Dante's Inferno: Probably the Only fun Journey to Hell Anyone Will Have

This review is not about a book. SHOCK!!!

I've been playing the new video game version of Dante's Inferno for the XBOX 360 for the last few days, and I must say I am pleasently surprised as well as horrified.

Let me be clear: I enjoy the game very much.

The reason I say I'm horrified is because the programmers acheived their goal of recreating Dante's version of Hell, with 9 circles, each housing a different variety of sinner from the Virtuous Pagans in Limbo to the Wrathful of the 9th circle.

The premise of the game is decidedly different from Dante's original intent, which was to paint a vivid picture of his fictional journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Dante of course still journeys through each of the nine circles with the Roman poet Virgil as his guide, but for a much different reason. According to the story set by the game, Dante journeys through Hell to rescue his beloved wife, Beatrice, who was consigned their for succumbing to the sin of Lust after she and Dante got it on before he left for the Crusades, with the caveat that Dante would remain faithful. Well...he didn't. He gave himself to a slave girl and now he's every bit as guilty as her. The difference is that Dante is stil there in human form and has a whole host of supernatural powers at his disposal. Death's Scythe and a Holy Cross, used respectively for either damning or absolving the souls of demons and sinners you run across as you fight your way to Lucifer.

The game plays out smoothly, the controls working in perfect harmony to allow for involving combat sequences.

The graphics are beatifully dark and devilish, depictingn a truly horrifying picture of Satan's realm, with symbolism rampant throughout the scenery.

The story is very involving, with Dante being at once a sympathetic hero and a tragic villain who must seek redemption.

Most appealing about this game is that they do not shy away from mentioning anything resembling God. I have never seen a video game with this much appeal that has religious overtones so blatantly out there for all to see. At the same time, the game isn't all "in your face" about it's subject matter, providing a justification for using the power of the Holy Light of God to banish demons or absolve damned souls.

Virgil even shows up from time to time to provide exposition about the circles, even mentioning a few famous historical figures that were consigned to Satan's depths for whatever sin corresponds with their resident circle.

So play the game, and remember: Abandon all Hope, Ye Who Enter Here.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book Four: The Battle of the Labyrinth

Percy Jackson and The Olympians

Book Four

The Battle of the Labyrinth

 

By: Rick Riordan

pages 361

In the Fourth installment of this spell-bidingly great series, Percy Jackson comes one year closer to his 16th birthday and closer to the prophacy that is about him.

like the maze of the Labyrinth, this exciting chapter of the Percy Jackson saga is full of twists and turns and just as you think you figure out the prophacy, it turns out to be wrong.

You get to meet more of the Olympians, heroes, demigods, and monsters of greek myths that you grew up reading.

Riordan takes myths of old and gives them a modern twists in the Percy Jackson books, giving children a new way to look at the 'old boring myths'.

Be warned, this ends in a cliff hanger, so be ready to dash for book five, The Last Olympian. I know I can't wait to read it.

The Angel of Death

The Angel of Death

A Forensic Mystery by Alane Ferguson

260 pages 2006



If you like CSI, NCIS or any other crime drama out there on the market today, then I believe you'll love this book by Alane Ferguson.



This is actually the second book of Cameryn Mahoney, but it stands alone as an excellent read of itself. Even though there are some parts that are slow, you'll find yourself turning the page, absorbed more and more, trying to figure out who the murderer is even before Cameryn does. In a bizar case, a man is found dead in his room, no evidence found to point towards a killer, and what else, the man's eyes are completely gone. Could this have been a 'Perfect Murder'?



In Nail-biting suspense, Ferguson keeps her readers hooked and it shows that she did her research, and a lot of it. I would remcomend this book for older teens and adults, and anyone interested in going into the forensic field as a profession. I can't wait to find out more about Cameryn Mahoney.