• Summary

  • There is no shame in having an unhealthy obsession with a fandom. Your source for all the latest news, reviews, and recommendations for gaming, reading, watching, cosplaying, and more.
    © 2013 - 2020 The Game of Nerds Podcast by The Game of Nerds
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Episodes
  • Unwind (Unwind Dystology Book One) By Neal Shusterman Review

    Unwind (Unwind Dystology Book One) By Neal Shusterman Review
    Sep 9 2022
    Unwind by Neal Shusterman was one of the first dystopian books I ever read. However, unlike a lot of other books of the genre I've read since, it has stuck with me. Every once in a while, one particular line of dialogue, or scene, or subject, comes to my mind, and leaves me thinking. That's what I look for in my dystopian science fiction; something to ponder when I'm done with it. Unwind takes place years after a war in America between pro-life, and pro-choice, and thus being a dystopian, science fiction, book targeted at teenagers, the compromise they come to is the Bill of Life. It reads as follows:  “that human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, a parent may choose to retroactively ‘abort’ a child .. on the condition that the child's life doesn't ‘technically’ end. The process by which a child is both terminated and yet kept alive is called ‘unwinding.’ Unwinding is now a common, and accepted practice in society”.” (Shusterman, N. Unwind. pg, 1. 2007). The story follows three teens designated for unwinding: Connor, who gets into fights at school and with his parents, Risa, a ward of the state who has been declared not talented enough to keep alive, and Levi, a Tithe, someone born and praised to be unwound in the name of religion. At the beginning of the books, they cross paths, managing to escape their fate, and become AWALs. However, if they are caught before they turn 18, they will be unwound. Shusterman writes in the third-person limited perspective, transitioning primarily between the three main characters, though there are chapters that follow different characters every once in a while, when the story calls for it. Though there is a lot of jumping around, Neal does a great job of putting the reader in the mindset of the character that is currently being followed, and making use of their point of view. All three of the main characters bring a unique perspective on the story, as they all have  backgrounds, and thus different perspectives on life as well as skills and knowledge. It is very entertaining and interesting having all of them interact with one another. Along with the character writing, I haven't forgotten so world that he built here. Though most Sci-fi material take place in the very distant future, with the environment possibly much more advanced than our own, Unwind does something a little different.  Wht I love about the world building in the Unwind series, is that, because society has concentrated more on medical advancement, rather than technological, most of society is pretty much as in real life. There are mentions of old music devices and movies in an antique shop, to show that, even though it is the future, it is not far enough where society doesn't know what the technology of today is. One of my favorite descriptions of the environment that adds to the  slight futuristic time period, takes place in an antique shop.’“The shop has things from perhaps every point in American history. A display of iPods and other little gadgets from his grandfather's time cover an old chrome-rimmed dinner table. An old movie plays on an antique plasma-screen TV. The movie shows a crazy vision of a future that never came, with flying cars and a white-haired scientist" (Shusterman, N. Unwind. pg, 91. 2007). This description has stuck with me since I read the book years ago. I love how Neal manages to describe a new place, build on the world, and make a joke all in one paragraph. I also appreciate that, again, you get a vague idea of how far in the future the book takes place, without it actually giving a specific year, which makes it easier to suspend your disbelief. However, with how well the world is built up, that would be difficult not to do. It's not something I believe a reader should be consciously aware of when reading, but, as I’ve read this book more than once, I did.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • The Game of Nerds Podcast Episode #25 – Amazing Animation with Tezeta Gant

