Christa

Didn't resonate with me

Revisado: 05-24-18

I empathize with the author and all the hateful experiences he and his family has gone through. There have been many injustices done to the black community and there is a lot we could all do as citizens of the same country to help one another. That being said, I'm a hispanic from a poor background and I felt like I was subjected to a lecture and opinion piece presenting facts without proper citations and realistic solutions. I listened to this as part of a book club focused on racial issues and I'm grateful it was short.

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Interesting, but not quite for me

Revisado: 08-21-17

Magic and world were interesting. Like the characters. I just found the plot lacked a lot of substance and was a bit disjointed. If you're looking for a light listen with a darker setting and a pulp fiction type style than this could definitely be for you. I might pick up the next book in the series if it is on sale but otherwise I probably won't continue.

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A dark and heavy novel

Revisado: 06-14-17

This was a rollercoaster for me. In the beginning I was charmed by the descent of a decent man and all the tragedy. Gritty, selfish, and dark characters abound. I like vengeance stories so I was content for a time. The deconstruction of the protagonists humanity and the constant ill-fated luck started wearing on me however. I felt this guy couldn't catch a break.

Near the end I put it down, nearly for good, and was leaning towards 3 stars. I ended up finishing it and it moved me emotionally quite a bit. I was content and thus the final rating from me. That being said, I don't see myself reading this again. The writing and performance are excellent but it was just too dang depressing for me overall. If you want to walk with a broken man through a broken world and see the stuff he goes through then by all means pick this up. I'm going to read a YA novel as a palate cleanser after this.

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esto le resultó útil a 20 personas

An intense and involving listen

Revisado: 06-12-17

Narration and writing were on point. I felt like I was an insider on the Manson trial. I feared it would be dry but this was very engaging.

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interesting but long winded

Revisado: 06-12-17

I don't regret picking this up, it really is a fascinating and complex tale, but I believe this could've benefitted from further editing. I felt like points were iterated and reiterated over and over. I understand getting all the details but at the end I skipped large sections just to reach the conclusion. If there is an abridged version I'd recommend picking it up.

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Glad I got through it

Revisado: 07-12-16

At this point its obvious Marius's mental state is questionable at best. This is more of that. The galactic politics and strategic battles are interesting, but at one point I felt unable to continue and listened through a different series before returning. I was just tired of the slow decline. Marius was my favorite character and while its interesting watching his descent in to madness its also painful. If you liked the previous book, this is worth finishing, but it was tough for me.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Felt unnatural to me

Revisado: 07-12-16

So based on the title of the series, the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire, it should be apparent which direction things will be going. The way some of the protaganists developed, although necessary for the plot, just felt forced and unconvincing to me. Also the pacing felt a bit slower and it was tougher to get through this book than the first.

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Not innovative but enjoyable none the less

Revisado: 05-10-16

The story and writing is nothing spectacular, but the galaxy is decently developed and solid enough.

The dialogue and interpersonal relationships between the different characters and groups is surprisingly enjoyable and is the main reason I'll continue the story with the hopes that more tense and interesting scenarios will develop and play out.

My main complaint would be with the tone of the narration and story. It comes off as a bored braggart.

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Meh.

Revisado: 05-09-16

Decent, its a conclusion to the series, I guess. I enjoyed the preceding two books and found myself caring for characters I didn't expect to and surprised by plot twists. Unfortunately, I found Dany North and most of his friends dull characters that weren't confronted with particularly hard choices and everything sorta just worked out in this final book.

If you listen to the afterword, Card pretty much admits that the obvious direction he was leading up to with the first two books (all out wizard war and political upheaval with plenty of chaos) didn't appeal to him so he chose to focus this book on tons of dialogue exploring metaphysical concepts and his beliefs on the afterlife. Intriguing, but as a resolution to this series it just felt like a giant outro. Would've I listened to this had I known? Probably, but I cannot say I'll ever repeat the experience. Narration was great.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Another worthwhile entry in epic fantasy

Revisado: 04-19-16

Enjoyed this greatly. Makes me think of Sanderson's writing, but for once I liked all the character perspectives presented. Great world building. Great narration.

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