Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins ReidMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Friday, 26 June 2026
Sunday, 21 June 2026
Saturday, 20 June 2026
Review: The Service of Mars
The Service of Mars by Glynn StewartMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Really enjoyed this book.
Another great entry in the series.
Whilst it is a shame we get less of the titular mage I do enjoy seeing how Roslyn Chambers is continuing to develop.
Much like Stewart's Duchy of Terra series (a personal fave) I believe viewing the progression of the major characters and seeing the development of new ones adds a richness to the series.
Plus, Roslyn is frankly a baddass so there :P
Another thing I have been appreciating is the reintroduction in this and the previous book of Kelly Lamonte.
Great continuation.....onto book 10.
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Review: The Transformers: Dark Cybertron, Volume 1
The Transformers: Dark Cybertron, Volume 1 by John BarberMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Haven't read any TF titles (other than Regeneration One) really since back in the OG Marvel days.
Despite that I still really enjoyed this title.
I do have some questions about certain bits of law I have clearly missed too.
Overall enjoyment was not affected too much by the contrasting art styles but, I do think that inconsistencies such as this detract from quality a little. The title as a whole would benefit from consistency in the art.
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Review: Transformers '84: Legends & Rumors 100-Page Giant
Transformers '84: Legends & Rumors 100-Page Giant by Bill MantloMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
A fun read which holds some great childhood memories.
The most interesting part of this graphic novel was the reprints of early Marvel UK stories.
I particularly enjoyed Mike Collin's older artwork and the portrayal of characters in close resemblance with the toys. Amusingly I remember him talking at a convention about how when he met the American creative team they told he he was drawing the characters all wrong. Apparently there was a bible which the American team had as a reference which the UK team had not seen up to that point.
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Monday, 4 January 2016
Commodore Loving.
On a recent trip home I brought back my first computer. The champion of the 80s that is the Commodore 64, it is my original breadbox, chunky fudge model.
Wholly expecting it to require some maintenance I was seriously chuffed that after not seeing any use in about 22 years (that I can recall) it powered on straight away. Admittedly I couldn't remember which socket the power adaptor plugged into but, after a quick Google I realised I was being a muppet and it fired straight on.
Fantastic, now to test out some games.
Thankfully I have them easily accessible in a storage tub in the garage, so I pulled out a few choice titles. Given that all bar a few of my C64 games are on cassette tape and suspecting that time would have degraded the media, I hunted around for some carts. I know I have a few somewhere namely a couple released with the C64GS console, sadly I do not have any of the classic carts. Whilst I was unable to find Robocop 2 or Chase HQ 2 but, I did manage to locate the multicart that was originally supplied with the GS. Amusingly this cart was never tested and purchased on a whim long after I had stopped using old faithful.
Wow, it only worked!
Great stuff had a blast on Flimbo's Quest, which is still an awesome game and one I remember fondly from my tape version back in the day.
OK right now feeling brave.... dare I break out my 3rd part C2N Phonemark cassette deck with the LoadIt style tape adjuster?
Why not, lets give it a whirl.
Whilst hunting in the game box I picked out some choice games in the form of the Thalamus collection (all the first games.... Sanxion, Delta, Quedex, Hunters Moon, Hawkeye and Armaylte) and also my copy of the fantastic Rowland Brothers Thalamus classic Retrograde.
OK fingers crossed.
Wow the Delta MixiLoad appears, and instantly I am taken back in time.
I was a big fan of Delta back in the day and it still holds up very well but, boy am I crap it it. Right, let's change joysticks. So off to my bookcase which has a display of old joysticks, picked up my first Zipstick....OK now I remember why I purchase the 2nd one (it seems to be lurching to the right constantly). Zipstick number 2 works like a dream and I soon remember some of my Delta moves.
Right sticking with the Delta theme, lets rock out the sequel Armalyte. Gosh darn it, it works....well OK only to the point it crashes but, that's OK.
OK lets get a bit braver. Lets fire up Retrograde.
Oh...oh bugger grrrr the tape is stuck...damn it! and I mean really stuck, wound etight around the tape drive wheel. Crappity crap, minor surgery later and I realised that the tape will have to be cut :(
Alright stuff this. We need a better solution that using tape based media.
 |
| The stuff of 80s gamers dreams. |
Wholly expecting it to require some maintenance I was seriously chuffed that after not seeing any use in about 22 years (that I can recall) it powered on straight away. Admittedly I couldn't remember which socket the power adaptor plugged into but, after a quick Google I realised I was being a muppet and it fired straight on.
Fantastic, now to test out some games.
Thankfully I have them easily accessible in a storage tub in the garage, so I pulled out a few choice titles. Given that all bar a few of my C64 games are on cassette tape and suspecting that time would have degraded the media, I hunted around for some carts. I know I have a few somewhere namely a couple released with the C64GS console, sadly I do not have any of the classic carts. Whilst I was unable to find Robocop 2 or Chase HQ 2 but, I did manage to locate the multicart that was originally supplied with the GS. Amusingly this cart was never tested and purchased on a whim long after I had stopped using old faithful.
 |
| Never really going to set the world on fire was it? |
Wow, it only worked!
Great stuff had a blast on Flimbo's Quest, which is still an awesome game and one I remember fondly from my tape version back in the day.
OK right now feeling brave.... dare I break out my 3rd part C2N Phonemark cassette deck with the LoadIt style tape adjuster?
Why not, lets give it a whirl.
Whilst hunting in the game box I picked out some choice games in the form of the Thalamus collection (all the first games.... Sanxion, Delta, Quedex, Hunters Moon, Hawkeye and Armaylte) and also my copy of the fantastic Rowland Brothers Thalamus classic Retrograde.
OK fingers crossed.
Wow the Delta MixiLoad appears, and instantly I am taken back in time.
I was a big fan of Delta back in the day and it still holds up very well but, boy am I crap it it. Right, let's change joysticks. So off to my bookcase which has a display of old joysticks, picked up my first Zipstick....OK now I remember why I purchase the 2nd one (it seems to be lurching to the right constantly). Zipstick number 2 works like a dream and I soon remember some of my Delta moves.
Right sticking with the Delta theme, lets rock out the sequel Armalyte. Gosh darn it, it works....well OK only to the point it crashes but, that's OK.
OK lets get a bit braver. Lets fire up Retrograde.
Oh...oh bugger grrrr the tape is stuck...damn it! and I mean really stuck, wound etight around the tape drive wheel. Crappity crap, minor surgery later and I realised that the tape will have to be cut :(
Alright stuff this. We need a better solution that using tape based media.
Tune in for part 2.
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