Review A Game of Thrones Season One

Ive made no bones about my contention that a Game of Thrones jumped the shark with book four, A Feast for Crows. However, the first three books were still very good, and so I was intrigued when HBO decided to pull out all stops and make a TV series out of it.

If you grew up in Asia, youre very familiar with full-length books turned into tv series. You end up with 72-episode TV with every detail in the books depicted, though sometimes with quite poor special effects. (This was in the 1980s) Well, the HBO series A Game of Thrones Season One is high budget and extremely high quality. I cant say that every detail in the books are in there, but definitely every important detail in the book is there. I was very impressed that the entire first book was covered in effectively 10 hours of video, with all of the blood, gore, sex, and violence from the novels carried over. Its quite clear that at no point did the producers/writers say to themselves: "This is too bloody/sexy for TV."

I look forward to future installments of the series. Though Im not moved enough to sign up for a cable subscription and/or Tivo, Im more than happy to keep checking out the DVDs from the library in order to watch the series. Im also curious to see if the writers for the TV show manage to work themselves out of the inanity that the books have degenerated into. I fantasize that by the fourth of fifth season, they would manage to wrap up the story lines into a neat package and not have any seasons where nothing happens, unlike the books.

Recommended.

Read More..

Try the Android operating system on your PC

Android smartphones and tablets are proving very popular, but it’s not easy to get a decent amount of hands-on time before buying. However, as we will show in this workshop, it is possible to create a ‘virtual’ Android device on an XP, Vista or Windows 7 PC, with most of the features of the real thing.

This means that you’ll be able to try out different versions of the Android operating system for free – even the latest tablet editions. You can’t make phone calls, of course, but you can see how all the menus and buttons work, experiment with the built-in apps and even surf the web. Note that there is over 1GB of software to download for this workshop, so check for download caps and expect a long wait for the download to complete.

1. NOTE THAT THIS IS A LEVEL 3 workshop, meaning that it is very challenging and not for beginners. The first step is to download the Java 7 Standard Edition Development Kit from www.snipca.com/X4567. Scroll down to find the correct download for your PC – choose ‘Windows x86’ for 32-bit versions of Windows, or ‘Windows x64’ for 64-bit versions. To find out which you need, click Start, then right-click Computer (My Computer in XP) and choose Properties: in Vista/7 the version is listed under System Type, but in XP it is 32-bit unless you see the words ‘64-bit Edition’. When downloaded, run the program and follow the simple wizard to install the Java 7 software..

2. AT THE END OF the install wizard, click Finish and a registration web page will open – close this as registration is not necessary. Now visit www.snipca.com/X4568 to download the Android Software Development Kit (SDK). Click on the link in the Windows section that starts with ‘installer_’ to get the latest version. When downloaded, run this and click Next – it should detect the Java SDK and show words to that effect. Click Next, then Next, then Install. When it’s finished, click Finish to launch the SDK Manager..

3. AFTER A FEW MOMENTS, the SDK Manager will show the available downloads. Find the entry in the list labelled ‘Android SDK Platform-tools, revision 7’, select it and click the Accept radio button. Do the same for all the entries that start with ‘SDK Platform Android’. Click Reject for all the other items (these are not needed for the Android emulator), then click Install. This can take a long time: each download is installed immediately after it is downloaded. Note that the ‘Choose packages’ window will appear every time the SDK Manager is launched – just click Cancel to dismiss it..

4. IF AN ADB RESTART MESSAGE APPEARS, click Yes. Click Close on the Installing Archives window. Now click New, type a name in the Name box, choose Android version 1.5 in the Target dropdown box, then type ‘512’ in the SD Card Size box. Click Create AVD. When a confirmation message appears, click OK. You can create as many virtual devices as you wish, using different Android versions. For example, repeat the above but choose Android version 3.2 for a tablet device. Virtual tablet devices may run very slowly though – even on a fast PC..

5. SELECT THE DEVICE, click Start, then click Launch. The virtual phone can take several minutes to start – it displays ‘Android’ while launching – so have patience. Eventually the Android home screen will appear. All the phone’s buttons work as they would on a real Android smartphone, but they’re operated by clicking with the mouse, rather than a finger on a touchscreen. The PC’s keyboard can be used for situations where text needs to be entered, such as typing in website addresses. Clicking the Home button (with a house icon) returns you to the Android home screen, and the left-pointing arrow is the Back button. Apps are launched with a single click. To view or change settings, click the Menu button, then Settings. Close the window (click the red X at the top-right corner) to turn off the emulator..

