William
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Mountain Man: 2nd Prequel
- Them Early Days
- De: Keith C. Blackmore
- Narrado por: R.C. Bray
- Duración: 12 h y 12 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 1,523
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Narración:5 out of 5 stars 1,367
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 1,364
Living off the land and adapting to a changing environment takes a special individual with the unique skills, training, and determination necessary to survive. Gus Berry is not that individual. The former house painter barely made it out of Annapolis as its population underwent a violent transformation, leaving everyone he knew or loved dead—or undead. Now, Gus needs food and booze, weapons and armor, clothing that fits, and above all, toilet paper, preferably two-ply.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Gus takes a Dump
- De Marshall en 02-14-22
- Mountain Man: 2nd Prequel
- Them Early Days
- De: Keith C. Blackmore
- Narrado por: R.C. Bray
Not much here
Revisado: 02-21-22
I've really enjoyed all of the other Mountain Man books, but this one goes nowhere. As others have pointed out, it's mostly drinking, puking, defecating, and obsessing about defecating (i.e., a constant frantic search for toilet paper). We don't really learn much new about Gus, and there's very little action – some foraging trips, a few encounters with zombies, a brief encounter with an upstanding living person, and not much else. It's basically a placeholder. I don't mind prequels, as long as they tell us something new about the character(s) and have interesting plots, but this one fails on both levels. I hate to leave such a negative review, but it's hard to be positive about a purposeless story.
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Angles of Attack
- Frontlines, Book 3
- De: Marko Kloos
- Narrado por: Luke Daniels
- Duración: 9 h y 57 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 6,770
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 6,186
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 6,165
The alien forces known as the Lankies are gathering on the solar system's edge, consolidating their conquest of Mars and setting their sights on Earth. The far-off colony of New Svalbard, cut off from the rest of the galaxy by the Lanky blockade, teeters on the verge of starvation and collapse. The forces of the two Earth alliances have won minor skirmishes but are in danger of losing the war.
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5 out of 5 stars
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New twist on great military SF
- De A reader en 05-17-15
- Angles of Attack
- Frontlines, Book 3
- De: Marko Kloos
- Narrado por: Luke Daniels
Angles of Indifference
Revisado: 04-30-15
I really enjoyed the first two installments of this series. They had some flaws, such as the implausibly large aliens, but they were fun space opera. So I was really looking forward this one. After listening to it, all I feel is indifference. There are a number of reasons for this.
First, the protagonist seems to have no real feelings. For example, he expresses brief remorse about a critical decision relating to his fiancé, then the story moves on. His mother is on Earth, which is threatened by the aliens, yet he almost never thinks about her. He feels bad about a decision to abandon a group of people in dire need of rescue, but there's little beyond that to indicate he cares about their fate. What we get from Kloos in this book is cardboard emotions and a static protagonist.
Second, information about the Lankies has progressed from near zero to near zero (i.e., not at all) over the course of three novels. Nobody has examined the corpses of dead Lankies to learn more about their biology? Nobody has attempted to determine their social behavior by observing their association patterns? Nobody has tracked their attack patterns to determine where they might be coming from? Really? Nothing?
Third, this book does little to advance the overall story. There's some action to keep us entertained, but the war against the Lankies seems to be going nowhere.
Fourth, the story is getting ever more implausible. For example, the Lankies take Mars but leave Earth alone. Why would they not immediately take out the main source of opposition in the system? When the fleet returns to Earth, why did they not use the successful tactic discovered at the beginning of the book to take out the waiting seed ships?
I'll probably listen to the next installment of the series, but unless there's substantial character and story development, and doubt I'll go further, which is a shame given how well the series started.
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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona
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Unwind
- De: Neal Shusterman
- Narrado por: Luke Daniels
- Duración: 10 h y 10 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 4,472
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 3,953
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 3,966
Conner's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance.
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4 out of 5 stars
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It won me over completely
- De SoCalBonnie en 02-17-10
- Unwind
- De: Neal Shusterman
- Narrado por: Luke Daniels
A fun story emerges from an absurd premise
Revisado: 12-30-13
This was a fun book, despite the fact that it relies on a premise that is, frankly, a bit absurd. In no reasonable world do pro-choice and pro-life groups "compromise" by allowing not only retroactive abortions (i.e., the flat-out murder of teenagers), but also the use of teens as body farms. It would be abhorrent to both groups, just as it is expected to be abhorrent to nearly all readers. Because I found the basic premise to be ridiculous, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief, and it thus took me a while to get into the story. But I'm glad that I persisted. The characters and interesting and believable as they respond to real threats. And the horror of the process, which is mostly shrouded in mystery for much of the book, is chillingly illustrated towards the end by actual unwinding of one of the less sympathetic characters. Furthermore, the narration is superb. So despite the rickety premise, I really enjoyed the book, and I'm looking forward to the remaining installments.
