Secret among secrets | The Lost Symbol

     There are several authors that I respect, and one of them is Dan Brown. I had read all of his works, from the Digital Fortress to The Lost Symbol. By reading all of his works, I could not help but see the patterns in the story plot. The protagonist wakes up early in the morning in a hotel by a mysterious call, then one thing leads to another, he or she got entangled up in a conspiracy that could have cost his or her life. 

     However, even though the pattern is recognizable, the content is what matters most. In each book, he managed to keep me mesmerized by the beauty of the puzzle amidst the action. One could almost feel the reality among the fiction in his works. In 2009, he made a comeback with a new novel entitled 'The Lost Symbol'. This is the novel that leaved the most impact to me aside from The Da Vinci Code.

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The Lost Symbol

     This book is also revolved around Robert Langdon, the previous protagonist form The Da Vince Code and Angles & Demons. This time he uncovers the puzzle behind the most secret society, Freemason. Truth be told, I do not really remember any of it because it was such along time ago and I only have read it once. You could always google it anyway =).

     On the other hand, my reason of posting this is to share my opinion on his works. Well, first of all, its not like I hate it. However, I could see that he, Dan Brown, is continuously promoting the secret society. He repeatedly wrote his amazement to this secret society and saying that it was them who uphold the foundation of the states.

     Furthermore, one could see his fascination and attraction to the Freemasonry. It made me think that he is a member of the organization itself. Now, the reason why I personally disapproved of such fascination is because of the secret itself. Please correct me if I am wrong, but based upon my understanding Freemasonry and Illuminati shares the same pattern of secrecy. A member will be 'illuminated' by raising levels in the pyramid. In other words, a new secret will be revealed as you ascend higher in the Freemasonry rankings.

     If the organization is doing thing for the benefits of its member or for the states, why should it be kept as a secret. From my standpoint, if you kept a secret then that means that you have done something wrong or you do not want people to know what you had done. Thus, secrecy does not reflect a good intention. How can an organization be trusted if they do not even trust their own members.

    It all leads to one conclusion. Freemason is wrong. It is not an organization that was established for the people, but for the sake of the ruling Elite. It is a system where the lower ranks lived to serve the top of the pyramid. There is no good is any secret society; does not matter who their leader is or what is the agenda. As a matter of fact, you would not even know who is at the top since everything is a secret.

     I really respect Dan Brown, however with The Lost Symbol, I had to think twice before digesting his words. Its not like I lost my respect to him, but one had to be careful when dealing with author with appreciation of secret society.

I am a man...

stepping into uncertainty;
still with a certain aim;

dreaming among the void;
yet slowly aware the bit of truth;

being indoctrinated the moment of breathing;
hard to choose the path of redemption;

can only seek what it is there;
to find the prove of what is not there;

can only hope for the light to appear;
for i am nothing but a man...

a man with choice;
a man without choice;

still the end is there;
yet shrouded by mist of negligence;

a man of reason;
yet greed holds existence;


a man of method;
yet ignorant to the significant;


can only hope for guidance;
for i am nothing but a man...

Legend | King raven Trilogy

     We all have heard of the legend of Robin Hood; the thief that uphold justice. However, there were various version to the story and some even say that it is just a myth. Despite all that, the main focus of the story still remain. Robin is a noble who excels in archery and his merry band of thieves stole from the rich and helps the poor.Now, I will introduce to you another version of Robin Hood that had captivated me.

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King Raven Trilogy

     The trilogy was written by Stephen R. Lawhead and consists of Hood, Scarlet and Tuck. The attraction of the books is that each volume was presented from the view of different individuals. It is designed so beautifully and supported by firm historical facts that the author explained at the end of each volume. The story is literally coming to life at each pages. 

     The main character of the trilogy is Bran ap Brychan, the son of a noble whom kingdom was conquered by the Norman invaders. He then met with an old bard and being introduced to the peasants that had ran away to seek shelter in the forest at Welsh border. There he learnt to be a rightful king to his subjects and tried to seek ways to free his homeland. It is here that he had taken an alter ego, Rhi Bran y Hud; the Raven King.

     The second volume was told from the perspective of William Scarlet. The story progress from how he had joined the King Raven flock and their plight against the invaders. However, they had uncover a scheme to overthrow the reigning king of England. Thus, they then seek the helps from the king but the king had forsaken them to the mercy of the invaders that currently hold Elfael. 

     The final volume was from the eyes of Friar Tuck; a priest whom Bran met just after the invasion of Elfael. He had helped Bran with his flocks in the forest and uncover the ugly truth of Abbot Hugo who wants to obliterate Bran and his subjects. Bran then seeks help from his relative from the neighbouring kingdom in order to defend his homeland. 

     The storyplot was woven so beautifully yet full of twist. It is full of action and readers will find that they will craved for more. However, it is the political aspect that had taken my interest. The author had made the political scene of England so realistic and twisting the course of the story to unexpected path. For those who love romantic novels, don't despair as romance is also here in the book. I highly recommend these novels to all fantasy lovers.

