Book Review: All Quiet on the Western Front

As I continue my WWI phase, I decided to take on the classic book, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. I've known of the classic 1930 film for some time, often regarded as one of the greatest war films of all time. Last year Netflix released a remake of this film which won quite a lot of accolades (nominated for 9 Oscars). The first time I saw the film, I was impressed by the scenery but not really pulled in to the story. The 2nd time I watched it in Kansas City with my dad I was a little more drawn into the story. The general premise is a group of young teenagers' experiences during the horrors of the war. I'd argue no film or story quite documents the sheer brutality of the WWI trench warfare then this story does. 

The author of the story Erich Maria Remarque was actually a WWI veteran who just barely survived the final years of the war. He provides a very real perspective of the soldier's mental capacity during bombardments and enemy engagements. Surprisingly the writing is quite easy to read, plain and to the point, with some great poetic moments as well. While the story is not a biography, it surely details events that unfolded for the author himself. He tells the story of a group of young men, just barely 18 years old. They enter the war with resounding pride however are later transformed by internal conflict and psychological trauma. During the 1940s the book was banned by the Nazi Party, as a tale of cowardice, however years later is has been celebrated as a masterwork of historical war. 

The Premise

The story is really quite simple, merely bringing detail and events to a soldier's mental journey from the beginning to the end of WWI. The main character is Paul Baumer, a passionate and popular German boy who decides to volunteer for imperial army with his friends at the onset of war. At the time they consider the act an honorable and courageous thing to do for a country they are very proud of. They believe they will have a quick victory thanks to their superior weapons and machinery. Paul befriends an older soldier nicknamed Kat, who teaches him the tricks of warfare. 

Paul and his group of classmates become good soldiers, better then most of the peasants and laborers, however they are quickly discouraged by the horrendous conditions of trench warfare. They find their youthful passion has suddenly transformed to mature misery as if they have aged 20 years in the last 2 years. At the western front they suffer from all manners of sickness and disease, sleep depravation, starvation, and very low morale. Paul witnesses fellow soldiers go thru horrific sudden deaths, shots to the head or exploded by shrapnel. He also witnesses soldiers die slowly succumbing to their wounds. He maintains his sanity however by following orders and taking cover when he can. 

At one point Paul leave the frontlines to visit his family in his German town. He finds himself a changed man, very disinterested in the mundane affairs of civilization. He is saddened to see his mother sick and dying. He is frustrated to converse with his father who has unending questions about the war. He is even bored at the town beerfest, where he asks a friend why do they have to talk and have these social events. Why can't they just enjoy their own quiet existence. It's clear at this point that Paul is shell shocked by the daily intensity of war and finds it hard to adapt to the civility. He is glad to leave his town and return to the warfront. 

During one of his engagements he is forced to take cover in a crater and kill a French soldier in hand-to-hand combat. Trapped inside the crater, Paul watches the soldier die a painful death and begins to feel remorse for him. He begs the dead man for forgiveness and promises to one day send money to his family. Paul is quite shaken by this event, but later finds solace with his friends who understand it is the nasty part of war. They do briefly share some good moments protecting a French village, stealing a goose, and chasing after the local girls. 

However by the end of the war as the German army begins to retreat, many of Paul's friends have died. The final straw is when he sees his friend Kat hit by shrapnel and carries him to the medic tent. He has a conversation with Kat about what they will do after the war. To Paul's surprise Kat dies just as he arrives to the tent. From this point on Paul accepts that his fate will be the same. He understands that his generation will forever be deemed as losers and failures, and it's not a life worth living. At the end of the war Paul reaches his end on the final day before the armistice. The book does not describe how he died, but only that he died peacefully. The book closes with it's title, that all was now quiet on the western front.      

The Review

I often find that most classic books are often difficult to read and comprehend due to their aged vocabulary. However this book was rather easy and very much to the point. It did not overwhelm the reader with too much unnecessary detail or backstory, yet rather concise events. We were taken inside the thoughts and reactions of the protagonist as he endured the harshest of environments. It is very apparent that the author himself was once a soldier, as he provides a vivid account and description of the battlefield. It is however also very poetically written with deeper themes touching upon the horrors of war. Remarque describes how the solider in those days considered war as adventurous and patriotic when in reality it was only a waste of life. And even if you survived the horrors of the war, civilian life could never be the same. 

