of Bender’s Game.

I hesitate to offer this to anyone but the truly Futurama devoted.

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