The book giveaway ends on January 31, 2008. There are only a couple of days left to sign up and win a book. All you need to do is make a post in the Contests and Giveaways forum on the FanaticSpace Forums. There’s no cost to sign up and there’s no cost if you win, it’s completely free.

Right now there are only a handful of entries. You have a very good chance of winning.

I’ve got some good news for you today. There’s a chance that the blog will be updating more often in the future. Yay!

 

Have I found more time to post? Have I suddenly become less lazy? Have I become more organized?

 

No, no and hell no.

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I don’t know if you’re aware of what Google has been doing since October. If not here’s a short version.

Google decided to hide the Page Ranks of sites that made paid posts and linked without using the non-standard “nofollow” tag. They didn’t do this to all the sites that they could have, just the ones least likely to cause them trouble.

 

 

What does that mean?

 

It means FanaticSpace.com suffered a penalty. I’ve been honest about making paid posts to try and pay for expenses on the site. That’s just not enough for Google, even though their own guidelines tell you to write for people and not search engines.

 

 

Can it be fixed?

 

I’ve thought about this for a long time. Should I add “nofollow” to the paid links and ask Google to reconsider? Should I just accept the penalty and continue as if nothing happened?

 

I came to the conclusion that I need to comply with Google’s demands. No matter how much I dislike it, I can’t fight Google. They’ve got too many people brainwashed into believing it’s about search results. If I try to fight it, I’ll wind up like the guy from the picture up top.

 

I’ve added “nofollow” to all the paid links. I’ve also filed for reconsideration.

 

Now I just have to go to sleep and await the mercy of the pod people Google.

 

 

 

How I Got Sucked In

 

The first time I saw the commercial for the Creation Station from Rip Roar Media I immediately thought “Video Podcast”. It looked like it would be the perfect starter kit. Camera, green screen and software all included. Even if it only worked half as well as it claimed to, it would be a bargain basement video casting solution.

 

The price even seemed reasonable, ranging from $79 to $100 depending on where I looked. I did a little looking into other options for chroma keying, the Creation Station’s main selling point. This kit looked even better. Chroma key equipment can be expensive.

 

When I was Christmas shopping with my girlfriend we saw the Creation Station at Wal-Mart. It was marked down to $35. This should have sent up a few red flags, but I figured it was marked down because it wasn’t selling well and they were trying to unload their stock. I didn’t ask myself why they were trying so hard to unload that stock. I couldn’t resist a bargain like that and agreed to let my girlfriend buy it as a Christmas present for me.

 

I was planning to write a review of the Creation Station, with a few tips and a video made with the kit. There is a reason this post doesn’t have that video.

 

 

The Creation Station Does Not Work

 

I wasn’t expecting much, but the Creation Station couldn’t even live up to my lowest standards. I did expect it to work, even if it didn’t work well. Instead of a review here’s a list of reasons not to buy the Creation Station.

 

Cheap Camera. The camera is as cheap as they could possibly make it. You’re much better off buying a cheap webcam for around $20-$25.

 

Tripod Is Useless. The little plastic tripod included in the kit is so poorly made it can barely support the camera. Forget adjusting it. The materials and construction are so cheap it doesn’t even work.

 

Software Does Not Work. I tried for hours to get it to work. It kept crashing any time I tried to use it. I did find a solution to the crashing. I updated a .dll file and that fixed the crash problem. It wasn’t enough to fix the software itself. It’s still incredibly horrible.

 

Green Screen Is Split. I thought this was odd from the beginning. Any time I saw a description for the Creation Station it said it contained a green screen measuring 9.8 x 6 feet. What it really contains is two green screens that have velcro on them. This is bad. Even a cursory search into chroma keying will tell you that the screen needs to be smooth and well lit. A line down the middle of the screen where the pieces are stuck together is a very bad thing.

 

 

Verdict

 

Don’t buy the Creation Station. It’s garbage. I’ve seen the price drop as low as $15 at Walmart.com before it was removed completely. It’s not even worth that much. A trip to a fabric store will get you a much better green screen for $15, and that’s the only functional part of the Creation Station.

