T. Reed

An American hero immigrant

Revisado: 09-22-24

Here is someone who experienced the reality of Communism, immigrated to the US and became an American, and who then fulfilled his version of the American dream. I thought this autobiography was informative, insightful, entertaining, and very relevant today.

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Not as good as #1

Revisado: 08-11-23

This book was just OK. I'm not unhappy I listened but I'm not sure I'm glad.

I thought Wil Wheaton's narration in #1 was amazing but I wasn't so impressed this time. Specifically, I was disappointed that he used the same voice for all the characters. And sometimes the pacing was ponderous. I ended listening on 1.2x speed.

The story has some interesting twists that I appreciated, but a lot of the story seemed like a replay of Ready Player 1 on VHS: it was familiar but no longer fresh, pixelated, with static and tracking problems.

That's why this gets 3 stars from me. I really wanted to love it, but it was just OK.

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Best audio book I've heard in a long time!

Revisado: 04-07-23

I listen to audio books all the time (I have close to 1,000 in my library), and I'd like to think I'm fairly discerning. That said, I'm pretty easy to please--as long as I'm entertained, taught something new, or prompted to think about something in a new way; and as long as the narrator doesn't kill the story.

Every once in a while, I come across a gem; a book that entertains, teaches, and engages. And now and then, the narrator will really bring a book to life. I was thrilled to discover that this audio book does all of these.

I've never before listened to a book read by Adam Barr, but it won't be my last. He is one of the best narrators I've listened to. There were times when I had to remind myself that this was fiction and that Cameron Winter wasn't actually speaking to me. And it was easy to distinguish all the characters. Adam Barr knocked it out of the park.

Andrew Klavan has penned an insightful, intriguing story that weaves everything together masterfully.

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I'm not very picky but...

Revisado: 03-07-23

I am a big fan of sci-fi and adventure books and this one had the potential to check all the boxes but...

I didn't care for the narrator's style. OK, I REALLY didn't like it. Specifically, there was not much VARIATION in his style, and sentences frequently ended with the same tonal pattern and pause. It made me want to pull my hair out. I sped the playback to 1.35 the reduce the effect.

The author did little to create a sense of struggle in the story, or develop relationships. The premise of the book has promise, but the story stretched my already thin suspension of disbelief to its limit.

For example, at the beginning of the story, when the MC enters a competition with the other military branches (via a very clever loophole) he breezes thru every part of the competition, utterly demolishing the completion, with every obstacle anticipated in advance or serendipitously being resolved.

That pattern continues through out the story.

I REALLY wanted to like this because I love rooting for the underdog (in this case an underdog prodigy). But with Salvage Title, I was only mildly entertained, periodically bored or frustrated, and relieved when it ended.

I'd return the audio book but I paid cash for it; I didn't use a credit. At least it was on sale.

When I read through the glowing reviews--some are a little over the top IMHO--I couldn't help but ask myself, "Did I listen to the same book? '

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Must listen, but narration is not great

Revisado: 12-11-22

This is an excellent "translation" really worth listening or reading. Bunyan was very profound and wise. Unfortunately, when compared to professional narrators, the author comes up short. Oh well. It's still worth listening to.

Thank you, Mr Vermilye for your hard work. God bless you. As an audio book, having this reread by a professional narrator would put it over the top.

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Excellent work, you should buy the book too.

Revisado: 10-15-22

I really appreciated this book's knowledge. For me, it was engaging, instructive, and motivating to be more intentional in my writing.

The author clearly has expert knowledge on this topic, writing clearly with lots of real world examples and adding a large dose of humor. The narrator was superb and told this story so well that I laughed out loud multiple times.

That said, I must get the book. It's very technical at times and I want to refer back to specific parts.

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Meh? Good? I'm torn.

Revisado: 06-14-22

The theatrical audio production was interesting, and the multiple voice actors was an entertaining twist. But I found that the production sometime became too campy and corny for me. It was almost like a sitcom.

It was enjoyable overall, and give I'll it one thumb up.

Just wait until the audio book goes on sale before you buy it, and make sure you get some wine and crackers to go with the cheese.

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Excellent story with caveats

Revisado: 04-30-22

As usual, the author wrote an excellent story and the narrator delivered it perfectly.

There is much to this book to love, but I struggled with the extremely graphic descriptions of violence and sex. I don't mind violence in my books and movies, and how it was written made it EASY to envision the blood and gore, but it seemed a bit gratuitous.

The character development was superb and I even felt empathy for the villains and disappointment in the heros. No one is perfect, and Abercrombie depicts that masterfully. And I really liked that so many supporting characters from his other books are back and featured as main characters.

If only the violence and sex scenes weren't so over the top...

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I reeeeeeaaly wanted to like this, but...

Revisado: 07-23-21

I'll start by admitting that I REALLY wanted to like this book, and I listened the whole way thru.

It's not fair to compare this to Ready Player One. RP1 has a totally different vibe. The premise of this book is not bad, but I was really disappointed with the quality of the story writing. Maybe cheesy was the plan, if so it was achieved. Sometimes it felt to me like just pretty good high school writing, not professional work.

The retro theme is fine but the execution was unsubtle and many references were interruptions that often didn't add to the story.

And the adjectives. Oh. My. Goodness. The word "Immediately" was the champion of overuse and I think "Instantly" was runner up. There's gotta be a more sophisticated way to create tension and urgency.

There were some real signs of potential that left me hoping for more. For example, Blaze's interactions with Bryce showed glimmers of depth, and I really wanted retribution for what Bryce did. Alas that didn't come in this book. And the friendship between Blaze & Ice Man gave the story a bit of depth; ditto Jessica's backstory.

Although I gave the book 1 star for story, I gave it 5 stars for production. The narration was excellent (the author was the primary narrator) and I really liked the multi-voice reading (which is not normally my preference). And other than some cringe worthy MIDI music (maybe that was intentional), the sound effects were solid.

Ultimately, despite the great narration/production and the rare character building moments in the storyline, it wasn't enough for me. I set the speed to 1.25x and was mostly relieved when the book ended.

Unfortunately, I won't be buying the sequel if it's published.

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This is a great series!

Revisado: 04-18-21

I really, really enjoyed this series.

Tim Gerard Reynolds was superb, as he has been in all the books I've heard. He is able to bring to life a broad range of characters. If I have anything negative to say, it might be that some voices in certain situations seemed over acted. But that might partly be the materials he had to work with.

Craig Alanson's story was a ton of fun to listen to. So much so that I listened any time I had a chance. The storyline moved well and didn't big down. Characters were generally well developed, especially the main character Koren.

Having heard almost all of his Expeditionary Force books, this is a big departure, but in ways still familiar. There is enough world building to "get it", but this series isn't written on the scale or sophistication of some other well known authors.

Overlal, I appreciated the pacing. The story didn't drag on, and it kept moving. On the downside, I thought there were some gaps is the back stories and some transitions seemed abrupt and maybe a little glossed over. Also, some dialog, scene settings and events felt recycled from other books or movies. But the overall story was so enjoyable that I didn't mind that much.

I'm also glad Alanson wrapped up the story by the end of this book. If he writes more books of this world, I look forward to listening, but I don't feel the need. This trilogy is good as is and I highly recommend it.

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