Monday 29 May 2017

Reading Sarah Waters books

When I got lots of books from a Bray neighbour, he mentioned that he found the Sarah Waters books brilliant. So, I started on them..


Sarah Waters - The Night Watch

I'd read other WWII books, which had given very detailed descriptions of life at the time, but not many that were set in London, so that was interesting.. There were things you wouldn't really have thought of, like driving an ambulance during the blackout, with dimmed lights..

But out of all those things you hadn't really thought of, the biggest issue had to be the "secret lifestyle" of being gay, since it was illegal at the time, and if you were busted, you'd actually go to prison.. That just seems so unfair and unbelievable, nowadays!

I enjoyed this one. It was like drifting in and out of their lives..

Apparently, there's been a TV adaptation of this - I'd love to see it, but I'd also be a bit worried that it might be completely different from my very vivid mind film..


Sarah Waters - Fingersmith

I actually found the storyline very predictable, which didn't bother me at all, though.

I love it when a modern author can write about historical times with such detail, that you really feel you're there.. Like here, the constant references to clothing details, mundane tasks, etc.. So different from what we know nowadays, yet you became so familiar with them while reading..

Also, feeling sorry for people who had to be in 'madhouses' or prisons, in those days..

There's a TV adaptation of this one as well - what I said above, applies here as well..

- - - - -

Now, I didn't actually know anything about the author - I'd never heard of her until I got these books.. However, after finishing Fingersmith, I thought, hold on, both these books had a bit of a lesbian theme..

I googled;

Sarah Waters: Queen of the Tortured Lesbian Romance

Sarah Waters: ‘I kind of missed the lesbian stuff’

Aaaaahh! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

Well, THAT would explain it.. LOL

I still have two Sarah Waters books to read, so I'll be starting on The Little Stranger, next..

Thursday 4 May 2017

VR games, brief Doom, and Wilson's Heart - - "days 7 & 8"

Wilson's Heart (picture from Oculus website)

My "day 7" on VR, was just a really brief taster of Doom. Now, I've never been into Doom (or similar games), so I was just checking out how it would look like, when you're "there"..

Moving around felt different from other stuff I've tried in VR (although, I think it can be set up in various ways - anyway, not interested enough to find out more..), and while I got the idea, the corridors just looked all the same, so when I moved to some point, I couldn't then figure out where I wanted to go, and where I'd just come from as it all looked the same. I did kill one monster, though ๐Ÿ˜‚ That was that!

However, "day 8" was awesome ๐Ÿ˜ƒ I started playing Wilson's Heart ๐Ÿ’“



This game is AWESOME!!!

I've always enjoyed entertaining puzzle / adventure games (like the Broken Sword games, etc.), and this is like a horror version - and in VR.. Brilliant stuff..

You're Robert Wilson, and you wake up in a 1940's hospital.. It's all freaky and disturbing, something's been done to you, and something's happened to the hospital.. You'll need to collect clues, find out what's going on, find your way out..

There are some moments that really make you jump!

Also, there was a disturbing portrait on the wall - I pointed out "Ted" (referring to the film.. when you're playing this, you'll see what I mean..), but it must have been Ted's evil cousin.. ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

While looking for clues, I was also breaking glass bottles all over the place - just to have fun with the physics.. (No harm as they're all virtual, eh!)

Eventually, I got stuck, just before the dark corridor with - things.. I learned to fix dim lights, but then found no way ahead - D has since played it further, so I know now where I'm supposed to go from there. Can't wait to continue!

Really, really, REALLY good game!