Ashes and the Wind

Ashes and the Wind
By Reuben Horst

Out of time
Surely defined
Gone with insanity

Who rejected whom
The bride or the groom
The question of infinity

How can you love me
When I cannot love you back
Life doesn't happen
Without ever a tack

The ashes and the wind
The mother and the twin
Forever in the end
May all be forgiven

The ashes and the wind
The beautiful, beautiful wind

---------

This poem was originally published on An Einateinian Approach on May 26, 2012.

Announcement: Eyes Wide Open by Ted Dekker

It's been a long time since Ted Dekker announced a new novel, and with the final installment of the Books of Mortals trilogy being the only remaining title in the release queue, an announcement has long been due.

The New York Times bestselling author has finally stepped out of his shell of secrecy and told us all what's been up: He's working on a brand new, 4-book series, published by Outlaw Studios, the first novel of which will be released this December. What's more, he's decided to give away the first novel, Identity, for free to anyone who wants it. Though it seems obvious that this offer is eBook-only, to be fair, it didn't specify.

For more information about the book and series, go here. That is also where you can request your own free copy of the novel.

Sources: 1, 2 (+ Facebook announcement)

UPDATE: It appears I got some information wrong. Eyes Wide Open is the first book in the series (called the Outlaw Chronicles), and it's split into four parts. The first episode of Eyes Wide Open, called "Identity," is what is being given away.

Two Flippin' Years

Can you believe it's been two whole years since I started this blog? Yeah, I can too. It feels like it's been four.

Last year today was both the first anniversary and my 100th blog post. I have nothing as fancy this year, as this is only my 147th blog post. I could have posted a few random posts recently so that this would be the 150th blog post, but I only remembered the anniversary a few days, so there wasn't really time.

So why have I written only half as many blog posts this last year as I did the first year? Well, a large part of it is inactivity in recent months. I recently lost my ability to read without taking enormous effort and causing a lot of stress, and with that, of course, came my loss of ability to compose reviews and write in general.

How this all came about is a very long story that I would rather not talk about at this particular time, but do know that writing this particular blog post is already causing my nervous system to panic.

For last year's anniversary I told a lot of my friends to ask me questions about various parts of my life, but since I didn't know until the other day that today was today, I didn't have time to ask. Since the last anniversary, I also introduced the "20 Random Facts About Me" series, so that partially makes up for it. If anybody’s interested, I would be willing to write another list in the series sometime soon.

So, will I start being more active on here? Well, I don't know. There are only a handful of people who even read this blog. Think about it: Reuben Horst’s Blog (quite the original name, eh?) has been around for two whole years, and it only has 28 followers. I know people who got that many followers a week.

Why is it that not many people have visited this site? Is it my blog’s unappealing title? Is it that I'm just bad at advertising? Is it that I focus on books half of the time and focus on video games the other half? That's something I've noticed: those interested in book blogs are not interested in games, and those interested in video games are not interested in book blogs. I wonder why that is, as they are both equally beautiful forms of art and story.

If you have any questions or suggestions about the blog, post a comment below, on Facebook, or anywhere else you can contact me. I always look forward to feedback, especially because I rarely get any. Live long and prosper, and good luck. Thank you for reading my blog. Not many people do.

TONE

Every once in a while I review some small, casual, freeware game, just because that's what I feel like doing at the moment. TONE is a game that was created for Ludum Dare 24. I found it because the creator submitted it for the Steam Greenlight, in which I feel it didn't really belong.

The point of the game is to protect your square, which is in the center of the screen, from the other approaching squares around it. You destroy the oncoming squares by running them through with your mouse cursor. It's a simple concept, and quite fun.

I, personally, suck at this type of game, and I constantly found myself dying far sooner than I thought I should. There are multiple kinds of squares, adding variety (and yes, difficulty) to the game. The music track is really cool, and it adds a new tone to the atmosphere. (See what I did there?)

In the end, it's a fun game that you should give at least a couple shots. It's definitely not Steam material as it is, but the developer is working on a major upgrade to the game, so we'll see how it turns out.

Play TONE online here
(download links here)

Trine 2

Trine 2 is, as implied by its title, the second installment of the acclaimed Trine series by Finnish independent developer Frozenbyte. It once again follows the three memorable characters from the first game, but it takes place many years later.

The Trine, an artifact of great power that binds our three heroes together, as it has since the first game, seeks out each hero—Pontius the Knight, Amadeus the Wizard, and Zoya the Thief—and takes them to a strange enchanted forest. Unsure of what the Trine wants them to do, they traverse the mystical wood and discover that once, long ago, it had been a vast kingdom led by a noble queen. Now it was only ruled by savage goblins and strange beasts of the wild.

Eventually, the three come across a strange woman named Rosabel, who reveals that she had once been the queen of this land. She begs the trio to find and depose of the Goblin King, who currently resided on the throne of what had once been the kingdom. And so the three characters set out to dethrone the unrightful ruler, unaware of the true dangers that lay ahead.