6. THE MOUSE IS ALSO USED TO emulate touch gestures: click and hold on an empty part of the screen, drag left or right, then release the mouse button to move between the three separate Android home screens, for example. Click and hold for a couple of seconds to bring up the customisation menu, then choose Widgets or Shortcuts to add items to any home screen. You can also change wallpapers and create folders with this menu. To remove an item, click and hold it until a wastepaper basket icon appears at the bottom of the screen, then drag the widget on to this.

Read More..

Long Term Review Republic Wireless

In my earlier review of Republic Wireless, I mentioned that I would likely give up the phone and return it and switch to Ting instead. Well, I ended up not doing that. The phone is slow, its got wide variance in battery life --- in normal usage Id end the day with 40% of the battery, but some times for no apparent reason Id drain the battery by 8pm.

At my new job, however, I have no desk phone, but excellent wifi, which meant that the wifi calling feature that Republic Wireless offers is what I depend on day in day out in order to take and make phone calls from the office. While those calls arent as often as you might expect, they still happen on a regular basis, and usually when they happen I need to take them, rather than have them go to voice mail.

The unlimited data has also come in very handy over time --- given the size of web pages nowadays, even a few minutes of surfing can run well over 100MB of data, which would pop you over to the next tier on Ting. Given that I occasionally walk to work (a 30 minute journey each way), having access to data means I can stream wireless music or use TuneIn to pick up KQED or other radio station, which has been very nice whenever I do walk to work.

Most people arent as cheap as I am when it comes to phone plans, but $19/month unlimited voice/data/text is almost too good to be true, and I for one hope that Republic Wireless succeeds in their quest to change the way cell phones work. For most people in Silicon Valley, Id venture to say that Republic Wireless plan would be exactly what they want. I cant wait for them to introduce better phones and I for one am surprised that such a game changing startup is happening outside of Silicon Valley.

Highly Recommended.

Read More..

Day 2 Rosenlaui to Wengen

We woke up in the morning without any jet-lag, and to dry roads but overcast skies. I had previously booked Hotel Bernerhof in Wengen, the one part of Lauterbrunnen valley that I had not explored. With permission from Andreas, we left our bikes in Rosenlaui: there was no point carting the bikes around to Wengen where we would have no need for them.

The first stop of the day, however, was Reichenbach Falls, just above Meiringen. The falls is well known amongst Sherlock Holmes fans for being the site of "His Last Bow", where he struggled with Moriarty and fell to his "death." Holmes, of course, was far too popular with his readers for Doyle to keep him dead for long, and returned by popular demand.

From Tour of the Alps 2011

We drove over to Lauterbrunnen Valley for a good look at the Staubbach Falls. This is the fall that greets you upon entering Lauterbrunnen Valley, and it has a hiking trail that goes up behind the fall. Due to strong wind that day, however, the falls were pulled away from behind the hiking trails so we got a view of Lauterbrunnen instead.

From Tour of the Alps 2011

From Tour of the Alps 2011

This being XiaoQins first time in Lauterbrunnen, we had to see the Trummelbach falls, so after buying a picnic lunch at the supermarket, we drove to the Trummelbach parking lot and ate. Phil chose to stay with the car and read while we paid the admission fees to look inside the mountain at the falls, which included a ride up the Funicular railway.

From Tour of the Alps 2011

We then parked the car at the parking structure in Lauterbrunnen and hopped onto the next train up to Wengen. Even though it was overcast, the view down the valley with all its attendant waterfalls put Yosemite valley to shame.

From Tour of the Alps 2011

Arriving at Wengen, we followed the arrows towards Hotel Bernerhof. After a few minutes of walking we came to an intersection where there were pointers to other hotels, but not to Bernerhof. A look around and we realized that we were standing right in front of it!

By the time we were settled, it was around 4pm, which wasnt much time for a long walk, but the visitors center helpfully pointed us at the St. Marys Cafe walk, which granted us nice views of the valley from where Wengen was at 4000 feet.

