The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia

by Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma, Patrick Thorpe, Akira Himekawa; Dark Horse 2013

Summary: Dark Horse Books and Nintendo team up to bring you The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia, containing an unparalleled collection of historical information on The Legend of Zelda franchise. This handsome hardcover contains never-before-seen concept art, the full history of Hyrule, the official chronology of the games, and much more! Starting with an insightful introduction by the legendary producer and video-game designer of Donkey Kong, Mario, and The Legend of Zelda, Shigeru Miyamoto, this book is crammed full of information about the storied history of Link's adventures from the creators themselves! As a bonus, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia includes an exclusive comic by the foremost creator of The Legend of Zelda manga - Akira Himekawa!

My Review: All right all you Zelda Fans! It is here and it is awesome! I bought it and it is AMAZING!  

This book is dedicated to celebrating the long history of the Zelda. Hryule Historia is divided into four sections.  First is, "The Legend Begins: The World of Skyward Sword," which is devoted to the most recent Zelda game. In this section is provides sketched and character designs.  The second section,
The History of Hyrule: A Chronology," this sections provides the timeline of all the games. I found this to be my favorite section. It was full of detail information and images.  The third section, "Creative Footprints: Documenting 25 Years of Artwork," this section focuses on character and creature designs. Like early sketches and final promotional artwork. The final section is a new manga story of the first Zelda adventure. This one section I found to be pretty interesting with its story and illustrations. 

Overall, I love this book. It is a book that a Zelda fan will truly treasure.

Check out the Illustrations!  

Locked Inside

Locked Inside

By Nancy Werlin; Laurel Leaf Books

Summary: As the daughter of the wildly successful inspirational singer-author Skye – who died in a plane crash when Marnie was young – Marnie Skyedottir stands to inherit great wealth. But until she is old enough, she must survive a dreary life in private boarding school. She endures by escaping into an online role-playing game as much as possible, and steering well clear of the other girls. So when Marnie is kidnapped by someone who also claims to be Skye’s daughter, she is terrified. With her reclusive tendencies, will anyone even notice that she’s gone? And will her online gaming skills be of any help to her in this real-life drama?

My Review: This mysterious thriller kept me guessing and wanting to know what would happen next. It has clever twists and entertaining suspense. To be quite honest I found this book to be quite weird. I am into gaming and everything, but you don’t see me having conversations in my mind with video game characters.  I did however love the relationship between Marnie and Elf. If you are into weird thrillers then I would recommend it. But in my opinion, most people could do without reading it.

Watch out for: Some physical abuse, some violence, kidnapping, and extreme online gaming.