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Rainbow Reading - Shift In Time

3/30/2015

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Rainbow Reading is our weekly series focusing on book reviews with a geeky/sci-fi/fantasty/supernatural flair with LGBTQ characters.  Today I review Shift In Time by Mercy Celeste.

I’ll say upfront, I’m a big fan of Mercy Celeste.  I've read all of her m/m books.  I love her contemporary novels – she interweaves plots, twists and turns, secrets and lies like a master.  I tend to do an initial read through a Mercy book very quickly. I always come back to re-read later and find new twists and turns that I missed the first time around. I didn't think I was going to get that with this book.  I thought to myself “Oh, look Mercy wrote a cute story about a shifter who turned from a house cat into a human”.  I should have known better. This book is quintessential Mercy with all the plot twists that her fans love.  

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Morgan is a normal among his family of powerful witches.  He comes off as almost boring initially.  He primarily looks after the family home on an island.  He has signed a blood oath when he was young to never lay with a man.  He doesn’t remember doing it, and it seems his parents knew nothing about this. 
Enter Fane.  Fane is chaos.  He is the Siamese cat that has been around the family for years although that is not realized until later in the story.  Fane was once a soldier in the civil war, and was cursed to live in this form for 150 years.  The curse is broken when Morgan kisses Fane.  
Fane "My purr is broke"
Morgan "People don't purr"
I though you might bark at me for a second.  Don't like to be barked at.  And I miss my tail.  I liked my tail.  
The first third of the book deals with Fane trying to figure out how to be human again.  He has an obsession with tuna, a fascination with watching the toilet flush and loves chasing the birds on the beach.  He seems to want to go back to being a cat as he starts to remember his old human life and comes to the realization that all the people he once knew are dead.  Or are they?
Enter Falyn - Fanes younger brother.  Fane and Falyn reconnect just in time.  It seems the witch council is coming after Morgan for breaking his blood oath to never have sex with a man (yes, the man is Fane).  Falyn is able to wisk all of Morgan’s family off to Falyn’s home.  We learn that Falyn is the Alpha to werewolves.  Turns out that Fane was supposed to be the Alpha, but he left to go fight in the civil war.  There are definite issues to be worked out between the brothers.     
I don’t want to give everything away, but the remainder of the story reveals the secrets and lies that have been going on for over a century. There is a reconciliation of family, an evil witch that gets her just desserts and a happily ever after.  
You will laugh, curse, and cheer.  Buy this book - you will not be sorry.  Let me know in the comments below what you thought about the book
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Fun Games You Aren't Playing - Gone Home

3/29/2015

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Speaking of games that can’t be classified, why isn’t there a catchy name for games that are very heavy on story side, but light on the gameplay?

Usually they get lumped in with “adventure” games, which I think does a disservice to the game, having to live up those legacy expectations of obscure puzzles and “PICK UP rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle”.
These games aren’t visual novels either, which also have a very well-defined format (usually involving anime waifus). If MOBAs and Metroidvanias can have a consistent designation, why not these games?
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This week’s game is Gone Home, which belongs to the only subspecies of this genre with an actual amusing nickname: walking simulator! True to the slightly-pejorative nickname, in the game you walk around a lot. Billed as an “interactive exploration simulator” (IES? not catchy) Gone Home is the story of an empty house and all the secrets it hides.
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Without resorting to spoilers, in the game you’re a bit of a detective, examining all the junk left lying about. Letters, ticket stubs, notes passed in school, mixtapes, post-it notes, anything and everything lying about could potentially be part of one of many stories.

Some of the junk is just junk, but even that stuff helps to set the nostalgic mid-90s scene. Audio logs fill in the blanks of the main story, a-la-BioShock (not a real surprise, considering the team behind Gone Home also created DLC for BioShock 2).

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Even if you’re like me and don’t care for the “teen romance” plot in Gone Home, there’s plenty to poke at that isn’t related to the hormonal teen girl that lives in the house. What really intrigued me was what the parents were up to in their spare time, and the past of the house. The setting itself is also spooky, with creaking floorboards and flickering lights. It’s not a full-on horror game, but I’d definitely recommend playing it in the dark.

