Michael D. Stuart

Vietnam in Fantasyland

Revisado: 04-19-25

I got hooked on the characters before connecting the dots. By then I couldn’t abandon them. Painful to the end.

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Mispronunciation of towns, regions, some terms

Revisado: 04-05-24

Good review of the history. Interesting insight into commissioning, choices, and duties of Annapolis graduates. This is the third AI voice book I have heard. It should be possible to train the program to differentiate the voice of the author from that of the interviewees. The biggest issue for me was the jarring effect of mispronunciation. Hearing the city of Hue pronounced as the characteristic of color was as irritating as nails on a chalkboard. Surely a programmer could adjust the pronunciation.

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Had the potential to be interesting

Revisado: 03-22-24

Both the dialog and the AI narrative were stilted and awkward. I was disappointed because I had hoped for a rollicking adventure.

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Juvenile humor

Revisado: 03-04-24

Disliked voices attempted by reader. Most sounded like caricatures. Appropriate for story line I suppose

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Excellent

Revisado: 03-12-23

Best and most accurate story of a draftee’s time in the Green Machine I have encountered. Brought back many memories, both good and bad. I related closely to the author’s exploration of his own emotions as his experience progressed. He was coerced into service but performed honorably despite the inequities of the system and the abuse of power by the lifers. Well said, Brother!

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Clive Cussler could have done it better

Revisado: 02-05-23

Interesting storyline.
Good narration.
For two men thought to be intelligent, the heroes were completely oblivious buffoons.

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Dubious at first

Revisado: 02-01-23

I hesitated before buying this audiobook. I like the author but I’m not wild about time travel. The story started with a series of depressing events but there was a mystery that indicated a recovery. It hooked me with twists and turns plus a trip to the Triassic. Couldn’t put it down.

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Birmingham rocks again!

Revisado: 01-21-23

John Birmingham is a master wordsmith. He keeps the action moving quickly. Weaves the disparate threads into a logical whole. He brings delightful humor into disparate danger. Best of all, he excels in character development. You find heroes who suffer from impostor syndrome and evil villains who act from what seem reasonable imperatives by their own standards. Birmingham gives you enough insight to love and/or hate these children of his imagination. He provides you with the opportunity to slip inside the skin of his characters to try to imagine how you would act when faced with impossible choices. Well done, JB!

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Funny story

Revisado: 01-10-23

I normally give Audible performers high marks as talented professionals working within their chosen field. In this case, however, I had to give a lower rating. Voice inflection, character switching, and stiff pronunciation make the storyline sound more like a poorly written preteen book. It was a bit annoying.

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Filled in gaps of my father’s service

Revisado: 12-25-22

My father was reticent to speak of his WWII service saying only that he was a crew chief on bombers to hit Rabaul early in the war. Photos of him in uniform show E-6 stripes and two rows of “fruit salad”. He had a bullet wound that went completely through his body. That’s the sum of my knowledge. His records burned in the 1975 fire. I don’t know which of the different bomber types he was on. Bruce Gamble’s excellent description of the issues involved in flying out of northern Australia, however, provide insight into what these bomber crews faced and endured. Audible should commit to recording the remainder of Gamble’s Rabaul trilogy to reveal the whole pattern of that portion of the war. I am grateful to learn something of the forces that shaped my dad in his early manhood. Thank you Mr. Gamble.

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