Andrew

Well-crafted space opera.

Revisado: 08-31-23

First off, the only complaint I have is the somewhat awkward way the narrator makes the "static" sound. Other than that, the narration is crisp and excellent.

As for the story: there are 3 ways to engage religion in science fiction. First, you can ignore it entirely. Second, you can write from your own perspective, positive or negative. Third, you can analyze religion as a driver of social--and hence, political and technological--change. This series does the latter. If you're the kind of person who can't handle the fact that religious people act for religious reasons, you're going to have a hard time with this story. If you're also uncomfortable grappling with perspectives from religious or irreligious worldviews different than your own, you're going to be uncomfortable at points, but stick with it. For the (unfortunately) few of you who remain, this is a sophisticated take on how religions might evolve in the future, and how the very human--and sometimes other-than-human--quest for transcendence could transform future societies. The world-building is exquisitely well-crafted, the characters are generally consistent and compelling, the perspectives of both existing religious/philosophical systems and those that are entirely speculative are generally handled well. In this regard, my one knit-pick is that the portrayal of Islam is a bit basic--not necessarily negative, but simplified. That said, it's kind of a background element to the story, and the side benefit is that the author also doesn't get anything majorly wrong. There is some moderate profanity and one sex scene in book 3.

Over all, I'd recommend the series, particularly for audible members who can currently get the full series free from plus.

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YEEEEEEEES!

Revisado: 08-26-19

There's a scene in this, the first book of the amazing Belisarius series, in which the futuristic crystalline intelligence berates his primitive, protoplasmic kin for not thinking of stirrups sooner. I'm tempted to have a similar reaction to the fact that it took this long to get the Belisarius Saga in audio format, but I'm so ridiculously happy it's finally hear I can't even be bothered to be annoyed.

This is, bar none, the greatest alternate history series ever written. It's in the top 5 for military history as well. Granted, there are some historical inaccuracies, but for the love of God, have a soul, ignore them, and just enjoy how immensely fun this story is. Epic in scope, meticulously plotted, with characters that are generally well-drawn and complex, it's also got more than enough mayhem to just be enjoyed as a fun military sci-fi. Flint and Drake were at the top of their game, and the collaboration of Flint's characterization and Drake's detailed knowledge of the military complement one another perfectly.

As for the narration, it was about as solid as you can realistically expect from one person trying to voice a massive set of characters with very different personas, classes and countries of origin. Some of the female characters' voices are a bit difficult to distinguish from one another, but it's really not that distracting. Pacing was generally excellent, and he did a very good job with the action scenes [of which there were a lot, with many more to come].

Run, do not walk, to spend your credit, and the sooner we get the other five, the better.

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Perhaps a smidge too much like Star Wars.

Revisado: 08-23-16

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review from the rights holder courtesy of audio book boom.

The story's enjoyable enough on it's own, as long as you don't think about the plot elements. Twin children of an evil tyrant separated from one another at a very young age. The main character witnesses traumatic family deaths at the hands of said tyrant. A rebel group hiding out in secret bases. Space travel combined with quasi-magical or mystical elements. I don't want to spoil too much, but the Star Wars parallelism is strong with this one. There are some substantial differences of course, and I guess there are only so many ways to tell a science fantasy space opera story, but the parallelism may unduly irritate fans of the venerable franchise. [Then again, there are also some similarities to Simon R. Green's Deathstalker series, so maybe there really are only so many ways to tell this kind of story]. If you can look past that aspect, it's a good yarn with fun characters dodging in and out of trouble very frequently.

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Enjoyable start to a series.

Revisado: 08-23-16

What did you love best about The Heir to the North?

Relatable characters and good world-building.

What does Diana Croft bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Exceptionally good with character voices; narration was crisp and clear throughout.

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this audio book from the author, narrator or rights-holder in exchange for an honest review courtesy of audio book boom.

It's clear this is the jumping-off point for a more substantial series. I thought the plot and world-building were very solid and the pacing was good. It has the feel of a young adult fantasy, but is still enjoyable for other readers. The big plot twist at the end isn't super hard to guess, but that doesn't detract from the quality of the book. Over all, a very enjoyable read.

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Cool concept, lots of potential, decent execution.

Revisado: 08-10-16

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this audio book from the author, narrator or rights holder in exchange for an honest review courtesy of audio book boom.

First, let me discuss the narration. I actually thought the narrator did a very good job with character voices, but he had some odd pauses and breathiness that made the flow choppy at points. I also found the music at the beginning of each chapter more distracting than helpful.