    The Game of Nerds Podcast Episode #25 – Amazing Animation with Tezeta Gant
    Feb 28 2022
    On this episode of The Game of Nerds Podcast, we sit down with Let's Talk Fandoms Podcast host Tezeta Gant for the second time. This episode was slated for last year, but her episode was part of the infamous microphone fiasco of 2021. It was only fitting that we sat down for "take two" and got an even better conversation than the first. We start the podcast chatting about our love of Netflix's documentaries and how Nick Miller is our soul animal. But this episode is all about animation, so let's jump in! Tezeta and I are of similar ages and grew up during the 90s when animation reigned king. So it's no secret that animation holds a special place in our hearts. It's been amazing to see animation projects thrive during the pandemic since creators can do these series at home much more effortlessly than on-set filming. Just look at the latest Disney+ day and how they announced many animated series for the coming year. Animation is one of those creative processes that I'm in awe of and aware of how many TALENTED people it takes to create some of these series/movies that we've loved. We talk about this extensively in the Anime episode and the Voice Acting episode of this podcast. But first, the age-old question, Disney or Nickelodeon? Which did you watch more? It was safe to say that Disney was more for their movies, and Nickelodeon was more known for their animated cartoons. We talk extensively about the early start to watch parties with cousins and neighbors to watch the newest animated movie. I reminisce about Saturday morning cartoons with my dad and brother, which is a tradition I still hold with my daughter to this day. It brings up the point that these animation series tie into our nostalgia factor and critical moments in our lives. The best example I had was watching Toy Story when it first came out on VHS with my little brother on my lap and how much he loved it. Marvel came home the day Toy Story 4 came out, and we watched it, and I bawled. It was the whole circle of nostalgia hitting me like a ton of bricks. Animation has also been known to push the boundaries. Tezeta and I had similar childhoods where certain animated shows were off-limits. Ren and Stimpy were one of those series. In retrospect, in comparison to South Park, it's nothing, but at the time, we have to remember it was the "South Park" of the time. There was nothing ruder or cruder on tv other than Bevis and Butthead. Cartoon Network was also a network that was a hit or miss with most families. Tezeta wasn't allowed to watch Courage the Cowardly Dog. Why we might never know?!? But this diverted our conversation into a meaningful discussion about how animation is viewed currently. A lot of people see animated movies or television as "childish." Tezeta brings up a great point about how animation really has gotten away with many things that would be impossible to explain or talk about. (We are looking at you, Big Mouth!) Most people are introduced to animation as children, so when they recall animation is usually from a frame of mind or a time/place in that person's life. We agree that animation has pushed the boundaries for good. It goes back to the original awe factor. It takes talented voice actors to make these characters come to life, plus the insane creativity of illustrators and creators on top of the fact of someone coming up with this entire universe for these characters to live in. If you think about it, animation has nothing on live-action films. The possibilities are frankly endless. Not only is animation pushing the boundaries, but it also gives us tools to explain things that may be hard to do otherwise. Movies like Inside Out and Lion King give children ways to explain their feelings or complex topics like death. Big Mouth is one of the most recent animation hits that has pushed boundaries on South Park and Rick and Morty levels. If you haven't heard about the series, it's about a group of middle schoolers going through puberty.
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    1 hr and 17 mins
  • The Game of Nerds Podcast # 24 – What Is A Superhero with Eric Locsh

    The Game of Nerds Podcast # 24 – What Is A Superhero with Eric Locsh
    Dec 3 2021
    It's been a while since a podcast episode was released, and that's because life's been insane at TGON! With conventions starting to re-open and more releases happening, things have been ramping up, and unfortunately, the podcast has been the thing that's been on the back burner. Thanks to our editor, Nick Jack Wright, we've got many episodes completed and ready for release. So without further ado, let's send off 2021 with a discussion about Superheros.I sat down to chat with the author of Tower of Blue, Eric Locsh, about what a superhero is. I honestly thought this episode would be quite a straightforward chat about our favorite and most hated superheroes, but it got super deep. We may have more questions than actual answers at the end of this. Before we dive in, we talk about what's been taking our money and attention. Eric has been watching the HBO series Barry which now has a couple of seasons. This episode was recorded before Halloween, so at the Parola House, we were deep in a Hotel Transylvania phase. This brought me to my first question to segway into our chat about Superheroes, are monsters considered superheroes?Eric immediately takes it further and asks the golden question we will keep going back to the entire episode, WHAT IS A SUPERHERO? It could be someone with powers or someone who does good. Maybe, it's someone who has overcome something difficult. The definition lies in the eye of the beholder. We quickly discussed how the term superhero came to be. Robin Hood, Zorro, and Popeye (1929) are considered the first real superheroes we know of. We wouldn't get Batman and Superman until 1939, shortly after Captain America in 1940. The reality is that the definition has changed over time, and it's not as black and white as it used to be.Eric opens up the discussion to villains with, "Well aren't villains just heroes of their own story." A great example is the latest Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix and how he's done some horrible things at the movie's end. He has this massive following of people who think he is a hero. Of course, my mind immediately goes to the current state of social media and how we as a society flock to influencers in the same way when their content goes viral.We then jump into a discussion of how we got into superheroes and what they mean to us. We also chat about how nerd culture has changed. Eric talks about how he's enjoyed this new view on superheroes who know they should be doing good but choose to do evil. Series like The Boys, Invincible, and Jupiter's Legacy have done a great job exploring these themes. This then gets us talking about WTF superheroes like Polka Dot Man from Suicide Squad, the Legion of Pets, and the entire army of Gorilla Grodds. I go on a tangent about my love-hate relationship with the CW DC televisions series.This is when Eric turns the tables and asks me what I'm most excited about when it comes to superheroes. In all honesty, I'm excited about all the possibilities. We've seen what has happened when other cultures and skin tones are shown on the screen with heroes like Black Panther and Shang-Chi. I remember how excited I was to find out that Wonder Woman was finally getting her own movie and when Star Wars revealed that Ray was a Jedi. I was that girl whom her brothers constantly told that girls couldn't be Jedis. I do, though, want someone to explain why Squirrel girl gets some much hate?I return the favor by asking Eric what he is most excited about, which jumps us into a discussion about DC Comics. He's cautiously optimistic about the new Robert Pattinson's Batman. Since DC has refused to keep the same characters and has jumped around so many times, Eric thinks they need to find some way to tie them all together. This leads him to think something like a Multi-Earth verse could soon be in the works. All of the calculated MCU connections over the past decade have made DC look like it's flying by the seat of its pants. Both companies have the money to make things w...
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    1 hr
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