Author Archive: Eric San Juan

Tomb Raider: Underworld

April 19, 2009 1 Comment

The second of my video game reviews for Havoc PC has gone live. Check out this preview; link to the full at the bottom: Tomb Raider: Underworld To say that Tomb Raider has been the most consistently mediocre long-running franchise in video gaming history would certainly be an overstatement, though many critics would tell you exactly that. The first game dropped in 1996, and eight unchanging games have followed since. New games in the series are routinely criticized for being more of the same, which is true enough, but “the same” is pretty fun. The iconic Lara Croft is slammed as being an unrealistic fanboy fantasy. Also true enough, but it’s hard to argue with such an instantly recognizable image. The truth is this: While…
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Geek Stuff, Works by Eric

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R.I.P. Frank Lauro

April 18, 2009 0 Comments

An Internet buddy passed away yesterday from complications following surgery. A strict grammarian, anal-retentive to the extreme — in a good way — and always supportive, Frank Lauro was relentless in telling me that I had the chops. I never told him how much that meant to me. R.I.P., Frank.

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The book is HERE

April 18, 2009 2 Comments

After having a really bad day, yesterday I came home to a nice surprise. A box with my copies of A Year of Hitchcock. It was just the kind of boost I needed after a terrible day. I can’t tell you how happy I am with the production quality of this book. The folks at Scarecrow Press and their parent company, Rowman & Littlefield, did a spectacular job. This is top work by any measure. Thumbing through it and seeing my words presented so nicely … well, I felt very proud. This whole project, which my co-author Jim and I have lived with for over three years now, now feels real. Real in a very tangible way. And that makes all the work we did,…
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Works by Eric, Writing

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On writing, and failing

April 17, 2009 0 Comments

“Someday I’d like to write a book,” they say, as if it’s akin to taking a stroll or, at worst, a difficult five-mile hike. But it’s closer to scaling a mountain. Scaling a mountain with dozens of rest stops along the way, each with a sign that reads, “Sorry, mountain unclimbable. Turn around and go home.” Those with the notion that writing is some haven of ease and comfort, that it’s not a constant daily struggle of epic proportions, just. Don’t. Know. Of course, then you get those aspiring writers who are, to put it charitably, a bit delusional. They think their every word is gold, refuse to learn the business side of writing, and feel a sense of entitlement. They’re entitled to praise, they’re…
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Writing

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My video game reviews have gone live

April 16, 2009 2 Comments

Not too long ago, I was asked to do some video game reviews for Havoc PC. Being the video game-loving writer that I am, naturally I said yes. Today I discovered that they’ve gone live. Here’s a preview of the first of three. I’ll post the others over the next few days: Prince of Persia Born on the PC, the Prince of Persia series first grew to popularity with punishing difficulty and maddeningly frustrating levels. After spawning some excellent imitators (Out of This World, Flashback), Prince of Persia: Sands of Time reinvented the franchise, earning raves for its precision gameplay and inventive levels. That trilogy ran its course, and so UbiSoft reboots the franchise here with the simply titled, Prince of Persia. Prince of Persia…
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Geek Stuff, Works by Eric

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