Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

I'm not normally one for horror but after seeing the recent trailer for the American remake of the Swedish film based on this book I thought I take a chance and give it a shot. I wasn't disappointed. The book tells the story of a young outcast called Oskar and his battle with his tormenters at school, a troubled relationship with his father and if that wasn't enough the arrival of a young girl next door who he soon discovers is a 200 year old vampire called Eli. Eli recognising Oskar as a fellow outcast forms a friendship with Oskar and the story centres around their relationship and the battles they face with a world unwilling to accept them. It's a dark tale with some sections that make for tough reading, especially those concerning the man Eli lives with who to the outside world appears as her father but this hides an altogether darker relationship between the two. It's translated from Swedish but loses none of the literary flare and it's incredibly well written. Highly recommended and I'm looking forward to the film. An excellent read over Halloween for sure.

The other hand by Chris Cleave.

I read this a few weeks ago and loved it. It charts the lives of two women who meet on a beach in Nigeria and how that faithful day marks a turning point in both their lives. Skipping ahead the story picks up as one of the women now seeking asylum in Britain looks to track down the other, an English woman working as the editor of a glossy monthly magazine. The story is incredible and seeing as the highlight of the book is how it unfolds I won't go into detail but needless to say it's an excellent read. Beautifully written it paints a vivid and heartbreaking portrait of the lives of asylum seekers and the constant battle they face to find a place to call their own. The words just seem to flow off the page and I flew through the book in just two days and for every page of that I was gripped. Highly recommended.

Scala & Kolacny Brothers

Discovered these guys the other day and thought I'd share. They provided the song for the trailer of "the social network". Belgian based Choir who sing covers. Amazing stuff.

Castlevania (Demo - Currently Playstation plus only)

Terrible demo. You get two sections, the first is a combat tutorial. The second is a section travelling through a forest on horseback. Combat is like a poor man's God of War although I'd hope once you unlock more moves it opens the possibilities for better attacks and a proper flow to the combat. Graphics are good, although again not as nice as God of War 3 or Uncharted 2. The voice acting while done by a talented cast is also rather forced in its delivery and the dialogue is fairly cheesy. There's a good game here, or at least the potential for a good game but they really chose a poor demo to showcase it. The game is developed by the Spanish company Mercury Stream under the watchful eye of Kojima Productions. I was really looking forward to this and while the demo did disappoint I'm remaining optimistic that the final release will prove to be a must buy game. The series has great pedigree and the art direction and production values are excellent and seeing as this was an old build I still have high hopes.

World Rally Championship (Demo)

The demo for the latest WRC game was released on Xbox live recently. While it's not developed by Evolution studios, the guys behind the excellent PS2 era series using the WRC license this is still a very enjoyable game. It's clearly been developed on a tight budget and while it won't hold a candle to the likes of Gran Turismo 5 or Dirt 2 in terms of graphics and presentation it still provides a great driving sensation. My biggest gripe with the game is the sound effects, I can forgive the less than stellar graphics but the sound levels are appalling. The engines can hardly be heard and give off more of a whine than a roar. Still the game's biggest problem is that it's being released in between F1 2010 and GT 5 so expect to see it in bargain bins come January as most racing fans will sadly be forced to overlook it in favour of the more high profile racing offerings this year.

Halo Reach

What can I say other than "wow". Bungie nailed it, their final Halo game is like a best of compilation of everything that made the other games so good and it removes almost everything that didn't. Aside from the characterisation of the cast being poorer than ODST's the game was almost flawless as far as I'm concerned. It offered a campaign that was epic in every way and it was told in a fashion which suited the medium being used and didn't get bogged down in convoluted cut scenes like its predecessors. Great graphics, sound (amazing score by Martin "Marty" O'Donnell), set pieces that left me both inspired and in awe, this game had it all.

Enslaved - Odyssey to the West (Demo)

Developed by Ninja Theory who previously gave us Heavenly Sword this game tells a story based on the ancient Chinese tale "A Journey to the West". The story was co-written by Alex Garland who wrote the scripts for films such as "28 weeks later" and "Sunshine". In terms of story telling the game is fantastic. The motion capture used to help create the characters is some of the best I've seen and the voice acting is likewise top notch. The gameplay is similar to other games in the genre such as Batman AA and Uncharted 2 although not as refined as either. Graphics and sound are excellent and the score although limited in the demo is impressive. One to watch then, but like WRC it's being released during a flood of excellent titles many of which are sequels to proven franchises and it's in very real danger of getting lost amongst them.

Batman Arkham Asylum

Just finished Batman Arkham Asylum and thought I'd share my opinion. I had originally got the game on release for the ps3 but never finished it and subsequently sold it on. I picked it up for the 360 the other week after seeing it for a tenner. I'd class myself as a Batman fan but one who is far from diehard but this game appeals to fans of quality action adventure titles as much as it does those of the Dark Knight. It's easy to see that Developers Rocksteady loved the source material and the game is simply oozing with little details from the Batman universe. As a game in its own right it can stand beside the best in the genre. Fantastic atmosphere, a brilliant combat system and gorgeous graphics complete the package. It's let down slightly by the last half hour which felt rushed and wasn't in keeping with the quality of the rest of the game. Overall however, it was a fantastic experience and well worth playing. The sequel Arkham City is set for a release next year and should be well worth the wait.

School Girl Superstar at 14.

Saw this interesting Documentary the other day after seeing a link on Neogaf. It's about a young girl and her search (and her families) search for fame after she becomes something of an Icon with Japanese YouTube users. It's interesting for a ton of reasons not least for highlighting the voyeuristic/ Lolita element to some Japanese culture but also how parents react to their children's fame and their potential to earn money. Japan is a strange place indeed.

A Trip to the Natural History Museum (The Dead Zoo)

I was in town today and found myself with some time to kill so decided to check out the newly refurbished Natural History Museum on Merion Street. As a kid I loved this place and the annual school trips we took during my primary school years are very fond memories. The Museum had been closed for a couple of years due to a collapsed stairwell but reopened recently. When I heard it was being refurbished I was horrified that it might lose its Victorian charm in favour of a more modern flashy style but I was delighted to find that it's still very much like stepping back into the Victorian era as you pass through the door. Everything is as I remember it, the bottom floor houses examples of Irish Wildlife while upstairs holds species from all over the world, some now extinct and many are over a century old. Many of the animals still show the scars of where they were shot, the Polar Bear for example I will always remember as having a clear bullet hole in its forehead, and while it's poignant to think that many of these animals died in such a manner it's at least some consolation to think that they have inspired the imagination of generations who, like me, have passed through in a sense of wonder and amazement. Not a bad way to spend an hour in Dublin and admission is free.