Zard

pretty good story w/ holes, irritating narration

Revisado: 01-05-23

The story is pretty good, but leaves many holes unfilled and questions unanswered - like how Kliner subverted a whole town. Some characters are introduced in such a way that you expect them to play a role, but then they're left half-developed. Roscoe is too much of a damsel in distress- I saw the TV adaptation bevore listening to the book and I like the tougher, more active woman portrayed in the show. Still - a good and entertaining story.

But: The narration is intensely annoying. If. you. like. sentences, spoken. word. by. word... that is without natural flow or cadence and with a weird halting enunciation - then you'll love Dick Hill. Plus: Why the hell does he give Reacher the same southern drawl that the people from Georgia get? Makes no sense at all - especially since he tries (and fails) to give Finley a realistic Boston accent. An then there's the fact that Dick Hill sounds like an 80yr old, reading the part of a 30-sth powerful ex-military guy... In short: Dick Hill ruins the book (and probably the audiobook series, I won't try the rest).

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Good material, but underwhelming implementation

Revisado: 09-05-22

I absolutely devoured Robinson's Mars Trilogy and like his style of meticulous developing story arcs and characters. And since I'm both worried and interested about climate change and the real danger it poses to the planet, our societies and all other species, I was looking forward to KSR's take on the matter. BUT this audiobook is best described as annoying and tedious:

- NO PLOT: It feels like an enumeration of ideas and worthwhile efforts KSR has researched and wants to showcase. These are worth reading, of course - especially the ministry itself and and a carbon-based fiat currency. But the story bits he creates around them are uninpired and only losely connected.

- KSR KNOWS AND LOVES ZURICH. It's tiresome to get Swiss street names and Swiss features thrown at you by the dozens and by narrators who cannot pronounce German names to save their life. Too much time is spent in the details of Zurich without adding to the story or being necessary to develop characters. KSR is just showing off: He knows the city.

- NOT FRANK AGAIN! An absurd amount of time is given to the PTSD-driven "life story" of Frank the American. He doesn't contribute anything to the plot except his deparation. The heatwave story is valid, but after that you'll likely thing time after time: Not Frank again!!

- VOICE ACTING with "ACCENTS": The regional accents are cringeworthy, sometimes close to carricatures. If you've been around internationally, you'll laugh a lot. But this book would probably have profited from ONE single narrator (female of course) and leaving accents to the imagination. Especially since they're not important for the story. All these somtimes silly voices do is add to the impression of disjointed plot pieces being slapped together.

- ABRUPT END: The story simply falls off a cliff in the end. It seems that KSR was running out of ideas or that the publisher was running out of patience and told him to finish it. Summary: Things start getting better, revolution ongoing, let's leave here.

If this is indeed one of Obama's favourite books, it's pobably for the ideas and the sense of urgency - not much else holds up.

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good ideas, but endless self-congratulation

Revisado: 12-29-19

After half an hour, it becomes too much: If I hear Rifkin repeat his "third industrieal revolution" one more time, I'm going to puke. The ideas are really good, if at times too theoretical (zero marginal cost do not exist, even if they decrease to negligible levels) and too techno-optimistic (at least in Europe, we'd love some privacy instead of all teh data about everything everywhere, thank you very much). BUT: JR can't stop telling you how many governments he's advised and how wttentively Angela Merkel was listening to him and how he single-handedly convinced large utility providers to change their strategy... Good lord, he IS important, isn't he. Seriously: The whole book could be condensed by 50% if the author wasn't so into self-flattery, it's painful to listen to.

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What a waste

Revisado: 02-28-19

of time and money: Even though this book introduces a new character (Renée Ballard) to the Harry Bosch series, it seems artificial and constructed. The characters are going thorugh the motions (relentless outcast, cop instinct, stupid solo actions, some personal favors are called in, tadaa day saved). No suspense whatsoever - you even know who the killer is ahead of time because it so effin obvious. I wish I had stopped with the series before this one.

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Story average at best, the reading is abysmal

Revisado: 04-02-18

How did the narrator detract from the book?

McLaren read the first two of the series splendidly. The narrator should've at least listened to the style - and learned how to pronounce the Name "Kovacs"!!! It's a running joke in the first book that people outside Harlands world cannot pronounce the slavic "tsh" ending - and now the narrating character HIMSELF mispronounces his own name. Pitiful.

Even worse: The stupid cowboy style voice does not fit a self-control master like an envoy AT ALL. Wish I could return this audiobook, it ruins the series for me.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas