Dota2 Reborn, Catalyst and Others

What was the last time I wrote on this blog? It was like...years ago., I think. This post was like, months and months ago saved on my draft, but I have no mood to post it. So, rather than post outdated things, I decided to put all those things into one post.

First, I got quite large internet quota from my cell provider, so I decided to (re)download Dota2 from Steam on my linux box. I was running elementaryOS (eOS) based on Ubuntu 12.04. It was several months ago. With Catalyst driver from AMD, the performance is OK, with several eye candy disabled, I can run it quite smoothly, although not as smooth as Windows 7. In Windows 7, I can enable almost all eye candy (all, except anti aliasing and V-Sync) and got smoothly running Dota2. In linux, I had to reduce it even lower. I was grumbling and grumbling and grumbling about AMD linux driver quality.
Then Valve update Dota2 to Source2 Engine.

It. Was. The. Best. Dota2. Linux. Experience. Ever.

At first I was resisting, because just like old Dota, when updating to Reborn, I wouldn't able to watch old replay. And I love me replay. And when Valve made Reborn update mandatory, I was like, WTF?!? And I was forgot to backup my old Dota2, so now I had to deleted several replay which I haven't got time to watch. Damnedest thing.

But now, after several small and big updates, I can enjoy Dota2 Reborn on my linux box (now running eOS Isis, Freya, based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS) with eye candy almost maxed (I still disabled anti aliasing and V-Sync - my Pentium dual core and Radeon R250 just can't handle it). Everything is running smoothly. Now, if only I had good and stable internet connection...

2nd thing: AMD released their newest driver called Crimson. Unfortunately, linux Crimson performance is still a big no-no. Here is the review from Phoronix guys. So I held back from updating and wait for their-hope-it's-better next release.
Please AMD, give us linux user good and stable driver....

note: no, I have no qualms about using proprietary driver / software / blobs as long as it good. You guys GNU / Open source hardcore can shut up about it.

3rd thing. I still enjoying taking photos. And learning editing using Darktable. Sometimes I look back at my earlier photos and re-edited them. Or delete them. Mostly delete. (What? Lots of the are AWFUL!)
Here are some of my pictures, I tried that cinematic looks, but I don't think I quite successful. It's all edited using split toning feature from Darktable 1.6.9.



What do you think? Any tips on how to achieve those cinematic looks?

Taking photos of wind blown reeds are THOUGH! I had to wait until the reeds are positioned right before press the button. And the focus. I wast like, 15 minutes adjusting it. I really need practice more.
Maybe I will post the non cinematic version. Maybe not. We'll see.
Here is my Flickr page if you want to see my other photos. I had to warn you though, my photos are not that pretty!

4th thing. Now is my 10th month living alone. Yes, alone, as in living solitary in a house by myself. Currently I'm living in a house paid by my workplace. It was like, housing for worker who temporary work here, so sometimes I got other peoples live with me. The house is quite large, although it only two rooms, one living room, one bathroom and kitchen. But the rooms are quite large and the building itself is good. So, except laundry, I do it all by myself. Cleaning house, cooking (yes, I learn how to cook! It was to reduce living cost. Eating is my biggest spending, I just can't eat any food, it had to taste good!)

I still not that good at managing house though. Sometimes I got so lazy I let the floor not swept, dirty plates and glass filling the kitchen sink. It got so bad, once or twice I saw mushroom grow on them! LOL.
And then I got into cleaning frenzy and clean everything on one sweep. I felt like house-wife sometimes! Now I understand why my mom got so mad when I let little piece of dirt inside. It was really tiring always cleaning house. Sorry Mom!

I still going to gym. Currently my weight is 65 kg, I was 57 kg when I started about 1 year ago. Success!!! Some are fats, though, so I still need to convert those fats into muscles. And those belly fats are getting thick, I need to train my stomach again. Sigh. I hate sit ups.

5th. My Aune T1 headphone jack broke I think. When I fully insert my headphone jack fully, there is no sound on left side, but when I insert the jack partially, I can hear sound from left side but not from right side. So currently I'm back to my cute little FiiO E10. I miss organic sound from my T1. sigh.

Oh, and my PC is acting again. It was quite weird, suddenly my PC unable to POST, and rebooting, again and again and again and again until I put stop from it misery by pressing the power off button 5 sec. I tried everything, even asking my friend to check my ram and GPU whether they broke. Yesterday, I just clean the metal connector using rubber eraser, put them all together and press power on. AND. ITS. WORK!!!
I have no idea why it suddenly broke and why it work again. So I just recheck all my hard drive partitions. My home partitions are corrupted and my linux unable to boot, leaving me on grub command line. Rebooting, I enter recovery mode. From there, and the power of Google, I successfully recover the partitions and boot safely into my linux desktop. Here is my linux desktop looks like: uh oh, looks like there is a bug with Catalyst and screen shot ability / features / applications! Basically, every times I tried to take screen shot, it only capture my wallpaper. Or wallpaper cache from GPU cache. Sorry guys!


6th and the last (I promise).
It's December, time to set next year goals. My 2015 goals was: improve my body and gain weight up to 65 kg (achieved! Although those acnes are as rampant as ever. Sigh), buy good camera (achieved!), get better job (not achieved yet), and got desktop amplifier for my Sennheiser HD600 (not achieved yet)
So, my 2016 goals:
1. Gaining weight up to 70 kg, mostly in muscles! (hehehehe)
2. Got new and better job (better paying, better learning experiences, better working experience)
3. Desktop amplifier (and repair my Aune T1 jack)
4. New lens(es) maybe? (hehehehe)
5. Ummmm dunno, start saving for house maybe? Yeah, lets do that...
6. Improve my connections to God (I haven't been the most religious person, I'm really naughty. Sorry God, I'll try to do better!)
7. Update this old blog more often. Oh, how I miss writing blog! There are so much things in my mind that need to let out. The thing is, if I let all it out, I will definitely sent to mental hospital. Or stoned. Or jail. Or all three. Yeah, I guess all three.
8. Going places! I want to travel!!! I want to see beautiful scenery!

Oh yeah, that list is not in order

So, until 2016 then! (maybe?)

Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

You must already noticed now, that I rather like Lana Del Rey. I really dig her melancholy and old style. Yes her persona is rather made up and not natural. Yes those lips almost certain face job. I don't care. As long as she keep produce music I like, she can put one meter long nose, or third arm or fly or whatever.

This album is very different than her previous two albums. Dark is what it felt at first. But different dark than Born to Die dark. In Born to Die, the darkness is glittering with flashes of neon and orb-lamp. Of recklessness and willfulness. In Ultraviolence, the darkness is lightened only by a splash of fireflies, of fond memories and little bit of sands in moonlight.

Gone is the hip - hop and heavy strings, replaced by echoing electric guitars and -what-is-it-called?-reverb? And simple drum. Simpler band arrangements, with a splash of strings here and there. The result is a fresher sounded album, although still heavy with melancholy and drama.

The lyrics, to be honest, still not 100% good. I mean, //You dance in circles around me // You're fucking crazy // You're crazy for me // is definitely bad. Or // He used to call me DN // That stood for deadly nightshade //. Really? Nightshade as in Potato and Eggplants? And why on earth "hydroponic weed"? At least, nightshade did sounded cool, I'll give you that
But there are gems here and there. The same song which gave us vegetables also give us this gems: // I can hear sirens, sirens // He hit me and it felt like a kiss // I can hear violins, violins //. Domestic abuse or BDSM? You choose.
Oh, and did she just take a jab at USA? //I’m talking about my generation // Talking about that newer nation // And if you don't like it // You can beat it //. What do you think?