Definition of PSP | Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

     When I had bought my PSP, I spend most of the time playing simple games mostly RPGs alone. However, the encounters with Monster Hunter brought me to the enlighten path of Wifi gaming and open a whole new world of adventure to me and my fellow hunters. Since then we had hunted each monsters ever existed in the game together as a team. The online experience are spectacular and exquisite compare to other online games. This is a game that defines PSP itself.

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Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

Epic Love | Final Fantasy VIII

     If we talk about love, most of us will remember Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare. However, for me Romeo & Juliet is extremely stupid and degrading. I think gamers all around the world will have to agree with me that there is such a game that is epic with love theme and that game is Final Fantasy 8.

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FINAL FANTASY VIII

     Final Fantasy 8 was released in 1999 for console PlayStation. It was developed by SquareSoft with music composed by Nonuo Uematsu. I don't think Hironobu Sakaguchi (Creator of FF series) involved in the development of this specific game. The game was such a hit that I think 90% of gamers have had played this game.

      The main theme of the game is LOVE. Yes, love; though it might seems unlikely to happen ehh. The plot revolved around a young military trainee named Squall Leonhart. He undergoes training at Balamb Garden with the aim of becoming a SeeD, which is a military unit formed to combat the sorceress Edea. Along his missions, he is accompanied by several companions which are Rinoa Heartilly (the heroin of the game), Quistis Trepe (former SeeD instructor), Zell Dincht (Martial artist), Selphie Tilmitt and Irvine Kinneas (Sharpshooter). They were being sent to assassinate the sorceress with the help from Rinoa's father.

      However, they had failed their mission only to find that the Gardens (SeeD training facilities) all around the globe was being targeted and Seifer, one of their comrade is Edea's second-in-command. Through the endeavors, they then learned a secret that is kept by their headmaster, Cid. In actuality, it was Edea's ideas to trained SeeD and waged war against the sorceress Ultimecia; unfortunately Ultimecia's power had been transferred to Edea thus turning Edea's into a wicked sorceress.

      Love relation starts to develop between Squall and Rinoa; however after the decisive battle against Galbadian Army lead by Seifer and Edea, Rinoa's had been unconscious. She had been possessed by Ultimecia. Squall then followed her to the space station and save her. Then, they returned back with a derelict spaceship, Ragnarok. This is were the cutscene between Squall and Rinoa with the song 'Eyes on Me' by Faye Wong. Trust me guys, the scene was lovely and touching.

     

      The system of the game was different from other FF games. The magic were drawn from specific draw point or from the monsters themselves. These magic then could be junction into the character's stats and amplified the stats with the element that you had junction. These junction capabilities were made possible with Guardian Force or GF. GFs are summoned beast that the characters used to aid them during battle.

GF Ifrit

     The battle were similar to most RPG games where the enemies encountered were randomized. The battle system was made turn-based and affected by the agility of each characters. The system were called Active Time Battle, ATB if I am not mistaken.

     For me, this is the one of the greatest game I had ever played. The plot were great and the gameplay was amazing. Square had managed to turn a love story into a game that is full of action and mystery. I greatly recommend this game for all FF lovers.

My Other Addictions | Manuklon

Salam to all...

     The next chapter of my life is books. Well, 'next' does not reflect the correct situation here. Hmmm for me books were in all my chapter of life. I knew books first before i started to know gaming anyway =). I spend most of my childhood reading translated novels written by Enid Blyton & Edward Stratemeyer. My favourite genre when i was a little kid was detective as written by both writers that i mentioned.

     I could only remember a few of those books such as Siri Salma, Siri Hadi, Penyiasat Lima Sekawan (correct me if i am wrong). However, during my time in secondary school, i encountered such a treasure that shadowed all other books that i had read before. The treasure open my eyes to the beauty of fictional novels and making my addictions towards books getting 'worse' =).

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MANUKLON

     Manuklon was written by Dr Rahmat Haroun and i don't remember when. It such a long time ago. Anyway, it is a fictional novel with rich infusion of politics, self-conflict and the nature of Malay. The story revolved around a young man (Once again, i had forgotten his name; as a matter of fact, the only thing that i  had remember was the title =)) who had joined a revolutionary army. I don't know if that is the correct term. Malaysian political scene was being monopolized by a superior being; the Manuklon (Manusia Klon). 

     So, the aim of the revolutionary was to take down these clones and restore peace and equality to the nation. The young man got involved in an accident in his missions and got brainwashed and transferred to another division in the city. His brainwash session leave the most impact on me among all sections of the story. He had conversation with political figure head such as Sukarno and a few others.

     The novel had its romance aspect but its not the focus of the story. On the other hand, the war against the clones were done not only guerilla style, but also in the courtroom. They challenged the existing law maker and trying to change the state of the nation itself with so much injustice in so many aspect of life. They had help from one of the grand judges of the high court (correct me if i am wrong) for their case in the courtroom.
     The plot of the story is amazing and properly put into place by the writer. It had its share of action packed war scene, romance and slice of life. The theme and message that the writer wants to deliver was presented beautifully among the chapters. This is one of the books that literally changed my life and for those who had not heard of this book, i recommend you go search for it right away. It worth more than what it seems =).
     Before i end this post, please note that i had to dig from the deepest memories in order to post this review. So please forgive me if i had done the book and the writer injustice.