Okay, so I'm home for the week, right? And I wanted to finish up The Lies of Locke Lamora while I was here.

Okay, remember how I said earlier that you should read it? Well, it goes double now. The last hundred or so pages of the book are a whirlwind of the little things mentioned in the book. Every single one of them comes back, every little line about worldbuilding or whatever. It comes back, and it's woven in with the culmination of the plot, which is excellent.

Well, I'm not really sure how I feel about the plot, really. There are things I felt that the book could have done better. From part of the tone early-on, to one tiny nagging plot thread that wasn't resolved. (The only one I can think of, in fact.) But the book kept me entertained. More than entertained, really. And I couldn't help but marvel at Locke's con schemes, from stealing out from under nobles and then TELLING them he was stealing from them, to an audacious plot to steal a rich banker's clothes of all things. At several points I was more than impressed by the genius of it all, and many times I couldn't help but laugh incredulously at it all.

Either way, it's definitely worth a read. DEFINITELY. And with the sequel seeming like "The first book, but wiiiith PIIIIRATES!" (which is remarkably similar to the "iiiin SPAAAACE" model), I'm thinking that'll be worth a read, too.

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On a different note, I have bought Dragon Age: Origins. It's your standard BioWare RPG (if you've played KotOR or Mass Effect... same system, really), set in the most generic fantasy setting you could possibly concieve of. So far I have been quite less than impressed with the plot. ("Stop the evil Darkspawn! Here's a sword and a bunch of gore effects! You are now a Medieval Jedi!")

The gameplay is challenging, and I'm sure it gets better as you go up in level and acquire more talents to use so it isn't just "Hit this with your sword." It runs okay on my laptop, and looks nice even at the Medium graphics setting.

But despite all my complaints, I find myself strangely compelled to play it. I get slightly bored and stop playing... and then I find myself wanting to pick it back up again. I'm sure it'll grow on me, too. I already like one of the party members quite a bit.