I won't go detailed review of each songs here. But if you ask me, personally I like the Bond - movie-esque "Shades of Cool", the twanged "Brooklyn Baby" (really love the guitar), "West Coast" (nice tempo switching there!) and the operatic induced "Money Power Glory".
All in all, this album gave nostalgic vibe, with big doze of melancholy thrown. If Born to Die felt like good girl had her first taste of bad (and loving each second of it), then Born to Die: Paradise Edition felt like grown woman comfortable in her sexy, womanhood, and Ultraviolence felt like a woman who reminiscing how her life gone. Jaded, tired, sad but still starving for love, even a violent one. That how Lana on this album felt.

Lana's voice sounded much stable and matured here. Her voice soaring high and smooth. I really loved how she sounded on "Brooklyn Baby". And those soprano on "Shades of Cool" is really good. I kind of missing her low voice though. There aren't many singer with good rich, dark low voice. And song like "Born to Die" is shining because of those low voice.

This is quite good album. I like how fresh, yet how Lana Del Rey is this album. Dark, nostalgic, and melancholy. In short: a Lana Del Rey album.

Running Away

Do you remember MIRC?
I still remember MIRC, chatting senselessly into Indonesian chat room (or called room back then). Or downloading Dragon Ball wallpapers, then saving it to 3.5" floppy disk. And how many pop up I had to close before I can see the web content. God damn the Internet Explorer.
I was using Yahoo! back then. On a computer with dial up connection. The Net Cafe I used was cost me about IDR 6,000 (maybe equivalent to IDR 20,000 now). For comparison, now Net Cafe only cost IDR 2,000 an hour, with 1Mbps connection speed. And now I'm browsing the internet using my phone or my notebook. With 2 Mbps (or more) connection.

I find it easy for me to lost myself to the wide and wild internet world. Sometimes I spent my day only browsing and browsing, shunning the world, not caring if it was a brilliant, clear day or dark and thunderous rain. I care not if there are peoples out there. I'm going to internet. I was happy.

Or so I though.

Actually I was lonely. And the saddest part is I don't understand that I was lonely. I tried to fix my loneliness by going to internet. I'm like a shopping junky. You see, shopping junky thinking by going shopping and buying things to their heart content, they can make their loneliness go. And maybe it does, for some times. When the excitement wore off, or their money spent, the loneliness back. I'm like that. For sometime I was excited and happy browsing the internet. Reading news, new gadgets, pretty pictures, funny videos, the stuffs. But when the excitement wore off, I'm back being lonely. Then the cycle continuous. Back and forward.

The thing is, I'm not exactly liked people. I find it exhausting to socialize with them. Because I found peoples always have expectations to met, emotions to respond, the rules to obey (or at least to be respected), etc. It's exhausting. So most of time I hold other people at bay, not letting them too close to me, but not to far either. And I find it hard to trust people. I always hold back some part of myself. I just can't let it all go.

Sometimes I'm afraid that I become some kind of user-person. Using people, then discard it when I don't need them. I'm afraid that I grow too dis-attached to other people that I became cold and bitter person. Or maybe I already gone to that path, I don't know. And I'm not sure if I'm care.

I'm not blaming the technology. What I'm saying is, those technology made it easier to run away from peoples, and the REAL world. Before then, I was running to books. That's one reason I loved fantasy novels. Maybe THE reason. And every day, I'm only tried just to getting by. I don't make much efforts to be MORE. As long as I getting by, it's enough. And I believe it going to destroy me.

But it's so easy just not to care. Just so easy just to lay back and let the life running by it self.
No worry about life. No worry about other peoples.

 I'm going numb. And the only excitement I can feel is small in number. And I think it's going smaller and smaller.

I don't know.

Another End of Year. And Another Review of Beyonce Newest Album.

So here we are: on the last month of the year. Another New Year. Another post about how your year go, how much you do, how much your resolutions fulfilled. Reflections. Badda-badda-do. Whatever.

So, I'm thinking about closing this year with a BANG. So do Beyonce. While I still turning my brain inside out (not really, but you get the gist), Queen B drop the bomb of the year in shape of an album consisted of 14 tracks, with 14 VIDEO CLIPS!!!

 Wow. Just... WOW.

Her album is quite dark, and minimalist. Yes there are fat and delicious bass line. But there are very few of those glittering laser and neon light. I'm counting maybe 2 or three. Others are filled with minimalist, slow and dark jam. And with retro, 80's feels sprinkle on the top.

Beyonce vocal, like always, soaring through the simple music, gliding and turning like bird through the sky. A dark, smooth, beautiful bird. Her technique is superb, her breath is strong, and wholly, she is just AWESOME.

As a whole, Beyonce is a very strong album. Yes, there aren't that many tracks which radio friendly. I like Pretty Hurts (really love the lyric), Partition (oh yeah), Jealous (simple yet strong), Rocket (nice vocal works there!), XO (simply sweet and cheerful) and, the last but not the leaset: Blue (featuring her daughter voice, which very cute).
Personally, I think those are the best tracks. Rocket got very nice vocal and melody works, but the lyric is ... let just say I'm not going to sing it loudly outside

And the video clips got very nice video works. Again, Pretty Hurts, Partition, Jealous, Rocket and Blue shines here. Blow is a fun, 80's retro video. XO is down to earth Beyonce. BUT! (yes, there will always be but) there's this Rihanna-esque from the videos. I keep expect Ri-Ri to pop-out from nowhere and sing the lines, like the one on Drunk in Love, Yonce (yep, you heard me right), and Haunted.
And it got lot of booty. And skins. And booty. Seriously. Yes we guys (I) love booty, but we (I) like them discreet, flash us (me) here and there and we (I) will keep thirsty for more. Flood us (me) in booty and we (I) will get sick of it. Eventually. Or maybe not. LOL.

So, there you are: my review of Queen B newest album, BOMB. Ignore me and enjoy the album (and the videos). This one is really nice and solid album. Just don't hit shuffle, because this album is best enjoyed straight from track 1 to track 14.

pssst... Queen B booty is really HOT!!!

Lana Del Rey - Paradise (EP) Review (updated)

Hello again, how are you? Me back with another review (again. sigh).
The album I want to share is titled Paradise (EP) from Lana Del Rey. Remember her? You know, the one who became Internet sensation sometimes ago when her video goes viral? Etc, etc. Yeah, that Lana.
Actually, you can find this EP as two version: as Paradise (EP) and as Born To Die the Paradise Edition, which, as it's name suggest, include tracks from her Born To Die album. I personally think you better go for the EP, that's if you have already buy the previous album.

The cover is very nice, Lana, with her hair flowing, standing on some beach (or maybe pool?) with tropical trees (coconut, maybe?) seen behind. The color used, which going for red-yellow, gave this Lana this golden shine. That, and the gold font used, gave the cover a classic and luxury feeling. Well, that's me anyway.

Paradise (EP) Cover

Born To Die The Paradise Edition Cover

The EP consist of 8 tracks, with some difference depends on where you buy your album (or EP). The tracks list:

1. Ride
   
2. American
   
3. Cola
   
4. Body Electric
   
5. Blue Velvet
   
6. Gods & Monsters
   
7. Yayo
   
8. Bel Air

This EP still had Lana's oldie signature: low sultry voice singing with darkness-tinged music, crying hedonism and broken life. Personally, I think Paradise is much better than Born To Die, all tracks on Paradise is more mature. Each track has it's own main theme, from slum-and-road theme on Ride, Las Vegas-night life tinged American and Cola, to sprinkle of Arabian night on Body Electric. The classic Blue Velvet, the more modern Gods & Monsters, to simple and very, very boring Yayo (at least compared to the other tracks), and finished with soft and airy Bel Air. Each different, but still managed to get whole.

