Scott

Very misleading description.

Revisado: 10-10-24

What I expected was a military sci-fi story set mostly inside an MMOG like a futuristic WarThunder, since that is what the description led me to believe it would be.

What I got was the incessant whining of a rather inept, wannabe gamer hero who pisses and moans about his cheating girlfriend, and the thousand dollars he misspent, while fumbling his way through some black market (and illegal) snuff version of an MMOG D&D ripoff, hoping to win big. Basically, he gambles the last of his rent money in a desperate attempt to lure his unfaithful girlfriend back. (Here’s a hot tip: if your partner requires that you have money in order to either remain faithful or to return from some philandering tryst, they are NOT worth your time and never were.)

He then spends the rest of the book (at least as far as chapter 16, where I’ve currently stopped in frustration) whining and crying about wanting both the girl and the money back. I have lost count of the number of times he laments the loss of both. No kidding, just imagine “O, where has my girl gone? I so want her back!”, and “I need that thousand dollars back or I’ll lose my apartment”, repeated over and over and you’ll have the gist of the story.

I can commiserate; I’m really wishing I could get my money back from this book, but I’m too far in to return it.

So…I’m stuck with it and therefore will finish it out, but unless something drastically changes I will definitely be returning the second in the series while I still have the chance. The writing is not terrible, the narration is quite acceptable, but this is not the book I was promised, hence the low rating. *Maybe* it will get better, in which case I will edit and adjust my rating. Otherwise…

You’ve been warned.

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Brilliant. Weir managed to hit another one out of the park.

Revisado: 07-29-24

Another incredibly well-envisioned disaster tale from Andy Weir. He manages to keep the science very believable, make the characters relatable, and keeps the listener desperately engaged with an engrossing storyline.
Ray Porter’s narration is nearly perfect as well and does this incredible book the justice it deserves.

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Great series.

Revisado: 01-13-24

Well-conceived and timely series which puts a spotlight on the current condition of the world and the growing level of Chinese influence. Interesting take, and not far beyond the realm of possibility.

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Loved it. Despite it not being narrated by RC Bray, it was still a good listen.

Revisado: 01-03-24

Not narrated by RC Bray. Narrator did a respectable job, but Bray is the master of this type of book.

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Great story, bad narration.

Revisado: 12-25-23

Fast paced shoot’em-up with a decent premise. Same sub-par narrator as the preceding title in this series. The voices he uses to distinguish characters, with few exceptions, sound so similar it is very difficult to discern which one is speaking most of the time. Unfortunately, this really pulled me out of an otherwise good story.

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Good story, bad narration.

Revisado: 12-21-23

Had this been read by someone like R.C. Bray, it would unquestionably have been excellent. Unfortunately, the narrator for this one is monotonous, high-pitched and often places emphasis on the wrong words or phrases. The “voices” he uses to differentiate characters, with a few exceptions, all sound so similar that it is extremely difficult to determine which character is speaking during long moments of dialogue, or to glean the author’s true intent. I kept flashing back to my high school English classes when students were assigned parts of a play we were studying, then we would read it aloud. Such is the calibre of this narrator. Such a shame, too, as the book itself is well-written, with some very on-point topics. Why they went with this particular narrator is beyond me.

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Contradictory characters, draggy storyline.

Revisado: 12-05-23

Belongs in Young Teens category. The characters don’t follow any discernible rules, even when those rules are clearly spelled out. The story drags at a painful pace without really developing anything of value, and even the “combat” sequences are dull and predictable. I could not, despite my best effort, force myself to listen much beyond book one.

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Great story, mediocre narration.

Revisado: 06-28-23

The story itself is fascinating, as are all of this author’s offerings. The narration, however, made it very difficult to remain in the story. Rushed phrases, poor and improperly placed inflections, and a very distracting lisp (sorry, but if you’re a professional narrator then you really should enunciate properly) kept pulling me out.
I acclimated eventually, but by then the story was wrapping up.
I would have given five stars had the narration been better.

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Still loving this series

Revisado: 05-10-23

I’m not usually one for the fantasy stuff, but this series has dragged me in. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the incomparable R.C. Bray narrates the main story arc - I would listen to him narrate almost anything, so the authors’ awesome Galaxy’s Edge series made me look at this one.
It took me a chapter or two to acclimate to this narrator, but once that was done I settled in and thoroughly enjoyed.
Although this is kind of a side quest, and as such not ‘written’ by Talker, it’s still a fun ride that gives a closer look into the company of dwarves who fight alongside the Rangers.

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Classic Drake

Revisado: 04-05-23

Great pair of classic Slammers stories. Drake always manages to maintain a great sci-fi narrative while incorporating the human element sometimes missing from other combat tales, and he does a superb job of showing how the people at the sharp end are affected by the horrible shit they are forced to both do and to endure.
He demonstrates that war, despite the technological advances, doesn’t really change that much.
Oh yeah, and there is a heaping helping of shoot’em up action mixed in as well.
The core of either story could have been lifted from virtually any major conflict in recent history.

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