Lady Lorien

Fantastic adaptation

Revisado: 12-28-23

I love The Hogfather; it’s my favorite Discworld novel and I’ve read it several times. This was a great adaptation! The main narrator was very good; she had a lot of variation for the different characters which is impressive considering how many character there are. Bill Nighy’s annotations were well done too and Peter Serafinowitz’s Death was appropriately deep and warm. It’s a wonderful listen for Christmas, so I’ll happily listen to it each year.

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Just okay

Revisado: 07-13-21

I knew going in that this was a prequel to an upcoming video game, but I guess I was hoping for something more like Alien Isolation (both the game and the audiobook). But this book (and I’m guessing by extension the video game) is more like the Colonial Marines game: it’s more plot-driven than character driven. Well, for as much of a plot as there is. It’s your basic “scientists doing research on xenomorphs and vastly underestimate the intelligence of said xenomorphs who escape the lab.”There are a couple of cool concepts with the “customization” of the xenomorphs but ultimately it’s just an okay book. The characters were okay but I didn’t really care about them. And it was pretty obvious that this was going to be a “no survivors” situation from the start. Bronson Pinchot was an okay narrator but I think he did a better job on Aliens Phalanx. I also think narrator and story wise this one suffered in comparison to Alien Into Charybdis which I just listened to (it was awesome and you should listen to it). Overall I’m glad this was included with Audible Plus and I didn’t use a credit for it but it was an okay listen.

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Just a little disappointing

Revisado: 11-22-19

I have really loved the Alien audiobooks and audio dramas of the last few years. This one just disappointed a little. First, I didn't realize that I needed to have read some of the Alien graphic novels before listening to this to find out about The Adventures of Amanda and Zula Killing Aliens. I could somewhat figure it out, although I am desperate to know what happened to Amanda, so I'll be tracking down the graphic novels for sure.

Second, there was A LOT of set up in this book, and it didn't really pay off. In Alien: The Cold Forge, there was quite a lot of set up as well, but the payoff was worth it (holy moly Blue trying to escape the aliens was TENSE). To me, the scariest part of the aliens is when they are stalking people. It's the sustained suspense of people trying to avoid (or kill) the aliens when they could suddenly appear from anywhere and strike. There just wasn't a lot of that in Alien Prototype. For example, using the robot aliens from the training grounds to attack the Alien was kind of clever, but not worth the endless time we spent on the training grounds before that.

Third, there's the Alien itself. It's more like Alien: Accidental Prototype since it wasn't intentional that it ended up crossed with a flesh-eating disease. I was intrigued by that setup, but it just didn't work for me. Like, aliens are already pretty darn deadly as they are. Adding in that this Alien can infect you with a flesh-eating disease that kills you in about 30 seconds just didn't make it scarier for me. It seems like lazy writing if you have to add in a flesh-eating disease to make the Alien scary or interesting. Kind of like the Jurassic Park/World nonsense that you have to keep building bigger and scarier dinosaurs rather than just making a good story. Okay, so you have this additional worry that the Alien can infect you from several feet away, but honestly if there is an Alien a few feet from you it's already REALLY worrying. The whole "dual drives" of the Alien thing also made the Alien seem a bit indecisive which meant it was actually a little less scary.

And fourth, speaking of the "dual drives" thing, there was so much repetition. Did you know that the Alien is driven by its nature to kill and reproduce, but the flesh-eating diseases also drives it to infect people? Yes? Oh too bad because you will be beaten over the head with it. And did you know that as a synthetic, Bridget doesn't have to worry about either the flesh-eating disease or the Alien trying to impregnate her? Well you will never forget it because it will be mentioned again and again, sometimes within a few sentences.

The bright spots? Zula and Tamar are badass ladies on opposite sides of the empathy coin. They both get the opportunity to show how badass, clever, and prepared they are. And if there is another theme to a good Alien story it's badass women kicking Alien butt.

I think overall this book suffers from comparison to The Cold Forge and Isolation, which I think did the suspense and tension much better. As for the narration, I think Sarah Mollo-Christensen is okay. She narrated Isolation as well, and she does an okay job at differentiating voices. I suppose she does have a strange way of enunciating at times, but it didn't bother me. I've listened to Isolation a couple of times and both times enjoyed it a lot. Sadly, I'm returning Prototype.

