Michael G. Munz

My Interview with Gears of War 4 Strategy Guide Writer Doug Walsh

October 19, 2016 By Michael G. Munz 2 Comments

Doug Walsh

At last summer’s PNWA writing conference here in Seattle, I found myself at dinner sitting next to Doug Walsh, a fellow writer who, like me, is also a gamer. Unlike me, he’s combined those two interests and has written official game guides for such popular games as Diablo 3, Saint’s Row IV, and the entire Bioshock series, among many others. (He’s also taller than me, has more hair, and looks vaguely like Patrick Dempsey, but massive envy aside, I liked him anyway.)

Being the self-serving guy that I am, I naturally asked him if he’d let me interview him for Geek Notes, and being the swell guy that he is, not only did he say yes, but he’s running a giveaway for some hardcopies of his newer guides. But more on that giveaway later. For now, meet Doug Walsh! [Read more…]

From the Zeus Is Dead sequel…

September 25, 2016 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

As I’m currently out writing Zeus Is Dead 2 (not the official title) and I’m both easily distracted and eager to share, have a glimpse of a tiny section from the first draft of the book. Will it make it into the final draft? Will it be edited? Will I decide the blatant Walking Dead reference is too much? Who knows!

Haven’t read the original Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure (which contains no zombies whatsoever but does feature venomous, bat-winged kitten swarms)? There’s no time like the present to start!

In which reality TV heroes slay actual monsters and the Greek gods have their own Twitter feeds…

Get A Shadow in the Flames FREE!

September 14, 2016 By Michael G. Munz

A Shadow in the Flames, the first book in my now complete cyberpunk series The New Aeneid Cycle, is now available for FREE on Kindle, Nook, iTunes, and Kobo! Start the series for free today! (Or tomorrow, or Friday. You know, whatever.) 😀

It’s already the #2 free cyberpunk genre book on Amazon!

As of 5:40pm PST on Sept 14th. Sights set on #1…

Now FREE!

Northgate is in turmoil. Decaying, violent, and corrupt, it is a common enough city in 2051, yet soon, discoveries beneath the Moon’s surface will mark the city with their first distant echoes.

New arrival Michael Flynn is jobless and down to his last few dollars, but he still dreams of making a positive difference of his own. He has no family, no friends—save for the freelancer known only as Diomedes—and tonight the apartment they share will burn to the ground.

When Diomedes becomes his mentor in a search for the arsonist responsible, Michael will get the chance to realize his dreams. Joining them is Felix, a wise-cracking “information bounty hunter” who claims that neither the arsonist nor the man Michael idolizes are quite what they appear.

Will Michael find the courage to pass through the flames unscathed, or will the violence that surrounds him incinerate all that he is? Those who search the Moon will be watching…

And now it’s free!

Review UPDATE! – Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Wait, WHAT?

September 10, 2016 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Well, poop.

So I’ve now completed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided after my review post two days ago. Remember how I said that, judging by the story so far at that point, I guessed I was maybe a third of the way in? I guessed wrong, and everything is suddenly so unsatisfying.

My “probably one third in” point turned out to be three quarters in. My amazement at how much larger the game hubs were compared to Human Revolution based on what I’d seen in Prague? That’s because Prague is the ONLY hub. My judgment based on the developments of the story? That’s because the story just stops! [Read more…]

Game Review – Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

September 8, 2016 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Wait, it’s been FIVE YEARS since Human Revolution came out?! Damn it, time, stop moving so fast!

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, has been out for PC for two weeks now, and it’s more than time for my review…

If you know anything about my gaming tastes, you probably know that Deus Ex, released in 2000 by developer Ion Storm, is one of my favorites. With expensive environments, multiple gameplay styles, and character customization on top of a lengthy sci-fi plot that’s a conspiracy theorist’s dream, it won over 30 “best of” awards in 2001. Though the sequel was disappointing to say the least, 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution–while not without flaws of its own–brought the series back to being worthy of players’ time. And now we’ve got Mankind Divided, taking place two years after the events of Human Revolution (which itself takes place 25 years before the original). [Read more…]

Bad Sci-Fi Theater: Australiens (2016)

September 4, 2016 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Even the tagline tries to warn you!

Bad Sci-Fi Theater!

It’s time for another Bad Sci-Fi Theater recap, the Geek Notes feature where I try to make the best of watching terrible movies so you can crack maybe half a grin. This time, a movie I picked purely based on the title alone: AUSTRALIENS!

Okay, I think I’ve picked every BSFT movie by the title alone, so I suppose that’s not so noteworthy. What might be noteworthy is that I went into this movie not expecting it to be a comedy. (On the other hand, given how many times jokes just fell flat, one might watch the entire movie and not realize it’s a comedy…) I’ll say a little more about that at the end, but for now, here’s the trailer, followed by the tweet-a-thon…

[Read more…]

Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Last Olympian – Ch 12

August 27, 2016 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

Alternate chapter title: “Michael Calls Many Characters Dicks”

A rest, a recovery, and a whole buncha answers! Or, at least, some answers. More than we had before! Also, Zeus is a dick. (Maybe that’s why they murdered him.) In other words, it’s the twelfth chapter of Michael Reads Percy Jackson: The Last Olympian…