Jackson Petro

I am in awe

Revisado: 09-13-23

it's 3:44 am and I am awake. I should be asleep, I have work tomorrow, but instead I am in awe of a book that I variously found confusing and convoluted and strange. but the book is over now, and all confusion has subsided to leave me with a euphoric sense of wonder. an uncommonly great book.

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A Nice Jaunt

Revisado: 11-03-20

A very good, if somewhat brief, walkthrough of socialism in its first half year development. The lecturer alluded to more lectures coming on the Soviet era and I certainly look forward to those. I hope to hear more of eduard bernstein and rise of the western social democrats and western communists, especially in the Nazi period and after. This lecture was especially interesting when it reached the parts about the divergence from Western and Russian socialists after the creation of the Soviet Union, and I hope to see more of that parallel development discussed in the future lectures.

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A Penric Story for Quarantine

Revisado: 09-28-20

Will Penric be able to handle his plague better than we have handled ours? A timely novella for Quarantine listening.

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Spectacular in it's World Bulding, Characters, and Attention to Detail

Revisado: 03-11-20

This story, deeply informed by real world historical challenges, grapples in astonishing, grounded detail with the question of how a society of people in a, at best, medieval level of technological and societal organizational development can shake off conquest by an early modern colonizing empire. There are no magic swords or divine interventions, heroics are utterly insufficient. The only viable tools of liberation are geography, chemistry, and economics, wielded in the shaky grasp of an ingenious, but deeply fallible and increasingly morally compromised traitor: Baru Cormorant. Our protagonist, certainly not a hero, does not even understand how the empire may be defeated, but understands that main force is entirely unrealistic. If any victory is to be achieved it must come from undermining the enemy from within, somehow.

In a lot of ways, this book series is really a protracted thought experiment on the issues of empire, colonialism, and collaboration. Excellent characters save it from being dull, but it is undeniably detailed and grounded in its story telling. Between discussing monetary machinations and the implications of the prevailing wind on commerce (and troop movements), there is plenty of room for breathtakingly heroics and tragic characters.

I love this series. I think it is the best fantasy written in the last decade. But it does call on the reader to engage with challenging ideas. If Dune demands the reader think critically about philosophy, religion, and ecology, this book calls for deep thought about geography, economics, and social organization. If the reader is up for that sort of thing, this series is unparalleled. If not, skip.

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another vorkosigan book

Revisado: 12-09-18

its a vorkosigan book. its lois mcmaster bujold. nothing more need really be said. buy it.

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Just not so well written

Revisado: 12-04-18

Like with a lot of these star wars books, the narration is well done with interesting things having been done in editing with sound effects and the like. But the story here is just not very good. Audible lists this as book 1 in a series but the story starts with some strange things having happened in the star wars galaxy and little background explanation to help the reader understand the situation. i know the lore of the old republic a little but i still found the situation confusing and hard to grasp. The characters are not very compelling and are forgettable, which I found surprising since I had heard good things about the old republic books and certainly the reviews on audible are high. There are just a lot of better books to pick up.

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excellent information, excellent presentation

Revisado: 05-04-18

James Comey creates a very easy to follow and persuasive explanation for why the Clinton email investigation and issues with Trump were handled by him the way they were. along the way you also get a great insight into Bush era policy from Comey's time as the assistant attorney general. Comey is very direct in acknowledging possible mistakes and is generous to those who had political cause to disagree with him. it is really refreshing and the writing is not overly dry or so detailed that the narrative drags as Comey walks you through the rationale for FBI policy and, in the bush years, justice department policy.

I was a little curious when I heard Comey would narrate he book himself, being accustomed to hearing great professional narrators for audio books for so long. perhaps I should not have been surprised that, as a lawyer and former federal prosecutor, Comey has an easy voice to listen to and makes a compelling narration. The book is best listened to in his voice I think, especially given the personal nature of the story.

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