I really like the string which accompanied most of the tracks giving the EP the warm-and-melancholy feeling, with a sprinkle of majestic thrown in. And the drums too, very nice. Add sparkling electric guitar, and you got a classic but tap-inducing (although quite draining) album. And boy, that arrangements works very well with Lana's voice.

Yes, the lyrics still wasn't the best ('my pussy tasted like pepsi-cola', really? Yes, it's still emotionally draining (have you see the music video? Lana had some of the most beautifully crafted music videos. Beautiful, though emotionally draining). And yes, there are some tones which similar to her last album, but as an EP, I still think this is a solid album good. The music guitars, the drums, the strings (which I really fond of), the voice, it's all make one solid album (or EP's, which ever you call it).

Pretty Recommended.

--------------------------------
edit: adding some more words, paragraphs to make it bit longer.

Review: I Am Not Serial Killer (John Cleaver Series by Dan Wells)

This is a book which I whole heartily recommend you to read. This book will give you a side trip to a whole new point of view and different protagonist, there is none of those self sacrifice act, love, simple jealous, or wimpy-cry-baby. This book is all about darker side of human nature: when human kill another human.

So, we have John Wayne Cleaver, your average lone-boy in his teens, which had all those traits: unpopular, subject to bully, loner, have different (sometimes weird) hobby, and socially deficit. What other peoples didn’t know except his mother, his aunt and his therapist, is that John is a diagnosed anti-social and borderline on sociopath.

As I told you before, you won’t find those lovey-dopey relationship here (except if you find how John treat corpse and his fantasy of cutting several other people as lovey-dopey, which if you did I strongly suggest you to visit a therapist). This book will get you into the mind of a sociopath: ruthless, cold, and calculating.

The story is paced rather slowly, not overly slow, but for a story with only one storyline is not very fast. But it has consistent pacing. Even when John finally facing danger and enemy, he still remains cold and calculating, giving me this cold feeling. Reading this novel really like reading a book of biology or chemistry (no, I liked neither Physics nor Mathematics, go figure): everything is dissected plain, systematic, and coldly. But, surprise, the ending has this beautiful moment which feels very strong after the coldness of the story.

The characterization is very good; most of characters are development enough to make them felt real. You can imagine hundred of other people who just like John moms, sister, and other characters. It really felt real. And the simplicity of how the John mind presented is utterly brilliant. I find myself chuckling to dark humor and sarcasm John produce, and I think you will find yourself too.
The detail is very good, and the embalming explanation is very interesting. You can imagine clearly the world John lived.

To be frank, I would happier if the main antagonist on this story is a human (spoiler alert! Highlight if you want to spoil the story! No, the enemy is supra-natural, a demon to be fact). Serial killer versus an almost-serial killer story would be very cool, but then it wouldn’t fit into fantasy novels again if this book do that.
I think, this book is more about how John struggling every day with his dark side, how to be remain normal (or as normal as he could be), and not to be the serial killer his dark side wants to be. It’s a rather sweet and endearing story.

Another irk this novels had is that lot of things on this novel hit right on the spot to me. I don’t know how about other people, but sometime it just very similar how I think, how I feel, especially when I got one of those cold episode, or one of those rage episode. I think these book will hit lots of people spot how it presented the dark nature of human mind. And those loneliness felt (but not realized) by John will touch most of us (realized or not) also felt.

This book is really refreshing. Emotionally-void protagonists are really rare, and the chance to look into the mind of one is really interesting. The plot is rather simple, I could guest the ending most of the time, but the twist on the story make it really interesting, even if this book had those kind ending-come-with-no-sign-nor-preparation kind of plot development (like Earthsea trilogy). And, no, this is not those pure serial killer book, it’s a young-adult novel, for heaven’s sake. Although some site said so, I don't think this series is a trilogy. The ending on third book is too open to be a final book. And, yes, I'm going to write my review for the other two book.

I whole heartily recommend this book for you.
Recommended!

Review: Control Point by Myke Cole

So, here it is my promised review. This time I want to give my comment about  debut novel by Myke Cole. As I said on my previous post, Mr. Myke Cole is a soldier from US Army, so I find its very intriguing that he write a novel, a fantasy novel to boot.

As expected, this novel (titled Control Point) is very heavy on army color. In fact, the main character IS a soldier. There are lot and lot army-related stuff, from weaponry, slang, jargon, acronym, etc etc. It's very interesting, but rather confusing at first because the author didn't gave any explanation for the words he used, so I forced to guess the meaning. But, overall, this novels has a nice story-telling on it. The quotes from peoples on this book world is a nice touch, help giving impression that this book world is real.

The main characters is rather interesting, and humane. The character development is good. Soldier point-of-view is very interesting, really a new insight to the mind of a soldier. This is just the first book, so I can somewhat forgive lack of development on other characters. I hope Mr. Cole will dig deeper on other characters, which some are very interesting. I personally found Marty (Dobby number #2, anyone?), Theressa (so sweet), and, for the love of God, Scylla, interesting. Especially Scylla. (Shush don't tell others, ok?)

One point I had to give to Mr. Cole for made the main character an African descendant. I'm just sick of this white-bread main character. It's so refreshing to read main characters who are non-white people. Sorry, not being racist, just stating the fact. Okay, that did sounded racist, but it IS the fact. Don't burn me okay?!

The pace is rather fast, but sometimes rather inconsistent, some flashback and scenes feels....forced. Like the writer lost his pace and trying to fill the void. Not as bad as Awakened Mage (a.k.a Innocence Lost by Karen Miller), but it's there. Okay, it's his first novel, so I, again, can forgive him (I'm nice guy, right? Right?). Actions are very good, you won't disappointed by them. I feels some battle are well placed, right when the story starting to get boring, wham, you got some very nice battle.

The magic system is rather conventional one, although some are very interesting (I really, really want the Healer-Render ability or even better, the Negramancy). Magic on this book is coming from another world (it is unexplained whether the world, which nick named The Source, is on the same dimension with us but on different galaxy; or on another dimension altogether).
Because the nature of the magic, overall, magic user are divided into two group (or school as it called on the book): School of Prohibited Magic and School of Legal Magic. People manifested their magic can't choose which kind of magic they got, so when you got magic belongs to Prohibited Magic (Probes), say good bye to your freedom.

For debut fantasy novel, I think Control Point is good. The final battle is definitely good. I can't wait to see how Mr. Cole develop this story, because I think this story had the potential to develop into something BIG. Definitely a keeper.
Recommended!

Target 2012

Orang sedang ribut membuat resolusi di 2012, jadi saya nggak mau kalah ah. Tapi karena saya nggak secanggih orang-orang, jadi saya namai saja Target 2012 hihihihi

Jadi saya di tahun 2012 ini kepingin.... hmmm apa yah?! Hehehehe saya ini bukan tipe yang membuat rencana, apalagi yang sampai detil ke pernik-perniknya. Saya orang yang go with the flow: hanyut di sungai gara-gara ga bisa berenang.... Eh, bukan ding, maksud saya, tipe yang santai mengikuti keadaan. Walau emang bener saya nggak bisa berenang dan pasti hanyut kalau diceburin ke sungai....