Trine 2 is a brilliant game. It took the good points of the original Trine and improved all the rest. One of the biggest differences is replacing the main enemies—skeletons in the first game—with goblins. The entire theme went from being about a world where everything is dead, to being about a world—a strange and beautiful forest—where everything is alive.

And the visuals are no laughing matter. Trine 2 possibly has the greatest graphics of any platformer game that has ever existed to date. The level of detail is spectacular, from the gorgeous background scenery to the many different creatures you encounter along the way. You can see a sheep pasture in the background of the first level, and even that looks real.

Where I feel the game felt bland, and somewhat annoying, is the puzzles. They were confusing as heck, and often I felt that they were really made for multiplayer co-op mode and didn't really have a good solution in single-player mode. That being said, it felt like the only way to get past certain puzzles was to use slightly broken gameplay mechanics to glitch your way past.

And don't get me wrong there—the gameplay mechanics work great; they just have their minuscule flaws that can be taken advantage of.

In addition, I felt that the soundtrack didn't meet par with that of the first game. It was still beautiful and fitting, but it didn't stand out as Trine's soundtrack did. It didn't make me want to instantly go and purchase the soundtrack with my very own money. However, Ari Pulkkinen is a great composer, and you should buy his scores anyway.

Something that played a major role in why I loved this game was the hidden backstory. All throughout the game you find poems and letters that hint at what may have happened to the great kingdom. This adds a feeling of mystery to the entire experience, and it makes you want to continue and figure out each piece of the puzzle.

In the end, Trine 2 is a game you don't want to miss. The graphics are amazing, the soundtrack is great, the story is deep and intriguing, and it felt so refreshing to be able to return as the three heroes from Trine—I actually missed them after I completed the first game. However, as much as I loved this game, I felt as though it couldn't surpass the classic experience of its predecessor.

Trine 2 certainly has its flaws, but those are so far outweighed by the good things that you really shouldn't worry at all. This game receives a very high recommendation from me.

As a side note, this is one of the only games I've ever played (or sequel in any form of media) where you don't necessarily need to experience the predecessor first. You can start with either Trine or Trine 2. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

A Brief History of the Brief Past

As you may or may not have realized, I took the month of July off from reviewing books. I didn't take a break from reading; just reviewing. This was to give me some time to catch up with my schedule. I don't know if it really worked, but I believe I'll have another review ready by my next deadline.

A lot has happened recently. Two new pages have been added to the blog: the Status page, to keep track of what books I'm currently reading, etc., and the Reviews page, which is basically a large list of all my reviews. These were added several months ago, but I never got around to mentioning them until now.

In other news, I've recently joined a lot of other websites. I became a fiction book reviewer for The Christian Manifesto, and my first review will be going up on August 10. In addition, I joined the news team on GenGAME.net, a general gaming website.

My friend Eva Ping created a blog a little while ago called An Einsteinian Approach that I've been contributing to on occasion. Some of my most-praised entries on the blog have been The Kneeling Man, Ashes and the Wind, and Story.

So there's a little update of my life. I know for sure that I've forgotten something, but that's not unusual.

God bless,
Reubeny Horsts

Trine

Trine is an adventure puzzle-platformer developed by the independent developer Frozenbyte. It is currently available on PC/Steam, along with the PlayStation Network.

The story takes place in a medieval fantasy universe. A great kingdom lies in ruins, ravaged by an undead army. Three survivors—a thief, a wizard and a knight—are linked together by an ancient, mysterious artifact known as the Trine. Not knowing what to do, they embark on a quest together to set things right in their broken world.

You switch between the three characters as you play—unless you play the recommended multiplayer co-op mode—and they each have their own essential attributes. The wizard can create and move objects such as platforms and planks, the thief has a bow and grappling hook, and the knight has a trusty sword and shield. Alternating between these characters is easy and quite useful.

The story is intriguing. When assisted by the games visuals and music, it makes for a unique setting that you could only find in a video game. The voice acting—both for the characters and the narrator—is done extremely well, and it adds personality to the game, along with some humor.

The thief was my favorite character to play as. Not only is her bow a very efficient weapon, but her grappling hook allows her to get to many high places that the other characters can't get to. In addition to that, the grappling hook is just a fun way to move around. Don't feel like walking? If the ceiling is made of wood, just grapple and swing past the entire area in a third the amount of time.

Something I really want to touch on is the music. Trine's soundtrack creates the perfect atmosphere for the setting, and it makes you want to keep playing. As soon as you start the game, the music welcomes you and almost makes a promise that the game you're about to play is going to be brilliant. The composer deserves a medal. The soundtrack reminded me a lot of the soundtrack of the Elder Scrolls games, and that there's some mighty fine music.

To conclude, this is an amazing game. The replay value is very high, as there are collectibles to find in every level, and you can come back to any level you've beaten to find what you missed your previous time through it. There's a leveling-up system where your characters can upgrade their abilities, and also many various stat-boosting items to find in treasure chests.

I recommend you pick up this game. It just might be worth your time.