 

I’m still looking into an affordable way to make a video podcast. I’ll let you know if I find something good.

 

 

Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness continues Erec’s adventures in Alypium. Can it improve on the strong beginning of the story found in Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye?

Story

Erec returns to the Kingdom of the Keepers when he learns that Balor Stain may become King. The only way to stop Balor is to return and perform the quests to become King himself.

It won’t be easy. Baskania has been hard at work in Erec’s absence. A cleaver PR campaign to cast doubt on Erec has taken hold. No one even believes that he is Erec Rex. What they do believe is that Erec cheated during the competition and that Balor Stain is the real winner.

How do you help people that don’t want your help?

My Opinion

How does The Monsters of Otherness stack up against The Dragon’s Eye?

Pretty darn well. The story moves forward and you start to get a look at the overall structure of the story. Kaza has said that part of the basis of the story is the trials of Hercules. The quests that Erec has to perform are certainly Herculean.

The first book, Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye, was a great introduction to the world of Erec Rex. The Monsters of Otherness is where the action really gets started. Not only do we get to see Alypium again, we also get to see some very different parts of the magical world.

Magical and mythological creatures were talked about quite a bit in the previous book. This time they’re a huge part of the story. The magical world of Erec Rex is expanded and explored. Erec’s history is expanded too. We learn a little more about his past and why he is so important in this book.

What I liked

Everything from the First Book. All the strong points of the first book are still there.

Mythological Creatures. I really enjoyed Kaza’s version of the creatures of myth and legend. There’s some pretty cool stuff going on in Otherness.

Snail Mail. I just found that funny. I guess it appealed to the geek in me.

Jam Crinklecut. The best butler ever.

What I didn’t like

Rosco Kroc. To be fair, I don’t think he’s supposed to be likeable. He seems affable and charming to some of the characters in the book, but I think the reader is supposed to be suspicious of him. That isn’t why he made the list though. He’s mentioned here because of my theories about him. I won’t leave any spoilers here, but I’ll start a discussion about it in the forum if you want to check it out.

Verdict

Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness is a great follow up to Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye. It not only retains the charm and action of the first book, it builds on it. It expands the magical world and ups the stakes for Erec.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who has read The Dragon’s Eye. I’d also recommend reading the Dragon’s Eye if you haven’t already, just so you can read this one.

I’m already looking forward to the rest of the books in the series.

 

Contests and giveaways are something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now. I think this is the perfect way to kick things off. So not only can you win the books so graciously provided by Kaza Kingsley, you can come back for a shot at some other great stuff.

 

 

Prizes

 

There are 2 prizes you can win. You can win an autographed hardback copy of Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye or an autographed hardback copy of Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness.

 

 

How to Enter

 

Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye

 

Sign up for the FanaticSpace Forums

Go to the Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye contest thread (in the Contests and Giveaways forum)

Write about why you want to win the book

 

 

Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness

 

Sign up for the FanaticSpace Forums

Go to the Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness contest thread  (in the Contests and Giveaways forum)

Write about your favorite part of book 1 Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye

 

 

Easy huh?

 

At the end of the month I’ll lock the threads, then I’ll look through ‘em and pick the winners.

 

Why Separate Threads?

 

That’s simple. That’s to avoid spoilers for the folks entering to win the first book. There might be people entering that giveaway that have already read the book. I just don’t want anything to ruin it for those who haven’t.

 

 

Rules

 

These rules will also be posted in the contest threads.

 

You can only enter once. Pick which one you want to win and enter that giveaway.

 

Only one forum membership per person. Anyone caught trying to use more than one membership will be disqualified. It’s also possible that they will be banned from future giveaways.

 

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only. Future giveaways may be open to other countries. It depends on what the prize is.

 

No Spoilers in The Dragon’s Eye thread. This is the first book after all. We want people to be able to enjoy it. Right?

 

All decisions are mine and mine alone.  Just letting you know to blame me and not Kaza. It’s my site and my responsibility. Screw ups are my fault.

 

 

Good Luck!