Review: TRAVEL GAMES FOR DUMMIES (Nintendo DS)

Travel Games for Dummies (Nintendo DS)
ASIN: B001DXVCTG
October 28, 2008
Electronic Arts
Reviewed by Sabrina Williams


For the video game enthusiast who tends to gravitate toward puzzle games when browsing store shelves, Travel Games for Dummies for the Nintendo DS may be the perfect item to occupy your time. Whether you're actually traveling or just relaxing with your DS, the light challenge this little cartridge offers is the perfect combination of mental stimulation and old fashioned fun. Featuring three time tested puzzles--Sudoku, Solitaire, and Crosswords--Travel Games appeals to players of all ages, and parents need not screen this choice for sex and violence before handing it over to young gamers.

The game can be picked up and mastered almost immediately in its simplicity. Three choices, each choice offering different levels of expertise, and an easily accessible help menu provide instant entertainment. It is not clear how Sudoku and Solitaire made it into the "dummies" classification, but the crossword puzzles are fairly simple, even on the most difficult level. Several of the clues repeat, and words can be deciphered by trying out different letters until the computer accepts them. If you're easily frustrated with the inability to finish a crossword, have no fear. In addition to the aforementioned cheats, bonus letters rotate around the board, so if you happen to solve a clue while it's highlighted, you can earn up to three bonus clues at a time. Later, when you're having trouble coming up with an answer, you can use a bonus to receive an extra clue.

Sudoku and Solitaire require more strategy than knowledge, so the difficulty will vary with the user's skill. Personally, I'm not so hot with numbers, so even the beginner levels of Sudoku were a challenge for me. Solitaire also relies on the luck of the draw, so some games are naturally more challenging than others. The actual game operation is quite simple, however. The only complaint I really have is the keyboard for the Crossword puzzles is extremely tiny and cramped, and I often found myself aiming for one letter and actually clicking on another by accident. This is probably not an annoyance that can be remedied with the game being designed for a small DS screen. It's minor compared to the addictiveness of the game play.

Most people already know if Sudoku, Solitaire, and Crosswords are games that will keep them entertained. The actual execution of the games is solid and fans will be pleased. This would be an excellent game for mature players looking to hone mental alertness with games such as Brain Age, or anyone eager to sharpen problem solving skills.

Polls are open!

The Preditors & Editors Readers Poll is open for 2008 voting!

Breeni Books is on the nomination list for Review Site once again, and I'm grateful for your support! Thanks to your diligence, Breeni Books made it to the top ten finalists in 2007's vote.

If you have a minute, stop by and cast your vote. It's very easy, and there are many other categories for you to vote on and nominate your own favorites.

In fact, while you're there, our own favorite author, Susan Helene Gottfried, has taken a nomination in the Author Site category for her blog, West of Mars. And her brand new release, Shapeshifter: The Demo Tapes, is waiting for your vote in the Anthologies category. Show her some love, will ya?

Meanwhile, I've got some other awards to share that I'm falling behind on. Back later with more information.

Guest Review: THE TUTU BALLET by Sally O. Lee

The Tutu Ballet
By Sally O. Lee
ISBN-10: 1439209162
ISBN-13: 978-1439209165
Paperback, 36 pages
September 5, 2008
BookSurge
Reviewed by Cynthia Murphy


Children’s author Sally O. Lee is back with another beautiful book, The Tutu Ballet. This is a fun children’s book with an enjoyable story and great illustrations. The plot is simple. Ms. Berry, the local ballet teacher is planning a recital for her ballet class. Unfortunately, each student excels in a different step. How is Ms. Berry supposed to choreograph a recital for this group? She decides to let each student do the step that he/she does best. The result is the best ballet ever.

One of the things that I love about this book is that it celebrates the differences among the characters. Each character has his own favorite step, and that’s okay. Lee doesn’t stress conformity. Instead, the ballet teacher, Ms. Berry praises each student’s signature move. Ms. Berry even goes so far as to build a whole recital around their differences. (As someone who has spent a lot of time in dance studios over the years, I found this a bit hard to believe. However, it does make for a great ending.)

As with Lee’s other books, The Tutu Ballet features beautiful pictures. The colors are vibrant, and the textured look is amazing. Lee creates her illustrations with a combination of watercolor and pen and ink on paper. The result is a stunning set of illustrations that will delight young readers. I am constantly amazed by Lee’s work. She even has her type set in a custom font. This level of detail is impressive.

Lee captures the excitement and anxiety of a child’s first dance recital. It is hard to say who is more nervous- the students or their parents. The recital itself is depicted beautifully. Lee gives a step by step account of the dance that should appeal to all readers. She uses plenty of action verbs to describe both the class and the show. This technique makes the story come alive for non-dancers.

The Tutu Ballet is a fun children’s book. It will probably appeal most to little girls who take ballet, but it has enough comedy to keep others interested as well. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story is enjoyable. It celebrates differences among dancers and people. Overall, I think it is Sally O. Lee’s best book yet.

Guest Review: WRITTEN ON THE KNEE by Helen Electrie Lindsay

Written on the Knee: A Diary from the Greek-Italian Front of WWII
By Helen Electrie Lindsay
ISBN-10: 0979824931
ISBN-13: 978-0979824937
Paperback, 240 pages
October 1, 2008
Scarletta Press
Reviewed by Cynthia Murphy


Whenever I read about a major event in history, I wonder what the regular people involved thought about it. For example, there are plenty of documents explaining what Roosevelt, Churchill, and even Hitler thought about World War II. But what about all the ordinary people who found themselves in the middle of a war unlike anything they had seen before? Those ordinary people were simply swept up into the tide of history. For the most part, their stories are ignored or relegated to sidebar status. Fortunately, individual accounts are growing in popularity. Written on the Knee provides one man’s perspective from the Greek-Italian front of World War II.

Written on the Knee is the World War II diary of Dr. Theodore Electris. The diary opens with the mobilization of Dr. Electris’s unit. He was drafted soon after his marriage to his beloved Chrysoula. Dr. Electris’s diary covers his time at the front as well as his journey home. Most of the diary is devoted to his daily activities. Dr. Electris always had numerous patients. Unfortunately, the medical staff was quite small, and the number of wounded was large. All of the soldiers struggled with the shortages of food and supplies, as well as the challenge of fighting in unfamiliar terrain.

The diary does not focus on the details of particular battles. Instead, it covers the daily life among the troops. Obviously, they were not always involved in battles. Much of their time was spent in transit or in camp. When the unit is in camp, it is easy to forget that they are fighting a war. The men settle into daily routines and form friendships. Dr. Electris does a beautiful job of describing his unit’s activities, both on and off the battlefield. The diary is very detailed. It also includes various photographs that Dr. Electris took along the way. The photos help the reader attach faces to the names mentioned throughout the diary. The addition of the photos is a nice touch since this is such a personal account of the war. It really feels as if the reader is there with Dr. Electris.

As a soldier and a physician, Dr. Electris faced an internal conflict. He was a physician first, but he was also a soldier. On some levels, Dr. Electris seems to be a reluctant soldier, yet he wants to protect his country. He fulfills his duty by tending the wounded. One thing that I found very interesting was the number of civilians he also treated. As word spread throughout the villages the unit occupied, civilians also asked Dr. Electris for help. At times, it sounds as though he was running a civilian practice and fulfilling his military duty. Dr. Electris’s love for his country and his profession appear throughout the diary. They are among the driving forces of his life.

Dr. Electris’s diary ends with his return home during the Nazi occupation of Greece, but that is not the end of Written on the Knee. Dr. Electris’s daughter, Helen Electrie Lindsay, includes a wonderful Epilogue and an extremely informative appendix. The epilogue includes details of the family’s life during and after the Nazi occupation. There is also an amazing family story regarding how Chrysoula got her house back from the Nazis. The appendix provides valuable information regarding Greece’s involvement in World War II. The appendix also contains some great political cartoons from the war.

Written on the Knee is a fascinating look at the Greek-Italian front of World War II. It offers one man’s perspective of an often overlooked portion of history. This is a must-read for history fans as well those who simply like snapshots from history.

Guest Review: WHAT A SCOUNDREL WANTS by Carrie Lofty

What a Scoundrel Wants
By Carrie Lofty
ISBN-10: 1420104756
ISBN-13: 978-1420104752
Paperback, 320
December 1, 2008
Zebra
Reviewed by Susan Helene Gottfried


When author Ann Aguirre offered a free copy of Carrie Lofty's debut novel, What a Scoundrel Wants, to anyone who'd review it online, I jumped at the chance. After all, I really like romance novels. There. I've said it. Me, the hard rocker loves the push and pull of a hero and heroine coming together.

You may take that statement any way you wish.

The premise of Scoundrel sounds like fun -- Will Scarlet, Robin Hood's nephew, takes off on his own. He's his own man … who makes bad choices, all of which come back to bite him when he encounters Meg of Keyworth out in Nottingham forest.

If Will is his own man, Meg is her own woman. Fiesty, independent, entirely too smart for her own safety -- and blind, a condition which, in those days, makes being independent almost impossible. The fact that Meg is so able speaks volumes about her character.

Needless to say, when you get two people who are so perfectly self-possessed in the same scene, sparks fly. The good kind, the kind that's made up of that chemistry that romance novels are all about. Thanks to Meg's knowledge of alchemy, other kinds of sparks fly. And you know what happens when you play with fire…

Author Carrie Lofty does a great job with this theme, although at times, the animosity between Will and Meg frustrates the reader. If they'd just get over their stupid pride and listen to each other, if they'd stop jumping to conclusions… once that happens and the two realize they are better as a team than apart, the book takes off. Sadly, that realization comes about halfway through.

Not that the first half of the book is hard to read. Not at all. But a good book would be better had the animosity phase worn off more quickly. While it's fun to watch a hero and heroine take those tentative steps toward each other, there is nothing that's tentative about these two, and that includes the way Meg navigates unfamiliar territory. Literally; remember, she is blind. She's not one of those perfect heroines; she trips on roots and stubs her toes and rips her gown. She's often dirt-covered, which is hardly seemly for a woman in her time. And yet she continues to take life head-on. The usual dance of potential lovers does not suit either her or Will, who is confused about where his life has been, where it's headed, and what it all means.

I don't know. Maybe my problem with this book lies in the fact that I want to see Meg and Will star in an action story, not a traditional romance. They are strong enough characters to pull it off, and Lofty, despite a few clunkers ("Guilt wove through his ligaments."), is a strong enough writer to easily make the shift.

At any rate, I've heard through the grapevine that Carrie Lofty's next book will feature Meg's sister Ada, a character we spent an annoyingly little amount of time with in Scoundrel. While I didn't love this book to death, I'll be right there, ready to buy when Scoundrel's Kiss is released.