Juliana

The most unlikable protagonist

Revisado: 05-20-20

J. T Lawrence created the anti-hero we all love to hate. Slade Harris is not a mercenary who used to kill for hire or a smuggler working on the side of the good guys. He is a writer of literary fiction, who's had enough of a success to be in debt for his large expensive house and his expensive Jaguar. In the beginning of the book Slade is in the throes of writer's block. It's been a year since he strung together a sentence good enough to be printed, he's spent his advance from his publishers and he's hopelessly in love with his best friend Eve. In a last ditch effort he tries to regain some sort of control, but the effort fails and costs him his relationship with Eve.

Afterwards, in a moment of anger and reflection, Slade decides that killing the woman he still loves will be his next great story. And true to his credo of writing from his own experience, he needs to kill Eve for real, not just on the pages of a book.

I really love the idea that it's murder that gets Slade's creative juices flowing. Lawrence does an amazing job revealing Slade's background, his escapades and trauma to make him what he is. Through this journey, I realized that Slade's imagination only unlocks when the gauge of his real experience is reached, without it he cannot write a plausible sentence. Following his progress throughout the book, I never thought that my dislike of the main character could intensify... and yet with each chapter passing, I hated him more than ever. The book is told from Slade's point of view, who cannot pass a street corner or have an independent thought without attaching a paragraph where a phrase will do. Enamored of the literary greats, Slade views everything as an adventure to be immortalized. In the end, to me, despite his partial redemption Slade remains an unlikable sod, who finally managed to achieve some emotional growth. Sort of like the common first victim in cozy mystery books, where the protagonist has to figure out who didn't want him dead.

This is not an easy book, mostly because I think the character journey and experience defies expectations that readers (and listeners) must love the hero. After this book, that rule isn't really true for me. I would give it 4.5 stars, but the narration, whilst great in many ways, is about an adventure taking place in South Africa, was delivered in slightly Southern US accent. That and the pronunciation of some of the words and names were jarring enough to warrant the loss of a half a star.

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Has potential, but book is too short to realize it

Revisado: 05-11-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I believe the book has potential. When Amber, a spoilt brat that lives on her father's credit card spends her days to go dancing and pick up men, she is forced to go to China by her father as a last ditch effort to reform her ways she is furious. Her mandate is to live as a responsible human being for an entire year, a prospect that makes her scared. She's also supposed to that with no credit card from Daddy and thus having to gasp!..economize. Amber is thus forced to take stock of herself and cope.

There was still potential for the book to go somewhat beyond the usual trope, but the author sadly decided to follow the well-trodden path to happy ending. Amber's issues were not addressed beyond deciding not to drink too much. The 'escort' business her friend set-up only last as long as her other half wants to. The brief period where her teaching was important wasn't even mentioned in the epilogue since it was consumed by her dreams of the West Coast wedding.

If you want a quick easy listen of a contemporary romance this is the book for you. If you were looking for something deeper, rather get the likes of "The life made of lava" by Lissa Del.

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More Lovecraft than Pratchett

Revisado: 02-18-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This audiobook has a very intriguing blurb and I jumped at the chance for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Morag, a transfer from the Edinburgh to Birmingham travels on Sunday to her new job as a member of a response team of an agency that deals with ensuring that the Apocalypse runs smoothly. Arriving in Birmingham she is pulled into a search for one of the high-ranking nobles of the Venislarn. These fish-like intelligent aliens invaded Earth and when the time is right, their gods (who they conveniently brought with them) will plunge our planet into an inescapable hell. Until then, the government agency that employs Morag appeases the aliens and tries to come up with a way to market the apocalypse to the general public.

Other characters, like Rod Campbell and the clueless, yet smart Nina work with Morag, to at the very least contain the damage to the public from the Venislarn aided by Mrs Vivian Grey, a woman who gives most aliens pause, and the stage is set.

Whilst the book is billed as workplace comedy, and there are enough laughs from the satire of the typical office, it often doesn't gel with a Cthulhu-like feel of the book. That's where I feel was the biggest failing of the book. Balancing two genres without giving preference to one. This made the book hard to get into at first, but once the story, which I would describe as a supernatural horror with elements of satire I didn't want to stop listening to it.