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I’m one of those that picks up every stupid item in open-world RPGs, so Gone Home was a fantastic playground where I got to do just that. If you absolutely must have a jump button, feel free to pass on this one. Next week, I’ll feature a game where there will be plenty of jumping and shooting things, don’t worry.

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Watching taped episodes of the X-Files,
The Dungeon Dame

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Binge Watch Wednesday - Orphan Black

3/25/2015

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by Annie
This article is spoiler free, I am not here to ruin fun.

You have one month to catch up before season three of Orphan Black premieres. Grab your pink phone and your “Sestra,” and binge on one of the best TV shows out there. 
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Orphan Black is an intense thriller about clones. It is about secrets, science and crime and all boils down to issues of trust in a world where everything is hidden and fabricated. I don't want to give too much away because uncovering all the details and intricacy of this show is part of it's appeal. It is not a show that you will be bored with after a few episodes. 

Every episode connects together and leaves the viewer with both more information and new mysteries. Start from the beginning and don't look for any spoilers on the internet and don't talk to anyone who might tell you spoilers. Don't ruin it for yourself- it is that good. 
Tatiana Maslany is amazing, she is truly a gifted actress. Every character she plays is different and so believable as the other character that you constantly forget that it is just one actress. She is so good at what she does on Orphan Black that I could almost believe she really has clones or at least a twin. There is never a time on Orphan Black that you feel you see the usual devices to replicate an actor like using doubles or obviously splicing a scene so there are two of the same actors. They may use these techniques but they do it so well it goes unnoticed. 
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The supporting cast is talented too, providing the story with drama and even sometimes comic relief. I would name names and go on about them but I don't want to give anything away because even telling you who they play might give away too many details and bring forth too many questions. 
Then if you get hooked on the show and want to learn more, most of the cast of Orphan Black will be at C2E2 in Chicago in April! Also, you can dress like the clone club with the new clothing line from Hot Topic.

Go binge and enjoy this awesome show, we hereby release you from all responsibilities and hygiene rituals for the next two days, (just kidding. I mean we would if we could.) 
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Rainbow Reading - Into This River I Drown

3/23/2015

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Rainbow Reading is our weekly series focusing on book reviews with a geeky/sci-fi/fantasty/supernatural flair with LGBTQ characters.  Today I review Into This River I Drown by TJ Klune. 
Synopsis by Dreamspinner Press:
Five years ago, Benji Green lost his beloved father, Big Eddie, when his truck crashed into a river. Everyone called it an accident, but Benji knows it was more. Even years later, he’s buried in his grief, throwing himself into managing Big Eddie’s convenience store in the small-town of Roseland, Oregon. Surrounded by his mother and three aunts, he lives day to day, struggling to keep his head above water.

But Roseland is no ordinary place. With ever more frequent dreams of his father’s death and waking visions of feathers on the river’s surface, Benji finds his definition of reality bending. He thinks himself haunted; by ghosts or memories, he can no longer tell. Not until a man falls from the sky, leaving the burning imprint of wings on the ground, does Benji begin to understand that the world is more mysterious than he ever imagined—and more dangerous. As uncontrollable forces descend on Roseland, they reveal long-hidden truths about friends, family, and the stranger Calliel—a man Benji can no longer live without.
I love anything written by TJ Klune.  I also end up making the horrible wookie cry face for almost every TJ Klune book I have ever read.  This book hit me harder - it hurt my soul.  The description of the relationship Benji had with his father, Big Eddie, and the loss Benji feels after his dad’s death is heartbreaking.  For anyone who has ever lost someone close to them, the description is beyond painful.  For those lucky enough to have not experienced this level of despair, TJ pulls you kicking and screaming into the sorrow that Benji feels day in and day out.  Throughout this book, the reader is pulled into the past and we get to learn about Benji and Big Eddy’s relationship.  Normally, I hate when a book jumps from back and forth in time.  This was so well done and gave the reader a chance to learn about and love Big Eddy, a character that no longer exists physically in the present but continues to have such a vital impact on the characters in this book.
This is at once the end and the beginning.
This is the story of my love of two men.
One is my father.
The other is a man who fell from the sky.
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At Benji’s bleakest moments, he discovers Calliel.  Calliel is Benji’s guardian angel who has fallen to earth to help Benji work through his grief.  Cal is a fantastic character – honest, kind, protective, selfless and childlike all rolled into one.  Cal helps Benji figure out how to continue to live his life instead of standing still while endlessly repeating the worst moment of his life.  I love their relationship.  I love how the characters in this book grow and change throughout the course of the book.
The first two thirds of the book are filled with the heartbreaking sorrow of dealing with a loved one’s death and learning how to slowly begin to live again.  The last third of the book is intense.  As always though, TJ ends the book with a laugh.  We as readers get to take a breath, and be able to let these characters go, knowing that they have grown over the course of the book, and are well on their way to living again.  I re-read a lot of TJ’s books, but have yet to be able to do that with this book.  Every time I think about this book, I feel so many things still for the characters.  Even though I know in the end, Benji is in a much better place, I haven’t been able to bring myself to read this book again, and put myself through the emotional turmoil.  Maybe I will be able to read it again next year.  But at least I can leave the book knowing  that these characters are happier than when the book began. 
Read this book, but remember to have a box of tissues and a friend support line handy.  You will not be disappointed.

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Fun Games You Aren't Playing - Detective Grimoire

3/20/2015

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Another point-and-click adventure game this week, and this one is barely even an adventure game! 

Detective Grimoire was a quick and enjoyable murder case to solve, like a less wordy Ace Attorney.

Adventure game?   Maybe. 
But this game fits in that weird adventure game/hidden object game/visual novel crossbred genre, with strong lean towards visual novel. It’s a gaming Liger, or Zonkey!
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Detective Grimoire follows the charmingly-animated gumshoe as he interrogates charmingly-animated characters in a charmingly-animated mysterious swamp investigating a murder case where the main suspect is a mythical bog-creature. Needless to say, this game is a lot of fun to look at, and the voice acting is superb. The game is genuinely funny at times- the sketches that Grimoire makes in his notebook when pressuring a suspect are amazing.
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Despite its classification as a point-and-click adventure game, there are no puzzles in Detective Grimoire. The action parts are closer to the visual novel style, similar to “open the door!” and “move the thingy” prompts. As a lover of visual novels, I’m totally unfazed, but if you’re expecting puzzles you’re in for a real disappointment. 
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The game is tightly-paced and doesn't outstay its welcome; you can get 100% of the clues within a few hours. The only downside to Grimoire is that there is no sequel, and thus no more cases to solve. An unfortunate problem seen with all high-quality, detailed indie games made by, like, two people. I want more!
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Let’s arrest something that doesn’t even exist!
The Dungeon Dame

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Rainbow Reading - Wave Goodbye To Charlie

3/16/2015

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Rainbow Reading is our weekly series focusing on book reviews with a geeky/sci-fi/fantasty/supernatural flair with LGBTQ characters.

This week I'm reviewing Wave Goodbye to Charlie by Eric Arvin. I’ve been trying all weekend to figure out how to describe this book. It is not gay romance and not quite horror. It is dark and violent with an evilness that lasts long past the point of physical existence, but what seems to define this book is the love that Charlie has for his family that he has chosen to surround himself with.
Charlie is a young prostitute, living in an abandoned haunted carnival. The carnival is surrounded by spine-chilling woods that house a depraved bully in the form of Bull and his dog. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but the reader is introduced to Bull early in the story and we fast learn what true evil really means.
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Nessa is a witch that also lives in the woods. She is an interesting character. She knows stuff she shouldn’t be able to know, and can speak to both the living and dead. Nessa is the one who helps explain some of the strange happenings to Charlie and the others as the book progresses. She has her own agenda and is looking for vengeance for a past wrong. She becomes vital when it comes to dealing with the unseen evil that Charlie faces later in the book.

Leroy and Jim act as surrogate fathers for Charlie. They live in a house that was once owned by the caretaker of the carnival where Charlie lives. Leroy tries to feed Charlie every chance he gets, and Jim wants Charlie to live with them so they can offer him some protection. Charlie will not stay with them though. He knows there is something off and potentially dangerous about that house.
Eric Arvin makes magic seem normal and real. He pulls the reader into the story with his vivid imagery of locations and characters. His writing transports you with all the sights, sounds, smells, anger, fear and happiness that his characters are experiencing. This is a violent story with characters in high risk lifestyles that live on the outskirts of society. I smiled, jumped in fright, and cried while reading Wave Goodbye To Charlie. This book makes the reader think about people we might never consider, and their impact on the world or at least their part of it. Wave Goodbye to Charlie is ultimately a story of friendship and family, and how far one person will go to protect their family from the darkness stalking their loved ones.
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Just when you think the story has ended and evil has been defeated, Eric Arvin throws another sucker punch. Poor Charlie has one bad thing after another happen to him. But what makes this story unique and inspiring is how Charlie deals with every punch he gets. Most of us would look at Charlie’s life and see someone who should be helped, and who can’t offer much to society. But Charlie focuses on helping his friends to make sure they are safe and protected.
Read this book. You will not be disappointed. If you like it, then I would suggest also reading Woke Up In A Strange Place, Mingled Destinies of Crocodiles and Men, and Azrael and the Light Bringer. If you don’t like it, read it again.

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Five Video Game Soundtracks You Aren’t Listening To

3/13/2015

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Much is made of the masterfully created Epic Video Game Soundtracks; you know, the Halos, Call of Duty games (Hans Zimmer?), the Battlefields, the Dragon Ages, the Mass Effects, and of course, ALL the Finalest of Final Fantasies. 
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They’re great and all, but I’m not sure when would be an appropriate time to listen to these. 
  • While you’re reading? 
  • Doing taxes? 
  • When you’re stuck in traffic on a Thursday evening?

Here are some great video game soundtracks for when your life isn’t an epic quest for glory:

For speeding down the highway/riding with your biker gang: Full Throttle

The hard rock sound of your favorite dive bar, conveniently squeezed in a 1995 adventure game through the use of beautifully animated cutscenes. Thank goodness for those newfangled CD-ROMs!  I’m glad they went through the effort, because nothing conjures up the smell of asphalt quite like this music. Bonus round: The Brütal Legend soundtrack

For doing chores around the house: Jet Grind Radio

What better way to keep you moving than a musical journey through a neon Tokyo circa the year 2000? You’re not painting an accent wall in the kitchen, you’re expressing yourself through street art and claiming the territory for your own graffiti gang!  Feel free to give yourself a sweet spiky hairdo to complete the experience. Rollerblades completely optional.

For running on the treadmill: Hotline Miami/Hotline Miami 2

Specifically made to put you in an intense trance, the soundtrack is perfect for running a little longer than usual. Nothing’s a better motivator than hard drugs and extreme violence! This electronic 80s dreamscape of a music collection comes complete with faster tracks for sprinting and slower tracks for that much-needed recovery. Just don’t wear a horse mask at the gym, unless you want to star in someone’s viral video.

For drowning in a pool/setting your house on fire: The Sims 

I fully admit to putting this one on disk so I can live out my blissful, smooooooth latin jazz dreams in real life. 

For Taco Tuesday: Guacamelee

The only Mexico-themed action game I know of (if there are more, please tell me) has a collection of tunes perfect for using up all your avocados. Even better? Eating a bunch of Mexican food is much easier than trying to ace some of those killer platforming levels. Just don’t get sent to the land of the dead after too many tequila shots! 

Your captain and DJ,
The Dungeon Dame

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Binge Watch Wednesday - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

3/11/2015

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by Lauren

OK - so I'll admit it. The reason I was extra sleepy Monday morning had little to do with the time change and more to do with my unintended blitzkrieg through ALL of the episodes of Netflix's new comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. 
They are like potato chips - you can't watch just one.
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The premise is that when she was 14, Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper) was kidnapped and held with three other women in an underground bunker by a cult leader who told them the world had ended. The show begins fifteen years later when they are finally rescued from the bunker and in the center of a media feeding frenzy about the 'mole women of Indiana.'
While on a trip to NYC for interviews, Kimmy breaks away from the others to live life anonymously in the big city. She finds an apartment after meeting her crazy landlady, Lillian - played by the always hilarious Carol Kane. Her new roommate is a black, gay, out-of-work musical theater actor, Titus (Titus Burgess) and she gets a job by busting a delinquent candy thief on the day his nanny quits. Her new boss? An over-the-top self-involved billionaire's second wife played perfectly by Jane Krakowski (30 Rock.) 
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Wackiness and a stream of killer one-liners, awkward bunker flashbacks, misunderstood modern and 90's pop culture references, musical numbers, shame puppets, and rampant optimism all ensue.
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And just when you think... "I should probably go to bed" - the cult leader's trail begins - and the hilarious cameos bust in to renew your fervor. 

