Tara

Wish the performance was better

Revisado: 03-12-25

While emotionally gripping, this book doesn't give me the same overall satisfaction as its predecessors in the series. There are a few too many little deus ex machina in the book (in my opinion). There are actions done by the protagonist and supporting characters that simply do not make sense. I also have to keep reminding myself of the protagonist's age.

The awkwardness in the book is even made more stark by the performance of the particular reader chosen for this audiobook. I wish another performer had been chosen. At points, she read as if it was a chore, or as if she was about to laugh at the sentence she was reading. Accents and dialects were given to random characters at random times with no distinction of who's saying what, or what action was being done while something was said (for example, "she said, laughing," would be read in a very deadpan manner). It didn't quite make listening to the audiobook unbearable, but almost. If another version was published with a much better performer, I would happily get that one.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Gripping story and performance

Revisado: 01-31-25

This is one of those magical combinations of great writing and beautiful reading performances. I enjoyed the book very much, and am now looking forward to the rest of the series.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Great story, meh performance

Revisado: 01-27-25

This is one of my favorite books from the Valdemar series. It is well written, with complex and relatable characters, vivid imagery, and much tie-in to beloved characters mentioned in other books. Yet the writing is solid enough that the book stands well on its own.


Alas, the performance leaves much to be desired. I'm not familiar with this performer, but I wish this book had been read/performed by someone else. As it is, the performance of this audiobook keeps yo-yoing between AI-like unnatural intonation/sentence breaks, and overly emotional delivery. Sometimes the two extremes even co-mingle in between sentences. This makes it very difficult for me to remain immersed in the listening experience, especially when character speeches that (for example) the author clearly states are stated calmly or flatly are performed in an incorrect character’s voice, then suddenly switched to the correct character’s voice but loudly and animatedly.

Tl;dr: Love the book. Do not love the performance. If another audiobook version comes out with a better performer, I would happily pay for that version.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

One of the best fantasy series

Revisado: 01-12-25

One of the best fantasy series. The performer is not perfect; there are some words that are pronounced rather oddly, but it doesn't completely take away from the enjoyment of the book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Sporadically good, proceed with a high dose of critical thinking

Revisado: 12-30-24

This isn't as good as the previous lecture in the series. While in the previous series, the author/lecturer managed to maintain a mostly unbiased point of view, that is not the case in this series. There are many instances of "bad science" peeking through. For example.


- As the author/lecturer progresses through each topic and tries to deliver their points, I notice more and more attempts at overrraching. For example, the lecturer will say, "This myth is false," followed by, "This is probably not true". You can't prove that something is a myth without the evidence of indesreputable fact(s).


- Author/lecturer repeatedly picks and chooses bits and pieces from the exact same historical document as, trustworthy, yet dismisses parts of the same document as, "exaggerated" and "not true" without providing contradicting documents that could prove otherwise.


- At times, author/lecturer focuses so hard on the semantics that he misses the forest for the tree. For example, while trying to explain why Christian belief wasn't illegal in the ancient Roman civilization, he focused so hard on the distinction of "illegality" by law that he misses the point that, by his own admission, Caesar and the citizens of Rome were against the Christian belief because of the very nature of what Christianity believed.


- Author/lecturer claims against the biases of the past writers of the documents he's quoting, and yet his own biases show in the way he dissects, selects, quotes, and interprets those documents.


I definitely do not recommend this series. If you do insist on listening to it, please proceed with critical thinking on.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Informative and thought provoking

Revisado: 12-28-24

This lecture series is informative, insightful, and thought provoking, and it is quite easy to follow along. I highly recommend this series to anyone who are interested in how the New Testaments were put together, as well as to those from Christian denomination.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Different Insight into Titanic's History

Revisado: 01-29-21

This is a good historical account of what happened the night The Titanic sank, written from curation of various resources. It reads more like a story than a collection dry facts, except this is not a book of fiction. I have been interested in the history of The Titanic and what happened the night it sank, and while many of the facts outlined in this book are not news to me, some were.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit. Both the writing style and the narration style are great. The only thing I don't like too much about it is that in the middle of the book, the author suddenly got a rambly and kept on talking in circles. It's as if there's a word count target to meet, and the author didn't know what else to write, so he just stuck a bunch of additional sentences and paragraphs in that particular chapter. It got very distracting and almost made me give up on the rest of the book. Thankfully the rambling stopped and the book got back to the subject at hand.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Powerful, compelling, and thought provoking

Revisado: 04-02-20

Love Does is based on Christian belief. It is anecdotal instead of theological, and yet it presents thought provoking views. It's powerful and compelling, and definitely worth reading. 100% recommend.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Insightful Biblical view on boundaries.

Revisado: 03-30-20

This is an insightful Biblical/Christian view on what good boundaries look like between various different relationships (parents, friends, workplace, even church) and how to maintain them. I highly recommend this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Thought provoking - 4.5

Revisado: 03-12-20

A thought provoking view on the design of everyday things; why do we design technology and expect the humans to accommodate the technology instead of the other way around? The narrator is highly engaging and perfect for this book. The half point deduction is due to the author repeatedly pointing out the differences and updates made in this version compared to his initial book; as a new reader, such elaborations are lost to me and detract from the actual content.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, and not just to designers, analysts, and/or engineers.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 7 personas