The narrator for this book is amazing, every person is distinct and I think Nina's Birmingham accent is seared in my brain, but in a good way.

I would recommend this and to not be discouraged by the first couple of chapters, it really does get better by the end. Even if better mean the Apocalypse is still on track.

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Seas are treacherous, the Sea of Grass doubly so

Revisado: 01-23-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

It was silly of me to listen to book 1 and then go to book 3 without listening to book 2. Interestingly, despite knowing the outcome to book 2 and hearing it referenced in book 3, the "Jewelled Hills" I was looking forward to the "Sea of Grass". Whilst I usually don't scrutinise for the military and tactical defences in books I read, I find the way that the author explains them a lot easier to understand than in many other fantasy books.

In this book, Marcus Vernandos begins his exile from Aquilla by travelling to visit his brother in one of the cities to the north of the continent, Amatista. The usual sea routes seem to be plagued by pirates, more so than usual, and Marcus has no choice, but to take the overland route through the plains, called the Sea of Grass to get to his brother.

This entire book centers on the journey to Amatista, which starts of as a routine and slightly dangerous, thanks to the tribes that call the plains home, wagon trail. What it ends up is a desperate siege with overwhelming odds against an angry powerful shaman with a strangely familiar (at least to Marcus due to his adventure in the Fire islands) medallion amplifying those powers to rain destruction on any foreigner daring to step on the plains.

Marcus evolves as a character, he is slowly coming to realise that there are plenty of Aquillans that do not do justice to his home country and it's often the worse examples of Aquillan forces that are sent to the far places such as the forts stationed through the Sea of Grass. He also comes to appreciate the people from different races that are travelling with him, such as the honor-bound Henthe and the fierce Gotha.

One of the big strengths of this book is the introduction of all the different characters that are not used as a one dimensional cut-out to add to the story. Instead, even more minor characters like the Gotha lord's wives or the black band legionnaire Lysander have a distinctive voice and add, rather than detract from the story.

One of my very few complaints in the book is that the author doesn't tie up the loose ends in the end of the book. It feels like there should be a chapter after the main battle that deals with all the characters introduced during the book. Having listened to the next book in the series, I know the fate of some, but not all and I feel the book is poorer for it.

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Waiting for the battles with baited breath

Revisado: 01-13-20

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

It's a fine line between writing a military fantasy whilst creating a new fantasy setting to provide the context for said military action. It's a line the author walks well. Thrust into the middle of complicated plots among even more complicated politics with complex historical background whilst exiled from his beloved Aquilla, Tribune Marcus probably wishes he was back at Fire Islands. Our hero is resilient, but even he takes a pause whilst dealing with the inheritance of his older half-brother, which includes his 3 wives and a potential for war that seems to have started because of greed of merchant houses. Add to that the shadows of the mysterious Empire that might have been behind the Fire Islands uprising and you have a fascinating story.

I loved the character development of Marcus, bringing his prejudices towards commerce to the fore felt believable. Marcus may potentially be one of the most gifted military commanders of this world, but if only life was as a simple as a military campaign. I felt that the ending could have been more than just the newly achieved victory, but I suppose there are more books in the series to enjoy.

The narration was great and I Will Hahn did a great job in distinguishing the different peoples of the North. His narration of female characters was great, many male narrators feel that making their voices go higher is all that's required for a successful narration, fortunately Mr Hahn is not one of those. I really loved his voices of Estella and Su-Jinn. It's the battles that absolutely impressed me. Everytime the 'war' trumpets started I would relish each battle.

Highly recommend the series. Such a shame that the audiobooks exist only for the first 3 books in the series!

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Roman Legionnaires meet Haitian necomancers

Revisado: 12-03-19

I hadn't come across Gilbert M. Stack's "Legionnaire" series before, but I'm glad there was an offer to review one of the other books in the series and I ended up buying the first audiobook myself.

There aren't many books that deal with the 'science' of being an elite soldier within a low magic fantasy setting. The care with which various reasons were explained for the training and the explanations of the legion, its history and various ranks were essential to the enjoyment of the story.