I won't spoil it, but they are amazing.
Before it even premiered it was picked up for a season 2 - so dive on in and give it a watch.

I bet you can't watch just one.
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Rainbow Reading - Taxes and TARDIS

3/9/2015

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Rainbow Reading is our new weekly series focusing on book reviews with a geeky/sci-fi/fantasty/supernatural flair with LGBTQ characters.  
This week I'm reviewing Taxes and TARDIS by N. R. Walker.

Brent Kelly is an electrician that has his own business.  He is surprised to find that his normal accountant is not available.  Brent’s magical box (a.k.a. a shoebox) of receipts is a nightmare for any accountant, and he finally has his old one trained on his ways. He is embarrassed to have to introduce his “filing system” to a new accountant.  The accountant is Logan Willis who comes across as quiet and geeky, and also British.  I love a nerd with an accent.  Logan is in love with all British Sci-Fi – and who wouldn’t be? 

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On the first meeting, Brent can’t seem to form a sentence to save his life.  He ends up asking about the color of Logan’s shirt which Logan describes as TARDIS blue.  Now, we as geeks all know the color of TARDIS blue instantly.  Brent is a little confused about what is a T.A.R.D.I.S. and Logan explains it means Time and Relative Dimension in Space.  This also is not much help to Brent, but he is determined to figure out about this show Doctor Who and the TARDIS.

Brent runs out to borrow the Doctor Who.  He does get teased by his best friend and roommate, Tim, for deciding to stay in on Friday to watch Doctor Who instead of hanging out a bar with his friends as is his normal pattern.  Brent calls Logan to ask some questions about Doctor Who and ask if Logan needs any help deciphering Brent’s filing system.  They meet on the pretense of reviewing the receipts, but end up watching Doctor Who.  Logan introduces Brent to Torchwood.  Oh, my!  Captain Jack Harkness can help introduce the sexy times to any couple because he is just that fabulous. 

This book was short, but sweet.  I loved seeing Logan’s forceful side and Brent’s vulnerable side.  I loved Tim the roommate – he not only provided silliness to the story but also guidance for this couple.  I hated Marty, but you need to read the book to understand why.  If you are looking for a quick read on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I highly recommend Taxes and TARDIS by NR Walker. 

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Fun Games You Aren't Playing - Hotline Miami

3/6/2015

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With the sequel just days away, I’ve become acutely aware that not everyone has played Hotline Miami. 

What gives? An allergy to neon? 


It’s loud, it’s obnoxious, and even if it’s not your cup of tea, it’s at least worth experiencing once.
Inspired by the movie Drive, Hotline Miami is the violent video game all those news stories warned you about. You play as a mysterious masked mass-murderer-for-hire receiving at the beginning of each level coded calls about a “delivery” or somesuch. You then proceed to the address you’re given and kill all the mobsters in the building. There are weapons littered everywhere you go, and you’re rewarded for the speed and creativity you bring the pain down on everyone around you.
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This game gets brutal- the player character is just as vulnerable as the guys being gunned down, so any stray bullet and it’s game over. Plus, the CMYK 1980’s nightmare graphics and relentless electronic soundtrack add to the intensity of the levels. I spent most level in a literal sweat-- which is the coked-up eighties experience the game developers probably wanted me to have. 
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The game gets extra surreal when you beat a level; suddenly, all the music cuts out to a droning noise, and you’re forced to walk through all the destruction you just created. Madness.
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Hotline Miami is definitely one of a kind, with the darkest story I've ever encountered in an arcade-style game. Personally, I liked the soundtrack much more than the actual gameplay, but I can definitely see the appeal to lovers of twitchy, adrenaline-rush games.

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Doesn't particularly like hurting other people,
The Dungeon Dame
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