MP

Much better than the first novel.

Revisado: 10-18-23

If you had any reservations after the 1st novel, don't worry you get the best of it. If you liked the 1st novel, you'll still be in very good shape.

Better is subjective, but I mean better as in more palatable. The first novel was fascinating. A new world with so many possibilities and interesting mythology. The main character, Tracker, was really unlikable, though, haha. So angry and aggressive. His caustic attitude and the violence of his life was at times difficult to read through. I'm no prude.

This novel is not a repeat of the first, but more of a prequel. The main character is bitter but more likable and an easier read to follow because of it. This isn't sanitized, just a very different character with a very different world view.
The writing is still witty and the characters are very interesting. Touching, funny, savage, introspective. There is a lot here. A very complex Character.

Much later on, you hear some of the events in book 1 with a new perspective, but in brief rather than great detail, so it is interesting, still, now with the context of a prequel. I didn't expect to like this as much as I had. I look forward to more!

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I tried to like this (Spoiler free)

Revisado: 02-21-23

I honestly struggled with this novel. I adored the first two novels, but this third suffers In a number of key ways. A child main character who misunderstands everything, serious repetition in the writing, highly human centric, and somewhat overly fanciful technology.

Liff is introduced as a main character, and is a child and an unreliable narrator. Constantly following a character who misunderstands and misremembers becomes unpleasant after extended periods of reading/listening time.
There is true and interesting mystery, but too much "mystery" also comes from this child's inability to understand what could have been clearer to someone else, like an adult. As a reader, there is frustration rather than wonder or speculation.

There is tremendous repetition in this novel. Some to recall past novels, some for story, but also summaries of things said in earlier chapters by the same characters.

This story focused very heavily on humans, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing as most of them are well written. It did make me miss seeing the world through alien eyes.

This story feels more fanciful than science fiction. I won't spoil anything, but we're quickly introduced to technology that seems to undermine some of the intriguing difficulties characters attempted to overcome, and later it might be hard to write future struggles worth overcoming.

The novel has a few interesting reveals, but unfortunately, it didn't feel worth listening through Liff's chapters across the novel for those reveals.

I really enjoyed the philosophy components, and the non human characters were compelling. There was too much I disliked, and I begrudgingly completed this novel, enjoying wonderful morsels far between.
I like when authors try new things, but this did now work well, in my opinion.

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esto le resultó útil a 9 personas

Pretty interesting with a few unpleasant cliches

Revisado: 12-20-21

Explores some really cool ways people respond differently to trauma.
Excellent description of postpartum depression, I really liked those parts.
Too much foreshadowing, so much suspicion is cast on some individuals, where every expression is treated as sinister can. However maybe some people really get those kinds of impressions of other people... The "Show not Tell" idea could help, instead of saying a sinister smile, make it seem more open to interpretation?

The cliche of happy blondes and dower brunettes is a bit annoying, though it could simply be the character's view or the author's it could go either way.
I didn't like a throw away line about someone smiling and looking like those "African kids with a gun" which must have meant child soldiers...but why would Africa come to mind, when there are no other international references and we live in a country with an unfortunately and famously high number of school shootings? At least saying child soldier would have been less of an unpleasant generalization... For a book that keeps it local and takes a lot of care on complex topics, that was a bit jarring.

The book had a mature conclusion that didn't get too out of hand with the climax, which is appreciated.

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Satisfying conclusion

Revisado: 12-12-21

I really enjoyed this series, and there are so many likeable characters in it. There are some really interesting revelations that solidify the story rather than make it 'jump the shark' and get 'too out there' like some sci-fi stories can sometimes do. It feels a little more realistic than the 2nd book, interestingly enough, and that's not a slight against the 2nd novel, which I also liked. The narrator is still excellent and we get to hear even more accents, which is a fun surprise. I was very curious about where the story would go from where it left off, the author definitely made some good choices. I also love learning little insights into Yoruba culture peppered into the story, as it is new to me. I think this might be my favorite in the series.

