Craig

Not What You Probably Think

Revisado: 09-20-24

If you’re expecting a Warhammer 30/40K story, about space marines and their various endeavors, specifically what happens during the Horus Heresy leading up to and during the Burning of Prospero, then you’re in for a major disappointment. Most of this novel is rather boring misadventures of a moderately normal human being that goes around trying to dig up history and then learn about Fenris and the Space Wolves. This is FAR less exciting than it sounds. It’s almost like listening to a bureaucratic transcript with a stream-of-consciousness style of writing.

While I wouldn’t label this one of the worse HH books, I would say it’s one of those that falls into the irrelevant category. It does contain some minor tidbits of a major event but the overall narrative is just so damn boring. You might like this novel, but if you’re fond of the usual Warhammer fare, chances are, you will not.

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A Change in Formula

Revisado: 02-23-23

This is one of the first novels where most of the cast has been changed and directions and motivations of characters are fairly different. It’s much darker than everything that took place before the Transitions arc and I have to say it’s NOT for the better.

Drizzt is still Drizzt, for the most part, only he seems to have actively lost some wisdom over the years instead of gaining it. It’s an interesting enough read but some of the characters and situations make things annoying, to say the least. Dahlia most of all. I loathe her and truly wish Salvatore would kill her off. The favorite anti-hero of many, Artemis Entreri, is also back but in a pitiful state.

I honestly think Salvatore has gone through moments where he comes to hate his own creations and then he proceeds to torment them in his stories. That’s kind of the gist of this book for Drizzt and especially for Entreri.

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It’s a Fun but Strange Ride

Revisado: 11-06-21

It’s hard to know what to make of this book. I’m certain that parts of it are entirely real but I’m also equally sure that large swaths of it are totally made-up. The trouble is, you can’t always tell which is which. I mean, you’d think that you would be able to, what with pig penises floating in jars of blood and whatnot, but nope. Once you remember this is a story set in LA about people that live and work in Hollywood, then the “truth” becomes a whole lot murkier and much more difficult to discern.

And that’s basically what makes it such fun to listen to. The voice acting is brilliant all around, from Spiner’s primary narration to all the guest voices just doing their own parts or filling in for those that can’t speak any longer. Granted, it’s not what I would deem as some miraculous, life-changing piece of literature but it’s a very fun listen and if you like Star Trek and/or Brent Spiner in any way, chances are you’ll enjoy this specific piece of fan fiction.

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Not Entirely Suchet

Revisado: 10-23-19

Be warned! The last three or so stories within this book’s collection are read by Hugh Fraser and NOT David Suchet! No offense to Mr. Fraser but he’s a mostly terrible narrator for Poirot stories. Suchet is great, especially once he gets warmed up, but Fraser is just lifeless. Listen at your own discretion!

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Good Story But...

Revisado: 08-06-19

...absolutely terrible, cliffhanger ending. Also, some parts are just too predictable. There definitely needs to be at least one more book to complete this full story.

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Good but Different from Book

Revisado: 11-24-18

It’s still a good story overall and it’s well acted, for the most part, but there are several changes within the core structure of it all that make it a little irritating.

The most obvious of these is Trev Lightly. In the book he’s a happy-go-lucky kind of guy that loves mob ball as well as his candle job at the University. Also, and most importantly, he’s not an asshole. In this version, he’s a selfish, racist and a bit of a prick. Basically, an asshole.

There are other minor changes but the main one is Trev and it alone is enough for me to decrease my rating for the audio play.

The performances are all good but the writing takes away from the quality of it all, hence my rating.

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In Ian Fleming's footsteps

Revisado: 12-08-15

Well, the title and my rating should tell you all you really need to know about this book. Kingsley Amis does such a good job channeling Fleming that it's often hard to tell the difference between this and the many other, previous Bond books. It picks up where The Man with the Golden Gun left off and does so immensely well. Like Fleming, it gets bogged down in its pace a few times but otherwise it's great. If you liked some of the great Fleming Bond novels like Dr. No or Live and Let Die, then chances are you'll like this one as well. Thankfully Simon Vance returns to continue his excellent narration of Bond, so if you've listened to any of the previous titles you'll be getting what you expect. As usual, he does a superb job. 'Nuff said.

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WTF Herbert.

Revisado: 05-06-15

I'm really not sure that I can think of another science fiction novel read by so many, named so often a classic, and yet in truth is, in many ways, so incredibly distasteful. Not the whole of it, of course, but large portions of the story leave a bitter, sour taste in the reader's mouth or at least that was the case with me. I think primarily that Herbert made some vital mistakes. First and foremost was the age of the twins. Yes, it's fantastical science fiction but still, making them 9 created a continuous discontinuity. Simply put, it was hard to imagine beings of that physical age doing and saying the things they did, and I know that was part of his intention but it was still, in my mind, the wrong age. 12 or 13 would've been more acceptable. This was just one factor though. Another flaw of the story is that Herbert makes his main protagonists, the twins, often very unlikable characters. Leto is the absolute worst or I should say best example of this point. He's rude, arrogant, and unapologetically manipulative, and not in the kind of way that would enable readers to root for him. Rather he does and says everything in a manner that often leaves the listener wanting to punch him in the face. There's a lot of philosophical debate throughout the book and that makes it worth listening to, just like the previous two, but the actual story, while not quite as "predetermined" as Dune Messiah was still fairly obvious in its ultimate outcome. Disjointed and rambling but still obvious. Leto wins, everyone else loses, the end. Ok. That's enough from me. Listen to it yourself and judge. Excellent narration.

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A Good Classic

Revisado: 04-24-15

I could probably go on and on about this novel but I think I'll make this brief instead. It's a good book. Very detailed and immensely ingrossing; however, as much as it is one of the pinnacles of classic science fiction, certain aspects of the book could, simply put, be better. On an adjoining matter, the narration is superb and the only negative thing I can say about it is that they could have used their multiple narrators to better effect than they actually did. Well worth listening to.

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One of the better Doctor novels

Revisado: 04-18-15

Well, my subject title pretty much says it all. Anthony Head does a great job and the story itself was definitely one of the better ones as well. It managed to make the 9th Doctor someone interesting and not overly dour as he's often portrayed, but nevertheless, thank God Rose was in the book. Certain aspects of the novel would have fallen very flat and the pacing would have been ruined completely if not for her and Jack. Overall, a really good listen and certainly one I'd recommend.

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