From Tour of the Alps 2011

We had dinner at a nearby restaurant and prepared ourselves for a more intense hike the next day.

Previous
Next

Read More..

Review How Children Succeed

In this age of hyper-parenting, queuing up and applying to pre-schools, one would expect How Children Succeed to be a book full of stories about tiger-moms and their high achieving scions. Refreshingly, this is a book about the students and families struggling to get out of poverty.

We get a smattering of mention of various studies, culminating in an introduction to the Tools of the Mind program. Strangely enough, my affluent neighborhood is full of Kumion cram schools as well as Montessori specialty kindergartens, but nobody brags about their Tools of the Mind curriculum. Its very likely that the tools of self-discipline, planning, and taking action is cultivated by upper middle class households as a matter of course, though one would think that something like Tools of the Mind would be useful no matter which strata of society you come from.

We dont get any expositions of music prodigies (thank goodness!), but instead get a long chapter about one teachers attempt to successfully teach her disadvantaged kids to play chess and beat the upper class private schools in competition. Its a mesmerizing read, and worth your time. The punchline is that she coaches one of her star chess players on academics and absolutely fails to make a dent, showing you that success in one aspect of life doesnt get you far anywhere else.

Does this book teach you something you dont already know? Not really. Its a typical English major book, lacking pointers to studies as well as deep interviews with people who explore the development of executive function in children. But its worth reading anyway. Recommended.

Read More..

Lenovo’s Idea pad Y500 Laptop Review

AT FIRST look, Lenovos IdeaPad Y500 doesnt seem like something special. This thick, heavy (6.2 pounds), 15.6-inch laptop is cased in a very plain, durable chassis with a brushed-aluminum cowl. It sports a sleek look, however encompasses a tendency to draw in fingerprints.

Lenovo Idea pad Y500 Good Gaming Machine

Nothing obvious about the Y500 hints that it is a rather powerful — yet surprisingly affordable — gaming-oriented laptop with a third-generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and not one but two Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics cards under the hood. Our review model - configured with a 1TB hard drive, a 16GB SSD boot drive, a glossy full HD display, and a full-size backlit keyboard with ten-key numberpad - starts at around $1100. That makes it a bit more expensive than Lenovo’s $800 base model, but it still has a great price fora gaming laptop.

On the performance front, the Y500 handled itself well, though it can’t quite hold its own with the more gaming-intensive models. It received a score of 70 out of 100 on our WorldBench 8 benchmark tests, which puts it well above most mainstream laptops, but still below behemoths such as the $3785 Origin EON17-SLX (which scored 115 out of 100). Still, the Y500 is one of the better laptops weve tested, and its graphics performance is comparable to that of the EON17-SLX. In our Dirt Showdown graphics test, the Y500 turned in a frame rate of 116.1 frames per second, while the Origin EON17-SLX managed 139.5 fps. In other words: If youre a gamer, this is a viable (and much more affordable) alternative to an Origin desktop replacement.

The Y500 offers sturdily built, comfortable components. The full-size keyboard has Chiclet-style, red-rimmed keys set against a shiny black background. The keyboard is extremely comfortable to type on, with great tactile feedback and nice, evenly spaced keys. The red backlight gives it a pop of color, though I have one minor complaint as a gamer: The keys are so evenly spaced (and the numberpad is right next to the keyboard) that a multicolor backlight would be helpful. Its hard to distinguish where keys are, quickly, with an all-red keyboard.

The Y500s touchpad is large and easy to use, but most owners wont care. This is a gaming machine, which means youre most likely going to use an external mouse with it. The touchpad was a tad jumpy and oversensitive, in my opinion, but you can disable it with a quick function keystroke.

Great-Looking Display, but No Touch?

The Y500s screen is one of its biggest assets — even though when you tap it (and you will; this is Windows 8, after all), youll discover that its not a touchscreen. But the screen itself looks great: Its big, bright, and crisp; colors look accurate; and off-axis viewing angles are pretty good. It has a full HD resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, and high-motion content looks excellent in playback. But its still not a touchscreen. Of course, this isnt quite as big of a deal for its intended audience because its a gaming machine, and touchscreens arent the gamers instrument of choice. But since the Y500 runs Windows 8, it’s a bit frustrating to realize that you can’t take advantage of all of the awesome swipe gestures that Windows 8 has to offer. That said, its important to remember that the uber-pricey Origin EON17-SLX doesn’t have a touchscreen either.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 is a great choice as a gaming laptop thats lighter and less expensive than a typical desktop-replacement monstrosity. Though it has a few minor drawbacks, overall the Y500 is a great machine that offers fine performance and specs for the price.