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3 Stories, 3 Different Styles, 3 Series?

Revisado: 05-01-21

I expected 3 stories in the Iron Druid Universe, this is not that kind of anthology. Each story seems to be a slice from a different series. The stories are not interconnected, and the genres differ. None of the stories are bad, but it's unlikely that anyone is a fan of all 3 genres/writing styles.

The First story is an Iron Druid story, and is just what you would expect, and a nice read set immediately after the previous book. Same author, same narrator, same enjoyment.

Not My Circus... unlike many others, I wasn't so much of a fan for a few reasons.
The setting is a Victorian era Carnival with a vampire fantasy/mystery/romance genre.
The narrator was excellent!
The story was simple but not bad.
The main character was annoyingly pompous (a douche is a great description), but had likeable qualities.
I didn't like the writing so much, but ironically, the light romantic portions seemed to be written the best (I'm not a romance fan, so I was surprised).

Interlude... unlike many others, I kind of liked this book.
This is clearly an existing series, though the mythology doesn't conflict with the mythology of the Iron Druid series, like the 2nd story.
It's a modern era supernatural crime genre, and it is grim and and gets a little gruesome.
The Narrator was very good!
The story was interesting, but there is some important backstory that could have helped, though it's referenced enough so you're not confused.
The main character was pretty realistic, and not the 'stupid to let the plot unfold' type.
The writing jumps between the present and past, so you it keeps suspense wondering how you got to the present.

I'm a fan of the 1st and 3rd genres, but I'll admit this was a weird combination of books.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

wonderfully complex

Revisado: 05-28-19

If you liked Pan's Labyrinth, you will probably enjoy this book as well. It is just little dark, but also heart warming. It is not a simple story with simple morals, so it's great for many ages.

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Really stunning

Revisado: 12-25-18

The audio production was truly stunning. I'm addicted to audiobooks, so I was surprised how much a difference sound effects and music make. The voice active was top notch, as well. The story was very decent, everything was done right, nothing foolish, annoying, or extraneous, it's well done. This isn't my normal genre(action), so I won't hold that against it, at all. I'll continue this series!

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An amazing and satisfying journey.

Revisado: 03-25-18

A fantastic journey. The characters are quite complex with their conflicting desires and personalities. One of my favorite aspects of the story was that t here isn't a clearly evil villain. Each side has good motivation for what they believe is right. Additionally, you never really know how the story will end, the characters are complex enough that guessing their courses of action isn't always easy.
Being introduced into a new culture this way was awesome, and I fully look forward to more by this author!

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Vile Racism

Revisado: 02-23-18

I did not make it an hour into the audiobook, before learning how incredibly racist the author happenes to be. Not the milder, 'product of their times' but an actually direct level of racism, because the author actually felt that way. Had the author merely written a racist character, there would be nothing special about the stories, but instead, he casually describes his s****ty eyed -insert race-, swarthy immigrants, and ape like n****s with the same aire he describes a tall tree, matter of factly.
If you ignore that, he does have an interesting literary way of describing the terror of the unknown, it's just a pitty that the unknown includes other kinds of people, and not just monsters.

I Really wish more of his many, many, fans mentioned the author's "quirk" so that I might have learned about Lovecraft's views before being recommended, and then buying, this audiobook. Look it up for yourself, especially his poem on the creation of thr n****r.

Lastly, the narrator did a nice job, in the time I listened. He has a nice way of capturing the horrors and juxtaposition with normal reality.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Such a pleasure!

Revisado: 01-05-18

I loved this book! The first story was great as well, and I'm pleased to see that trend continues here. This story was as interesting as the first book, but seemed less oppressive in tone, while remaining very serious.
I was turned off by the summary saying 'a ghetto girl' was the main character, but there were no stereotypes, Mary was just born and lived there. I'm buying the third book now.

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