This is regarded as one of the greatest war books of all time, and to be fair is actually an anti-war book. That's because of it's no nonsense approach, where there is no fluff or heroism yet rather sheer trauma. This is undoubtedly the majority perspective of those who fought in WWI, and Remarque gives one of the best written accounts of it. Hemingway once said it is best to write about what you know, and that was clearly the case for Remarque. He made a fortune of this book that was later produced into two very successful films in 1930 and 2022. He also wrote various other books pertaining to the Great War. I am surprised I have not read this book sooner and am glad to have bought it and read thru it. It's one of the rare books I would consider reading thru again.       

Video Game Review: Tears of the Kingdom

The sequel to Breath of the Wild was anticipated for quite some time. I remember finishing the game in 2020 (although it came out in 2017) and already was hearing the talk about the sequel. I believe it was first going to be called BOTW 2, but was later changed to Tears of the Kingdom. I wasted no time on this one and pre-ordered it so it would arrive as soon as it was on the market, on May 12. Aside from FIFA, this was the first game I've really immersed myself into in a while (especially in my new gaming zone in the basement). And unlike previous open world games, I decided to really take my time on the main quest and do as much side quests and exploring before finishing the game. 

I really enjoyed this game, which was basically a continuation of the format established in Breath of the Wild. The mainland map was the same, however there was a whole new addition of a sky world and an underground world to explore. I easily put over 100 hours in this game exploring, and still am only at about 46% uncovered. There's still so much to do, and I might play a little here and there, but for the most part am ready to move on. So as per usual I gotta make a thorough review to close out the gaming experience. I would most definitely put this game in my Top 25, but would still put BOTW ahead of it only because it was that game that established this incredible format. 

The Story

The story takes place several years after the events of Breath of the Wild. Princess Zelda and Link are exploring an underground cave, under the Hyrule castle, when they discover some ancient writings. They travel further and find a demon frozen, who awakens and kidnaps Princess Zelda. He uses all his power to withstand the demon, and is nearly killed, until the demon vanishes with Zelda. Link is later awakened in the sky islands, by the spirit of Rauru, an ancient Zona who was once the king of Hyrule. Rauru helps heal Link with a magical mechanical arm and informs him of the chaotic upheaval that has brought gloom and chasms to land of Hyrule. Link leaves the sky islands and begins his quest to find Zelda. 

Link begins his quest at the Hyrule Castle and eventually arrives to Lookout Landing where he gathers information from Purah and the Zonai Survey Team. As per usual Zelda format, Link must travel to the headquarters of the main species of Hyrule; the Zoras, the Gorons, the Geruda, and the Rito. What's nice however is the freedom to choose which region you want to explore first. Each of the civilizations have information on Zelda, but are stricken with their own issues brought on by the Upheaval. Link must help Price Sidon of the Zora, Tulin of the Rito, Yunobo of the Goron, and Riji the chief of the Gerudo. With each civilization he must journey into a temple to release the scourge of their land and uncover a magical stone. These stones are used by his new companions to unleash their magical powers. 

While Links recruits his new four companions, he also learns of the ancient history of the Zonai and how the Demon King came to be. He also discovers that Zelda has traveled back into this time to assist the Zonai. Ruled by King Rauru and Queen Sonia the Zonai were once a very technological civilization but were later deceived by Ganondorf. In an effort to stop Ganondorf, Rauru recruits heroes from each civilization to use their magical powers against him. However this is still not enough and Rauru must sacrifice himself to freeze Ganondorf. It is there Ganondorf stays until he is awakened by princess Zelda and Link, thus bringing about the Upheaval. Once Link acquires enough information he journey's to the castle where he discovers an imposter of Zelda, the phantom Gannon.