Read More..

What Is a DCIM Folder

Every digital camera--even the camera on your smartphone--insists on storing photographs in a folder called DCIM. Whats with the alphabet soup? Why not just call the folder ‘Photos, or skip it altogether and save photos directly to the root directory? Believe it or not, there is method in the DCIM madness, and its all about standards.

What Is a DCIM Folder?

Eons ago, DCIM (for Digital Camera IMages) became the default directory structure for digital cameras. Mostly it exists to keep everything organized. When you put a memory card into a camera, the camera immediately looks for a ‘DCIM folder. If it doesnt find such a folder, it creates one.

Likewise, some desktop image-editing programs are designed to look specifically for ‘DCIM folders on any media inserted into the PC. That saves time in scanning said media for images--and it prevents the software from importing images that your camera didnt capture.

Read More..

Choosing between jobs

One question that occasionally comes up at the end of a Negotiation cycle is, "Ok, now I have all these offers, how do I choose?" Typically, if you end your negotiation cycles in this state, it means that youve done an amazing job in your negotiations, since frequently, theres one stand out company and its clear which one you should go. (When I had a choice between Yahoo, Google, and Versign in 2003, the answer was pretty obvious. Similarly, in 2010, when one of my friends had a choice between Google and Facebook, the answer was also obvious, even when the compensation numbers were ostensibly close)

In An Engineers Guide to Silicon Valley Startups I mention creating a spreadsheet so you can compare the companies involved. Well, one of the contributors to the third edition, Santhosh Srinivasan, has actually gone ahead and created it and shared it on Google Docs for all to use.

Santhosh writes that the inspiration behind the spreadsheet was LAAAM, the Lightweight Architecture Alternative Assessment Method. The idea is that you create a weighting thats important to you, and then rank each job offer independent of the weightings and then the highest scoring total would be your preferred offer.

In reality, Ive never actually had to use such a spreadsheet, and neither do most of my clients. The intuitive approach works for most of us because ultimately, if you do a good job with negotiating compensation, the money difference should be so minor that who you want to work with should determine where you land. Since people are the least fungible of all, that approach works well unless you end up at a company so unstable that people come and go without your having an opportunity to work with the people you joined in order to work with. (That can happen, but your interview process should weed out such companies)

I do have friends whove built compensation models using spreadsheets, and then used that to get corporations to bid up their offers by showing that spreadsheet around to various companies. Thats a viable approach.

Read More..

Review The Dragon Never Sleeps

The Dragon Never Sleeps (DRM-free kindle-compatible edition) was a difficult book for me to read. The first time I tried to read it, I couldnt become interested in the characters, and abandoned it. However, at this years WorldCon, Cook mentioned that it was one of his proudest novels, so I went back and read it again.

The universe Cook weaves is a compelling one. Youve got organic military vessels that are nevertheless non-sentient. Starships travel through space on strands of the Web, which turn out to harbor a deeper secret. The war against methane breathers comes with deeper intrigues. Planet-side, the feudal structure of the milieu provides us with a key source of human intrigue. Just as interesting, cloning is an option and is frequently used, and used imaginatively by the author. Yet all this is done without long expositions. It all just happens inside the text. Cook is the master of the brief sketches and dialog that brings out character, and he uses that in this novel in spades. As you might expect, there are no plot-holes here. Everything makes sense if youve been paying attention, yet the surprises are genuine. Its also interesting that the science fictional world portrayed is one where technology is more or less static, and has been for thousands of years, so one military force (guardships) could be designed for immortality without the risk of obsolescence.

There are flaws in this book. The big one is that there are too many characters for you to properly care about, and the important characters arent fully high-lighted, so if youre going along rapidly you might have to go back and re-read a passage when one reveal or another happens. Cook also flips between nick-names, titles, and real names all the time, which could be confusing, especially since the character cast so so large. All this combined together to make an unusually long (by Cooks standards) book means that the reading gets too dry at times and I had to take breaks. It took a long time to finish this book.