Nggak kok, walau saya tipe yang easy going (gampang didorong kiri kanan soalnya kurus). Saya tetap punya rancangan masa depan. Jadi apakah itu? Mari kita lihat...

Di tahun 2012 ini saya ingin memantabkan posisi saya di pekerjaan saya, kalau bisa mendapat kenaikan gaji (amin ya Allah). Lalu mempersiapkan masa depan dengan investasi (kemakan rayuan mas-mas di bank).

Pacar? Pacar?
Engggg... nggak dulu deh, walau nggak nolak juga kalau dikasih sama Yang Di Atas..... (ngarep.com).

Semoga bisa makin berbakti ke Allah dan orang tua....

Lalu, pengen gadget baru! Muehehehehe (tetep). Saya ingin open headphone fullsize untuk dipakai di rumah. Sekarang ini sedang mencari informasi beberapa tipe (picky at the best: gampang diusilin karena polos, jujur, baik hati dan tidak sombong.... eit, ga boleh protes! Orang ini blog, blog saya weeek).
Lalu Sandisk Sansa Fuze+ atau Samsung YP-M1 untuk menggantikan Sandisk Sansa Clip saya yang sudah butut. Lalu ebook reader: saya ngiler saat membaca iRiver Cover Story yang di jual di sebuah toko buku....

Tablet? Tablet?
Nggak deh, nggak minat tablet, nggak butuh.... Saya malah kepengen Sony Ericsson (Sebentar lagi jadi Sony, tanpa Ericsson) Xpria Pro.

Hiks banyak ya kepengennya saya....

Demikian target saya untuk tahun 2012, siapa tahu bisa dicontek untuk target anda di tahun 2012 hihihihi...

Bismillah...

Review: The inheritance Trilogy (N. K. Jemisin)

Catatan: bukan novel vampir...
Saya pertama bertemu buku ini dari rekomendasi satu situs review buku fantasy. Namun awalnya saya kurang tertarik karena isinya berisi mengenai dewa-dewa dan manusia, pengalaman saya membaca buku dengan tokoh dewa selalu kurang sreg: dewa dengan sifat seperti manusia. Maklum, ajaran agama saya hanya mengenal satu Tuhan, yang tidak bisa disamakan dengan manusia. Tapi karena penasaran, saya baca juga buku ini hehehehe....

Once upon a time, there were nothing but a great, churning mass of chaos, power, possibilities, unknown , The Maelstorm. Then some time, Maelstorm spit out a Being, who was wild, churning, eternal, ever changing. But there was nothing: no people, no places, no spaces, no darkness, no dimension, no EXISTENCE. And so He promptly set out to create something, by going mad and tearing Himself. And so EXISTENCE created...

Tiga buku ini memiliki tiga tokoh yang berbeda di tiap buku. Namun setiap buku merupakan satu kesatuan cerita yang berkelanjutan. Saya sendiri lebih suka menyebut sebagai satu kisah yang diceritakan oleh tiga tokoh. Tidak usah khawatir, karena tokoh-tokoh yang terlibat masih saling berkaitan dengan buku sebelumnya. Namun seperti novel Epic Fantasy lainnya, novel ini memiliki kekurangan yang berupa TOKOH YANG BANYAK.

After eons of tearing at Himself, The Being found Himself surrounded by mass of formless immensity of separate substance. It was, however, the earliest form of the universe and the gods’ realm that envelops it.

Gaya penceritaan novel ini unik, berbeda dengan novel-novel fantasi epik yang pernah saya baca. Cerita dituturkan dengan gaya jurnal harian, atau diary, dengan sudut pandang orang pertama pelaku utama. Menebak siapa yang bercerita membuat saya tertarik untuk membaca lebih jauh. Flash back, kisah-kisah, cerita-cerita dan berbagai informasi lainnya diselipkan dengan menarik di berbagai tempat, terkadang diantara dialog internal tokoh utama di suatu kejadian, namun penempatan yang pas membuat sisipan informasi ini bisa diterima dan melengkapi keutuhan cerita.

The Maelstorm, either by change or by It's own awareness, spat out another Being, as mighty as the First , but complete opposite: while the First are embodiment of chaos, change and darkness; this one is embodiment of order, stability and light. And so the Second attacked the First, because the polar opposite of their nature...

Jalur cerita mengalir sederhana, intrik tidak sedalam dan njelimet seperti The Wheel of Time, bahkan masih lebih sederhana dari Mistborn. Plot terjalin rapi, walau mungkin sederhana, namun penulis berhasil memberikan kejutan-kejutan di tikungan-tikungan cerita. Alur cerita diatur dengan pas, tidak terlalu cepat, tidak terlalu lambat. Walau memang span waktu yang digunakan di tiap buku agak berbeda, dimana hanya beberapa minggu di buku pertama, menjadi beberapa bulan di buku kedua dan menjadi beberapa tahun di buku ke tiga.

So they fought, and fought, and fought times a few million jillion nillion, until suddenly one or the other of them got tired of the whole thing and proposed a truce. And then they became lovers. Somewhere between all this — the fighting or the lovemaking, not so very different for those two — they had a powerful effect on the shapeless mass of substance that the first had given birth to. It gained more function, more structure. And all was well for another Really Long Time.

Penokohan terbangun bagus, karakterisasi jelas dan cukup dalam. Tiap tokoh memiliki kharakter yang khas, dan dapat dengan mudah dibayangkan. Di sini, saya menjumpai penokohan lebih lengkap, lebih manusiawi dibandingkan dengan penokohan Brandon Sanderson, yang lebih menjurus ke hitam-putih. Penokohan N. K. Jemisin terasa lebih lengkap, lebih hidup.

Then along came the Third, a she-being, who should have settled things because usually three of anything is better, more stable, than two. For a while this was the case. In fact, EXISTENCE became the universe, and the Beings soon became a family, because it was the Third’s nature to give meaning to anything She touched. If the First is the dark, the Second is the light, then the Third is the between, the BALANCE, neither dark nor light.

Setiap buku ditutup dengann rapih, bagus, memberikan rasa puas setelah membacanya. Tidak banyak novel yang memberikan penutup yang memuaskan, namun masih membuat orang ingin membaca kelanjutan dari buku tersebut. Kebanyakan dari seri novel adalah memberikan suatu cliff hanger, atau suatu misteri yang belum terpecahkan, atau penutup kecil dari suatu plot besar, untuk menarik pembaca ke buku berikutnya.

And so they became a family: the First, who they call Nahadoth, the Second, who they call bright Itempas, and the Third, who they call Enefa, and many child born from them: the godlings and the humans. And so the era of Gods and Humans begin. Until that day, when love, and loneliness, and betrayal destroy everything...

Yang saya temui kurang sreg adalah banyaknya dewa-dewa di buku ini, dan bagaimana setiap dewa menyerupai sifat manusia. Saya mendapat kesan dewa-dewa adalah manusia dengan keabadian dan kekuatan super. Bagaimanapun, penulis novel ini adalah manusia, jadi pantas saja jika penggambaran di novel ini masih dalam batas manusia....

And so the new era begins... An era of slavery, pain, and loneliness....

Secara keseluruhan, saya suka buku ini, walaupun beberapa hal yang terasa kurang sreg. Saya cukup menikmati membaca buku ini, gaya penceritaannya yang mengena, manis, dengan ending yang tidak dapat diduga, membuat satu paket bacaan yang menyenangkan. Kalau anda pencinta novel fantasi, dan tidak ada halangan untuk membaca kisah dengan dewa-dewa rekaan di dalamnya, saya sangan merekomendasikan seri novel ini.
Recommended!!!

