Chris

Audible forced this into my wishlist

Revisado: 09-29-22

Audible forced this into my wishlist, which was confusing. Now there's no way to remove it.

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engaging, breaks the fourth wall, a bit chaotic

Revisado: 07-16-22

The star of this production is the narrative, which is captivating, yet chaotic and cartoonish. I see that the writer, Bill Oakley, wrote Simpsons episodes; this audiobook does feel like a series of audio caricatures. The resolution of the plot comes via a deus-ex-machina plot device which I had to think hard about to remember as I write this. I will remember the radio-drama style of production, Natasha Lyonne's performance, and the weird use of Richard Nixon more than the plot resolution.

I like the narrative style and performance; I wish there was more heart and less chaos to bring me back for another listen. I do hope that more radio dramas like this are made

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Stereotypes, subtle isms,

Revisado: 06-08-20

I am so sorry I wasted 10 hours on this book.

The author seems to be happy to construct crude stereo types, with only a hint of complexity. The rugged warrior, cruel inquisitor, and other stereotypes were a bit interesting, but yesterday I found myself laughing out loud at the crudity of it all. I confess that I didn't finish it, yet 10 hours should be enough to know if one likes such a massive book.

I didn't see explicit sexism, yet there was only one female character in the first 10 hours, yet she seems there mainly for another character to call "damn fine looking" over and over.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Conservative bias with no acknowledgement of such

Revisado: 05-07-20

The book is too conservatively focused and pollyannaish with respect to the industrial revolution for my taste.

The author appears to have a blindly conservative bent; I could handle this better if he acknowledged his bias and explained other opinions before giving his; he just gives his opinions as fact. The author seeks to justify the industrial revolution in a way that feels unnecessary and distracting from the historical perspective.

Specific items that I believe are wrong stick out in my mind: He said "Teddy Roosevelt never had to work a day in his life." Even if Roosevelt did inherit wealth, it seems to me that he worked hard every day, including to recover from near bankruptcy. I think many would classify Roosevelt's trust-busting as benefiting the American economy. Irritatingly, he implies that Westinghouse was the inventor of alternating current, and does not mention Tesla.

He said that the reason that the US didn't sign the Kyoto accord in 97 is because India and China would not sign it. Of course if the US would have had the guts to do so, they could have brought those two countries in line. The US was much more powerful then in the world than now.

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esto le resultó útil a 9 personas

Enjoyable story of sport and women's rights

Revisado: 03-17-20

I found this a wonderful story about both women's soccer and civil rights. I enjoyed the story of the first women's national teams, including playing with hand-me-down men's jerseys, as well as the story of the first efforts for basic pay and other benefits. I also enjoyed the story right through to the 2019 World Cup, and the lawsuit that the women brought against US Soccer.

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To saccharine and flowery for me

Revisado: 03-07-20

This book received a nomination for Nebula 2019 Best Novel, so I was primed to like it. In fact I did enjoy the first few hours, assuming that overly rococo prose associated with the first part of the book would moderate, but it never ended. It seems like the author is not willing to miss a chance to make the sea "sun-drenched" or the add a flowery adjective to every damn word possible.

I do think that some people will love this book, so don't let me scare you off if you like flowery prose.

I think the narrator is good.

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

baroque and flowery verbiage

Revisado: 01-14-20

The style of this book is much more flowery and grandiose than I expect from a science book. It also came across as preachy at times. I found the affected verbiage off-putting; others may enjoy the authors' effort to share their love for planetary science, along with their vision for settling Mars.

The meat of each chapter typically had good information that was educational and enjoyable.

The narrator was good, though he seemed to reflect the flowery verbiage.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

Loved it

Revisado: 11-27-19

Loved the historic commentary and context. My only complaint is the applause! Why is it there?! It’s so damn distracting.

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lost in "lost in math"

Revisado: 11-09-19

It wasn't clear if the book was a tirade against string theory, a campaign for more experiment-focused physics, or a push for less math. I confess that I came away a little more biased to be open to string theory (which I know almost nothing about) than I did going in. To be clear, she was arguing *against* the string theorists' focus on beauty. I certainly respect her argument, yet I find myself unconvinced.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Pretentious

Revisado: 11-09-19

This book was not for me. I found no thread to latch onto, and the book in general felt pretentious and full of itself.

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas