Counterpoint and Book 8

Here's an article that lambasts the "new game journalism". It also makes some valid points. Here's the thing though, gaming journalism does need to grow. And while yes, you need a certain amount of game good, game not good, I think you can evolve how you explain that a game is good. Does that mean that the new game journalism is self-serving snobbery? Maybe. It certainly can fall into that trap. But it can also be a powerful way of explaining what a game means in another context than just a guy hitting buttons on a controller. Unfortunately, with a few minor exceptions, you're going to get a lot of the self-serving snobbery before game journalism as a whole grows to the point where a review isn't just x points out of y. And I think that's all I'll say about that for now.

So. Book 8. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. What a piece of work that was. And not in anything remotely resembling a good way. I believe this was Brown's first book. And I'm surprised he was allowed to write more. I had to force myself to finish this thing. The characters were pretty much all unlikable, the plot was really forced and scripted, and it just became a chore to read. Most of Brown's books seem to tackle some sort of issue. The Da Vinci Code tackles Catholicism and Christ's possible family life, Deception Point tackles NASA, and Digital Fortress tackles the NSA and the EFF. If you get tricked into picking up the book based on some of the puzzles you encountered in Da Vinci Code and thinking that you might find more here (based on the book jacket and the subject matter), drop it this instant. There really aren't any - Brown hadn't learned that trick yet.

The characters... I don't know what Brown's fascination is with disabilites, but it's like Crichton and theme parks. If a character has some sort of disability, you can bet they're a bad guy. This time it's a deaf assassin. I can only wish I were kidding (and that's not a slight against deaf people). The main character is once again a drop dead gorgeous scientist (aren't they all, really?) and she mostly just pouts her way through the story. And if you're female and you work for the NSA it must follow that you're stacked. Unless you're the janitor, in which case you're just small and honey-covered. <sigh> There's an actual reference to heaving chests in this story. And while it's not a romantic reference, it's certainly as melodramatic. I just... Words fail really...

The plot is pretty forced. And while it has the potential to be interesting, it mostly just ends up passing by. You've probably noticed that I haven't really described what happens. I would, but I can't bring myself to try and remember enough detail to give you a decent synopsis. Once again the technology is pretty accurate and you wonder just how much of this really goes on, but the ham-handedness of things makes it pretty hard to care. If you're looking for a good book on cryptography and society I recommend Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. And if you want a story that deals with who will watch the watchmen, read Alan Moore's Watchmen. Give this one a miss. Eesh...