The Phoenix

Worst so far, but...

Revisado: 07-29-24

This one felt a bit disappointing. A lot gets resolved in this volume, but it tended to feel abrupt. There were things that had been set up that I was looking forward to seeing play out, but then they suddenly went another direction that dodged the most interesting complications. Also, the last major conflict in the book gets resolved with a gimmick that didn't impress me at all. I think it's fair to call this the worst book in the series.

That said, it's He Who Fights with Monsters we're talking about, so the worst in the series is still in 8/10 territory. The story choices I didn't like at least included a few aspects that were genuinely good, and there were lots of story choices that were just good on their own. There's still a lot to like. I'm a little worried that book 12 will struggle to be good with the state everything was in at the end of this book, but I'm nowhere near ready to give up hope yet.

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Fun and Fascinating

Revisado: 07-07-24

This was one of the more enjoyable listens I've had. The narration is excellent, really going above and beyond. The premise is interesting, and fresh developments keep it from ever needing stale. It's got a lot of funny elements, and those rarely felt overused. I was enjoying it an hour in, and that enjoyment only grew as the story progressed. I'd say more, but that would delay me listening to the sequel.

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Best Entry Since the First One

Revisado: 07-22-20

I often listen to audiobooks when driving. It turns out that it's hard to see the road when you're laughing that hard.

Good book. Entertaining plot, great jokes, and the best performance I've heard from J. D. Ledford yet.

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Blown Away

Revisado: 08-28-18

In my life, I've only come across two books where every scene was interesting, where the pacing never dragged, and where I always cared about what was happening now and what would happen next.

This book is one of them.

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Almost great, but...

Revisado: 07-14-17

I loved the first book. I had to give the next one a listen, too. There's a lot to like in this book. There's really only one thing I didn't care for.

Trying to stay as spoiler-free as possible here, but there's one character introduced in this book who is absolutely insufferable. Just a flat-out awful person. No big deal, right? There's nothing wrong with having a character you love to hate, right?

Here's the thing: the listener is supposed to sympathize with this person. The main character can't stop gushing about what an amazing person this is, even as that person continuously does awful, unjustifiable things to her and her friends. I began dreading scenes with this character, but they just kept coming, and the character kept getting more loathsome.

Other than that character, it's a good story. I just wish that story stopped getting dragged down by a character who's less pleasant than nails on a chalkboard (while the protagonist keeps trying to tell you that chalkboard screeching is a beautiful symphony).

I hear the next book is better, and I'm looking forward to it. If it's more like the original book than this one, I'll be happy.

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Disappointing Story, Pretty Good Narrator

Revisado: 07-01-17

Interesting premise if handled well. It wasn't.

There are moments of creativity, but the overall plot didn't manage to live up to the expectations it created. The ending wasn't worth the time it took to get there.

The narrator gives the characters distinctive voices, and his voice is clear and easily understood.

The story kept me interested by keeping me guessing how things would play out, only to wrap things up so neatly and abruptly that I had trouble believing that was the real ending. Many of the earlier scenes that suggested the plot was building up to something big, but that ending made those scenes feel pointless in retrospect.

To sum up my overall impression: "Interesting. Go on. Wait, that's it?"

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