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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas
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Black Sun Rising
- Coldfire Trilogy, Book 1
- De: C. S. Friedman
- Narrado por: R.C. Bray
- Duración: 23 h y 47 m
- Versión completa
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General4 out of 5 stars 1,771
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 1,599
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 1,612
The Coldfire trilogy tells a story of discovery and battle against evil on a planet where a force of nature exists that is capable of reshaping the world in response to psychic stimulus. This terrifying force, much like magic, has the power to prey upon the human mind, drawing forth a person's worst nightmare images or most treasured dreams and indiscriminately giving them life. This is the story of two men. They are absolute enemies who must unite to conquer an evil greater than anything their world has ever known.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Tedium Ad Nauseum
- De William en 01-08-13
- Black Sun Rising
- Coldfire Trilogy, Book 1
- De: C. S. Friedman
- Narrado por: R.C. Bray
Tedium Ad Nauseum
Revisado: 01-08-13
Prelude: A lot of people seem to enjoy this book, so you might as well.
I almost always finish the audiobooks I purchase, and I finished this one. But it was a chore, not a pleasure. The book failed for me on so many levels, but many devolve to a set of unlikable, boring characters with inexplicable motivations.
Why does Damien, a warrior priest, instigate the quest to recover Ciani's stolen memories and adept skills? The author tells us it is because Damien is in love with Ciani, but it isn't believable. He hardly knows her at the start of the journey, and once the journey begins, he mostly avoids speaking with her. Sure, he obsesses over her in countless internal monologues, but it's an illustration of puppy love, not the type of love that would motivate a long journey by a mature man to confront a dangerous foe.
Why does Damien hate Tarrant, the powerful dark adept that joins them on the journey? It could be because Tarrant lacks basic human values, but the author roots the conflict in Damien's religious beliefs. This is emphasized in countless internal monologues, and through some of their interactions. The problem is that the tenets of the religion are never presented. So the conflict, which represents a major plot thread, has no understandable basis. In fact, Tarrant is by far the more interesting and likable of the two characters, which makes Damien's hatred seem churlish.
Did I mention the countless internal monologues, which go nowhere and reveal little? Half way through the book, my greatest wish was to see Damien die a horrible, horrible death. By the end, I was just happy to be finished with him and the rest.
There are things to like about the book, such as an interesting and novel world. Unfortunately, I found it to be populated by tedious characters, a poorly explained magic system, and contradictions that made my jaw drop.
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esto le resultó útil a 64 personas
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Julian Comstock
- A Story of 22nd-Century America
- De: Robert Charles Wilson
- Narrado por: Scott Brick
- Duración: 20 h y 47 m
- Versión completa
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General4 out of 5 stars 301
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 156
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 157
In the reign of President Deklan Comstock, a reborn United States is struggling back to prosperity. Over a century after the Efflorescence of Oil, after the Fall of the Cities, after the Plague of Infertility, after the False Tribulation, after the days of the Pious Presidents, the sixty stars and thirteen stripes wave from the plains of Athabaska to the national capital in New York City. In Colorado Springs, the Dominion sees to the nation's spiritual needs.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent tragedy with very good narration
- De William en 07-27-09
- Julian Comstock
- A Story of 22nd-Century America
- De: Robert Charles Wilson
- Narrado por: Scott Brick
Excellent tragedy with very good narration
Revisado: 07-27-09
Julian Comstock is an unusual story for science fiction, a 16th century tragedy, presented in a 19th century style, set in the 22nd century. It's also a first person account written by a friend of the title character, which has the consequence of leaving much about Julian, and about the world in which the story is set, unexplained. If you're looking for an uplifting adventure story, or a geeky exposition on post-collapse technology, you might look elsewhere. But if you like a good story, beautifully told, check this one out. Although the stories and characters are quite different, the tone reminded me a bit of The Great Gatsby, particularly Fitzgerald's last line: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." The narration is very well done, though a bit melancholic, but it fits the nature of the tale. Like a previous reviewer, I really didn't want this one to end.
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esto le resultó útil a 9 personas