Steve L.

Have a hard time with the main character

Revisado: 01-03-25

I struggled with why I didn't like this book very much, trying to understand what it was about the main character that turned me off so much. Middle aged woman offered a new chance at a fantasy life, great. Not an issue. Main character is privileged/pretentious? Nope. Seems well meaning and competent, which are things I generally appreciate. I finally figured out that the issue is that the main character is a competent middle-manager, which (her statement) involves being good at manipulating people to do what you need them to do. In her mind the difference between a good and a bad manager is whether the people being manipulated are happy or sad after the manipulation. This concept that manipulating people for their own good is laudable just rubs me the wrong way, hard enough that I just don't like the main character.

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I was skeptical, but mostly based on the name

Revisado: 02-05-24

I saw this in my list of recommended books based on other LitRPG listens for quite a while, but assumed from the title that it was somehow about some sort of reincarnation as a ghost character or somesuch. It isn't a spoiler to say that, no, it's just a character with a peculiar name. The book itself is quite good within the genre. There is perhaps a bit too much "stat reading" to be ideal for an audiobook, but it isn't so terrible. The universe/premise created seems well constructed and self-consistent with a variety of interesting plotlines and characters. Definitely a worthwhile read for the genre.

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Heinlein of the new generation

Revisado: 07-20-23

I've read quite a bit of the author's fantasy work, and enjoyed that, so gave this a try. This book steps into more traditional science fiction. After getting through half the book or so (and enjoying it), I came to the realization that it felt a lot like Heinlein. Scientific and technological developments play a back seat in this novel, with the modest innovations all feeling reasonably plausible, and if anything a bit underestimating likely technology development. The book is much more focused on character development and plot. Much of the science fiction aspect of the book is in the form of predictions of social development as man spreads through the solar system, again, much like Heinlein, but from the perspective of a new generation. It's a very similar mix of social liberalism and conservatism. I enjoyed the book a lot, and will certainly read any sequels, should they appear.

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Well written urban fantasy in a traditional style

Revisado: 07-11-23

I feel like the summaries made this sound like some sort of litRPG or somesuch. This is old-school urban fantasy. No lit-RPG or romance-novel aspirations (which is fine). I feel like I should have wanted to give this 4 stars. It's very well done both from a character building and world-building perspective. It's fairly creative, and only somewhat predictable. In the end, while I did listen to the whole thing, I didn't find myself dropping other tasks so I could listen to more, and I don't feel any sense of urgency about listening to a sequel. So, good, just not THAT good, and I can't really tell you why it didn't strike my fancy more than it did.

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Just OK urban fantasy

Revisado: 05-18-23

Solid urban fantasy, with adequate world development and fairly believable characters. Pretty predictable, though, and the protagonist is just ok. I don't feel any urgency to read the next volume, but I finished it without regrets.

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Hard/psychological SciFi at its best

Revisado: 04-01-23

I've read many hundreds of SFF books over the years. It is very rare that I encounter a book where the outcome isn't at least somewhat predictable. It will be very difficult to say more without some sort of spoiler, so I will limit my statements to say that for a scifi book, the beginning is rather slow going. Indeed, even halfway through the book, it's still a bit unclear what exactly is going on. Do not give up on it. It isn't that long a book. I don't think you'll regret finishing it. A very well crafted and timely story!

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Well written and well thought out, but not novel

Revisado: 03-25-23

This is a well written book, and the technology is fairly well thought out and reasonable. My only issue leading to a middling review is that there is little here which is new. Even the overall concept of the novel has been done many other times in similar ways. The characters are likable, and reasonably well developed, but not enough to make it a must read. I don't regret spending a credit on it, and I did finish it (as others have noted, it has a cliffhanger ending of sorts), but I will probably take a break before considering continuing the series.

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Not exactly action packed, but a good read

Revisado: 03-11-23

If you like a lot of action or, for that matter, magic, in your fantasy novels, it may not be for you. The magic is subtle and not really explained. Despite that, it's an enjoyable read. It's simply closer to general fiction than fantasy.

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Author ends story arcs well

Revisado: 02-05-23

Good ending to a good story arc. Moderately predictable, but if you have read other story arcs by this author it’s comparable.

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Thought provoking history of humanity

Revisado: 08-21-22

Considers emerging evidence that the traditional paradigm we all learned in grade school about how human culture evolved may not be correct, and that early human political organization may have been quite diverse. A well written and thought-provoking read for laymen.

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