Nevertheless, if youre a fan of Cooks characters, matter of fact exposition, and want to see what he does with science fiction, this is definitely recommended (unlike Passage At Arms. Just dont expect it to be a quick airplane read.

Read More..

Anonymous Vows to Destroy Facebook on Nov 5

Anonymous has vowed to "destroy" Facebook on Nov. 5. Or more accurately, somebody has set up a Twitter account and YouTube channel to announce a plan dubbed "Operation Facebook."

With the loosely affiliated hacktivist collective, its always tough to know whats real, whats a feint, and whats a solo effort by some ambitious Anon to marshal the troops.

If Operation Facebook is real, it could mark a new phase for Anonymous, which in recent weeks has joined forces with the remnants of the more tightly knit hacker group LulzSec to target law enforcement agencies in an ongoing operation called Antisec.

The "press release" announcing Operation Facebook does tie it in with Antisec, however.

"Facebook is the opposite of the Antisec cause," reads the release, a full copy of which plus a video version is published below. Facebook, which "knows more about you than your family," according to the press release, "has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world."

The author exhorts others to "join the cause and kill [F]acebook for the sake of your own privacy." The press release also includes links to an article about ACLU objections to Facebooks privacy settings and another complaining about the social networking sites use of smartphone data.

The Nov. 5 date is significant—thats the date commemorating Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators failed plot to blow up Englands House of Lords in 1605. Though Guy Fawkes Day has historically been celebrated in England for the unraveling of that plot, Alan Moores graphic novel V for Vendetta and a later film of the same name helped make Fawkes a sort of anarchist anti-hero in popular culture.

Anonymous has a particular attachment to Guy Fawkes Day, with members donning V for Vendetta-inspired Guy Fawkes masks for some of the collectives earliest known public actions, such as a project to discredit Scientology in 2008.

Heres the Anonymous press release and accompanying video message:

Operation Facebook

DATE: November 5, 2011.

TARGET: https://facebook.com
Press: Twitter : https://twitter.com/OP_Facebook
http://piratepad.net/YCPcpwrl09

Irc.Anonops.Li #OpFaceBook Message: Attention citizens of the world,

We wish to get your attention, hoping you heed the warnings as follows: Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed. If you are a willing hacktivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join the cause and kill facebook for the sake of your own privacy.

Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world. Some of these so-called whitehat infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria.

Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your "privacy" settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you "delete" your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time. Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more "private" is also a delusion. Facebook knows more about you than your family. 

http://www.physorg.com/news170614271.html 
http://itgrunts.com/2010/10/07/facebook-steals-numbers-and-data-from-your-iphone/ 

You cannot hide from the reality in which you, the people of the internet, live in. Facebook is the opposite of the Antisec cause. You are not safe from them nor from any government. One day you will look back on this and realise what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you.

The riots are underway. It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent. Its unfolding because people are being raped, tickled, molested, and confused into doing things where they dont understand the consequences. Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them "for their own good" while they then make millions off of you. 

When a service is "free," it really means theyre making money off of you and your information. Think for a while and prepare for a day that will go down in history. November 5 2011, #opfacebook . Engaged.

This is our world now. We exist without nationality, without religious bias. We have the right to not be surveilled, not be stalked, and not be used for profit. We have the right to not live as slaves.

We are anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us

Read More..

CWM RECOVERY FOR SPICE STELLAR PINNACLE PRO Mi 535

ROOT SPICE STELLAR PINNACLE PRO Mi-535

HOW TO MAKE SPICE STELLAR PINNACLE PRO Mi-535 ALIVE AGAIN FROM BRICKED / DEAD STATE?

This tutorial describes how to make a backup of your phone and install CWM recovery to the phone.

(Rooting of the phone is required before continue further. First root your phone. Follow the tutorial)

(To unblock the links, use: https://adf.ly or  v2.adf.ly)

Note:- If you need Touch recovery then follow this link. Credit to Atrvscet.

Steps:-

 1. Download the MTK Droid & Tool v2.5.2.



Mediafire





 2. Extract and double click on "MTKdroidTools.exe".

 3. Connect your phone to PC. Make sure driver for your phone is installed. You can see a green light at bottom. Then you are ready.