As for the book itself, Hatred Day has a very cool concept: another, somewhat humanlike species arrives on earth via magic, causing ecological devastation and the outbreak of an inter-species war between the two races, which also pits science against magic. I thought the hook of having a half-human half-inborn as the lead character worked well, and has very interesting future narrative possibilities. The nuts and bolts of the plot were also solid, and characters generally acted in reasonable ways. If I had a complaint it was with the feel of the story. It's clear that the races hate one another--hence the title--but we're never really given much of a look into the minds of many inborns, or any humans, so it's a bit difficult to understand the conflict on a visceral level. It's very rare that I think a story needed more exposition, but this story could probably have used a prologue giving us a sense for the human perspective. That said, it's clear the authors have built this world very well to incredible detail, and I look forward to seeing where they take world and characters in future installments.

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Good, solid story with a few quirks.

Revisado: 08-10-16

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy from the author, publisher or rights holder in exchange for an honest review courtesy of audio book boom.

I liked a lot of things about Dawn of Rebellion; the setting was good, and a lot of the world-building made sense. The two lead female characters were very well done. I found a lot of the use of modern slang kind of unusual, and Britain itself wasn't all that clearly flushed out as a whole. The narration was really good, barring a few minor and not particularly off-putting accent difficulties. Warning: this book has a gigantic cliffhanger at the end, so if that kind of thing really bothers you, wait for the next book before buying this one.

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Too much telling, not enough showing.

Revisado: 07-26-16

What was most disappointing about CS Patra’s story?

It got eaten by the exposition monster.

Have you listened to any of Jim Hickey’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't, but his narration was solid.

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this audio book from the author, narrator or rights holder in exchange for an honest review.

The story itself was fine: standard quest to protect/obtain magical artifact while pursued by an evil empire. I also thought the blend of magic and science had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it was all tell, no show. We're told how the characters feel about one another; that the empire is good then evil; etc, rather than having these things primarily demonstrated through the character's actions. This is definitely a common problem; unfortunately it was really noticeable in The Winter Key.

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Coming of age sci-fi novel with a slightly heavy-h

Revisado: 07-26-16

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most interesting was probably the portrayal of society after the rejection of technology. Least interesting was probably the interaction between religion and science.

What about Erin deWard’s performance did you like?

Characters were readily identifiable and emotions were handled well.

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this audio book from the author, publisher or rights holder in exchange for an honest review courtesy of audio book blast. I'll start with the good. The three main protagonists were very well drawn, their actions are believable, and, above all, they're likeable. The writing is very solid and consistent, and even the Arch-Vicker, the supposed villain of the story, was a well written, nuanced character. On the other hand, the hook of the story didn't work for me for two reasons. First, the old faith verses science cliché is done a lot now, and it gets old unless it's done really, really well, as in Weber's safehold series. Second, the explanation for how the new religion formed didn't work. I liked the author's attempt to portray the creation of the temple somewhat sympathetically, but the idea that the hundreds of religious groups out there right now will uniformly and easily agree to give up their core beliefs and form a new religion that worships the sun doesn't seem particularly believable. At a minimum, there ought to be Christian, Jewish or Muslim dissenters hanging out on the fringes of society, or passing down their old beliefs in secret. This was a bit too neatly wrapped up in a bow for me to be able to suspend my disbelief. Over all, I enjoyed the book, despite the world-building issues. It was a light, fun, engaging read with good characters.

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Solid post-apocalyptic boiler-plate.

Revisado: 07-19-16

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review courtesy of audio book blast.

Hard-charging ex-military hero? Check. Crusty old ex-military mentor figure? Check. Bad guys invading the homeland? Check. Team of damsels in distress turned unlikely heroines? Check. If you're looking for a solid, by-the-numbers post-apocalyptic story, this one's it. The narration was good, and the writing and characterization were decent. If I have any complaint it's that the cliffhanger ending could have been built up a bit more by showing a couple more cut scenes of the baddies preparing. As it was, the ending was a bit abrupt. Still, I enjoyed the story and I'm intrigued to see where it goes.

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Great start to a military sci-fi story.

Revisado: 07-19-16

What did you like best about this story?

Really good characterization and world-building.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did, actually; pulled an all-nighter to finish it.

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this audio book from the author, narrator, publisher or rights-holder in exchange for an honest review courtesy of audio book boom.

This was a really good introduction to a military science fiction series that looks very promising. World-building was solid, and the characters were very well articulated. There were a few points at which the story seemed to jump around a good bit, but that's probably a factor of the sheer amount of time this first story covered, so I imagine future books in the series won't quite have that feel. Parts of the story are dark and there's quite a bit of violence, but I didn't find any of that distracted from the story. Recommended for all fans of military SF.

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