T. Mcpherson

Revisiting after 30 years…

Revisado: 04-24-23

The narrator is excellent, and that was a pleasant surprise.

I read this series as it was being published when I was a kid. It stuck in my memory as an enjoyable read, so I figured I’d give the audible version a try.

There was one flaw that I remembered and I wanted to review it now that I’m older.

I will say that I still cannot stand the main character. I feel nothing but contempt for him. Part of that is possibly poor writing…but I’m also aware that there are actually people in the real world who behave in this manner.

So, I can’t just toss that character away as poor writing.

That said, it makes the book less enjoyable to get through. It’s like being forced to spend your leisure time with a democrat who has shotgunned the Kool-aid. He can’t back up his beliefs with logic or reason. He seems to justify them with emotion and he refuses to change his mind, no matter the evidence that is presented. It makes me wonder if the main character was originally written to be a woman and the publisher requested the author switch the sex to male.

You will find yourself hoping he is killed off. Eventually, you’ll want to increase speed to get through his portions.

Other than that, the overall story and other characters are still enjoyable.

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Basically the same plot as "Pushing Ice"

Revisado: 08-18-16

First off, Michael Kramer should be required to narrate all audiobooks, period. The guy is excellent.
Second, if you have read Pushing Ice....this is almost exactly the same plot. some of the details are a little different, but it is essentially the same thing. I basically guessed the plot halfway through.
Still a decent book.

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Annoying narrator

Revisado: 06-25-16

I love this book and have for years. The problem with the audiobook is the narrator. He obviously British, but tries to affect an "American" accent with reading quotes from Americans and a "German" accent for quotes from Germans. The American accent is godawful and takes you right out of the book. The German one is cartoonish and I imagine it would be offensive to a German. There are enough quotes and this happens often enough to ruin the audiobook. I had to return it.
The hell of it is....his normal British accent and voice perfectly fine. It would have been just fine if he used that for the entire book. Seriously, what is the point of switching accents? You end up with a situation where every single American sounds exactly the same and every German sounds the same.....even though you are reading quotes from different people.

<Sigh> how many great books have been botched by crap narrator performances on here.

We should all demand that, henceforth, only Grover Gardner or Michael Kramer should be allowed to record all audiobooks....forever. :-)

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Terrible Narrator

Revisado: 09-24-15

Would you try another book from John Scalzi and/or the narrators?

He is a decent writer.

Would not listen to Tavia Gilbert on any book unless she makes some major changes in the way she does things.

Would you recommend The End of All Things to your friends? Why or why not?

Not really. I thought this was the weakest book in the series and I wasn't that engaged with it.

Would you listen to another book narrated by the narrators?

Dufris was ok, but Tavia Gilbert was extremely irritating. Her normal voice isn't that bad, but her character voices are absurd, annoying, and jarring.
If she is going to narrate, she shouldn't try to do voices. Period.

Do you think The End of All Things needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I think this series has jumped the shark.

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story, great author, 50% Fastastic narration

Revisado: 05-30-14

Sanderson is a very good writer (much better than Robert Jordan) and I have enjoyed several of his stories.
The biggest problem is that he evidently feels the need to employ the same narrators that Jordan used. That is both good and bad. Kramer is fantastic, but Kate Reading is equally terrible. Her male voices sound ridiculous and she manages to make every female character sound like a complete b*tch. She was exactly the same way in wheel of time. Her cadence combined with the way she ennunciates her words is so obnoxious. It takes you right out of the story (especially when transitioning from a great narrator like Kramer) It got to the point where I had to just fast forward through her parts in order to get back to Kramer. I feel like I only got half a book. :-(
Please, Sanderson, stop casting her!

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Worth a credit.

Revisado: 07-18-11

Salem's Lot has always been one of my favorite books, but I avoided it on Audible for a long time due to a misunderstanding.
The sample that is provided by audible is Stephen King reading part of the introduction. I never really paid attention to what was being said, I just heard the voice and thought it was Ron McLarty. No offense to King, but narration is not his forte and there was no way in hell I was going to listen to an entire book in that voice.
I finally got tired of seeing this book in my wish list, so I gave the sample another try. This time I realized it was the intro and that King usually reads those.
I found some other McLarty books on audible and checked those samples. The narration isn't bad at all.
So, once that was settled, this was a no brainer. The book is awesome and well worth a listen.

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Satisfying conclusion to the Hyperion series.

Revisado: 04-10-09

I took a little break between Endymion and this final book of the series because it is one of those rare stories that you just don't want to end. Its nice to be able to look forward to the next installment of a story of proven quality and endurance. Anyway, after savoring anticipation for a while, I finally went ahead with this final Hyperion book.

If you have completed Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, and Endymion, then there probably won't be that many suprises in this book. Everything unfolds roughly the way you might expect, although there were a few minor unexpected twists. All loose ends are tied up rather neatly. Within the Hyperion Universe that Simmons has created, pretty much anything is possible. Because of this, I was hoping that Simmons would offer of a different fate for "the one who teaches." At least, one that was different than the one I was expecting.

If you haven't completed the book, I don't want to say anything more on that subject. Again, all I will say is that there are no major suprises in this book. I understand why certain events were required for the plot, but some events are unfortunate.

All in all, this was an outstanding series and I thank Simmons for sharing it with us. Once again, Bevine provides outstanding narration. The series ends on a good note and I am glad for that.

Highly Recommend all books in the Hyperion Saga!!

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Worthy addition to the Hyperion saga!

Revisado: 04-10-09

An excellent 3rd installment from Simmons. Well worth a listen. Anyone who was a fan of Hyperion should really finish the series to fully appreciate each book within the series. Once again, truly excellent narration by Victor Bevine. Highly recommend!

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Excellent story, Excellent Narration.

Revisado: 04-10-09

I couldn't be happier with this purchase. I reviewed Hyperion immediately after I finished it because it left me very excited about this series. I decided to wait until I finished the remaining 3 books before reviewing any of them individually. It is not very often that you come across a story that is so promising and I was afraid that the remaing books in the series would fall flat, or even worse, tank completely. I am very relieved to say that this is not the case at all. Simmons continues to weave a fantasic world in this second book and it leaves you hungry for more. The narration truly is excellent. After the first book, there was a slight transition in getting used to hearing a single narrator rather than a full cast, but Victor Bevine is definitely the correct choice for this project. As I listen to more and more audiobooks, I'm beginning to realize that narrators fall into roughly three categories. Class "C" would be the ones who are terrible and should not be allowed anywhere near a microphone. Class "B" are the ones who do a competent job, but don't really stand out or excell at their craft. And the class "A" narrators who provide truly excellent performances and who display an abundance of talent. Bevine is definitely a class "A" in every way. With audiobooks, when you have the combo of a good book helmed by an outstanding narrator, it just doesn't get much better than that.

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A well rounded history of Augustus

Revisado: 04-09-09

A well written and well narrated history of Augustus. Definitely worth a credit. Highly recommend.

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