Blue Wizard Is About to Die: Prose, Poems, and Emoto-Versatronic Expressionist Pieces About Video Games 1980-2003

Rating:
Summary: Mario, the Evil Yoshi killer
Review: A marvelous collection of poetry and prose on a subject often looked over---video games! And not just the oldies like Super Mario and Bubble Bobble, but also some based on newer titles such as Counterstrike and Onimusha. Many of the poems take you inside the head of a gamer doing what s/he does best, from the aggrevation of getting killed in the same spot repeatedly to the overwhelming rush of victory. Some pieces even seem to touch on the dark sides of games we normally presume to be happy and cheery. Every part of this book is connected tightly to the video game phenomenom. There's even a nifty index in the back with explanations and opinions of Seth Barkin on the games discussed in the poems. Great collection that is a must-have for even the gamer that can't put the controller down--trust me, for this book, they will!

Rating:
Summary: Mario, the Evil Yoshi killer
Review: BLUE WIZARD IS ABOUT TO DIE is heralded as being the first book of poetry written about video games. I really have no sure way of checking the accuracy of that claim, but as far as I know it's true. The poems in the book discuss all sorts of games, including computer games and interactive games, but many are from the classic era of video games: the days of Atari and classic NES. Subjects of poems include Super Mario Brothers, Pac Man, Joust, Kid Icarus, Paperboy, Doom, Dragon's Lair, Mega Man, and Oregon Trail. The poems are very post-modern and some are simply deconstructionisms of the games they are about. When I first ordered this book, I thought it might be interesting to use some of the poems in my English classes to illustrate how poetry can be written about anything. I'm glad that I bought the book because I enjoyed reading it, but I won't be using more than one or two poems from it in my classes: the book is filled with foul and inappropriate language. An interesting book of poems focused around a very interesting premise.

Rating:
Summary: Something Different.
Review: BLUE WIZARD IS ABOUT TO DIE is heralded as being the first book of poetry written about video games. I really have no sure way of checking the accuracy of that claim, but as far as I know it's true. The poems in the book discuss all sorts of games, including computer games and interactive games, but many are from the classic era of video games: the days of Atari and classic NES. Subjects of poems include Super Mario Brothers, Pac Man, Joust, Kid Icarus, Paperboy, Doom, Dragon's Lair, Mega Man, and Oregon Trail. The poems are very post-modern and some are simply deconstructionisms of the games they are about. When I first ordered this book, I thought it might be interesting to use some of the poems in my English classes to illustrate how poetry can be written about anything. I'm glad that I bought the book because I enjoyed reading it, but I won't be using more than one or two poems from it in my classes: the book is filled with foul and inappropriate language. An interesting book of poems focused around a very interesting premise.

Rating:
Summary: Quirky but fun
Review: Even hard-core gamers need to put down the controller occasionally. That is a great time to pick up a book - about gaming, of course.

Two of the best are David Kushner's Masters of Doom and Dean Takahashi's Opening the Xbox. But the most unusual gaming tome ever may be Blue Wizard Is About to Die: Prose, Poems, and Emoto-versatronic Expressionist Pieces About Video Games (1980-2003).

The author, Seth "Fingers" Flynn Barkan, a lifelong gamer, reflects on a variety of games both classic and recent. Half-Life, Crazy Taxi, Bushido Blade, Joust, Mario, and other gaming icons are treated in the author's offbeat style.

Flynn Barkan also waxes eloquent on game-related topics such as the transition from 2-D to 3-D graphics, shareware, level bosses, and online gaming lag.

To be honest, this book is not for everyone. If your taste in poetry runs to iambic pentameter, give Flynn Barkan's rambling style a pass.

Parents should know that, if Blue Wizard was a game, its occasional blue language would earn an "M" (17 and older) rating.

Rating:
Summary: Well said "Seth"
Review: I've been playing video games since the early 80's and have great memories in all game genres, from the text based Zork, through the classic arcades, commodore 64 games, and on through the next generation consoles of today. A frustration I've had while enjoying games all these years is that people that don't play games don't have a point of reference to understand how us game players feel when immersed in these virtual worlds. We really are saving the universe, defeating evil, flying through space/time, and experiencing very "real" triumphs and disappointments. It's not "just a game." This book captures what that "feeling" is like. The poems are funny, strange, irreverent, and will make you remember good times, if you played, or hopefully help you understand how "we" feel, if you don't play. I especially liked the essay style pieces.

Rating:
Summary: Well said "Seth"
Review: I've been playing video games since the early 80's and have great memories in all game genres, from the text base Zork, through the classic arcades, commodore 64 games, and on through the next generation consoles of today. A frustration I've had while enjoying games all these years is that people that don't play games don't have a point of reference to understand how us game players feel when immersed in these virtual worlds. We really are saving the universe, defeating evil, flying through space/time, and experiencing very "real" triumphs and disappointments. It's not "just a game." This book captures what that "feeling" is like. The poems are funny, strange, irreverent, and will make you remember good times, if you played, or hopefully help you understand how "we" feel, if you don't play. I especially liked the "essay" style pieces.

Rating:
Summary: Total nerd-osity
Review: Well, what can I say, it's a book of poems about video games. Frankly, a must read for anyone who lived though the era of arcades and 8-bit gaming. But, even those who may not catch the refrences might enjoy this book. Seth "Fingers" Flynn Barkan has a way with words that not many can match.

I myself bought it because I'm an avid gamer, and after reading it through a few times, there still isn't a poem in this book that doesn't make me laugh, think, or harken back to my childhood playing Arkanoid, or Mario, or going to the local arcade and pumping a few dollars into the machines.

Plus, you can whip the book out and show people just how much of a nerd you are. Seriously, You'll get some weird looks when you pull out a book of poems about video games.