• Don’t ask me why, but I restarted tinkering with my old DS port of NetHack! I forgot how much fun it is coding for platforms like the DS. It’s just so… simple.

      I was also reminded that, you know, my port plays really damn well. I forgot how many hours I logged in it! So, if you’re a NetHack fan, own a DS, and have a flash card, all four of you can try it out!

      https://github.com/fancypantalons/NetHack/releases/tag/NetHackDS-3.6.7-1

      (https://b-ark.ca/EC_AEI)
    • If I’m asked what I accomplished on my break, the first thing I’ll list is using my iFixit kit to repair the shoulder buttons on my old Nintendo DS Lite (easy repair, corroded contacts in the micro switches). Why? Because it was there.

      (https://b-ark.ca/M4mcca)
  • Review: Calamity

    Review of Calamity (The Reckoners #3.0) by Brandon Sanderson (9780385743600)★★★

    Apparently my new pattern is to read a whole series, then post a review only after the last book is done. So here I am, at it again, this time posting my thoughts about Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoners, and the final book, Calamity.

    (https://b-ark.ca/Eii4II)
    Cover for Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

    When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David’s fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned Prof, his closest ally, into a dangerous enemy.

    David knew Prof’s secret, and kept it even when Prof struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Once the Reckoners’ leader, Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He’s disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there’s no turning back. . . .

    But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics—Megan proved it. They’re not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.

    First, a quick disclosure: while the book metadata I’ve included with this post implies I read this book, that is a lie! In fact, my wife and I listened to the audiobooks together, knocking down the first two during our trip to see the 2023 annular eclipse, and then finishing the last one in our livingroom.

    Additionally, as I mentioned in the post summary, I didn’t get around to writing down my thoughts about the first two books as we finished them, so like my review of The Nexus trilogy, this review is based on my overall thoughts after finishing the last book, Calamity.

    And since these reviews are mainly for Future Brett as he tries to remember what he thought about these books, I’ll just say: sorry buddy. I’ll do my best, here, but I make no guarantees.

    Continue reading...