Review: The Alloy of Law

Cover

 Waxillium Ladrian, a tough law enforcer of Rough, called to back to his family seat and to take over as the High Lord of House Ladrian. Still haunted by the memory of a dead woman, he forced to take a bride, which is a task more to save his House than to find someone he love. Everything get messy when he found some mysterious robbery and kidnapping, which involve some people from his past at Rough. Can he escape from the past, and the haunting memory of him killing a woman he love, disentangle the mystery, and save himself from danger that come in front of him? Wax will find life on the big city is even more rough than living on Rough, the part of the world which is said no civilization ever touched...

Review lagi. Kali ini review dari novel Mistborn. Bukan bagian dari Mistborn Trilogy, tetapi masih memiliki kaitan dan suasana yang sama. Bedanya, kali ini novel bertempat di dunia dimana Elend, Vin, dan lain-lainnya sudah menjadi bagian dari mitos dan sejarah.

Tokoh utama novel ini agak berbeda dengan novel Mistborn dan novel-novel lain pada umumnya. Biasanya novel memiliki tokoh yang masih termasuk muda, terkadang remaja. Di novel ini, tokoh utama berumur sekitar empat puluh tahun. Seorang veteran sherrif jika di dunia kita, penegak hukum. Bila dibandingkan dengan dunia Mistborn Trilogy berada, setting novel ini adalah beberapa ratus tahun setelahnya, dan jika dibandingkan dengan dunia kita, saya menebak kira-kira abad pertengahan dimana listrik mulai menyebar, dengan sentuhan western cowboy. Saya menjumpai gaya penulisan dan penceritaan lebih segar dengan suasana yang lebih ringan bila dibandingkan dengan Mistborn Trilogy.

Detil penceritaan tetap khas Brandon Sanderson: detil, jelas, mengalir. Membaca novel ini sama sekali tidak membosankan. Aksi, intrik dan cerita dibangun dengan mengalir, membuat saya tanpa terasa sudah menghabiskan novel ini dalam waktu setengah hari. Faktor keren berupa alloymancy, ferruchemy dan hemalurgy tetap dihadirkan, bahkan dikembangkan lebih luas lagi. Ada tambahan Twinborn, orang dengan alloymancy (misting) dan ferruchemy. Faktor ini membuat cerita dan adegan perkelahian lebih kompleks, dan lebih menegangkan. Dan seru tentunya.

Brandon Sanderson berhasil membuat satu dunia baru yang lebih moderen, namun masih memiliki hubungan dengan dunia Mistborn Trilogy yang menjadi basis dunia moderen ini. Saya bisa dengan mudah membayangkan dunia novel ini sebagai versi moderen dari dunia Mistborn Trilogy. Bagus sekali, membuat saya merasa cepat akrab dengan dunia baru ini.

Masih ada beberapa istilah yang baru untuk saya, dan belum ada penjelasan di buku ini. Mungkin Brandon Sanderson berencana untuk membuat seri baru setelah buku ini. Saya yakin penjelasan istilah dan hal-hal yang ada di buku ini akan diberikan di buku selanjutnya. Untuk sementara ini akan saya simpan hal-hal yang masih belum jelas untuk buku berikutnya...

Secara keseluruhan, novel ini sangat bagus. Kalau anda suka novel dengan aksi di dalamnya, dengan sentuhan western gunslinger, dengan sentuhan humor dan sedikit roman, saya sangat merekomendasikan buku ini. Saya sendiri merasa novel ini memberikan gaya yang fresh setelah novel House of Night. Jika novel House of Night sangat magical, feminim dan emosional, maka novel ini adalah novel maskulin dengan banyak aksi.
RECOMMENDED!!! (very, very recommended indeed!)

Be Thankful

Be thankful of what you have right now. Please remember, not all people have anything you have right now. Some people have less than you, some people even doesn't even have anything.
Be thankful of what you have, because God always capable of taking it back from you, and when He did it, you can only regret it later.
Be thankful for what you have right now, because we don't know if we still have it tomorrow. Be thankful, by giving other less fortunate people their share from what you have.
Be thankful, because He loved thankful servant, for we are nothing but small insignificant creature.
Be thankful to God, when He gave you anything, either you want it, or not.
Be thankful, and you will enjoy your life. Don't look up too ofter or too high, because it could make you forget to thankful to God.
Be thankful, before its too late...

Thank You, God, for all You've gave me. Please forgive me when I'm not thankful enough. Please forgive me when I'm being un-thankful bastard. And please forgive me for all sins done by me, my family, my beloved, and my friends. Thank You.

.....a little note to myself.....

Review: The Wheel Of Time Series

Life in Emond's Field has been pretty boring for Rand Al'Thor and his friends until a strange young woman arrives in their village. Moraine is an Aes Sedai, a magician with the ability to wield the One Power, and she brings warnings of a terrible evil awakening in the world. That very night, the village is attacked by bloodthirsty Trollocs - a fearsome tribe of beast-men thought to be no more than myth. As Emond's Field burns, Moraine and her warrior-guardian help Rand and his companions to escape. But it is only the beginning of their troubles. For Moraine believes Rand Al'Thor is the Dragon Reborn, and that he is fated to unite the world against the rising darkness and lead the fight against a being so powerful and evil it is known simply as the Dark One.

fantasybookreview: The Eye of the World

Yup, lagi-lagi review novel :D. Seperti biasa, novel yang dibahas merupakan novel fantasy. Novel ini cukup besar, dengan 14 novel (13 sudah diterbitkan; novel terakhir, A Memory Of Light, direncanakan akan diterbitkan pada awal 2012). Jadi sabar-sabarlah dalam membaca seri novel ini :D.

Komentar pertama saya saat membaca novel ini adalah...... KARAKTERNYA BANYAK BANGET!!! Novel ini luar biasa banyak karakternya, karakter utamanya sendiri ada lima: Rand Al'Thor, Mat Chauton, Perrin Aybara, Egwene Al'Vere dan Nynaeve Al'Meara. Sudut pandang berpindah-pindah antara lima tokoh tersebut, namun terkadang juga mengambil sudut pandang tokoh-tokoh lain walaupun hanya sebentar.

Jalan cerita cukup menarik, dengan deskripsi yang teliti dan gamblang. Saking gamblangnya terkadang saya melewati beberapa bagian (malas banget, soalnya deskripsinya terlalu detail!). Kecepatan penceritaan stabil, terkadang agak lambat, membuat gregetan (maklum, saya orangnya kurang sabar hehehehe). Namun klimaks di setiap buku diceritakan dengan kecepatan yang cukup membuat berdebar.

Sistem eknonomi, pemerintahan, masyarakat, dan magis digambarkan dengan bagus, jelas dan detail. Dari yang saya tangkap, dunia di sini kira-kira setara dengan abad pertengahan di dunia kita, ditambah dengan magis. Sistem magisnya berbeda dengan sistem magis kebanyakan, walau saya menjumpai sedikit kemiripan dengan gaya magis di novel Black Jewels karya Anne Bishop (tunggu review seri novel terbaru Anne Bishop: The Twilight Dawn! Promosi :D). Kemiripannya terletak pada cara bagaimana saidin dan atau saidar harus di ditenun (weave) untuk membentuk spell, yang mirip dengan bagaimana black widow menenun (weaving) jaring ilusi dan terawangan (duh, nggak enak banget terjemahannya, istilah aslinya tangled web of vision and illusion). Namun kemiripannya berhenti di situ saja, karena sistem magis di seri The Wheel of Time berbeda dengan Black Jewels.

