OYENTE

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Alien: Covenant Origins Audiolibro Por Alan Dean Foster arte de portada

Good for Bedtime

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-16-21

I agree with several reviews that this book felt rather unnecessary. The plot is formulaic and predictable because the story has to end with the Covenant taking off, so there is never really any peril or tension. The audio narrator carries the book. He did an excellent job using different voices and matching the actors' voices/speech patterns from the film. Always appreciate a cismale who doesn't make feminine voices sound like cartoon characters sucking helium. Overall, this book isn't terrible, but it isn't very good. I ended up listening to this book mainly to fall asleep at night and recommend it for that purpose.

The biggest disappointment was the lack of character exploration. What is the point of a prequel if it doesn't teach you more about the characters' backgrounds, motivations, etc? The main crew is introduced with short descriptions and then very few details are revealed throughout the book. We also learn a little about the corporate world and climate change conditions on Earth, but nothing is given much time to develop. The ecoactivists don't achieve anything or alter our understanding of the Alienverse at all, so they seemed made up purely to keep Yutani from being the sole antagonist in this one book. Characters mainly feel superfluous and are pretty flat/easy to forget.

I would have liked to see the book not worry so much about the crew so we could get a fully conceptualized story rather than exposition forced into the narration/dialog. Just the Prophet and Yutani storylines would have been enough to build a solid novel. This is another Alien book I feel would have been more effective as two books, although I don't feel the Covenant crew story is worth it at this point. So much of the novel's bulk is repeated exposition to do things like remind readers what a character said in the last chapter. I swear we are reminded that Tennessee always wears a cowboy hat at least half a dozen times.

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Behind the Bastards Audiolibro Por Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts arte de portada

In-depth Profiles of Evil People without

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-13-21

Friends introduced me to this podcast because of my related line of work. I appreciate the sheer amount of research that goes into each subject and the variety of guests brought on to discuss them (although it would be cool to hear more from folks in the field rather than comedians w/ their own podcasts). I also like that each episode has its own list of sources so fans are given a headstart with their personal reading/research.

It sucks that such evil exists in the world, enough so to the point a show like this could run the rest of Evans's life if he so chose. But it's good that people like him are doing the work to expose current & historical public figures... it's a bonus that the information is presented in an entertaining manner without sacrificing journalistic integrity. Evans is also respectful and routinely reminds listeners of the gravity/horrors of each subject. This show isn't exploitative like so many others in this genre (true crime/history/current affairs) and although he often provides statistics or details, Evans reminds listeners that victims are real people. The narratives never feel like trauma porn and some episodes even end with a call-to-action for listeners to get involved, do further research, spread information, etc. Overall, a solid casual listen that I believe is worth a subscribe.

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Alien: Isolation Audiolibro Por Keith R.A. DeCandido arte de portada

Big Disappointment

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
3 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-07-21

I wanted to like this book. Some of the other reviews sounded so harsh and critical of Amanda specifically that I assumed it was a bias issue. I feel I owe them an apology because this book was nothing but a disappointment. I gave the book a 3rd star purely for the voice actress. I appreciated, and was impressed a few times by, the range of voices she brought to the reading. Sound design was also pretty good.

What happened to Amanda as a child is horrific/heartbreaking, so of course she would have trauma to process. You expect her to crack some jokes or reference what she has been through, but the author turned emotional vulnerability into non-stop whining.

There's even a template it seemed like (example: repeating similar versions of phrases like "Well, nothing else had ever gone right in her life so why would it now?" and "...but then again, her mom had promised she'd be home for her 11th birthday, so why should she trust anyone else?"). Every few minutes, you'll get some instance of a thing going the way she doesn't want/wrong or a person asking her to trust them right before betraying her or dying. It gets grating fast.

Besides the overall lackluster character development, the book felt disjointed. As someone else said, it can be hard to follow. I had to rewind quite a bit because of the sudden changes between flashbacks versus main story. Bland, 2-D characters did not help because several of them bled together and were hard to tell apart as the story progressed. I think this idea would have worked better as separate novels. Since the author crammed 2 primary stories into 1 book, you get a lot of moments that feel cut off that would have made each story more interesting had they been given the chance to develop. This issue extends to pacing as well; some chapters drag on pointlessly and some rush through what could have been solid scenes.

I came into this book having played the game, but didn't expect a perfect adaptation or anything. My complaint there is that there is no true sense of isolation whatsoever throughout the book and that kills most of the tension. Someone is always talking or reflecting or lecturing or giving trial testimony. Exposition was clunky and since the book is dialog/internal thought-heavy, there are a lot of forced moments added to conversations or flashbacks meant to introduce/catch up new readers.

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Failure Is an Option Audiolibro Por H. Jon Benjamin arte de portada

Unexpectedly Poignant

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-31-18

I first became a fan of HJB's when I started watching Home Movies back in the day. He always seems to bring his own sense of the world to his work, no matter the character he plays. This book is no different. I was expecting an entertaining look into his early career or life, you know... the typical celebrity memoir, but this book is different. It really does tackle the philosophical questions surrounding failure like "Is it bad to fail?" and "Am I a failure if I fail sometimes? A lot? All the time?" but in an accessible, funny way. Sometimes it is "haha" funny, but often the book is funny in the sense that being human means we will make terrible decisions and mistakes, so in a way, we all rely on failure to learn or grow. I did not expect this book to be quite as touching as it was, so I definitely recommend it to fans of HBJ and his work, or people who are looking to delve into this topic.

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The Coming Storm Audiolibro Por Michael Lewis arte de portada

Definitely Interesting

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
3 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-15-18

This was a pretty in-depth look into the science and economics of weather, including how data collection can directly impact our everyday lives. The author often tried to do different voices and it was distracting, especially his attempts at Southern accents. There is also a section toward the middle of the second half that meanders into half-hearted law enforcement apologism. I can see how Lewis might have intended this section to support his subjects' claims that Big Data mining is a necessary part of making the world safer, but without further explorations of the sub-topic, the digression is unnecessary and comes off a bit sensationalist. Overall, if you are looking for a book that can make weather prediction and math interesting (for those of us not in these professional fields), I definitely recommend taking the time for this one.

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