The Final Word literary review

Blue Wizard is About to Die -- Seth "Fingers" Flynn Barkan

R.I.P.
To be honest I've struggled with this review for several weeks now. When I first received the book and began reading through it I initially thought I would have no problem in knocking out a review, but as time passed and I read through the poems and shared them with others here I found myself at a loss for something to say. The book is quiet unique and may very well be as the back of the book proclaims "the first collection of poetry about video games ever published". The book is fun to have around and have out on the coffee table to generate conversation when friends are over.

"Blue Wizard is About to Die" was a very silly book, but with a definite appeal to the literate oldskool gamer crowd. It contains a wide range of poetic subjects from across the history of video gaming, both console and arcade. From Pac-Man, to Crazy Taxi to Half-Life, no genre is spared the author's verse.

Much of the poetry in this book is well done and works nicely at capturing the feelings or spirit of many of the games covered. Although, I'm torn between the poems themselves and the appendices which contain lots of additional thoughts, background information and such. All of it is a great read though.

If you're looking for a good chuckle, and some fond memories you can't go very wrong here. Seth, you've earned a classic gamer badge of honor.

(01/2004)