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I suppose it's better than the actual Alien 3

Revisado: 06-19-19

I really enjoy every production that Dirk Maggs is involved with: the production value is fantastic, the voice casting is great, and I am always sucked in and can't stop listening.

As for the story...I don't know. I rewatched Aliens 3 after listening to this audiobook and this story is much better. To be fair, I don't know the entire story behind this script, but when Ripley is pretty much sidelined for the entire time, then there's a big problem. I'm guessing it's because Sigourney Weaver was ambivalent about being in a third Alien movie at the time, but it was a rather glaring problem. That being said, I liked some of the new elements brought to the story like the Union of Progressive People and their attempts to snag the alien for their own uses. I think if this movie had been made at the time, it would have been an okay pivot from the Ripley-centric stories. Hard to say if it would have been the Halloween III of the franchise with an immediate return to Ripley in the next movie, but at least all of our favorite characters made it out of this one alive!

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Just as wonderful & cozy as the first book!

Revisado: 01-07-19

There is something so warm and cozy about knowing what to expect from a book. Cozy mysteries are by no means something I read all the time, but I really enjoyed the first book in this series. And this sequel did not disappoint. The heavy focus on books (and the book title dropping!) is something I love about this series. And although it seemed like we learned all about the secrets of the Secret, Book, & Scone Society in the last book, there were still secrets to be learned about them and situations that brought out sensitive spots. What I really appreciate is that although there are dips into some romance tropes (an almost-love triangle, wondering if the other person is just working through their own damage through you) and even drama tropes (misunderstandings, dramatic walk-outs), the story doesn't run with them. The focus always remains the central mystery and the close friendships of the Secret, Book, & Scone Society. Don't get me wrong: I love romance novels and even dramas. But it's a sign of a great writer (and editor) to read a book where the story and tone remain so clear even while expanding the characters' horizons.

The mystery got a little complicated, but more in an intriguing way, like I couldn't figure out how the pieces were all connected and was eager to find out how they were connected. And the solution was satisfying because even though I didn't figure it out ahead of time, it still made sense. Honestly, though, I don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out the whodunnit with these books; I just enjoy the reading experience and let it all unfold, which is a nice change from other books where I'm spending a lot of energy just trying to figure it all out. Both are good experiences, but sometimes you just want to enjoy the warm scone and not try to figure out what's in it, you know?

I also have to say I'm sold on the audiobook editions. Cris Dukehart is a pretty great narrator. I originally bought the audiobook of the first book when it was on sale on Audible and now I feel like audiobook is the best format for this book. Dukehart does a good job differentiating voices, especially of the Secret, Book, & Scone Society members. And she keeps up a good pace when it gets to the thriller-like scenes too. I'll definitely keep reading this series and definitely on audiobook!

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A pleasant surprise

Revisado: 08-06-18

I bought this when it was an Audible daily deal and it was certainly worth it. I don’t read a lot of cozy mysteries but I very much enjoyed this one. I’m a sucker for characters who are librarians or booksellers as well as bakers...so this was right up my alley! And the themes of healing and trust might have been too much in other circumstances but at the moment I found it appealing to have so many characters move to Miracle Springs in search of healing. The mystery itself was pretty good; it wasn’t completely obvious from the start whodunnit but it also wasn’t impossible to have figured out on your own. Ultimately like many good mysteries, it was more about the characters than the mystery.

I would say if you like cozy mysteries, this will be right up your alley. And if you think cozy mysteries might be too saccharine for you, this is not too sweet to give a try. I’ll definitely try more books by the author and in this series.

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This is one I will listen to again and again

Revisado: 08-06-18

** spoiler alert ** I truly enjoyed this audiobook but I suspect much of it really works because the audiobook is so good. Specifically Richard Armitage reading incredibly hot sex scenes and speaking French. Ooh la la! The story itself isn’t bad; a woman moves to Paris after a bad breakup to work on fragrances and she needs a translator to help her with the tricky French words to communicate with her colleagues. Said translator is hot, British, and working through his grief at losing his brother by completing a “bucket list” created by his brother. All of the elements of a good story are there. And what is keeping the heroine and hero from having their happily ever after is a somewhat understandable obstacle: the hero is going to Indonesia to run a marathon as part of the bucket list and he doesn’t think he’ll be coming back to Paris. Yeah, okay, I get going to Indonesia and the titular wanderlust but I just didn’t quite believe why Griffin had to stay in Indonesia indefinitely. “Because dead brother” seemed to be the answer. And then there was the somewhat maddening circle in which both characters wanted to ask the other to stay or come with them but they didn’t. Argh! I hate that trope where it could just be solved by a conversation. I’m oversimplifying but it’s a pet peeve of mine when both characters are thinking the same thing but just don’t use their words.

