Inflatable Fan

starts out good, gets boring and frustrating before a curb-hanger ending

Revisado: 07-04-24

if you were enslaved and then suddenly had a super massive spaceship apparently capable of miracles, would you maybe have a few questions about what else it could do? well, you're not like the main characters of this story then. the author is trying to have it too many ways. we've got a large cast of interesting, clever, brave, complex characters. but theyve been enslaved their whole lives with instant death a constant threat. humanity is in its third generation of enslavement including labor camps and forced reeducation. but then we have a team of capable, smart and deadly Marines. But they are also trembling, unconfident little lillies who have bwain huwts and just accept everything at face value. they are the most frustratingly uncurious characters I've read in a long, long time. so many of the characters are really cool, and the narrator does an amazing job with all the voices. Splat, Bheena, Tubes were great. I also really liked the chapters for the snake guys. to be totally honest, when the snake guys skedaddled, that's when the book really went downhill. I really had hoped for one or two more chapters telling us what they were doing after losing The Omega. I'd also hoped we'd get some Roughback narrators in the later parts of the book but no. Give me the aliens dang it!

the premise is good, and the world building is there, but watching the two Captains Al Stone and Bill Whatever get led around by their noses made me want to scream. my husband, who listened with me and also thinks this book was a stinker, doesn't agree with me that The Omega is clearly The Actual Bad Guy and seeing Val titter his way through every interaction with Bill and Al leading to worse and worse decisions made me want to jump out an airlock.

the climax of the book was confusing and ultimately a let down. when we finally had two main character deaths, all I could say was "good, I hated them." at one point I asked.my husband "why did they go back to earth?" and he could only shrug.

I'd compare this to The Bobiverse series which we shotgunned last year. A guy finds himself with godlike omnipotent power and he immediately sets to minmaxing at every possible opportunity - these guys just kinda mope and pine for each other since they never get to experience interfacing with the Omega in tandem. Bobiverse had a much better Planet Go Boom sequence where the main character really actually did everything he could to save as many people as possible. Bobiverse had its own SuperMassive Dyson Sphere ship in Heavens River and exploring that ship and the mysteries of the people who built it was very satisfying as compared to The Omega.

maybe I'll wait for the next book to come out and borrow it from the library, but I really feel like I wasted a credit. I really think the author just came up with The Al(pha) and The Omega pun and worked backwards from there.

oh, and the last several hours are a prequel. I just read a book called The Forever Ship. I don't want to know about the people. I wanna know about the ship !! didn't even bother listening to that part.

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The most atrocious rendition You'lNever Walk Alone

Revisado: 09-18-23

Everything is fine but I had to deduct for the absolutely embarrassing attempt by Stephen Fry to sing You'll Never Walk Alone, from Carousel written by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Was no direction provided? Were they attempting the avoid copyright issues? Surely some kind of arrangement could have been made prior to recording. whatever the reason, it might almost have been better to leave it out.

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John Waters

Revisado: 07-03-21

I'm pretty sure the narrator is John Waters under a pseudonym. that makes the rather odd narrative style more entertaining to me. my 4 year old enjoyed it and didn't have trouble understanding the narrator.

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don't waste your time or your credits!!

Revisado: 03-12-18

I loved Stross's Laundry Files books. if that's why you're here, turn back. I wanted to like this series. the premise is interesting. unfortunately, the execution is inept. the characters are boring - Paulie would have been a much more fun MC, too bad we got Doctor Journalist. I tried to give this series 2 books to grab me but I just couldn't. there are so many good ideas here, too bad Stross didn't feel like picking one or two and fleshing them out, rather than bouncing from idea to idea and getting nowhere.

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

waste of time

Revisado: 03-12-18

I loved Stross's Laundry Files books. if that's why you're here, turn back. I wanted to like this series. the premise is interesting. unfortunately, the execution is inept. the characters are boring - Paulie would have been a much more fun MC, too bad we got Doctor Journalist. I tried to give this series 2 books to grab me but I just couldn't. there are so many good ideas here, too bad Stross didn't feel like picking one or two and fleshing them out, rather than bouncing from idea to idea and getting nowhere.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

More guilty pleasure fantasy

Revisado: 07-11-15

I had hoped that this book would show Harry learning from his own dumb actions in the first book but the bodies pike high as Harry refuses to believe that anyone but him is capable of dealing with all the weird paranormal crimes but that hope literally tucked and rolled out the passenger door of Susan's car and things just got worse from there.

For entertainment, this book will hit the spot if you like goofy hocus pocus and mysteries but the weak spot is the characters.

the reading actor has a few flubs here and there but they are rarely pulled me out of the story. I think he does a great job of illuminating the character.

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Guilty pleasure fantasy

Revisado: 07-11-15

Harry Dresden can be kind of a stubborn ass, and his woe-is-me act when the people around him won't trust him falls pretty flat when he refuses to trust anyone else around him. Spoiler: He doesn't get over it in book 2 either. It doesn't make for a natural source of conflict - it just makes the main players seem unbelievably dense and oblivious to how their lack of personal skills screw them over - but I guess if these character could work together efficiently, the book would only be twenty pages long. Mr. Dresden could learn about trusting your friends from another wizard named Harry I've heard of.

I'd much rather read these stories from Detective Murphy's POV. She can't be blamed for her bi-polar hot-and-cold behavior but she at least can appreciate respecting people.

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classic sci fi

Revisado: 04-12-15

it might be hard to get through the beginning of the audio book, but once the story of Nell gets going, it will flow more smoothly!

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Great for music lover teens

Revisado: 03-31-15

Do you know a young adult with a burgeoning love of music? They might enjoy this! Then again they might not because who even knows what kids these days like, you know how teenagers are.

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