Sightseeing

First off London and Then Cairo

Yesterday, I finished reading His Majesty's Dragon by the wonderful author, Naomi Novik. I absolutely loved the book. It's the kind of read where I finish the book and feel sad. One, because the book is over and two, because I want more than anything for that world to be real but sadly it's not. 

My favorite part of the book was how the dragons were written. They were made to sound scientific and realistic which just made the dream come alive so much more. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves books with dragons in them or just an excellently written world, or I suppose, recreation of a our world, in general. 

I started reading The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clark this afternoon. I am thrilled to read more. Like His Majesty's Dragon it's another recreation of our world but this time taking place in 1912 Cairo. I'm already hooked after the first chapter and a half and impressed by how quickly Clark sets up an immersive scene and believable characters. 

Last Stop, Zanarkand

I'm continuing to play Final Fantasy X. I have a love for leveling up and grinding so at first it was kind of hard for me to be introduced to the sphere grid. I'm liking it now. I can still grind but it does limit me from one shotting everything which is probably a good thing. 

Despite not having a lot of love for the main character, I do appreciate how the game has created such distinct characters with believable personalities and weaknesses. I've been going through the game slowly, because like I said, I love the grind in JRPGs, but I have enjoyed the story I've seen. There's a good mix of fighting a physical evil along with introspective battles, both of which shaping the character.

Thank you for reading my blog. What are some good books that recreate the real world? What monster or creature would you enjoy seeing in a book about an alternative history? What do you like about videogames that have internal dialogue? Thanks again and keep dreaming and daydreaming about the wonderful worlds in your head.