Austin E

The Series Just Keeps Getting Better

Revisado: 11-11-24

Book 4 kind of defines longer running series. At this point, it's more than a trilogy, but hasn't established itself as a shelf-spanning serial. Some will fall apart into convoluted messes or lose steam.

I'm happy to say, Moonsilver Transfusion is not one of those.

The series still feels fresh and interesting. Things that have been hinted about since the very first book continue to be revealed, and it's done in a way that feels organic. There was never a point where something came out of left field just because the plot needed it. Characters have continued to develop and the plot moves forward without a stumble.

Damn, I'm making it sound like I'm grading marching band performance.

Let me be clear, the book is a lot of fun. Plenty of action and bits of humor between legitimately interesting character development. When I look back, it's hard to believe so much was packed into just 15 hours. Just really, really good.

My only complaint would be that as something of a redneck myself, I do feel like there's a bit of negative stereotyping going on there, but I'll let it slide for the sake of a very good story. Every piece needs a villain and every group has their bad apples, I guess, and it's not worth knocking anything off the score for.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

I Want to Like It, But...

Revisado: 09-11-24

Bootstrapping stories are fun. HFY is fun. Military Scifi is fun. Based on the description, I was really hoping to get some of that here.

Instead, there's the same conversation ten times. Sometimes with the exact same phrases. Rarely with anything new, or much in the way of characterization.

Technical specifications get thrown around to make Alex Holder - the main character - look smart. Only the inconsequential details just serve to slow things down. I appreciated one where it got into the guts of a computer testing problem, but it felt simultaneously superficial to me as a technical person while it would go over the head of anyone without experience in the field.

Then there was a point where Alex offers a solution to a major contemporary political issue that boils down to "Why doesn't everyone just share?" and it's treated as a revelation that no one ever thought of before. Honestly, it would be great characterization if the story was trying to portray him as an ivory tower intellectual, but it isn't so it just comes across as a Marty Stu moment.

There are positive moments, which is part of why I really want to like this book. Not to get into any spoilers, but here and there are glimpses of what the story might have been if it weren't for problems with pacing, repetition, and character design.

And to set the record straight, I don't think that Alex is pushing a particularly "Woke" agenda, regardless of what other reviews say. He's definitely liberal. It definitely is a character trait that drives him. There's probably some of the author showing through there. But people need to stop accusing stories of being woke at the first sign of an opinion they disagree with.

Long story short, I like the premise, there's some high points, but the execution wasn't quite there.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A Well Written... Rehash

Revisado: 07-26-24

Let's rip off the band-aid. This story is about 70% reused. Scenes, dialog, descriptions. A few tweaks for the perspective shift that are nice. The odd new scene. But it doesn't cover events in the recent books or even much of Stacia's backstory. The whole thing starts roughly around Fallen Stars, and goes up to the end of Snake Eyes. Which was also, coincidentally, a period heavily covered in Darkkin Knight.

Honestly, still better than Blood Cull. There's a whole lot less of the rationalizing and moralizing that goes on in the most recent books, so it has that going for it. Lately, though, the Demon Accords books have been either retreading old ground or spend half the book summarizing the previous one. I'm really hoping that the pattern breaks, soon. Or John Conroe decides to finally wrap the series up. It's honestly about time.

Lily Ganser did a great job with the narration. It's odd not hearing James Patrick Cronin, but she handles it well.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Ruined by Narration

Revisado: 05-20-24

I picked this up because there are some awesome authors in the mix. And there are. The problem is, I can't really tell how good their stories are because the narration makes them unintelligible.

J Rodney Turner has a decent voice, but the sound mixing department was asleep on this one. It sounds like you're trying to listen to a story mumbled by a guy sitting across from you in a crowded restaurant. Even with the volume turned up to 11, it's barely understandable. And if you're listening on headphones or small speakers or anything without lots of bass, you're going to be struggling. It doesn't help that Turner's voices are a bit mushy without a whole lot of differentiation between characters.

So, yeah, I hate to write a review based almost purely on narration, but here we are. Pick it up if you're going on a long car drive where you can peg the volume knob. Otherwise, just grab the print version.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Epic Ending to an Epic Series

Revisado: 03-30-24

The wait was long, but it's finally here. And, boy, does it deliver. Props to Jack Voraces for the stellar narration. And, of course, Maxime Durand for the incredible story.

It never ceases to amaze me that one of the best examples of plot and character development out there is a LitRPG, but here were are. A satire of LitRPG, but LitRPG all the same. We've followed Vainqueur from a venial and ignorant dragon to a benevolent ruler. Same with Victor, who finds himself surprisingly wise, caring and a dependable friend. And looking back the way we came down this road, every single step feels natural. That's top notch storytelling in a genre filled with flat self-insert MCs and one dimensional characters.

I cannot recommend the entire Vainqueur series enough. From start to finish - and boy, does it finish - this story blends comedy, drama, action, and just plain fun so well that you won't want to turn it off.

11/10. Enough said.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Scratches the MHI Itch

Revisado: 10-04-23

First, elephant in the room. The narration. Is it amazing? No. The accents could be better and there's a bit of an odd word pacing at times.

But I'll break with what some other reviewers are saying, that it makes for a terrible audiobook. The narration is fine. Apart from a few chapters, the characters are all new, so we're not dealing with someone else talking for a known voice, like we had with Guardian. And for everyone saying that Oliver Wyman needs to re-narrate this, no. You don't have a man narrate a book written in first person with a female main character.

Now, the story? Yeah, it's good. Damn good. I had some issues with John Ringo's writing style and Chad as a character in the other Memoirs books. Jason Cordova, though? He nails it. The cast of characters is great, the action is fun, the plot is interesting. This is an MHI book, though and through.

This is a great book. If you're an MHI fan, pick it up. If you've never read MHI, it's actually a great standalone starting point. Have a flexible mind when it comes to the narration and you won't be disappointed.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Yup, it's Book 3 Alright

Revisado: 04-20-23

Look, if you're at book 3 of a series, you know what to expect. If you're considering picking up book one and making sure the writing hasn't taken a nosedive, don't worry. The story continues to just get better. My only complaint is that Daniel Potter gets preachy a couple of times, but that's a personal opinion and doesn't detract from the story. All in all, a great story and looking forward to the series continuing.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

We Don't Need to Know How the Sausage is Made!

Revisado: 03-14-23

J. L. Langland has seriously put a lot of effort into the lore behind his multiverse. You can tell, because he'll explain every bit of it to you, in excruciating detail. I'm a huge fan of the other books in the series, and while there are occasional expository sections, by and large it's a slow reveal of the universe. Here, two out of every three paragraphs is an info dump, and often a repetitive one. Then there are things like weird units just because, explicitly doubling dialog when dealing with translators, and words that really don't translate well from text to audio.

There are still fun parts of the writing. The action is what we've come to expect from the series. And if you sweep the unnecessary exposition out of the way, the universe is fun. I can't really say much about interesting characters, though, because there are frankly too many of them. They all tend to blend together, which is unfortunate.

Stephen Bel Davies is a solid narrator, as always. Props to him for handling some of the issues here. My only issues are that he changes pronunciation a little between books, and he seems to be reusing some voices from other characters in the main series. Not a huge deal, though.

In summary, there are some good parts, but this book really isn't up to snuff with the rest of the series. I'm hoping that it will remain a side story and not really critical to the main plot.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Two Ratings For This One

Revisado: 12-26-22

Okay, so how I'm going to rate this depends on how familiar you are with the LitRPG genre. If you got here because you're a fan of John Ringo and Baen (or Lydia, who's awesome, too) but haven't read any GameLit, then it's going to be fun and original. The plot is closer to YA than anything I've seen from someone like "John Ringo, NOOO!" but it's still worth getting into. The world is complex and interesting with fun characters.

On the other hand, if you've read your share of GameLit, you're not going to be in for any surprises. The tropes are heavily telegraphed, which makes sense for TradPub where people aren't used to them. And if you're a gamer, you're going to recognize some issues here and there. So probably a 3/5 to people who regularly read things like Awaken Online.

But I'll go with the score that more reflects the target demographic. And the narration was excellent.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

An Atheist, Feminist, and Creationist Enter a Bar

Revisado: 12-26-22

If the title sounds more like a joke than a book, you'd be surprised. That Was Now, This Is Then manages to put together one of the most diverse casts of people I've seen in a book. Not by numbers, but by beliefs and backgrounds. And it works.

In broad strokes, That Was Now, This Is Then picks up a bit after the events of A Long Time Until Now (at least as far as there can be an "after" involving time travel). The reasons for parts of the previous cast returning are a little contrived, but it's window dressing for the rest of the plot. We see more of the future, and how things aren't all sunshine and flying cars. Very good stuff.

The cast has been pared down a bit, and the size was one of my complaints in the first book. A few of the characters kind of bled together, but now only the stand out ones are involved. Enough for complex relationships, but not enough to be overwhelming. Those relationships are definitely stars of the show. You're guaranteed to encounter a character with beliefs or ideals you don't personally agree with, but you can almost always understand their points, even if you disagree. They're people, not caricatures to act as magnets for love or hate.

If you're expecting closure, sorry to disappoint. There's a very clear sequel written in, and plenty of mysteries to be unraveled. Hopefully it comes out soon, and the audio doubly so. The wait for Dennis Holland to finish was disappointing, even if he's a perfect fit for this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona