Asher

Sometimes slow, but a powerful ending!

Revisado: 03-15-24 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I struggled with some of the longer descriptions at times (which may just not be my cup of tea), but to return to this world after about 2 years since I listened to the third was fun! Some powerful scenes throughout and that ending will stick with me.

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The universe gets bigger!

Revisado: 07-30-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I admit I struggled a little bit to fully grasp the plot early on, but it got more clear as it went on and the story built with increasingly impactful reveals! The narrator’s wide range of character voices made this book’s universe come alive and feel wonderfully massive. A fantastic listen! I’m looking forward to the next installments in the saga!

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Things are heating up!

Revisado: 07-07-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Welp, with Book Two now officially in the... books... I’m just getting more and more nervous for this world. In the best way that a reader/listener can! I continue to enjoy the world they’re creating and I can see them building something rich and deep with every new book. The narrator has outdone himself, too, giving fantastic life to a whole new cast, with one or two familiar folks from Book One. I’m excited for the third and can’t wait to see how Hell and the Coven dance dangerously with each other next!

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An exciting new world, both familiar and unknown!

Revisado: 06-12-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I should state that I don’t often read fantasy, preferring science fiction since magic doesn’t usually pique my interest. But I do follow recommendations from friends and they’re seldom off the mark.

This book is the first of who-knows-how-many, so it had to be a bit heavy on the world-building, but that seldom bogs things down too much when a new creature or aspect of the world is introduced.

The characters are believable, multi-dimensional, and able to surprise the reader/listener at just the right moment. My favorite is Bobo, without a doubt, and the narrator’s voice really makes him come to life! Though many conversations are dramatic and fantastical, naturally, there are others that simply showcase the quiet connection between two characters, and I enjoyed those moments as a contrast from the intensity of everything else.

Though there are some moments that are heavy on the description, I ultimately felt grateful for the density of details, finding myself able to nearly step into this quasi-modernistic world with magic at its center. I enjoyed the author’s crafting of this world and I’m looking forward to her next one in the series!

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Fantastic Audiobook!

Revisado: 09-19-16

As a fan of Science Mike via both his Ask Science Mike podcast and his work with Michael Gungor on The Liturgists' podcast, much of the material in this book was familiar, but it was great to hear it all in more detail.

If you're a fan of his work on either of those podcasts, you know he speaks more slowly than some, and that is naturally true of his reading here, as far as performance is concerned. (Obviously you can speed up the playback if you want.) But if you know his work then that shouldn't annoy you at all. :)

The work itself is quite coherent--he thanks his editors for that in the acknowledgments--and really well-organized, told in narrative form rather than as a series of essays, even as he uses later chapters more to explain his beliefs and scientific lens on faith. His work has been immensely helpful to me in the last year or so, and this book lives up to the hype, in my opinion!

As I said, not a lot of new material if you're really familiar with the podcasts. But still so great!

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A great listen by a fantastic author and amazing reader!

Revisado: 10-05-15

The beginning was a little tricky to get past. Felt slow at times, but it builds well and you begin to relate to Jake Epping (the narrator) early on. There are, of course, longer and slower sections of the story, but you really get to know the characters during these seasons and chapters. They're absolutely worth it as the tension builds toward the climax. King has a grasp on foreshadowing that keeps you interested without overdoing it. And he doesn't seem to talk down to the reader/listener even if there are moments when you can predict a comment or two from the narrator, if you've been paying attention. But it's a long book, so the reminders are probably helpful for people who don't have one to blaze through it in a week, like I did.

The performer doled out some of the best audiobook character voices I've heard. They waver from time to time in high dialogue sections, but it's never actually distracting. King was wise to choose the guy who reads it. It's a great delivery with a range of genuine emotions!

Can't recommend this enough. Enjoy!

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Somewhat limited, loose content

Revisado: 09-06-15

I am no expert on oral histories, so I admit I might just not be well suited to them. His style was a bit less well put together than I had hoped for. Certain stories were repeated in several of the sessions, usually more than once.

The stories themselves were told well, and he captured the life and wisdom of Crazy Horse fairly well, as far as I know (again, my own personal knowledge is limited, so this was more of a primer for me). Since the format is broken up into more than 6 separate lessons, I might have been better off spreading them out over a couple months. I sometimes listened to two or three at a time, which added to the weariness of some of the repetition.

All that said, I know I'm better equipped and better off for having listened to it! I plan to download some more of his books, even though I'm less a fan of his free-form teaching.

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Reactionary Toward Anti-Imperialism

Revisado: 04-17-15

This was the first title of Ferguson's that I've finished. I thought I would like his ideas more because I learned of him through Dambisa Moyo's 'Dead Aid'.

Ultimately I found that Ferguson goes against anti-imperialist thought so strongly that he barely mentions that elements of the six "killer apps" that lead the West to succeed over "the Rest" were partly due to the immense wealth gained by western powers from their empires. I know I give myself away as a more left-leaning person with this review, but I expected this to be more even-handed than it was. His swipes against Marx and general Communism were more heavy-handed than his dealings with Hitler and the fascist leaders of history. This may be due to the way that Hitler has been described to death already, everywhere else, but it just seemed bizarre to have such heavy disdain in odd places.

Other than showing his biases too strongly at times, Ferguson does write well, and he deals with the topic of the rise of the West, just as the subtitle says he will. I'll probably listen to another, but I'll beware of his pro-imperial tendency.

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