The first collection of poetry about video games ever published, BWIATD takes its readers on a psychotic and hilarious tour through the arcade and console games of the Eighties (and beyond). Funny, approachable, and beautifully illustrated by Warren Wucinich, BWIATD is sure to delight and thrill anyone who enjoys (or has enjoyed) playing video games.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"A perfect diversion" -- Gerry Tritz, Jefferson City News Tribune, February 5th, 2004
"A romp to read... poignant and funny." -- Heather Newman, Detroit Free Press, February 8, 2004
"Barkan extols the frenetic pleasures of consoles in prose as explosive [as the games themselves]... Plug in, reminisce, press continue." -- Britt Brown, Flaunt Magazine, Spring Fashion Issue, 2004
"If you've spent any amount of time with the titles covered, there are few things funnier in this universe." -- Game Informer Magazine, October 2003
Unlikeliest Muse of the Week -- Entertainment Weekly Magazine, March 5, 2004
"A romp to read... poignant and funny." -- Heather Newman, Detroit Free Press, February 8, 2004
"Barkan extols the frenetic pleasures of consoles in prose as explosive [as the games themselves]... Plug in, reminisce, press continue." -- Britt Brown, Flaunt Magazine, Spring Fashion Issue, 2004
"If you've spent any amount of time with the titles covered, there are few things funnier in this universe." -- Game Informer Magazine, October 2003
Unlikeliest Muse of the Week -- Entertainment Weekly Magazine, March 5, 2004
About the Author
Seth "Fingers" Flynn Barkan is a lifelong video game enthusiast, Stride pianist, and amateur musical preservationist. He works as a bar critic and games columnist for Las Vegas CityLife and is currently working on a guide book about some of the seedier attractions of Sin City (Barkan is a native Las Vegan). "Blue Wizard" is his second book.
Warren Wucinich is currently working on several forthcoming graphic novel projects slated for release during the 4th quarter of 2004. He also lives in Las Vegas and occasionally enjoys pretending to be a caricaturist on the Las Vegas Strip.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Something Different.,
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This review is from: Blue Wizard Is About To Die!: Prose, Poems, and Emoto-Versatronic Expressionist Pieces About Video Games (1980-2003) (Paperback)
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.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mario, the Evil Yoshi killer,
By A Customer
This review is from: Blue Wizard Is About To Die!: Prose, Poems, and Emoto-Versatronic Expressionist Pieces About Video Games (1980-2003) (Paperback)
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!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quirky but fun,
By CPUsports (Eastern Seaboard) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blue Wizard Is About To Die!: Prose, Poems, and Emoto-Versatronic Expressionist Pieces About Video Games (1980-2003) (Paperback)
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.
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