After defeating the Phantom Gannon Link must continue his quest to find more information on where the real Zelda might be. He learns of a fifth sage, known as Mineru, who was once a Zonai and the sister of Rauru. Mineru's physical embodiment comes in the shape of a cyborg who can fuse with various objects. Link also learns that Zelda swallowed her magical stone, to become an immortal dragon, protecting the Master Sword for Link to recover. Link then frees the Deku Tree from the gloom, and from there is able to locate Zelda, who is in the form of a dragon. 

With the master sword now in his possession, Link understands the only way to free Zelda is to defeat Ganondorf. He thus journey's with his five companions to the bottoms depths of the world to confront him. Link must first face an army of monsters, and then face Ganondorf, following by the phantom Gannon. In his last act of defeat Ganondorf swallows the magical stone to became a dragon. At this point Zelda comes to Link's aid where the two dragons must fight in the sky. Link is able to give the finishing blow to Gannon, by striking at the magical stone. With Gannon defeated, Hyrule is free from the gloom, and Zelda returns to her former self. 

The Game Play

The gameplay is just as enjoyable as it was in Breath of Wild, with some great new additional features. The first big one is an extension of the map with a sky world and an underground world. The sky world can mostly be accessed by watchtowers that launch Link high up in the air. From the sky islands Link can skydive or use the paraglider for a safe landing. The skydiving feature is perhaps my favorite new addition to this game, where it truly opens up the landscape. On the flipside of this is the underground that can be accessed thru chasms. This underground is also quite unique since it is covered in darkness, gloom, and all forms of monsters. Link must use various lighting tools to uncover light roots that help unveil the darkness. 

Another impressive new feature to this game is the new Purah Pad skills which encourage building. Link is able to use these magical skills thru his mechanical arm, which allows him to levitate objects, rewind time, ascend thru solid platforms, fuse weapons with miscellaneous objects, and auto-build machines and vehicles from previous designs. The ability to build is a very important feature in the game, especially solving puzzles such as in the Shrines. Link must often build bridges, ramps, or vehicles powered by fans, fire, or batteries. There are many tools and items Link can manipulate with his mechanical arm to build things. These items known as Zonai devices include; hot-air balloons, rockets, wheels, batteries, lights, flame-throwers, beam-shooters, water-hydrants, floating platforms, wing-gliders, mirrors, stakes, springboards, carts, and so forth. 

Just as in previous games Link can continue to improve his health and his stamina thru unlocking shrines. Stamina is very important for climbing, para-gliding, swimming, and running. The mobility in this game is just as liberating as it was before, however it does offer a realistic limit thru the stamina gauge. Link's combat style is the same as it was before with the additional abilities to flip, parry, and flurry-rush. These are especially important moves when fighting the more challenging bosses such as Ganondrof. However the true key element to Link's power is his weapon forging. This is essential to stand a better chance in combat. While swords are rare, sticks can be fused with Zonai blades to enhance their strength. Same goes for shields and arrows can be equipped with just about any item. Bomb-arrows are always the most effective tool in my opinion. 

Another different feature in combat, is Link's spiritual companions. Each of his companions has a special power that can be unleashed at Link's calling. The Rito Tulin can release a gush of air which is very helpful when paragliding; Yunobo can turn himself into a cannon which is very helpful for blasting thru rocks and stones; Sidon can provide a water shield as well as a blast of water (probably the least helpful of the group); and Riji can create an electrical forcefield that will cause significant damage when in enemy is struck by an arrow. Mineru's cyborg is also helpful as a vehicle when needed to climb over gloom. 

The game returns with it's vital survival feature, which was perhaps the biggest appeal of Breath of the Wild. Once again Link must acquire resources, hunt, scavenge, and cook meals to support his health. He can also cook elixirs by mixing bug parts with monster parts. The elixirs can give him many temporary boosts such as heat-cold-electrical resistance, glowing power, endurance power, slip-resistance, and just better general strength. Fire-making is a very helpful feature not only for cooking, but for passing time, or getting launched up in the sky. Sleeping is a great way to recover Link's full health. Link also has a collection of horses that can be tamed, named, and boarded in various stables. A bonus feature in this game (just as in BOTW) is to build a home for Link where he can collect his favorite weapons, board his favorite horse, cook his meals, and sleep at no charge.