Carryn

Good continuation of story

Revisado: 05-27-18

Very entertaining. Loved the first book, and happily used a credit for this short listen. I actually applaud the author for keeping the length as it is, the detail and pacing are quite satisfying. Looking forward to the next in this series.

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5 star rating from a non-scifi person

Revisado: 05-27-18

This is GREAT! Interesting, funny, well-paced, overall completely entertaining. I think I got this as a daily deal, but in spite of the short length it's credit-worthy, In fact I happily shelled out a credit for the equally short sequel. Narration seems strange at first, but in the end I thought the voice captured the character well. Recommended highly.

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Enjoyable for a non-techy

Revisado: 05-27-18

Science fiction isn't my go-to genre, but it is so growing on me. I found this book very entertaining, and the theme of a computer simulation of one's brain is mind blowing. Forgive me, sci-fi-ers, if this is a common theme, for me it's a first. The political plots are arguably prescient, with religious fundamentalism and theories of MAD as a deterrent playing the villians. The main character is interesting and funny, with Ray Porter's narration filling it out nicely. There's a bit of detail about science and engineering that, believable or not, left me nodding off. Overall I recommend this listen.

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Fun overall

Revisado: 03-27-17

This is not my usual genre, so take this review for what it is. I suppose to summarize, I enjoy sci-fi/post apocalypse when the premise and characters are good. Really liked the premise here; living on a ramshackle space station and sky diving into a devastated world for supplies. The story follows through the concept with rampant illness due to conditions, evolution of an unfair class structure and evolving social movements, and psychological burnout. It really could have been a much deeper a story, but it keeps it on the lighter side for better or for worse. My biggest criticism was that I found myself rolling my eyes at some of the characters. A few were annoying caricatures, and along with others were just underdeveloped. Not terrible, not enough to make me not enjoy the book, but a little irritating. Not a fantastic ending. But overall I enjoyed the listen.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Modern Dickens

Revisado: 03-26-17

I recommend this listen to any Dickens fan or general Anglophile. The start was slow, and I almost set it aside, but patience paid off; I greatly enjoyed the last 3/4. The storyline has a Dickens quality in the drama and coincidence; so, like Dickens, you just let the story flow over you and don't bother with unlikelies. The characters were very British, stiff-upper-lip and all. My biggest criticism of the book is that the speech patterns and "strength" of all the characters is too similar. What I particularly love about this book is that it follows the British tendency toward strong, independent women characters. Narration was excellent. Very enjoyable overall.

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Great characters

Revisado: 10-02-16

This book's strengths are the full-fleshed, three dimensional characters with dialogue that follows each character with their own very particular speech patterns. The author sets this up so the reader must judge the reliability of the narrator and the trustworthiness of those she has close to her. I loved these characters and invested in the story, despite it getting a bit contrived as it went on, then a bit cheesy in the end. The ending isn't very hard to foresee, if that bothers you. The story is very dark, with much misery and depression for the main character. A lot of drinking and being hung over, forewarning to those with sensitive stomachs. I liked the narration, didn't love it. Overall, the voice is well suited for the character, with somewhat of a Midwestern quality, which can include that nasal-ly tone that other reviewers have pointed out, it can be grating. But I thought the emotional level of the reading was just right, and the different character voices were OK. Overall I enjoyed this listen.

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Agree that it's hard to follow

Revisado: 09-27-16

In my mind, I've put my finger on why it's hard for me to keep track of characters in such a book. I put some of the blame on myself, that I have a short attention span (i do), or I've blamed it on the setting, that I have a hard time with names in other languages. Well, I'm going to spread a bit of the blame onto the authors. In a book such as this, the characters are formally introduced. They are named, and what follows is a page or two of description. With my attention span, I quickly forget who is who, and when listening, it isn't easy to go back and find the passage reminding you of this character's background and quirks. In other words, I was quickly disoriented and fatigued with this listen. I can now appreciate authors who introduce their characters by doing, not saying. As an Anglophile and Gerard Doyle fan, I really wanted to like this book. I tried really hard. I ended up knowing I should appreciate the character depth, dark humor, and political shrewdness the English seem to breath. But I just felt icky. And tired. Perhaps I'll try the hardcover for the sequel.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

I get it now

Revisado: 09-26-16

A must-read/listen. I feel dumb, that I didn't really grasp what are "biological weapons". I've heard this term a thousand times, but never really examined it. Scary, but everyone should be aware of this.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

3.5 Stars

Revisado: 09-26-16

GRRRR......I'm disappointed in this book! The premise has so much potential, but for me it came off as a bit silly; as if the author was trying to add some dark humor or give the protagonist some depth, but it came off as amateurish. Like a modern-day Batman, but in the manner of how a modern-day Batman would live in the mind of a 15 year-old. And neighbors who are constantly imposing on him. How many kooky nosy people can live in one building? Add in Scott Brick's turn-it-up-to-11 drama volume and I'm really annoyed. I finished it, and have to admit was somewhat entertained, but overall was disappointed. The ending pointed toward a sequel; I would take a look, but with a very skeptical eye.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Not perfect but I liked it

Revisado: 09-26-16

When I finish a listen, I sometimes like to go back and read reviews just to compare experiences. Another listener commented that the entire premise was preposterous, and that is completely accurate. Completely. But, I can't help but still like this book. This is my third Gregg Hurwitz, and they have similar elements; a man with a troubled childhood is ripped apart from his family, fighting back with an amazing survival instinct and nothing else to lose. Well, call me a sucker, but for whatever reason I'm able to just set my reasoning aside and flow with the story. There is always a strong underdog element going, maybe that's it. There's stuff here that is just done really well in my opinion.

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