Intrik dijalin dengan rapi, plot demi plot dijalin dan dibuka dengan bagus. Adanya banyak plot di seri ini, dengan satu novel terdiri dari beberapa plot. Di novel ini sentuhan politik sangat terasa, ditambah lagi dengan cinta, persahabatan, kepercayaan, dan lain-lain menambah rumitnya jalinan antar tokoh. Terkadang saya sampai pusing mengikuti alur hubungan antar tokoh, selain karena jumlah tokoh yang luar biasa banyak, tapi juga karena berbagai hubungan yang terjalin. Luar biasa.

Secara keseluruhan, saya suka dengan seri novel ini. Setiap novel tidak pernah membosankan (well, mungkin jumlah tokoh yang banyak sekali itu membosankan, tapi tidak dengan jalan cerita), selalu ada saat-saat mendebarkan, mengharukan, membuat marah, keren, dsb. Menarik sekali. Untuk anda pecinta novel, terutama kategori genre high-fantasy/epic fantasy, saya sangat merekomendasikan seri novel ini. RECOMMENDED!!!

Review: Tiffany Aching Series from Discworld Series

Tiffany Aching, gadis kecil berumur sembilan tahun, memiliki memiliki cara berpikir dan cara melihat dunia dengan cara yang berbeda dari orang-orang disekitarnya. Sepintas lalu, TIffany tidak berbeda dengan anak-anak lain seumurannya, bahkan Tiffany termasuk anak rajin, penurut dan tidak suka membaut keonaran. Namun cara pandang dan pola pikir Tiffany yang berbeda membuatnya mampu melihat dunia tempatnya tinggal sesuai dengan kenyataan sebenarnya, karena orang-orang di dunia Tiffany mempunyai kebiasaan untuk melihat apa yang mereka ingin lihat.

Petualangan Tiffany dimulai di pinggir sungai di desanya dimana Tiffany bertemu dengan makhluk kecil berwarna biru mengenakan kilt (pakaian tradisional orang Irlandia), monster jelek yang muncul dari dasar sungai dan berusaha memakan Tiffany dan adiknya (yang pada akhirnya dipukul oleh Tiffany menggunakan penggorengan besi) hingga akhirnya Tiffany menemukan kenyataan bahwa Tiffany adalah seorang penyihir (witch) dan ada kekuatan tersembunyi yang datang ke desa Tiffany dan membawa bencana bagi anak-anak kecil. Mampukah Tiffany mengalahkan kekuatan tersembunyi tersebut sedangkan ia baru saja mengetahui bahwa dirinya seorang penyihir?

Seri Tiffany Aching merupakan bagian dari seri Discworld karya Terry Pratchett. Sejauh ini ada empat novel mengenai Tiffany Aching: The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, dan I Shall Wear Midnight. Keempat buku ini menceritakan perjalanan Tiffany Aching yang berumur sembilan tahun dalam menyelami dunia baru yang asing untuknya: dunia seorang penyihir.

Pengarang seri novel ini, Terry Pratchett, membuat dunia fantasy yang benar-benar berbeda, dan unik. Di dasari dari berbagai mitologi klasik, dunia Discworld digambarkan dengan detil, indah dan unik. Anda akan dengan mudah membayangkan dunia dimana Tiffany berada. Gaya penceritaan, penulisan dan pola pikir karakter-karakter di seri novel ini pun benar-benar unik. Saat membaca, saya selalu tertawa kecil dan takjub dengan pola pikir berbeda yang dituangkan sang pengarang (lihat saja nama-nama tokoh di novel ini: Tiffany Aching, Rob Anybody, Miss Tick, dsb).

Plot dituang dengan sederhana, tanpa intrik-intrik yang membuat pusing, tanpa plot-twist tersembunyi yang membuat kaget, semua ditulis mengalir satu jurusan. Tetapi selalu ada kejutan kecil yang membuat kita tersenyum dan kagum akan kejeniusan sang pengarang. Setiap novel dipenuhi humor-humor ringan dan sederhana, namun juga terdapat saat-saat menyentuh, seperti di ending buku ketiga, Wintersmith. Apakah itu? Anda harus membacanya sendiri untuk mengetahuinya :D.

Pembangunan karakter cukup bagus, terutama untuk tokoh-tokoh utama, dan tokoh-tokoh penting. Mungkin selain tokoh utama, karakter dibahas tidak terlalu mendalam, tapi kita dengan jelas dapat menebak seperti apa kira-kira sifat-sifat berbagai tokoh tersebut. Sistem sihir di dunia Discworld berbeda dengan sihir standar novel high-fantasy umumnya, di sini witching (sebutan untuk semua kegiatan yang dilakukan witch) lebih kepada tidak menggunakan sihir untuk melakukan sesuatu (yang jelas sangat berbeda dengan dunia Harry Potter, misalnya, dimana sihir digunakan disetiap tarikan nafas).

Walau novel ini aslinya ditujukan kepada young-adult (klasifikasi pembaca di luar negeri yang merujuk kepada usia 14-21 tahun, namun saya tidak akan segan untuk merekomendasikan seri novel ini kepada semua usia (walau untuk anak dibawah 10 tahun mungkin terlalu rumit gaya bahasanya). Sederhana, indah, menghibur, dan dengan pesan-pesan moral yang bagus. Recommended!!!

Review: The Black Jewels Trilogy

Apa yang kamu lakukan, saat seseorang mengatakan padamu, bahwa mimpimu sudah datang? Itu lah yang dialami oleh Daemon Sadi, seorang pleasure slave di sebuah court di Terrelile. Dari situlah sebuah pintu gerbang dibuka, gerbang menuju satu dunia dimana intrik politik berpilin dengan skema-skema jahat, mimpi, ambisi, dan kekuatan. Gelap, hitam, menggetarkan, tetapi juga cantik, indah, dan bersinar. Dunia dimana Blood berkuasa, dimana Darkness dipuja dan dihormati.

The Black Jewels Trilogy mengisahkan tentang tiga dunia: Terreille, Kaeleer dan Hell, dengan sudut pandang dari Saetan D. SaDiablo, Daemon Sadi dan Lucivar Yaslana, dan bagaimana petualangan dan perjuangan yang dilalui mereka saat Witch (Jaennelle Angeline), perwujudan dari mimpi, dan harapan, semua Blood (dari segala ras) di Dark Realm. Bagaimana perjuangan mereka mendukung Witch menghadapi cemaran yang disebarkan oleh Dorothea SaDiablo, High Priestess of Hayll, dan Hekatah SaDiablo, Dark Priestess (atau juga High Priestess of Hell).

