Simon R. Green - Forest Kingdom Saga and other series

 Books by S. R. Green are some of the best I've ever read. And that's without them being LGBT-themed. So that means they are exceptional. I can't even pick a favorite out of his books... They are all great! Well, I'm not too keen on the last book in the Forest Kingdom Saga, but hey, it all ends nicely in Beyond the Blue Moon so the sixth one feels like an extra that doesn't even need to be there. 

And the Forest Kingdom Saga is what I'm reading now. I'm now re-reading the fifth book. And it's great. I love it and will forever love it. I also got me the full Deathstalker series as well as some more stuff, but most prominently, the Deathstalker. 

Still, FKS is great and I definitely recommend it. I don't think I have a true favorite, but I did really enjoy Blood and Honor as well as the fifth book (BTBM). And no, I don't feel like writing out the full name too many times, it's long. 

The FKS is essentially a fantasy fairytale turned inside-out and dragged through a horror story. It's also full of humor. I'm not that huge fan of humor, or mostly my sense of humor is just weird, but I do like the funny stuff in Green's books. 

Heroes [2006 - 2010]

I remember watching the first season when it was first airing on TV. I don't know how old I was but I'm sure I was still in grade school. And then I remember giving up on it when Isaac Mendez died. He was my favorite character. Still is. Though now I also really like Sylar (Gabriel). And the funniest one is Hiro Nakamura. He's good too. 

Now, here's the official blurb. I'm done coming up with summaries for stuff that already has them. 

People all over the U.S start to realize they have special abilities, like telekinesis, healing abilities, flying powers, time travel, invisibility, and the ability to absorb others' abilities. One man, known as Sylar, wants to gain all the power of these "heroes" so he can be the most powerful and evolved human of all, and stops at nothing to gruesomely kill these people. In order to protect themselves from him, these people must help one another before Sylar can destroy them all, while they each deal with problems of their own.

[Source]

How to revive a dead (or dying) water-based marker

 

I tested this on a dying one and it worked. 

You will need:

• A syringe or something similar (for precision), but it can be done without.
• the marker in question
• water
• optional: gloves
• optional: pliers

Step one: open the marker and remove the nib (or the part on the opposite side of the nib, but the nib is easier, if messier). Using pliers and gloves can prevent some of the mess.

Step two: fill the syringe with water, the temperature doesn't matter, but I wouldn't go for boiling. 

Step three: put a bit of the water in the marker using the hole left by the removed nib. Put in no more than several drops (5-9 by Heroes of Might and Magic count), if you put in too much water, it will bleed everywhere. And that would be extremely messy!

If you don't have a syringe, just hold the marker under the tap while the water is almost turned off. 

Step four: ram the nib back in and close the marker. Optional, shake the marker.

Step five: test the marker out. It should be back in working order. 

Note: If you have to revive a marker repeatedly, it's time to toss it and buy a new one. I doubt you can revive it indefinitely. 

Additional note: It definitely doesn't work indefinitely. But if you're in a pinch and absolutely need that color and have no way to immediately replace the marker, it will work. But this is a short-term solution and you will have to replace the marker eventually. 

Still, it works in a pinch and that's what counts.

~AnnElfwind

Written on 2nd of November, 2021

Alice Winters - Phoenix's Quest #1: Nixing the End of the World

Official Blurb:

Nixing the End of the World contains a flaming "horse" with antlers who inexplicably appears when needed (or not), an interfering BFF who didn’t really mean to light the trunk on fire, a six-toed cat that looks like he put a claw in a socket, and an incubus who just wants a smoothie without anyone losing their clothes.

I'm done with coming up with summaries when somebody already did that job for me. I think I'd prefer to focus on what I like or dislike about a book than summarising it. However, regardless of if I write the blurb or not, the book was excellent. I couldn't stop listening to it. Yeah, at first I was very surprised and a little disappointed when they sprung a female character on me at the very beginning, but hey, it turned out okay and the cute male lead ended up together with the sassy and classy (or at least he thinks he is) Alistair. Alastair? Don't know. Spelling names correctly is hard when you have only ever heard them and didn't really see their written form. So I'm gonna be partly guessing.