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I just recently finished reading John Brown’s novel Servant of a Dark God.  The cover art for this book is amazing and immediately demands your attention. The book is a good sized read roughly 492 pages.  From the start John begins to unfold the elements of the world around you progress deeper and deeper into the book.

 

Servant of a Dark God is about a land which is ruled by the Divines, magic exists and is tightly controlled. Only the Divines are allowed to wield the knowledge of Fire. 'Fire' consists of the spirit and life of a person and is the direct fuel for magic. Anyone who attempts to use Fire other than the Divines are labeled as 'sleth' or 'soul-eaters--dreaded figures thought to steal and consume the Fire of others.  

 

The novel largely follows Talen, but the book doesn’t completely follow any specific protagonist. The story is instead the story of two families in particular. Therefore, if Talen's an irritating protagonist (he did start out a little immature and annoying), the reader can look forward not only to his maturation (he does eventually), but also the thoughts and motivations of many other characters.

 

Brown's novel is unlike any story you have read before.  There are some traditional fantasy elements here and there, but I felt like I was embarking on a new adventure. And thus, I want to say first that I truly enjoyed my adventure.  John Brown's immense attention to detail is astounding. His world is immense and detailed--almost dauntingly so. It did take me awhile to pick up the exact structure of the government and whatnot (which was easier after I conceded and made liberal use of the 'Terms and People's section in the back of the book).

 

I found myself enjoying the book quite a lot and am looking forward to reading the next in the series: CURSE OF A DARK GOD.  So if you are looking for a great read, a new and interesting world to explore where the magic of the land is far different than any other fantasy book out there, a book with rich vibrant characters you will find yourself hoping against all odds for.  Then this book is for you! 

 

-Revan
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As rumored in various radio media yesterday, 101.9 The End has dumped its DJs and gone, as they say, "jockless" for the first time since its inception in 1996.

As reported by All Access, this means no more Jimmy Chunga and ... who else was on The End? Since I never changed my radio preset when they switched from 107.5 years ago, have no idea. Also, AA says The End's bold new automated format will now "focus largely on ‘90s music." Great--how many stations do we have in Salt Lake already doing that? Gotta love radio consultants.
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Sega presents Resonance of Fate, a new JRPG from Tri-Ace. It's a role-playing experience that swaps swordfighting for gunplay, and it's designed from the ground-up for hardcore fans of the genre. Jason D'Aprile has logged in dozens of hours on it, but according to him, it wasn't necessarily time well-spent. Here's why:

"On the surface, Resonance of Fate offers up a veritable smorgasbord of destructive possibilities. It is an RPG focused entirely on acrobatic gunplay where you upgrade and level up your weapons  with the same detail you normally assign a character. The mix of firearms and otherwise traditional JRPG elements is an intriguing combination, likely to attract players sick of giant swords and sorcery.

Unfortunately, Resonance of Fate ends up feeling more like a proof-of-concept experiment than a game. Granted, it’s a really long experiment, but rife with frustration and torment because of the obtuse and absurdly complicated game mechanics. To put it mildly, RoF is a game for the hardcore, and it makes no apologies or exceptions on the matter."
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