Anne Bishop, penulis trilogi ini, berhasil membangun gambaran dari dunia tempat cerita ini berlangsung dengan sangat indah, detil, dengan penokohan karakter yang bagus. Beliau berhasil membangun suatu dunia lengkap dengan sistem kastanya, dengan sistem magisnya, dan detil-detil lainnya dengan indah. Karakter-karakter utama terbangun dengan rapi, dengan karakter sampingan dibuat cukup lengkap, walaupun mungkin kurang dalam. Untuk anda pembenci magis ala Harry Potter, anda akan menemukan magis gaya lain di sini. Di dunia The Black Jewels Trilogy, craft (istilah untuk sihir di sini) adalah cara untuk menggunakan kekuatan yang di miliki oleh Blood (sebutan untuk sebagian kecil dari ras di Dark Realm yang memiliki kekuatan). Di sini tidak ada tongkat sihir, mantra-mantra sihir, hewan sihir, buku yang menggigit, sapu terbang (walau memang ADA kereta yang bisa melayang) dan sebagainya. Kekuatan yang dimiliki disimpan di dalam permata (Jewels) dengan warna (dan jumlah) dari permata menentukan seberapa dalam 'sumur' kekuatan yang dimiliki. Ada tiga belas warna permata, dari putih yang paling dangkal, hingga hitam yang paling dalam. Oh, dan ada permata bening (yang tidak mewakili taraf kekuatan) dan Ebony, permata yang dimiliki Witch.

Intrik-intrik dibuat dengan tajam, antara politik; cinta; pertemanan, aliansi hingga perseteruan. Dan bumbu erotis (oh yah, tidak ada yang lebih 'panas' selain bumbu erotis di beberapa tempat) dan 'cool moment' dan 'cool thing' dan 'oh, shit! moment' dalam jumlah yang cukup (baca: sangat) banyak. Jangan lupa adegan-adegan yang sangat romantis, atau sangat menyentuh hati, atau yang membuat gregetan.

Cerita berjalan dengan kecepatan yang berubah-ubah, terkadang cepat, terkadang lambat, terkadang santai. Anne Bishop sangat pandai meramu saat-saat cepat, dengan saat-saat lambat, yang membuat saya terkadang begitu geregetan, dan penasaran, ingin segera membaca akhir cerita. Dan di akhir cerita, dengan sukses membuat saya ketagihan dan ingin membaca lagi.
Highly Recomennded!

Bersyukur

Bersyukur. Satu kata yang terkadang dilupakan dalam kegiatan sehari-hari kita. Coba dihitung, berapa kali kah kita dalam sehari bersyukur dengan mengucapkan Alhamdulillah? Yuk, mumpung sedang ingat, kita mengucapkan syukur kepada ALlah SWT, dan semoga bersyukur ini bisa menjadi bagian tak terpisahkan dari hidup kita.

Ya Allah, aku bersyukur atas setiap tarikan nafas yang kuhirup, setiap jengkal langkah yang kutempuh, setiap niat yang kubuat.
Ya Rab, aku bersyukur atas  setiap detik yang kulalui, setiap menit yang kujalani, setiap jam yang kuisi, setiap bulan dan tahun yang kunikmati
Ya Allah, Engkau sungguh Maha Besar, Maha Kuasa, Maha Adil, Maha Pengasih dan Maha Penyayang
Ya Rab, Engkaulah Penguasa Langit dan Bumi, Penguasa Semua Hidup, Penguasa Segalanya.
Ya Allah, aku bersyukur atas kasih-Mu, atas kasih orang tuaku, atas kasih kerabatku, atas kasih sahabat dan temanku
Ya Rab, aku bersyukur atas setiap butir nasi yang masuk ke perutku, setiap tetes air yang memebasahi tenggorokanku
Ya Allah, aku bersyukur atas perlindungan-Mu, atas karunia-Mu, dan atas kasih sayang-Mu.
Ya Rab, aku tahu ucap syukurku masih sangat kurang, masih banyak karunia-Mu yang aku lupakan, masih banyak anugrah-Mu yang dengan sombongnya aku kecilkan
Ya Allah, aku memohon ampunan, perlindungan, kekuatan, dan ridho dari-Mu
Ya Rab, jauhkan aku dari siksa api neraka, dan jadikan aku hamba-Mu yang mensyukuri nikmat-nikmat-Mu, dan jadikan aku golongan orang-orang yang bertakwa.
Ya Allah, hanya kepada-Mu aku beriman, hanya kepada-Mu aku beribadah, dan hanya kepada-Mu aku kembali.
Amin.

Sisi Berat

Facebook, suatu sore yang panas:...

Facebook saya akhirnya selesai loading halaman awal akun saya. Saya scroll ke bawah, melihat berbagai update yang dilakukan teman-teman. Ada satu yang menarik, isinya:

Janganlah kamu berbohong.karna satu kebohongan akan mengundang kebohongan berikutnya..

Wah, jarang-jarang ada yang menulis status yang bagus. Langsung saya beri komentar:

setubuh

......dan percakapan lewat komentar statuspun dimulai.....

Panji
Setubuh!!!!

Abunawas
Sutubuh. Apa pakhde?

Panji
bahasa forumnya setuju....... --"

Abunawas
Oh jadi kamu setuju kalau kebohongan harus di galakan.bahkan kalau perlu di buat kurikulum geto ya? Hmm

Panji
hahahahahaha.......
Klo perlu dijadikan pedoman negara....
ehm, ehm, ya enggak dun...
tapi setuju klo emang kebohongan bakal memicu kebohongna lain untuk menutupi kebohongan-kebohongan yang dibuat sebelum kebohongan itu dibuat... Read More
mampus, bingung, bingung deh,,, aku wae yo bingung hahahaha

Abunawas
Hwahahahahaha...aku ga bingung cuma heran aja.kenapa kok bohong itu enak kang? Blm lagi skrg kan zamanya sensasi.jadi melakukan kebohongan atau kejahatan di anggap tantangan kang. Hebat bukan.? Manteb to

Panji
hahahaha... ya gitu... nek eyangku ngendhikan: jamane wis jaman tuwo.....
sekarang orang pada buta ketenaran, semua cara ditempuh cuma demi TENAR!!! (please, just please..... tenar doank geto loh)

Abunawas
jadi PEMBURU TENAR tu dah di ramal ama kakek2 moyang yo kang? Tmbah melejit lagi dunk loh geto kang.dah buhung tenar lagi kebuhunganya....oh iya kang jujur secara formal tu dapat pahala ga kang?

Panji
Hmm... mbuh... mungkin? Kan Gusti sing kuwoso sing ngurusi ngono kuwi.. awake dhewe cuman iso berusaha.... iyo tho?

Abunawas
Ho oh manteb to kang ? Suwun yo sambutane.lam kenal yo?

Panji
sami-sami, slama kenal juga....

Percakapan berakhir di situ, dilanjutkan dengan ajang perkenalan hehehehe..... Jarang-jarang nih, saya nyambung bahasan berat seperti ini... Biasanya saya kalau komentar suka kumat gilanya hahahaha....

Review: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Series

Apa jadinya kalau dunia yang kita tinggali merupakan dunia dimana vampir, zombi, werewolf (manusia srigala), sihir, setan, dan sebagainya merupakan bagian dari dunia nyata? Inilah dunia tempat Anita Blake, animator sekaligus pemburu vampir tinggal. Novel Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series karya Laurell K. Hamilton akan membawa kita jauh kedalam dunia preternatural berisi hal-hal yang selama ini hanyalah dongeng dan mitos belaka.

Secara garis besar, makhluk-makhluk dongeng yang 'hidup' di dunia Anita Blake adalah standar makhluk dongeng. Misalnya, vampir akan terbakar jika terkena sinar matahari, takut dengan benda-benda suci (seperti Injil, salib, Qur'an, dan sebagainya), dan benda-benda ini akan menyala hingga terbakar jika didekati vampir. Selain vampir, ada shapeshifter, werewolf, penyihir (witch dan wiccan), dan berbagai makhluk dongeng standar lainnya.

