Jordan

Bruna Guedes

Husain Kothari

FRNK

Uendi Prifti

Abdul Hasib

Loughlin Sullivan

Delaney Knopp

Auriel W

Blake Molmen

Dani Shahar

Luis Javier Campos nieto

I don’t know what to do with these stars anymore. I give stars to books and then I think, ‘god, you give five stars to everything, people will think you are terribly undiscriminating’ – so then I give four stars or even three stars to some books. Then I look back and it turns out that that I’ve given four stars to Of Human Bondage and honestly, how could I possibly have thought it was a good idea to give that book less than five stars? It is the absurdity of human conventions that has us doing such things.Now, that is what is called a segue, from the Italian ‘seguire’ – to follow. For the last thirty years I have studiously avoided reading this book. I have done that because for the last thirty years I have known exactly what this book is about and there just didn’t seem any point in reading it. In high school friends (one of them even became my ex-wife) told me it was a great book about a man condemned to die because he was an outsider. Later I was told that this book was a story about something much like the Azaria Chamberlain case. A case where someone does not react in a way that is considered to be ‘socially appropriate’ and is therefore condemned.But after 30 years of avoiding reading this book I have finally relented and read it. At first I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it. It didn’t really get off to the raciest of starts and the character's voice – it is told in first person – was a bit dull. He is a man who lives entirely in the present, how terribly Buddhist of him – although, really there doesn’t seem to be all that much to him.My opinion of the book began to change at his mother’s funeral. I particularly liked the man who kept falling behind in the march to the cemetery and would take short cuts. Okay, so it is black humour, but Camus was more or less French – so black humour is more or less obligatory.I really hadn’t expected this book to be nearly so funny as it turned out. I’d always been told it was a ponderous philosophical text – and so, to be honest, I was expecting to be bored out of my skull. I wasn’t in the least bit bored.A constant theme in my life at present is that I read ‘classics’ expecting them to be about something and they end up being about something completely different. And given I’ve called this a ‘constant’ theme then you might think I would be less than surprised when a read a new ‘classic’ and it turns out to be completely different to my expectations. I’m a little more upset about this one than some of the others, as I’ve been told about this one before, repeatedly, and by people I’d have taken as ‘reputable sources’ – although, frankly, how well one should trust one’s ex-wife in such matters is moot.I had gotten the distinct impression from all of my previous discussions about this book that the guy ends up dead. In fact, this is not the case – he ends up at the point in his life where he has no idea if he will be freed or not. The Priest who comes to him at the end is actually quite certain that he will be freed. Let’s face it, he is only guilty of having murdered an Arab, and as we have daily evidence, Westerners can murder Arabs with complete impunity. The main point of the book to me is when he realises he is no longer ‘free’. He needs this explained to him – because life up until then had been about ‘getting used to things’ and one can 'get used to just about anything'. But the prison guard helpfully informs him that he is being ‘punished’ and the manifestation of that punishment is the removal of his ‘freedom’. Interestingly, he didn’t notice the difference between his past ‘free’ life and his current ‘unfree’ one. The most interesting part of the book to me was the very end, the conversation with the priest. The religious often make the mistake of thinking that Atheists are one thing – I’ve no idea how they ever came to make this mistake, but make it they do. Given that there are thousands upon thousands of different shades of Christians – from Jesuit Catholics to Anti-Disney Episcopalians – it should be fairly obvious that something like Atheism (without any ‘organised’ church or even system of beliefs) could not be in anyway ‘homogeneous’.I am definitely not the same kind of Atheist as Camus. To Camus there is no truth, the world is essentially absurd and all that exists is the relative truth an individual places on events and ideas. This makes the conversation with the priest fascinatingly interesting. To the priest the prisoner who is facing death is – by necessity – someone who is interested in God. You can play around with ideas like the non-existence of God when it doesn’t seem to matter (life is long and blasphemy can seem fun) – but surely when confronted with the stark truth of the human condition any man would turn away from their disbelief and see the shining light.Not this little black duck. Now, if I was in that cell I would have argued with the priest too – but I would not have argued in the same way that Meursault argues. No, I do not believe in God, but I do believe in truth, and so Camus’ arguments are barred to me.Meursault essentially says, “Look, I’m bored, I’m totally uninterested in the rubbish you are talking – now go away”. Now, this is a reasonable response. What is very interesting is that the priest cannot accept this as an answer. The world is not allowed to have such a person in it – if such a person really did exist then it would be a fundamental challenge to the core beliefs of the priest. So, he has to assume Meursault is either lying to him or is trying to taunt him. But it is much worse – he is absolutely sincere, he is not interested in this ‘truth’.I don’t know that the world is completely meaningless, it is conventional rather than meaningless. That those conventions are arbitrary (decided by the culture we grew up in) doesn’t make them meaningless, it makes them conventional. I don’t think I would like to live in a world where people go up and kill Arabs pretty much at random and with impunity, but then again, we have already established this is precisely the world I do live in. My point is that it would be better if we did adhere to some sort of moral principles and that these should be better principles than ‘he should be killed because he didn’t cry at his mum’s funeral’. Camus is seeking to say that all of our ‘moral principles’ in the end come to be as meaningless as that – we judge on the basis of what we see from the framework of our own limited experience. And look, yes, there is much to this – but this ends up being too easy.The thing I like most about Existentialism, though it isn’t really as evident in this book as it is in the actual philosophy – although this is something that Meursault is supposed to have grown to understand (sorry, just one more sub-clause) even though this wasn’t something I noticed at all while reading the book, was the notion of responsibility. I didn’t think in the end Meursault was all that much more ‘responsible’ for his actions than he had been at the start. But I do think that ‘responsibility’ is a key concept in morality and one that seems increasingly to be ignored.Better by far that we feel responsible for too much in our lives than too little – better by far that we take responsibility for the actions of our governments (say) than to call these governments ‘them’. I’m not advocating believing in The Secret - but that if one must err, better to err on the side of believing you have too much responsibility for how your life has turned out, rather than too little.So, what can I say? I enjoyed this much more than I expected – but I’m still glad I waited before reading it, I really don’t think I would have gotten nearly as much out of it at 15 as I did now.