Now I will be honest: I’m going to listen to this again. And probably buy it too. Because it is so much French catnip and Richard Armitage sounds sexy and the sex scenes are great. I just feel like I wouldn’t have enjoyed it half as much in the print version and there was just something about the execution of the story and characters that just didn’t deliver all that the premise promised.

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Utterly delightful and so very fun

Revisado: 08-06-18

I am a fan of Charles Dickens and this parody/satire seemed right up my alley. And it was! This is so different from the "typical" British comedy which is funny but not laugh out loud funny. Bleak Expectations is laugh out loud funny. Some of the jokes are incredibly witty and clever...and some of them are just the most obvious puns. But honestly, I didn't even care because 1) I love puns and 2) it had earned my delight long before that. The story just gets more and more ridiculous as it goes on (there is an alien invasion at one point) and somewhat repetitive since it's pretty much always the same bad guy who just doesn't seem to be able to stay dead. But again, honestly I didn't care because I just enjoyed the ride. The performances were really great; I've loved Anthony Head since Buffy the Vampire Slayer and he is just phenomenal at voice acting here.

Some small technical notations: I was frustrated that each episode of the series is not a separate chapter so it would be really difficult to jump to a specific episode. The last series seems to be grouped into episodes as chapters but the others are not. Not sure if this is something Audible could fix, but listeners should be aware. Also, there is a technical issue with chapter 216: there is about 30 minutes of dead air after the episode ends. It doesn't appear that any episodes are missing; there's just a few minutes you have to fast forward through to get to the next episode.

Overall, very highly recommended if you have any affection for Charles Dickens or ridiculous comedies. This series was a bright spot during a difficult time and I will absolutely listen to it over and over again.

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Fantastic performance of mediocre story

Revisado: 05-12-18

This production was really great: all of the performances were fantastic and I love the atmosphere created by the sound effects and music. Laurel Lefkow is a great Ripley.

As for the story...well did you ever wish that the events of Aliens happened to the crew in Alien? With a side of Prometheus? You’re in luck! That’s what this story is. It’s not a bad story per se, it just completely undercuts the entire story in Aliens by having Ripley meet an Alien queen. She also seems to be more of an expert on the aliens than she is in Aliens. And then this story undercuts itself by wiping Ripley’s memory of this whole book. And then Ash the Android is a secondary villain, filing endless reports that will never be sent and essentially repeat the same information over and over. Dude, I get it! You uploaded yourself into the computer and you can control any connected computer system...I heard you the first fifty times. That all being said, the story does get scary and tense at times. I think much of that is down to the performances but I racked on another star because it may be a rehash Alien story but it’s a good Alien story.

I think you can skip this one. Listen to the River of Pain book instead which is about the doomed colony on LV-426. You still kind of know what is going to happen (I.e., everyone dies) but it’s actually got a plot and interesting characters in addition to the scary moments.

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Excellent performances, story is okay

Revisado: 04-17-18

Full disclosure: this is the first Alien book I've read, although I have seen all of the movies. I picked this one up as part of an Audible sale.

I enjoyed this production quite a bit. The story managed to provide a lot of dramatic tension even when I knew what the outcome was going to be for most of the characters. The cast was really great; I enjoyed the performances a lot. It wasn't too hard to track all of the characters owing to the great performances and the characters greeting each other by name frequently. Where I found some difficulty is with visualizing the layout of the colony. I've seen Aliens a bunch of times, but I felt like I needed a schematic. Sometimes the story would mention a location and I knew I was supposed to put 2 and 2 together to realize something (e.g., aliens were near there or something) but I just couldn't keep it all straight in my head. I missed having the written descriptions along with the dialogue in this respect.

Overall, I liked the story too. It was super scary and tense at times, plus I found myself doing extra chores just to keep listening to the story. I definitely got a similar feeling to when I'm watching the movies (and I totally re-watched Aliens again after listening to this!). And based on the ending, I'm definitely interested in seeing how the survivors' story continues. And I'm definitely interested in reading other stories in the series and in the Alien canon. Not sure I would buy another one unless it was on sale; I can see myself listening to this one again, but I don't know that I would say it's good enough to buy at full price.

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