Mungkin dari sisi originalitas, dunia Anita Blake terdengar klise, biasa, namun Laurell K. Hamilton mampu menyulap dunia klise itu menjadi dunia Anita Blake yang solid, detil, dengan misteri dan roman yang erotis. Apa saya tadi menulis erotis? Ya, anda tidak salah baca, novel Anita Blake ini termasuk kategori novel dewasa, novel erotis malah. Tidak hanya dikarenakan banyaknya adegan dewasa bertebaran di mana-mana, tetapi juga gaya bahasa dan gambaran yang tidak untuk kalangan dibawah 20 tahun seperti misalnya deskripsi kondisi tubuh korban pembunuhan yang tercerai-berai dan sebagainya. Juga banyak adegan kekerasan dan pemakaian bahasa kasar di novel ini.

Novel Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter ini pertama kali beredar tahun 1993 (Guilty Pleasures), dengan jeda penerbitan setiap seri adalah sekitar satu tahun. Sejak pertama kali diterbitkan, novel ini sudah mencapai 17 judul, judul terbaru adalah Skin Trade yang beredar tanggal 2 Juni lalu. Selain seri utama, novel ini juga sudah menghasilkan beberapa side story, seperti kumpulan kasus pendek Anita Blake sebagai pemburu vampir dan sebagai konsultan kepolisian, beberapa komik berdasar novel dan beberapa lainnya.

Saya pertama kali menjumpai novel ini saat sedang mencari seri novel House of Night (review akan dilakukan di masa mendatang). Iseng saya unduh (duh, dosa euy, pake jalan haram....), saya baca kemudian saya jauth cinta dengan novel ini. Kesan pertama saya saat setelah membaca novel ini adalah: detil, kelam, solid, menegangkan, tetapi mampu membuat rasa penasaran untuk melanjutkan membaca.

Gaya bahasa novel ini adalah dewasa, sesuai dengan peruntukannya, dimana kata-katanya lebih bebas, lebih vulgar. Deskripsi dilakukan dengan teliti, hingga kita bisa membayangkan setiap adegan. Cerita dibangun dengan cermat, hingga kesalahan dapat ditekan hingga minim sekali, plot berjalan dengan lancar dan solid. Detil-detil sangat dipikirkan, sehingga terbentuk dunia yang saling mendukung. Karakter dari tokoh utama terbangun dengan baik, kita dapat adengan mudah membayangkan gambaran tokoh utama bersama karakternya dengan jelas. Gaya penceritaan dari orang pertama pelaku utama semakin menguatkan pembangunan karakter dari tokoh utama. Bahkan, hampir setiap tokoh dikerjakan dengan cermat. Deskripsi fisik dan karakter dikerjakan dengan hati-hati. Begitu juga dengan detil lokasi, semua dikerjakan dengan baik.

Pengerjaan yang cermat juga kita jumpai di bagian lain novel, seperti sejarah dan timeline yang sangat akurat. Setiap makhluk preternatural dikerjakan dengan detil, seperti misalnya dunia vampir dimana terdapat high council, master vampire, master of city, dll. Dunia werewolf diluaskan di sini, dimana tidak hanya ada manusia srigala (werewolf) tapi wereanimal seperti wereleopard, wererat, werehyena, weretiger, werebear, standar hewan, hingga makhluk dongeng seperti weredragon. Dunia wereanimal inijuga digambarkan dengan detil, seperti struktur masyarakatnya, kebiasan-kebiasaannya, dll. Kita akan ditakjubkan dengan kehati-hatian Laurell K. Hamilton dalam membuat latar belakang dan kebudayaan tiap wereanimal dan makhluk preternatural.

Hubungan antar tokoh digarap dengan baik. Perkembangan dan hubungan emosi antar tokohnya tergarap dengan bagus. Ada banyak hubungan yang dibahas di sini, baik seksual, sahabat, teman, rekan kerja, hingga master-servant. Misalnya hubungan antara Anita dengan Jean-Claude (pasangan, seksual, master-servant), Anita-Richard (seksual, pasangan, servant-servant, hirarki dengan Anita sebagai Lupa dan Richard sebagai Ulfric), Anita-Micah (pasangan, seksual, hirarki dengan Anita sebagai Nimir-Ra dan Micah sebagai Nimir-Raj), Anita-Larry (rekanan, sahabat), Anita-Verronica/Ronnie (sahabat), Anita-pard (hirarki, Anita sebagai Nimir-Ra), Anita-lukoi (hirarki, Anita sebagai Lupa sekaligus Bolverk), Anita-servant (Anita sebagai master, Damian sebagai vampire servant, Nathaniel dan beberapa lainnya sebagai animal to call) dan lain-lainnya.

Yang menjadi kekurangan menurut saya adalah gaya penulisan Laurell K. Hamilton yang cenderung menggunakan kalimat-kalimat panjang. Satu paragraf bisa mencapai satu halaman buku sendiri. Untuk beberapa orang hal ini akan membosankan, dan membuat cepat lelah. Deskripsi yang sangat detil, juga mungkin akan membuat sebagian orang akan lelah dan risih, seperti adegan-adegan romantis yang bertebaran, ataupun detil kondisi korban pembunuhan, yang digambarkan sangat nyata sekali. Belum lagi untuk orang yang tidak menyetujui free sex, akan cukup terganggu dan risih dengan novel ini. Untuk beberapa orang, mungkin bisa terbayang-bayang bagaimana organ-organ tubuh korban pembunuhan berserakan, darah yang menggenang, aroma darah dan organ tubuh, potongan-potongan daging dan sebagainya.

Selain itu, tiap novel memiliki kualitas yang berbeda. Memang hal ini sudah biasa, namun kita kan menjumpai satu novel lebih menarik dibanding novel yang lain. Dan menurut saya pribadi, Laurell K Hamilton seperti terlalu mengekspos adegan erotis di novel ini. Terlalu banyak adegan dewasa, hingga saya menjumpai hal tersebut mengganggu.

Dari sisi timeline, novel ini berjalan sangat cepat. Bahkan timeline satu novel bisa hanya berjarak beberapa jam saja dari novel sebelumnya. Jarak terpanjang timeline antar novel yang saya ingat adalah sekitar 6-8 bulan. Untuk saya, itu cukup mengganggu, sebab perkembangan tokoh menjadi terlalu cepat. Orang akan berpikir ulang, apakah ada orang yang sanggup bertahan tetap waras dengan berbagai kejadian yang datang bertubi-tubi.

Yang juga cukup mengganggu adalah perkembangan kekuatan supranatural yang dimiliki tokoh utama yang terlalu cepat, tanpa pemberian waktu yang cukup 'normal'. Sehingga memberi kesan tokoh utama mampu dengan sangat cepat menguasai kemampuan baru yang muncul. Dari hanya sekedar membangkitkan mayat (animator di novel ini adalah pekerjaan membangkitkan mayat menjadi zombi), berkembang ke necromancer (orang dengan kekuasaan terhadap segala macam undead termasuk vampir), human lupa, Nimir Ra, hingga ke living vampire. Silakan baca wikipedia bagian ini untuk lebih jelas berbagai istilah di novel ini.

Secara garis besar, novel Anita Blake ini menarik untuk diikuti. Asalkan anda sanggup bertahan saat adegan dewasa dan deskripsi mengerikan korban-korban pembunuhan, jalan cerita dan intrik di novel ini menarik untuk diikuti. Sayang, kemungkinan novel ini untuk diterbitkan di Indonesia adalah mendekati nol, karena adegan-adegan dewasa yang banyak bertebarna di novel ini.