OYENTE

Andrew

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  • 1
  • voto útil
  • 63
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Story starts strong then fizzles out

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-05-25

I really enjoyed the beginning and middle of this book. It was engaging and fun, and I really cared about the characters.

The last third, when the main character returns to modern-day London, isn't terrible either. The scenario it paints is believable, and I was genuinely dismayed and couldn't stop reading as the story went on, all leading to a finale where the character has a world audience and delivers his message to humanity...

...which turns out to be a tedious pablum, neither original nor memorable. Something about how the fact that we don't understand how toilets work (except, most of us do?) and don't understand how cell phones work (well, I do anyway...) means that we aren't morally equipped for intergalactic travel because... well, just because.

It's not particularly unbelievable that a random person who has undergone an extraordinary experience might not be capable of explaining it under pressure in an interesting way... but it is pretty unbelievable that a hundred thousand people would apparently listen to such boring nonsense with rapt attention.

The historicity is pretty poor. The reign of Bloody Mary was... bloody, but even so, the idea that a fanatical bishop would pick out a random youth from the crowd and attempt to execute him by burning... based on a vague facial expression seen from a distance... without provoking a riot... it's a heck of a stretch.

The author also glossed over the immense language and cultural differences that an early-modern Londoner would experience if suddenly arriving in the modern world; I understand that this was necessary to allow the story to happen at all, but it grates pretty badly at times.

I kind of wish this story had stayed out of the modern era. The 16th century story was by far the best part, and many loose ends were left behind.

Having said all of this, I'm still giving this book four stars, because it really is worth reading. It's intriguing and compelling... right up until the story finally grinds to a whimpering halt a few pages too early.

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Awful. Just awful.

Total
1 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
1 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-08-24

If you're mentally a thirteen-year-old boy who thinks looking up the word "vagina" in the dictionary is both amusing and arousing, then congratulations; you are the target audience for this book! But even then you will likely find it one-dimensional and predicable, and be unable to suspend your disbelief as the main character goes from lying in a hospital bed to being propositioned by a floating goddess and then transported to another planet and acquiring magical powers, in the space of a few paragraphs, all without any evident surprise or self-reflection.

And then there is some fighting, and then there is some mechanical and joyless sex writing. And then there is some more fighting, and some more bad sex writing, and this pattern continues for the rest of the book without any kind of real story happening along the way, and then - thankfully - it all just stops.

Save yourself a credit. This book will make you stupider.

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Accessible, compelling, ambiguous

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-17-24

I really enjoyed this story, and the author is a skilled narrator. I was quickly drawn into the world of the book and found the characters interesting and compelling. My only caveat is that the ending does not tie the threads of the story together, and for me anyway, I still wasn't quite sure exactly what the plan was that the protagonists had subverted.

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Enjoyable glimpse into Glasgow history

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-07-23

I was drawn to this book because I am descended from Irish immigrants who settled in Glasgow in the mid-nineteenth century, as the characters in this story did, along with thousands of others. I feel left with a strong impression of the time and place, of the poverty and kindness, prejudice and hope.

There are some elements of the plot that jarred a little. Méabh is a rather one-dimensional character, full of virtue, but without much depth. Her distrust for the O'Reillys and her anger at their attempt to secure a decent position for Kate seems out of proportion, and seems to be maintained despite her continuing reliance on their generosity and goodness throughout the story. Her relationship with Danny, while depicted as deeply loving and comfortable, is oddly chaste and dispassionate, and it slightly strains credulity that without even a real kiss, still less the definite prospect of a wedding date, Danny is so utterly and patiently devoted to her.

Male authors frequently receive deserved criticism for their attempts to write convincing female characters, failing to understand the real needs and desires that motivate women, but the converse is also true, as demonstrated here. Danny is handsome, fiercely loyal to Méabh, devoted, utterly self-sacrificing... but makes no demands whatsoever, expresses no needs, is functionally asexual, and happily submits to her wishes from beginning to end. I was disappointed that the story ended without a wedding between them, or at least a passionate kiss. Danny has earned one.

Overall the story was exciting and involving, and I was genuinely dismayed at the bad news when it came, so convinced was I that I was about to hear a happy ending. But that came later, in an exciting and fulfilling denouement that left me warm, happy, and completly satisfied. Unlike poor Danny.

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Much, much better than I expected

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-09-23

I wasn't expecting a vampire novel, set in the 19th century south, by the Game of Thrones guy, to make any sense. But this was one of my favourite listens of the last year. The story was fun, the characters intriguing. The world was believable and attractive.

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Touching, very real, but still gripping

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-21-22

As a practicing - if sometimes troubled - Catholic, this story hit home for me. It deals with a lot of hard truths, but it never loses a basic respect for the pain and beauty of the faith. Rather uplifting, all in all.

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A solid meal for a hard sci-fi fan

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 05-17-21

No space opera, no technological hand-waving, no confusing of sci-fi and fantasy, just a good approachable story with solid science behind it.

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Disappointingly self-indulgent

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
2 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-26-21

I have just returned this book (a very rare step for me) after listening to Davies' ten-minute meditation on the nature and symbolism of his mother's (utterly unremarkable) fingers.

More aggressive editing needed I think.

Additionally the performance is very quiet, and Davies is prone to long gaps in speaking, which as a practical matter results in my app cutting off the first few syllables of each sentence.

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Enjoyable and comprehensive

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 05-25-20

This is the real history of the Catholic Church, warts and all. Well researched and well presented.

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Not what I was hoping for

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 05-25-20

I wanted to gain an understanding how the veneration of Mary began in the early centuries of Christianity, more from the perspective of history than from faith. From the title I thought this book might tell me something about how the Jews who became the first Christians might have viewed Mary. It didn't do that.

Instead this is an exploration of symmetries between Mary's life and certain Old Testament events and people. The author doesn't make any clear case that those symmetries would have been apparent to early Christians, or would have informed their understanding. Instead we're treated to a list of numerology-like inferences that seems intended to confirm us in our Marian faith. I suppose that if you are that rarest of beasts - a Mary-venerating Catholic who also believes in sola scriptura - then it might work. It didn't work for me.

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