k

I almost skipped Ogres cause it's short...opps

Revisado: 12-24-22

I've said things like "I like Jack London because he doesn't waste words and goes for the heart of the story instead". But I've gotten into buying audible books based, in part, on how much comute time ( I drive over an hour and a half a day) the book will occupy. I almost passed on this one even though I should have know better. Tchaikovsky can ramble on with complex world building and generation spanning plot lines. That is awesome for housework and drive time and is probably more profitable for an author making a living but I had forgotten how satisfying a well told tale, as long as it needs to be and not a sentence longer, can be.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Fascinating and tedious...

Revisado: 06-07-22

Fascinating and tedious...
Fascinating because the times and places are fascinating and well researched. Also because fiction gives the reader a far more interesting and accessible ride into the past than even the best told facts can. Stephenson does this well and with infections enthusiasm.
Tedious because concise is simply not his thing. This does ease commutes or chores or whatever but I find my mind wandering and missing things important to the story or truly interesting on their own among the overly complete, meandering narrative.  This volume has extra meander in it because it uses long letters to tell much of the tale and by imitating the well.... Baroque style of the time, extra drag is placed against the force of the plot. (The letters contain encrypted info to other characters and telling the difference is probably obvious on paper but the transition can sometimes slip past when read aloud.)
Also this volume is court and intrigue heavy and that's simply NOT my thing.  That last objection is on me and won't affect people who don't mind that stuff. As far as the actual story goes,  it's everyday life with over the top occurrences popping up a lot. Oddly enough,  the comic book series, Love and Rockets spung to mind. Other than the everyday/over the top juxtaposition there is no other resemblance,  I probably just want to read Love and Rockets again....I'll get on that. 

Anyway,  I'm on my second listen so it's definitely worthwhile, it just needs a pacemaker or something.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

good intro to the subject by a great speaker

Revisado: 05-24-22

This series is for the curious. Stephen Fry seems to be afflicted by an incurable and insatiable curiously so if you happen to suffer from a similar condition, it's great fun to follow him around the audioverse, listening to whatever he's decided to go on about.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

this just downloaded itself

Revisado: 05-06-22

I've never even glanced at this title, it just appeared and interrupted what I was listening to. How the hell do I get it out of my library

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Short 😞 but.... well.... Tennant 😀

Revisado: 02-15-22

Pretty clever story though it was over before I'd hoped.
One fan quibble....a slight simplification concerning the precise functionality of psychic paper.....nevermind, not important.
Anyway, David Tennant as The Doctor, always awesome.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Concept based SF,

Revisado: 02-10-22

Concept based SF, backed up with  increasingly well crafted characters and always excellent world building....That my overall take on Tchaikovsky. 
He's also not into filler, extra words that fit well enough but aren't really doing much for the story, just uping the word count. Personally,  I appreciate that.

This story is definitely up to his high standards and well worth reading/audioing.

As others have said,  the narration is not excellent.  A bit heavy handed like a Brit doing an imitation of Captain Kirk. Also the narrator sounds older while the character is fairly young. If you imagine an older man trying to convey an unfamiliar but very important concept to a skeptical audience by telling a personal story from his youth then it works pretty well.

Overall,  interesting, enjoyable and a commentary on the human capacity to be led about, even against our own best interests.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Great world and story, reader is much improved.

Revisado: 10-30-21

I guess I'm now a confirmed Martha Wells fan. I started with the Murderbot Diaries and I'm working my way backwards. Wells' world building and character development are excellent and her underlying world view is unique and interesting....so 'Yay!' Martha Wells.

l reviewed the first of The Fall of Ile-Rien books and dissed the narrator, Talmadge Ragan..I want to revisit that. I complained that her reading was awkward and to my ear it was. The pauses for emphasis always seemed to happen at some random point in the sentence as if she hadn't read ahead. Perhape she hadn't had time to prepare. The narration improved greatly and is quite good for this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Good story, reader not so good

Revisado: 10-19-21

Great alt historical (or is it full on fantasy...whatever) series. I enjoyed The Element of Fire and Death of the Necromancer and am enjoying this final phase as well but the reader, who has a great speaking voice, has an awkward reading style which often left my mind wandering away from the story.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

2nd time through.....still awesome

Revisado: 07-15-21

I'm a Tchaikovsky fan and have been for awhile now, but, while I like many many things about his wonderful speculative fiction I haven't fallen in love with one of his characters...till now.
The world building, is, as usual, awesome. The story is solid and satisfying. I've read speculative fic since Heinlein and Howard and have watched male authors stumble about while trying to figure out females, with mixed results. This has never seemed to be a problem for Tchaikovsky, so that's always good. But this is the first time I've simply fallen into a Tchaikovsky character, and that's made Made Things into a new favorite that I'll revisit many times.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

My new favorite non fiction.

Revisado: 06-03-21

Science Fiction is my thing but Science History turns out to awesome to. The book is not too technical, which is good because I don't have a hard science academic background but I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much without some interest in electricity and electronics . Still, the personalities and stories are intriguing on their own.
The reader fits the subject. One reviewer thought he sounds like Carl Sagan. I do hear Sagan's speech patterns but I hear a touch of Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone, so that's cool to.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona