Tech geek

A few good ideas

Revisado: 01-03-24

I enjoyed the book but found myself thinking "is that all?" I feel that in most books like this there's more meat.

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Not really sci-fi but a drama in outer space

Revisado: 03-13-19

If you're looking for cool science which is an integral part the storyline this is not your book. If you want a cozy drama set in outer space it's not bad. Great narrator!

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Thought provoking but too repetitive and high level

Revisado: 01-13-17

This book would be far more useful if it gave concrete approaches for learning the details of customer jobs. It gives ample evidence that the approach works, but doesn't have any details on how to actually go about engaging a customer to discover the details of their job (which would seem to be critical to satisfying the customer). It leaves the reader to have to figure this out for themselves, which is a non-trivial exercise.

The book is also super repetitive.

All that said, it was a useful listen.

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A tantalizing read... that fizzled out.

Revisado: 01-10-16

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

At first I really enjoyed the mystery of this novel. I wanted to figure out what the secret behind the bookstore was. But I felt that once the book revealed the big secret, it was a huge letdown. For comparison, I felt the "big reveal" in The Florentine Deception (another techno-themed adventure) was much more plausible and thought-provoking. That said, The Florentine Deception is a bit more hard boiled than this book (at least in its second half), so I'm not sure it's a perfect comparison.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I wished the "big reveal" was a much better thought out and more substantial/plausible. It's like we were waiting for this really interesting mystery to be revealed and it turned out to be a bunch of techno-babble.

What does Ari Fliakos bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I enjoyed the narrator - he brought a good energy to the book.

Do you think Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. This was a self-contained story, and given the cheesy conclusion, I wouldn't be interested in a follow-up.

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Fun, fast-paced techno-adventure

Revisado: 12-27-15

Where does The Florentine Deception rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'd place The Florentine Deception just below Ready Player One and Daemon in terms of my favorite audio books. I found all three books to be really fast-paced and fun to listen to. Normally I only listen to audiobooks during my commute, but I found myself also listening to this book during my downtime at breakfast, lunch, while brushing my teeth, etc.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the adventure aspects of the story most of all - the book is really a classic-style adventure novel (like a treasure hunt), with a technology angle. As a techie, I also enjoyed the "techno" parts of the story. Unlike most techno-thrillers, the technological part of this book seemed totally plausible (and scary). The technology parts were also easy to understand - there was no techno-babble.

Which character – as performed by Nick Podehl – was your favorite?

I really liked the narrator's portrayal of the main character (Alex Fife) - he really brought out the character's emotions. His portrayal of the Russian characters was also awesome! I thought that the narrator could have done a better job with some of the women characters, however. They all sounded a lot alike. That said, all of the characters were easy to distinguish (when talking to each other), so this is a bit of a nit.

Any additional comments?

Overall, I really enjoyed the story! The chapters are short, so it went by really quickly. The book could have done with a bit better editing, but that didn't detract too much from the story. Otherwise it was a great listen!

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