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Expansive, thought-provoking creativity. Surprising story. Please fix upload!

Revisado: 01-02-25

Called customer service & was told this version was added without chapter divisions. Please fix!🤞🏿 HOWEVER... This is a BRILLIANT story! Deeply explores two different cultures... & turns out to be a story abut love.

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Exciting, imaginative. Fantastic narration.

Revisado: 11-02-24

A creative twist on alternating POVs. Gives the reader a sense of deeper insight into human & nonhuman characters--their experiences & perceptions. Surprising life forms with a varied array of norms & value. Shows us some of the structures & strictures that guide societies. Vivid description brings a complex social & biological worlds within worlds. Powerfully preformed by a skillful narrator. Hard to put down!

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER. There seemed to be an (unintentional?) background narrative about ', superiority', subjugation, colonial conquest, social hierarchy, individual value. What is it to strip away a person's identity, personal power & freedom? What does loyalty to one kin look like when your world is broken down? I'm also seeing a critique of the economic systems built on resource theft and devaluation of labor. Draws attention to the fundamentally undemocratic & dehumanizing nature the workplace (under capitalism) that oppresses workers, pits them against one another, intentionally keeping them living in fear w hardly enough, desperate to survive, knowing they could lose their position at the employers whim... We are also directed to examine the untapped potential perils & possibilities of workers recognizing their tenuous (& in some ways insignificant) position in the game of the powerful & what united efforts might bring about...

BUT ...they probably didn't do it on purpose. LOL

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Good sci, bad fi... Do I regret reading?

Revisado: 07-17-24

YES. I regret investing so much time & energy on this final installment. Some really interesting ideas re space, aliens, other dimensions... And many of these are creatively explored. Kudos on the Sci.

But these explorations are brief oases in a growing desert of meh. The third book is the least well-written of the series. Bad writing, boring characters , unengaging storytelling.

As a bonus, XC's sexist logic IS explored at length. It seems the author truly sees the function and purpose of the female to be flattering male ego, soothing man's beastly, warmongering nature... And feminity is almost framed as a an inevitable & dangerous cultural corruption evolving from too much peace time... Not sure what this There will be more of that... This time the author underscores this belief & takes care to point out (& illustrate at length) that women are, by nature, weak leaders (on account of their oft-suppressed mothering imperative clouding judgment...)...

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Great support for a beginner (paired w Duolingo)

Revisado: 05-30-24

This podcast was really helpful for me as I prepared for a trip. After studying with Duolingo, I had a sense of the sound and learned many vocabulary words and could say a number of completely useless sentencs (e.g. piti gason an eseye manyen pwatrin lous la "The boy tried to touch the bear's chest" or Sousòl la genyen pusye, "The basement is dusty").

Listening topic bu

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Postpartum depression meets "The Bad Seed".

Revisado: 05-27-24

Postpartum depression meets "The Bad Seed." Predictable. Disturbing (in a predictable way).

Although well-structured, the story itself is depressing and quickly becomes predictable. What you suspect may be the case from the outset is indeed, the case.

The greatest strength of the novel is its structure. The author follows different timelines between chapters and within chapters events sometimes unfold out of order. This lends the novel an air of mystery. Unfortunately, it's just an air.

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Super fun cozy mystery style

Revisado: 07-21-23

Vera is a delightful character. A highly opinionated, no-nonsense Nosey Rosy who doesn't miss a trick! Susanto weaves a mystery that will keep you guessing.

Also, the. narrator is fantastic!

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Disappointing sequel-prequel to Wool

Revisado: 06-05-23

My initial assessment (so far, so lame) proved accurate so I won't amend my review below except to say.. BUMMER. I tried hard to overlook the frustrating predictability, the stereotyped characters, the author's way with women, but it is what it is. You win some, you lose some. ----------- -----------
----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- EVERYTHING I *loved* about Wool is turned on its head in Shift. The characters & storyline feel recycled. The god awful world of DC politicians is incredibly tired. I'm just not digging the 'sincere' congressman. Tired of shifty Senator (elder & Southern, of course). As far as sci-fi tropes... Who's tired of cryo sleep? Nano tech healing? Memory blockers?
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---- --- ----- ---- --- --- ---- --- ----- --- ----- ----- ---- ----- ----- ----- --- ---- More on tropes & stereotypes ...... THE TROUBLE WITH WOMEN. This aspect surprised me: a strained relationship with gender & romance. The two leading ladies in the protagonist's the Sexy Ex, a temptress & daughter of The Senator. And, the Supportive Wifey who frets over her man being away so much -- a foreshadowing infidelity? Please God, no. ----------- ----------- -------- ----- --------- --------- ------------- ----------- ----------- GENDER ROLES fyi: The gender weirdness is not just me being picky... Throughout women are props for comfort or danger & their narrow function is essential to the plot. Women are kept in cryo sleep in order to keep passion out of the important business at hand. And the presence of women will distract men & pit them against each other.... Fit facts for the 1950s. Today, it feels bizarre. So ..... What happened here, Howie? Never mind, buddy. Can't change the past. I'm still a fan. 🥴

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Forget Apple TV. THIS is the story you want!

Revisado: 06-05-23

This fast-paced story offers something 'new''--something fresh and unexpected. You're pulled right into the world of the Silo & each chapter keeps you engaged , curious & excited for what may happen next. Twists & turns do not disappoint.


I found myself wondering, figuring & asking questions of the story and far beyond it.


Great narration, too! Ballerini makes you forget he's there.



ENJOY!

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Nothing to See Here. Coulda been a contender.

Revisado: 04-26-23

Listening to the sample, you'd think you're getting into a clever story that untangles some metaphysical mystery & takes a progressive perspective on gender, You'd be wrong.

The potential is there, but the story hangs limp. The metaphysical business is barely explored & the constant referencing of gender is distracting AND so not progressive. She doesn't even work the pronouns. Just points out : There are men people & women people ... & sometimes.... gender isn't the same as sex.

The author is relentless in pointing out the behavior, carriage, clothing misaligns with sex. It gets old FAST. Worse yet, the detailing of gender performance mainly serves to amplify hyper sexualized STEREOTYPES OF WOMEN & (to my utter boredom) to detail women's costume design. Oh good grief.

To add to this sad nothing-to-see-here, the narrator makes apology for obsessing over gender ad nauseam, compulsively calling our attention to the sex/gender. Why?!?

To spice things up, especially in the latter part of the book, there are generous attempts to scandalize the reader with not-at-all-shocking sexual appetites.

Okay, there are GOOD BITS: Political intrigue, alternative family structures, diff perspective on religion, mental health, social rehabilitation for ppl who commit serious crime...

Another writer could take the elements of this story & create something spectacular.

It doesn't happen here.

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Rare unfinished read

Revisado: 02-28-23

Heads up: There are a few crude & unpleasant scenes, made worse when it's meant to be comic, eg. ch 2 opens w sexual misconduct & abuse of power. The powerful person is a woman in this case. Maybe that's the reason the actions are treated as a hilarious character flaw or bad habit??? , Irrespective of gender of the aggressor, this is awful & not hilarious.

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