Cayce B

Great storyline, decent story, eh narrator

Revisado: 05-11-18

It grew on me and ended well. The narrator was just odd for this book.

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Common storyline with great twists, characters

Revisado: 10-08-17

NARRATOR

I have to say I was surprised when I heard Bryan Zee. The accent and general tone of his voice seemed so much more innocent and . . . young? . . . than I expected Hellsfire to be. It gave me an image of someone resembling Eragon's little brother, if he'd had one.

His voice was clear and easy to listen to, and after a while, I got used to Bryan as Hellsfire. When Hellsfire's wizard side of it all started to surface, and he became the student later seeking to save the world, I found myself content that Bryan was that voice to help me create the image of Hellsfire. It was an interesting match, and it took me a while to get used to it, but I did, and I think Marc Johnson chose well.

Bryan Zee didn't change his dialect or inflection or anything when other characters were speaking, but that didn't hurt the story. Sometimes, it made the switching dialogue difficult to discern between speakers, but it was fine overall.

STORYLINE

Catalyst makes the hero story an adventure that can easily be appreciated. While it offers unique elements such as a historical war that creates monsters of once-before allies, it brings together elves, dwarves, dragons, and humans with a wizard whose powers are well past his ability to control. But, he has to do it because the villain isn't waiting for him to finish learning, and he has a prophecy to fulfill.

The great thing about this story, aside from Hellsfire, is the prophecy. Most classic hero books reveal the prophecy toward the beginning or at least make it something that is within reach. While Hellsfire does address the idea of the prophecy, it's not that important to him. Just like it is for the readers, the prophecy is a question lingering in the back of his mind, but it's not his goal to discover what it is and why he's part of it. The prophecy will be fulfilled, and the readers will find out what it is, but what's more important is the ride Hellsfire is taking us on because his character drives it forward.

As I listened, I kept hearing the same word really close together. A few phrases were repetitive, too, such as "It ached to be released." That one, in particular, caught my attention, as often as I heard it. There were many times throughout the read that I found myself getting distracted and trying to think of better ways to rephrase something or different words to use so the sentences didn't sound the same.

This was a minor problem, but it was a bit distracting, and it made the narrative a little duller than it might have been. Even for a main character's voice, it didn't fit. It wasn't something that seemed intentional, so I can only assume the repetitive words were simply overlooked.

OVERALL LIKES

I enjoyed the steady flow of the story. Hellsfire saves the princess from a small matter, and it's such a minor moment (though huge at the time) despite the fact that she's a princess. I found the twist in significance to be refreshing, and I found it more refreshing when she wasn't useless. More than that, she was ridiculously dedicated to her kingdom, revealing her own strong character.

OVERALL DISLIKES

I wasn't a fan of the villain mostly because I don't understand him. He seems to be a convenient villain, one who is hungry for power just for the sake of it, and I'm hoping that he becomes more understandable later.

I didn't enjoy how "easy" it was for Hellsfire to win. While the battle itself was fantastic, it still didn't make sense that someone with his lack of experience could beat a wizard of that magnitude, even if he had help and he didn't truly beat him. I think, depending on how things go in the future, this will be addressed. It helps that the villain wasn't truly beaten.

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Three for the effort and good plot

Revisado: 06-09-16

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I'm not sure yet. Maybe? The plot was great and I was relatively eager to learn what happened next but as the story continued, I grew less interested because of his internal changes. I also didn't understand the "stronger body" last-minute bounce thing. Overall, though, it was decent if you disregard the ending. I liked the dream sequences and every transition in the story flowed beautifully. But...

The ending made me lose every ounce of respect I had for the main character. He loves a robot and his wife and it took less than two weeks to fall in love with the robot. He also was willing to leave his wife in the future so the robot could have her body. His reactions to things were dry and a bit unrealistic, and it was easy to find a stopping point because the narrator gave a step-by-step-by-step account of everything happening. If I didn't know what he was eating the first time he said it, I was reminded the second. I also didn't think the reader matched the character; however, I don't usually listen to audiobooks so it might just be a "me" thing.

This might sound like I hated the book. I didn't. I wouldn't watch a movie about it or read it again, but the intricacy of the book itself was amazing. The 929 and the fluid, simplified descriptions and explanations of the future and how things worked was very well done and must have required a ridiculous amount of research, knowledge, or both. Both. That part alone amazed me, but the book slowly died for me as it went on.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The extreme attention to detail in a foreign, normally cliché world. Least interesting was every bar scene and the ending.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Sean Michael Hogan?

I'm not an avid audiobook listener, so I don't know. But, although he did a great job, I don't think his voice fit the character.

Was Yours Truly, 2095 worth the listening time?

Yes and no. Yes because it was so well thought out and no because reaching the ending just made me hate the character. I don't need a cliché ending, but I don't need an ending that makes me think, "Of course a guy would do that."

Any additional comments?

Keep writing and thanks for sharing! I'm sure I'd read another book by Paone at some point.

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