This is the last piece of the Cobra Trilogy and so far my favorite of the bunch. The first book covered Johnny Moreau’s life spanning several years which left me feeling somewhat fragmentet. In the this book we follow Jin, daughter of on of Johnny’s sons. The rest of the Moreau family is still present but their involvement is kept in balance so you get the rejoicing of seeing them again but allowing for the main character to evolve. The character development of Jin is expertly done and in a way that you can not help but feel hugely involved in her actions and dilemmas. The book also directly follows the predecessors story line which helps knot the two books together, something the first and second lacked a bit. The action and subterfuge is also of a high standard, well crafted and believable. The book is also very well balanced in that the character building and action is nicely entwined. In other words you do not have to wait long before the story amps up. It is a fitting end to the Cobra Trilogy however it left me wanting more. A great read!

I think that this ends my trip to the Cobra for now. Thimothy Zahn have written two more books in a new series based upon his old 80′ies work called Cobra Wars. Check them out at webscription.net here and here.

The second installment into the Cobra Trilogy by Thimothy Zahn takeonyszko on a journy further into the perils of the newfound Cobra worlds. A new threat on an unfamiliar horizon is the perfect settimg for another Cobra mission. This time around the tale is spun not only from the viewpoint of Johnny Moreau but also from several other members of the Moreau family. This expansion of the main cast is both a highlight of the novel but also removes the focus and depth you get by following a more singular main character. A good portion of the book is used to setup the Moreau family and the various mechanisms driving them in the forthcoming adventure. When the action finally appears Zahn delivers in style bouncing neatly of the character building and plot threads done earlier in the book. After reading the book I tried to recall other works about man making first contact with potentially dangerous worlds and in comparison I feel that this part of the story was the weakest point. However it does not overshadow that this is a good and solid read, easily recommended to fans of the first book.

Wolverine is perhaps my second most favorite super hero character surpassed only by the Hulk himself. You just cannot beat a huge green bulk that does not understand the difference between algebra and a cheese sandwich. What does make the Wolverine special in my book? It’s because he is as bad ass as they can possibly get without being evil. He embodies all the rage and wrath that you cannot project on to the world without getting your ass slammed in jail. Claw’s and regeneration? That is just awesome in any book.

Wolverines origin story is a great action movie with loads of claws, teleporting, eye beam slashing, and touchy manipulation stuff. However it fails to deeply explore the deeper nuances of the Wolverine character. The cast of supporting acts are too numerous causing the focus to be drawn away from Wolverine. Remember the small quiet scenes that made Wolverine special in the 3 X-men movies? That scene where he is in the kitchen with Ice man? Remember the back and forth with Cyclops? I think those moments were sacrificed on the action movie altar that dictates that you should keep things moving.

I have to mention Wolverines brother, he almost steals the spotlight but it is what saves the story and makes it true origin story. The playoff between Them is great. Wolverine bounces off his brother so well that you can forgive the supporting cast sommewhat. Oh and and what is up with the hair? We are talking a serious George Michael here!

Baen books Webscriptions site is full of wonderful literature, but who can resist something called: The COBRA Trillogy! The book is written by Timothy Zahn, and was originally issued in the 80′ies as three seperate novels.

The first book in the trillogy is called Cobra. It is  epic military space opera at it’s finest guerrilla style. The narrative style centers on focusing on parts of the main characters life. We jump from one place in time and space to the next in a pace that feels just right.  These places and points in time make up the bulk of the story line and is seen from the main character Johnny Moreau’s point of view. Ocationally these parts are broken up with shorter interludes where we visit other key elements of the story line, mostly seen from a protagonist point of view. I would characterize the plot as one that has epic ambitions but perhaps struggles a bit too much to deliver cleaver solutions. It never dismembers the story though and each part of the book leaves you turning the page to find out what mischief our Cobra has gotten himself into now. One of the highlights the novel is that it centers around the human equatiions that make up Johnny Moreau. You just cannot help but enjoy the guys company, which is vital in good space opera. The main alien antagonist The Tugft are not that well fletched out but do feel enough alien to feel real. I would like to have seen some more alien psychology introduction on them earlier on in the book though.

Was it a good read? Yes, epic in scale, well written, a believable main character with a lot of wonderful operatic content. It would make a great movie, maybe with Bruce Willis as Johnny Moreau?

FLASH! you are back in 2009 at the launch of champions online. Cryptis studios new addition to the superhero MMO franchise.

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Champions online goes online in moments, but will it succeed or fail? That is always the question when a new MMO launches. However in this case there is a president with city of heroes / city of villans. I have played both but which one do i like best?

Now it’s two weaks later and I feel ready to let go of my distrust and hand my heart to Champions Online. Shure it’s flawed – it’s an MMO, a world of compromises in it’s essence.

These are my off the top notes:

• The graphics are great
• Missions are okish
• The world is kinda small
• I love travel power at level 5!
• Character designer – WORLD CLASS
• Additional costumes at higher levels? check!
• Nobody talks, where do you hang out when everything is instanced? (make the city center a special small instance where the auction house++ is located, but only ONE instance)
• The developers chat and connect with the community
• It runs okish on my Q6600 // 8800 GTS 4gb ram setup, but just okish (~25 fps@1680)
• I cannot wrap my head around the business concept – subscription AND microtransactions?

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DEAD BULB! It’s now 2010

Here is the new list:

• My high hopes for new quality content have greatly diminished. A few explicitly themed events happened in 2009 but that was it.
• The character designer is still a great feature, and it remains interesting to create a new concept toon.
• The areas seems very repetitive by now and the small world size really takes it’s toll on you. The content creates little or no need for group play.
• New content in the future you say? Well a new expansion is planned for lvl 37-40. If you have played the game you know that 37-40 is a gap with largely little content so this step seems great yes?. It would be, but you have to cough up real money for it.
• The business model is at a point where you pay a subscription to play and everything else costs money too- costumes, expansions you name it.
• My time with the game have been sporadic during the fall game mania season of 2009 and I think that it will die a slow death during 2010.

Pentax lens SMC DA* 60-250mm f/4 and SMC DA 21mm f/3.2 Limited.

Both are excellent lenses in their own right. The 21mm is one of my favorite “shoot from the hip” lenses as you can easily go for 1/15 second exposure with IS on. It has a very small form factor and thus feels unimposing. On the other side we find the “big” 60-250mm tele lense. Big in quotation marks because it does not feel like a Sigma 100-300mm and it offers a very useful 60mm field of view. I can not count the time where this extra short range have come in handy. The build quality of both lenes also make them a joy to use – who does not like the feel of pro gear? Image quality wise they are also very nice preformers. Photozone.de have reviewed both lenses 21mm and 60-250mm.