mike

Unfulfilled potential

Revisado: 09-09-16

I found the premise interesting and the beginning of the book, about the basic training, similar to many other novels. No problem, the differences could have made the book fun. Unfortunately, too dumb to live, is what I though of the hero. He doesn't seem to learn that quickly, especially when on his first mission.
Characters are pretty undeveloped, though that's common for military fiction. The narrator made the book listenable .The snarky AI in the combat armor helmet was just plain juvenile. I won't follow the series.

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okay supernatural thriller

Revisado: 09-08-16

This is probably a better book than the narrator makes it. The story is decent. There is lots of action and plenty of plot twists. The narration is frankly amateur and detracts from the story. I will keep reading the series, but as text, not as an audio book.

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Solid military SF

Revisado: 09-05-16

While this will never be a classic, it is a solid, if predictable entry into the field. After not finishing a number of well reviewed self-published novels it is a relief to finally find a book that wasn't just silly, that played fair with physics, that didn't have crazy packed asteroid fields.

The plot played fair. No miracles saving everyone when all seemed hopeless. Characters we're decently fleshed out for this type of novel.

The narrator did an excellent job. Recommended.

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fun

Revisado: 02-17-16

This is basically a young adult novel. The main character is young and not particularly mature for his age. None of the characters is complex. This is not why I give the story 3 stars. The author throws in every known fairy tale creature known to the western world, then makes up a few more. This makes the story read more like a video game than a novel. I subtract the second star because this novel could seriously use a line edit. The awkward phrasing sometimes intruded on the story.

On the plus side the story moved at a good pace and did have some interesting, if not particularly deep ones.

I enjoyed the narrator, who did a great job with voices. He carried through the occasional point where the immaturity of Justin, the main character annoyed me.

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Amazing

Revisado: 11-15-15

It's seldom that we get a unique hero like Ashok Vadal. Most are variations of the traditional hero. Not here. Not only is the hero different from any I've encountered, ever. The world in which he lives is also special and different. Excellent world building is the least of what this book offers. Plot, characters are well fleshed out and the plot devious. BTW, the narration is near perfect.

As I first started listening I thought that I couldn't relate to an emotionless super powered killer with a magical sword. However, Larry Correia is a good enough writer that he kept me in the story. I'm glad I stayed. As Ashok's history is revealed and his situation changes we are met with tragedy and betrayal that is exquisite in its portrayal. Wow!

Of course, with a Larry Correia book there is plenty of action and blood. This may be the best fantasy I've come across in years. It's certainly the most original.

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Is there a plot?

Revisado: 06-11-15

I'm a huge fan of Lee and Miller. I've even bought Audible editions of books that I've read. This is the first book of theirs that I've been disappointed in. There doesn't seem to be any plot arc. Problems pop up but are quickly dealt with. There doesn't seem to be a main character in the book. It pops back and forth between too many people to offer any continuity.

I'm totally disappointed in Mr. Collins as a reader, which is a shame because, with the right book, I think he could be very good. The problem is with his handling of the Liaden characters. Since Liaden speech is quite formal, I can understand his choice of using an upper class British accent for those characters. The idea is fine. The execution falls way short.

First, the accent isn't that good. It might be good enough to carry one character but not the numbers involved here. He has only one accent pattern. He does manage to distinguish the voices by tone and speed, but the inflection stays the same between characters. And, that's not the worse part.

He seems unable to both maintain the accent and carry the delicious subtlety of speach that I've come to love from most members of Clan Korval. The biggest shame comes when rendering Val Con. The exquisite, self-deprecating humor and irony I expect from Val Con has been brutally smothered. He comes across as a tedious stuffed shirt, but not as much as does Pat Rin, who sounds like the most pompous bore imaginable. Come on, this is Boss Conrad, who clawed his way up through the cesspool of humorless. Mannered is one thing. Snooty beyond bearing is another.

If you need a Liaden fix, this is just sufficient. If you are new to Lee and Miller's work, please don't start here

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

Almost unlistenable

Revisado: 12-10-14

I'm a big Carol Berg fan. I deeply enjoyed Dust and Light and was excited to learn that there were a couple of other books written in the same world at about the same time period.

In over ten years of subscribing to Audible I haven't heard a more poorly narrated novel. Berg's elegant prose is battered by having been read at too fast a pace and with with zero sense of the rhythm of the phrasing. What should be elegant is stilted and rushed. Character voices are poorly differentiated and I've noticed that several words are mispronounced. An audiobook that I had eagerly anticipated has been rendered too painful to finish. I should have previewed the book sample instead of expecting that it would equal Dust and Light.

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Echos or Byzantium

Revisado: 10-20-14

The book starts out slowly. Actually, it never moves quickly and that's okay with me. It offers a wonderful character study in a fully realized fictionalized Byzantine Empire. I'm a bit thrown by Berny Clark as reader. Simon Vance is the reader I've heard before for Kay. Vance handles the poetry of Kay's prose and captures the slightly melancholy tone of the book, which is about power, responsibility how an outsider can get sucked into the dangerous games of the mighty. Clark does a fine job. I'm just used to Vance.

Kay writes fictionalized novels reflecting real historical times and places. As there are few and trivial fantasy elements this could have as easily been set in historical Constantinople. It doesn't matter as I loved the book. Just saying.

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Wonderful meditations

Revisado: 06-27-14

If you could sum up Mindfulness Meditation in three words, what would they be?

Compassionate, wise, heartful

What did you like best about this story?

Tara Brach has obviously dealt with both meditation and with people who have need of her counseling. The meditations are heartfull as well as mindfull.

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

This is a bit silly, as this is not a story but a set of guided meditations, which need someone to read them, which Ms. Brach does well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The meditations are a comfort and a reminder that mindfulness can change most experiences.

Any additional comments?

For those who found that they couldn't chose a specific meditation, they weren't using the Audible app. The music app on Apple iOS devices is pretty crappy because it doesn't show chapters. The iPod Nano is fine as is iTunes on a computer, but iPhones/Pods/Pads/Touches are lousy that way.

The Audible app not only lets you navigate to specific chapters but place "bookmarks" at any location. As the audiobook separates the different meditations into chapters, this works well. Get the app. I also use the app on my Nexus 5 phone and it works well for that, too.

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A bit different for Williamson

Revisado: 05-21-14

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I'd recommend the book. Characterization was well handled and I could identify with the two main characters.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Weapon?

Dressing up as a submissive sex slave was humorous.

Which character – as performed by Stephen Bowlby – was your favorite?

Chinran, the main character is well handled and has a bit more depth than I normally expect for military SF.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Nothing extreme. It is a good read, but not enough of one to create a memorable experience.

Any additional comments?

This is more of a detective procedural than Williamson's normal work. Much of the story is focused on step by step investigation than on lots of bullets and bodies, though there are some of those, too.

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