 4. Click on "root, backup, recovery" Tab. 

 5. [This step is optional] Click on "backup userdata and cache". And then click on Backup to backup your whole phone.

 6. After backup complete Click on "To use boot from phone". Then Click on "Recovery and Boot" Button.

 7. Follow the next prompts and select YES in all.

8. Look into the phone now your phone will be in recovery mode.

 9. generally to go to recovery mode switch on "Volume up + Power" button.

Njoy !!!

NEW TOUCH CWM.

TWARP Recovery

____________________________________________________________________

Credit goes to the original finder of this method.

Stop Automatic running of Apps and gain more from battery

Know how to earn through Cloud computing without investing anything, without doing any work. Make your PC Earn for you. 

Smatter Way for Online Shopping. Spend more and Earn More.

Credit: To the Curious minded people, Searcher, Testers and the developers of the Tool.

Read More..

Lenovo is worlds 1 PC maker

Lenovo has taken the crown from HP to become the worlds top seller of PCs.

Lenovo took the top spot during a quarter in which PC shipments dropped due to a weak economy and pressure from mobile devices.

Of the top four PC vendors (Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo), only Lenovo was able to grow its shipments. Its PC sales increased by almost 10 percent to 13.77 million units, giving it 15.7 percent of the market, according to Gartner.

HPs shipments dropped 16.4 percent to 13.55 million, putting it in second place with 15.5 percent of the market. Dell was in third place after its shipments declined by 13.7 percent, with 10.5 percent of the market.

A similar study by IDC had HP clinging to its top spot, with 13.95 million PCs sold compared to 13.82 million for Lenovo. HP responded by saying IDC takes a more complete view of the market.

"While there are a variety of PC share reports in the market, some dont measure the market in its entirety. The IDC analysis includes the workstation segment and is more comprehensive. In that IDC report, HP occupies the number-one position in PCs," said HP spokesman Mike Hockey.

Steps to success

Lenovo benefitted from building up its distribution channel and from "missteps" by its rivals, IDC said. HP is still trying to get its PC business back on track after reversing a plan to sell or spin off the division, and Dell has been moving away from lower-margin PCs and focusing on products that yield bigger profits.

Overall worldwide PC shipments totalled 87.5 million units in the third quarter of 2012, down 8.3 percent compared to the same quarter last year, Gartner said.

The third quarter, which includes the back-to-school season and is usually strong for PC shipments, was hit with weak economies globally and by buyers moving to smartphones and tablets for their computing. In addition, Ultrabooks failed to spark a revival in PC shipments, IDC said.

Strengthening the PC market

Looking ahead, the research firm expects the weak PC market to continue until the release of Windows 8, said David Daoud, a research director at IDC.

The US presidential election in November could also help the PC market, he said, by bringing some clarity to the US economic plans and thus encouraging vendors to invest in new product development.

Vendors have been trying to clear out their Windows 7 PC inventory, and demand dropped as buyers waited for Windows 8 to arrive, Daoud said. The new OS could help PC sales recover in the fourth quarter.

Beyond Windows 8, a recovery in PC sales will depend on the success of thinner, lighter PCs. including products with tablet - like features such as touchscreens, instant - on functionality and longer battery life.

"Revival of the PC market will be linked to the way people look at the next generation of PCs," Daoud said. Ultrabook prices will also need to come down, he added.

Read More..

Review Dead Beat

Dead Beat is book 7 of the Dresden files. The theme villains for this novel are the necromancers, so we finally get to see zombies in action. Harry Dresden no longer seems as incompetent at the start of the novel as in other novels, as he faces off several villains who outclass him by a lot. But then he pulls off a bone stupid move in the last third of the novel.

Fortunately, not all is broken with the novel. We finally start to see him get some recognition from the other Wizards, and he even gets a regular paycheck, which eliminates some of the silliness inherent in the series: if youre any good at magic, how can you stay so darn broke all the time?

The novel does seem set up to be a blockbuster movie at some point, with undead dinosaurs, gobs of explosions, and even a spot for a pretty guest star. Butcher gets his pacing right, and while there is a spot of idiocy in Dresdens actions, the rest of it is reasonable.

As lightweight summer reading this novel works. Mildly recommended.

Read More..