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Love letter to right wing military culture

Revisado: 09-21-24

The author seems to criticize any political decision or sociatal trend that adversely affects the ability of the military to accomplish its objectives. In a free society, there are trade-offs, and most of us accept them willingly and knowingly. Additionally, the author seems to put himself in the company of more accomplished writers who happen to also have served in the military and who work in the same genre. Having read many works of the authors he cites, I don't see many similarities beyond genre.
Setting all this aside, the story itself was OK. Heavy on action-hero sequences rather than thoughtful story telling. Rather comic book-like in that regard. I'm sure my criticisms will attract many listeners to this author and this book, which is fine. To each his or her own. It is a free country.

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Hard to believe this was written by Connie Willis.

Revisado: 09-21-24

First discovered CW with To Say Nothing of the Dog. Hard to believe the author who wrote that also wrote this. I suppose this was meant to be light and fun. But it comes across as unintentionally silly. Sped up to 1.3x. Was still too painful so started skipping to the next chapter. Found I didn't miss anything of substance.

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Quit after a few hours

Revisado: 08-18-24

Very slow, dull, dark, and depressing. I assume the second half is much more interesting but I just couldn't take it anymore. I tried increasing the speed to 1.2x and then 1.5x. Just wasn't enjoying myself listening to this one.

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Quirky and funny with spot on narration

Revisado: 03-22-24

Character delineation was outstanding with every character having a distinct tone and personality. The characters were quirky, funny, and interesting. The story was good not great but the clever banter more than made up for it. I was thoroughly engaged once the craggle made his appearance. I was sad to see it end - wish it was twice as long, or longer.

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Mediocre good guys

Revisado: 03-15-24

The three characters are among the worst detectives I've seen in reading mystery fiction over 40 years, including every Sherlock Holmes story ever published by A.C. Doyle. The three PIs have only the faintest resemblance to their namesakes. None of the mysteries solved or supporting characters are particularly interesting. It was easy for my mind to wonder. I was tempted many times to abandon the book out of apathy but laziness made me stick with it. I'm sure this is right up some other readers' ally.

The narration was quite good but as is often the case, the female narrator was less convincing with male characters (same with male narrators portraying female characters). She did alright with the male characters but the difference between the female and male portrayals was stark.

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Promising concept but dismal execution

Revisado: 02-20-24

The strangest narration decisions I've seen. A very good female narrator for most of the book - that has a male main character. A male narrator would have made more sense. Unexplicable switching between female and male narrators. Just bizarre.

The story was very disappointing. I was very surprised that the story ended where it did. I was sure it would continue with what happened with the second Phobos trip. But bizarrely, no. All in all, very disatisfying.

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Well written, excellent story concept

Revisado: 12-31-23

I get very annoyed by lazy writing and authors who insult your intelligence with illogical plot lines and uncharacteristic and inconsistent behavior. And so many get 4 and 5 star reviews. None of that here. Intelligently written with thoughtful and rational explanations for behavior, actions, science, etc.

The story concept is a bit better than the actual story and it takes a while to get to the interesting part. But it was entertaining throughout with a good payoff. Engaging and thoughtful philosophy was nice to see as well. Overall, enjoyed it quite a bit. Will search for more by this author.

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Juvenile and nonsensical

Revisado: 11-19-23

Was this written by a love sick 13 year old girl? Who is giving this 4 and 5 stars?! Really struggled to get through it. Increased the speed and skipped through cumulatively 2 or 3 hours.

The story takes place in an elite military academy where would be cadets are competing for the opportunity to be selected by dragons as their riders. The fictional nation has been at war with its neighbor for generations. A serious problem for me was the fact that a significant percentage of the apparently best that this nation produces die in the process and the leaders seem to be OK with it. A nation at war would not be so accepting of the loss of so many potential fighters in this forever war. They (the leaders) are doing the work of their enemies by allowing so many of the best and brightest to die during training - including allowing cadets to murder each other. One of the most nonsensical plot points I've seen. This is a major feature of the story.

An entrenched behavior exhibited throughout the book by the the female central character is constant thought bubbles about how hot the male lead character is. She hates him at first, even though everything he does is the sexiest thing imaginable. Then it just gets worse from there - and worse and worse. I have not seen writing this poor in at least several hundred books.

There was frequent profanity, which I normally have no problem with - if it is consistent with the characters and the general context. It seemed out of place here - forced. It appeared to me that the author was trying to increase the story's appeal to a younger audience - just a guess. I would bet that a younger audience would appreciate better writing more.

There are two narrators, one female and one male. The woman read the first 80% or so. She was quite good. She did a very good job of delineating characters and breathing life into them. The male narrator had less opportunity to shine but acquitted himself well with the time he had. No complaints with the narration - other than nits.

There were elements of the story that kept me listening. I needed to see what happened at the end. There is clearly much more to the story as it continues in the next books in the series. I have absolutely no interest in torturing myself further and have already moved on to something else, and am enjoying a story written by a mature adult.

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Run-of-the-mill

Revisado: 10-31-23

This is to the fantasy genre as Hallmark movies are to the romance genre.

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Great idea, superbly executed

Revisado: 04-13-22

I suffered through six books of another beloved fantasy series before giving up and starting the Imager series. The writing of the other series was poor, with the behavior of the characters often being seriously implausible. It was so refreshing to listen to Modesitt weave this tail. The characters acted quite reasonable and were entirely believable within the context of the world and story. This is not a point I typically make in my Audible reviews but after finishing the other "world renowned" series, it is foremost in my mind.

The Imager concept is intriguing. The author creates imaging as believable magic that connects it to the realities of the physical world. Modesitt creates a neat world and society where imagers may exist and thrive and he expertly brings the reader/listener up to speed on both imaging and the world. The pacing is good with enough happening in every chapter to keep your interest. Each of the first three books end at an appropriate point, bringing the story to proper conclusion, while leaving you wanting more.

The only substantive criticism I have is that the world seems a little too neat and the main character maybe just a little too perfect. And yet, I could see how the grit could come through if it were made into an Amazon Prime or Netflix series. And the excellence and virtue of the main character is part of the attraction. Thinking of my own imperfections, I thought that no one can be this good. But all you need is one to make the story.

I really enjoyed the story and very much appreciated the uniqueness of the imager "talent". Highly recommended.

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