Written in 1914 but not published until 1925, a year after Kafka’s death, The Trial is the terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested and must defend himself against a charge about which he can get no information. Whether read as an existential tale, a parable, or a prophecy of the excesses of modern bureaucracy wedded to the madness of totalitarianism, The Trial has resonated with chilling truth for generations of readers.

We're back in the Black Mesa compound yet again for the second "official" expansion for 1998's groundbreaking first-person shooter "Half-Life." Take the role of...

Featuring an enhanced version of the original's physics engine with even faster driving track designs, FlatOut 2 also boasts numerous improvements, enhancements...

Battlefront puts familiar whack-a-mole gameplay to work in epic battles against the opposing Star Wars faction....

Step into the Dark... As Carrington Institute's most promising new Agent, Joanna Dark must uncover the truth behind the dataDyne Corporation's recent technologi...

Let the Obsession begin. Again. This time, the entire forces of the netherworld have overrun Earth. To save her, you must descend into the stygian depths of Hel...

Half-Life combines great storytelling in the tradition of Stephen King with intense action and advanced technology to create a frighteningly realistic world whe...

For the first time ever in the Star Wars Battlefront series, players can fight on multi-level battlefronts, on the ground and in space. Players can start the fi...

Star Wars Battlefront is an action/shooter game that gives fans and gamers the opportunity to re-live and participate in all of the classic Star Wars battles li...

A hideous evil has awoken in the Forgotten Realms. Now, in order to save the inhabitants of the town of Neverwinter you must uncover a sinister conspiracy, unma...

FEEL THE THRILL OF THE TAKEDOWN! Stop racers cold in high-speed police cars like the Lamborghini Reventon &ndash; and challenge a friend to a head-to-head Cop...

Combining the thrill of illicit street racing and tuner customization with the intensity of strategic police pursuits that rivals any Hollywood-style chase scen...

What starts in the city is settled in the canyons as Need for Speed Carbon immerses you into the world's most dangerous and adrenaline-filled form of street rac...

After the events of Alan Wake, our eponymous hero finds himself embroiled in a new adventure in Arizona, where his own words again hold the key to defeating his...

Need for Speed Undercover has players racing through speedways, dodging cops and chasing rivals as they go deep undercover to take down an International crime s...

Renegade Squadron is the previously untold story of a ragtag ensemble of battle-hardened rogues and scoundrels assembled by Han Solo. Gat...

Burnout 3 takes the hit series even further, now featuring a unique "crash and burn" racing concept and a one-of-a-kind special effects engine that delivers spe...

The evil Trade Federation, led by Nute Gunray is planning to take over the peaceful world of Naboo. Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are sent to confront the leaders. But not everything goes to plan. The two Jedi escape, and along with their new Gungan friend, Jar Jar Binks head to Naboo to warn Queen Amidala, but droids have already started to capture Naboo and the Queen is not safe there. Eventually, they land on Tatooine, where they become friends with a young boy known as Anakin Skywalker. Qui-Gon is curious about the boy, and sees a bright future for him. The group must now find a way of getting to Coruscant and to finally solve this trade dispute, but there is someone else hiding in the shadows. Are the Sith really extinct? Is the Queen really who she says she is? And what's so special about this young boy?

1999 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas

Nearly three years have passed since the beginning of the Clone Wars. The Republic, with the help of the Jedi, take on Count Dooku and the Separatists. With a new threat rising, the Jedi Council sends Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to aid the captured Chancellor. Anakin feels he is ready to be promoted to Jedi Master. Obi-Wan is hunting down the Separatist General, Grievous. When Anakin has future visions of pain and suffering coming Padmé's way, he sees Master Yoda for counsel. When Darth Sidious executes Order 66, it destroys most of all the Jedi have built. Experience the birth of Darth Vader. Feel the betrayal that leads to hatred between two brothers. And witness the power of hope.

2005 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas

In this second adventure, Neo and the rebel leaders estimate that they have 72 hours until Zion falls under siege to the Machine Army. Only a matter of hours separates the last human enclave on Earth from 250,000 Sentinels programmed to destroy mankind. But the citizens of Zion, emboldened by Morpheus conviction that the One will fulfill the Oracles Prophecy and end the war with the Machines, rest all manner of hope and expectation on Neo, who finds himself stalled by disturbing visions as he searches for a course of action.

Return to a world of two realities: one, everyday life; the other, what lies behind it. To find out if his reality is a construct, to truly know himself, Mr. Anderson will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more.

Thomas A. Anderson is a man living two lives. By day he is an average computer programmer and by night a hacker known as Neo. Neo has always questioned his reality, but the truth is far beyond his imagination. Neo finds himself targeted by the police when he is contacted by Morpheus, a legendary computer hacker branded a terrorist by the government. As a rebel against the machines, Neo must confront the agents: super-powerful computer programs devoted to stopping Neo and the entire human rebellion.

1999 American science fiction action thriller film

The Godfather "Don" Vito Corleone is the head of the Corleone mafia family in New York. He is at the event of his daughter's wedding. Michael, Vito's youngest son and a decorated WW II Marine is also present at the wedding. Michael seems to be uninterested in being a part of the family business. Vito is a powerful man, and is kind to all those who give him respect but is ruthless against those who do not. But when a powerful and treacherous rival wants to sell drugs and needs the Don's influence for the same, Vito refuses to do it. What follows is a clash between Vito's fading old values and the new ways which may cause Michael to do the thing he was most reluctant in doing and wage a mob war against all the other mafia families which could tear the Corleone family apart.

1972 American film directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Australian singer-songwriter, publisher, author, graphic designer

The clone special unit called "The Bad Batch" consists of clones with helpful side effects, such as super strength, make their way through the newly founded empire and trying to find out why all clone troops, except themselves, opposed their jedi generals.

The story follows a band of Blood Angels Space Marines as they face a dangerous and insidious foe.

Before Saul Goodman, he was Jimmy McGill. And if you're calling Jimmy, you're in real trouble. The prequel to "Breaking Bad" follows small-time attorney Jimmy McGill as he transforms into Walter White's morally challenged lawyer, Saul Goodman.

Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master by using the Four Elemental Weapons of Spinjitzu; weapons so powerful, no one can handle all of their power at once. When he passed away, his two sons swore to protect them, but the oldest, Lord Garmadon, was consumed by darkness and wanted to possess them all. A battle between brothers broke out and Lord Garmadon was struck down and banished to the Underworld. Peace returned to Ninjago as the younger brother, Sensei Wu, hid the elemental weapons in the far corners of Ninjago. Centuries later, Lord Garmadon has returned with the help of his Skeleton army to collect the Golden Weapons. Sensei Wu turns to the aid of four young Ninja who are to be trained to become the protectors of each of the weapons. Although the Ninja successfully survive a harrowing quest to retrieve the elemental weapons, they fall into Lord Garmadon's master plan, releasing the dark Lord from his prison, and allowing him to escape through a vortex, with hope that he would one day return with the ability to possess all four weapons. Peace has returned to Ninjago, while the four ninja swear to protect and learn to master their Golden Weapons... Awaiting Lord Garmadon's return.

Danish-Canadian computer-animated television series

Another world, another time, another age. The Crystal of Truth, heart of the planet Thra, is controlled by the cruel and cunning Skeksis who use its power to bend the planet's will and subjugate The Gelfling: the gentle and kind creatures who will start the Age of Resistance and thwart their masters' schemes.

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