I really like the narrator and the added special effects to the narration. The small inconvenience was that there were announcements of the following chapters made about 3 times during the book. It was slightly disconcerting as for a second I thought there were other parts to buy.
All in all a great novella listen if you like fantasy with a historic bent. Definitely a must for those who appreciate their military fantasy!

Highly recommend it!

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Classic ghost story with a dash of mystery

Revisado: 10-09-19 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

It has been a long time since I heard a ghost story. In my mind I delegated ghost stories to those contained in old books originally aimed at tweens all the way back in the 60s. This probably twisted my perception of the genre into one of light-hearted scares. Aside from a popular TV show, I would have probably stayed with it. Well, Mr Ibsen has changed my mind.

Aside from the usual tropes of the genre, which to be honest in this case were a good thing, I forgot the impact of a normal human seeing a ghost. The realisation that one is seeing something unnatural and the absolute horror at having to experience something for which you're pretty much powerless against is a sobering reminder that ghosts in literature are still pretty scary, stories for 12-year olds aside.

Ulrich is not a particularly likeable character, at least not at first. At best, he is a cheap caffeine lover, but that changes as he gets deeper into the case. His 'unveiling' for a lack of a better word, as a more decent human being is so smooth, that before I knew it I was rooting for him and his cat. I am still not his number one fan, but he is more palatable towards the end of the book.

Kyle Tait's narration is superb. He is smooth without going into smug and his narration is well suited for this type of book. His rendition of female characters is great, although I find his impression of Nancy makes her sound a lot younger than she is described later on in the book.

A small bugbear is that certain plot developments were easily predicted. On the other hand, with an almost noir detective feel of the book, it could be that it was easier for a fan of detective stories to recognise certain trends.

A warning to other readers, the story does take about 6 to 7 chapters to pick up the pace, which could be discouraging for those expecting action straight away.

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Great potential ruined by dialogue

Revisado: 09-17-19 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I was very excited when I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I enjoy fantasy novels and hoped that this novella will introduce me to the rest of the books set in the same setting.

Some of the positives:
- The author does a great job with descriptions. The city of Amaford comes to life with its bustling market, poor Bridge districts and its slums as well as wonderful descriptions of its people.
- Many of the supporting characters are great, such as Ma, the stern but loving tavern owner and Grubbs, the fruit seller.
- The narrator's voice for the main character and many of the other supporting characters is great.

The negatives:
- The author needs to master dialogue. Many conversations, especially those that include confrontations degenerate into bad cliches. This is by far the weakest point of the novella.
- Character development is uneven. Jim, the main character starts off as slightly sarcastic urchin (a word an urchin shouldn't be able to use in conversation) and descends into a useless clumsy weakling, who takes on the blame for things that are out of his control. One of the other important characters is so abusive towards him, I was stunned that he was portrayed as Jim's best friend.
- The performance of the female voices and some of the male voices wasn't great. At times, I felt that the narrator's pacing was a lot faster than the pace of the book to the book's detriment.
- The story didn't end on the cliffhanger, which I believe was the intent. Instead it kind of dragged along for the last few chapters and instead of wanting to find out more, i was relieved when it ended.

All in all, I would say the story requires some rework, but the author's main strength lies more with world building rather than character creation.

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Absolutely excellent

Revisado: 09-11-19

Absolutely loved this novella. Similar to many science fiction classics, its story reflects on the human condition. One where death as an option has been removed. Do we change as a species? Do we become kinder? Or do we simply indulge our darker fantasies with fewer consequences? This book gives its own view.

Zachary Quinto as narrator is excellent and I would happily read other books narrated by him.

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So much promise, but a lot not delivered on

Revisado: 09-11-19

I enjoy the work of both Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman. They strike me as awesome people,, who would be great to know in real life. The story of how they met, started dating and got married should have been awesome. Parts of it were, giving insight into the life of TV and theatre actors, but quite a few parts weren't. Especially the part where the printed copies have a photograph section, so for the Audible version they decided it would be a great idea to recite in detail what they looked like in those photos. Some of the photos from their childhood.

All in all, the story felt more of a self-congratulation on how awesome the other person is and how awesome they are for getting together.
Nick Offerman is a wonderful narrator usually, but I found him getting too smug in his tone towards the end. Megan Mullally is entertaining, but far too nasal to listen to for prolonged periods of time.

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