Nicholas Souris

What a great book

Revisado: 04-14-25

Scalzi takes whacky premise and builds it into a truly great story, actually 30 stories, one for each day of the lunar cycle. Earth's moon spontaneously transforms from rock to "an organic substance resembling cheese" and the whole world goes a little nuts. For each day of the lunar cycle the author tells the story of a different person and how their lives are affected. I cant do this book credit in review, just read it.

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Redundant and Boring

Revisado: 04-09-25

If your enjoying the Old Mans War series do yourself a favor and skip this book. Basically its just a retelling of the previous book with a few original scenes. Its not worth the time or the money I invested in it. And frankly, if I were a teenaged girl I would be a little insulted at Zoe's portrayal in this book. I love John Scalzi's work, but this one has really turned me off on the series.

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The shoddy premise.

Revisado: 07-09-24

This book reads like it was written by that creepy kid in your middle school creative writing class. The plot is shoddy and the author lays on the descriptive adjectives to try and cover for it. Reading it feels like watching a parody of a Mexican soap opera. Or a bodice ripper. Everything to over dramatized and excessive. The idea is basically that in this dystopian future a shady government conspiracy has convinced people that all animals are infected with a virus deadly to humans. Deprived of animal protein society had legitimized cannibalism and humans are now raised for meat. The depressed and moody protagonist goes on and on into the horrific details in a thinly veiled manifesto on man’s inhumanity to man. Tiresome and pedantic. I can't return this title since it was on sale when I bought it and I paid cash instead of using my credits. But I did unfollow the book reviewer on Tik Toc that recommended it.

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Am I reading the same book as everyone else?

Revisado: 05-13-24

Im sorry, but this book is flat out boring. (and I have read the Silmarillion) Its my understanding that this is a sort of continuation of Lowel's "Solar Clipper" series and the main character is a carryover from that series. So maybe the people reading and reviewing it are more familiar with the storyline and already invested. But as far as someone who picked up this book to start a new series, its basically 9hrs and 20min of worldbuilding. I've gotten about 7.5hrs in and I'm beginning to doubt Ill bother finishing it.

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Quincy Harker jumps the shark

Revisado: 08-30-22

WHY WHY WHY Do good authors feel the need to become political scolds once they have achieved success with a character or series? Do shadowy forces in the publishing world demand that they use their popularity to push a social narrative, or do they just become secure enough in the success of their books to let their own political opinions sink show though. On the very slim chance that Mr Harkness actually READS any of these reviews let me just say. Mr Hartness, you are a talented author who writes humorous, light and entertaining urban fantasy. We, your readers, do not buy your books to listen to your virtue signaling
And at least in my own case I should say USED to buy your books. .

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Be warned before you start down this road

Revisado: 03-09-20

Let me say first and foremost that I am a big fan of Drew Hayes' work. I've read a lot of his stuff and I've loved it. But there a a couple problems with this series that you need to know before you get started on it. First of all its LONG. I mean BIBLICALLY long. I've read the Silmarillion and this feels longer. If you total up all the audio in the series it comes out to about 160hours!
Normally I have no issues with really long stories, if there is a good reason for them being that way. Hayes' story and character development are great, but its the kind of book that really could be about 2/3 the length it is without sacrificing anything, maybe even 1/2. I'm actually wrapping up the last book in the series right now and I can honestly say its become a a grind. Don't get me wrong I really want to finish it, its been a good story, but that's what makes it so irritating. You keep having to push though so you can see how it all ends. If I were reading this book as opposed to listening to it on audio, however, I probably wouldn't be able to finish it.

The other big problem is the narrator. It may not be this way for everyone, but something about this guys narration is like biting down on a piece of aluminum foil for me. He does a great job with different character voices and he moves the story along. But there is a quality to his voice that makes him hard to listen to. Particularly the way he pronounces the word "pain" and the name "Blane" I strongly suggest you listen to all the sample audio on all the books in the series to make sure you can tolerate the narration.

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Just Awesome

Revisado: 08-08-19

The big problem with the horror genre is that its all been done. Its gotten so bad that sometimes all you need to do is listen to the first few minutes of a particular book and you already have a solid idea for where its going and how its going to end. A lot of the classic ideas just keep getting recycled. The four stories that make up this book are totally original and fresh. Sure there are a few classic themes but these are general enough and handled artfully enough that they feel totally new. They are extremely well written and the full cast effect along with the original music make for a great overall performance. Truly a great listen

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Good sci-fi buried in cheesy teen romance

Revisado: 05-23-19

BE WARNED. If like me you were drawn to this book after reading Amie Kaufman's "Illuminate" series than you are in for a shocking disappointment. While most of the main characters in the "Illuminate" books are older teens and young adults and there are some romantic aspects they blend in well with the storyline and move the plot along. This, on the other hand, is a teenybopper bodice-ripper smothering a pretty good sci-fi story. Let me sum it up for you. Hes a dashing war hero. Only 18 and already a Major due to his heroism on the battlefield. A poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks, the son of a poet and a schoolteacher who grew up n a picturesque cottage. Of course he writes his own poetry but he keeps that a carefully guarded secret less anyone learn of his soft and vulnerable side. She's literally the daughter of the richest man in the galaxy. The only daughter and only child of course. Her mother died when she was 8 and her father is doting and overprotective. She lives a carefuly scripted and sheltered existence that others would envy, but she secretly wishes to be free. They meet on the biggest luxury liner in existence (owned by her father of course). Shes attracted to him but cant get too close for fear her father will "make something bad happen to him" I could go on, but if your the kind of reader who will find this review useful then you've already moved on.

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A great read for anyone who enjoys this genre

Revisado: 02-05-19

A truly great read for anyone who enjoys fantasy. I was hesitant to read this book initially because I had become accustomed to multi-book fantasy series and didn't see how the author could develop her characters and build enough of a back story in just a single book of moderate length. I was concerned that the book might be slipshod and overly vague. But she manages to pull it off brilliantly. The characters are well developed and engaging and the story flows beautifully. The idea of the heroine as a practical and straightforward peasant girl being thrust into a world of brooding wizards and court politics might seem a bit trope at first, but it plays out really well. I only gave the book 4 stars for performance because the narrator has a moderate Slavic accent. While this adds greatly to the character of the book, which is set in a fictional, feudal Slavic kingdom, I can see it being a bit difficult to understand for some people. I recommend you listen to the sample before you buy. I, for one, an launching immediately into the authors Temeraire series.

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A truly good story

Revisado: 05-16-18

I have to admit right up front, if I had read more of the reviews on this book before buying it, I probably would not have done so. At its core the story is a beautifully written historical fiction about the relationship between Patroclus and Achillies from boyhood up until they both die in the Trojan War. If you remember your Illiad it was the death of Patroclus that shook Achillies out of his sulking fit and led him to return to battle, kill Hector, and seal his own fate. (Sorry if this is a spoiler to some) This story follows the idea held by some that their relationship was a romantic one and that these two men were lovers. While I have read and enjoyed many books with homosexual characters, I'm not really into love stories, and combine that with the fact that I am personally heterosexual, a homosexual love story holds about as much interest for me as a book on beef recipes holds for a vegan....its just not my thing. But the relationship between Petroclus and Achillies is so well crafted and grows so gradually from boyhood friendship to romantic love that you cant help getting caught up in it. Furthermore, while their relationship is central to the story, the story itself doesn't revolve around it. Simply put it is a well written and thoroughly enjoyable story in which their relationship is a central theme, but not the only reason the story exists. Certainly there are some tropes you come to expect in a story about gay relationships. Petroclus' father could be easily cast as the former football player dad who is completely disgusted with his physically weak and emotionally oversensitive son. And Achillies godess mother is a pale and cold shrew who has big plans for her demigod son and they don't involve his being a homosexual. But the story itself is just so good that these little predictabilities are barely noticeable. And therein lies the real beauty of this book, even someone like me, who wouldn't have bought it if he had fully understood its theme, was swept away by it. I cant say enough good things about it and highly recommend it.

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