lwmarti

Unsatisfying ending to the series

Revisado: 02-24-23

Ugh. I really liked the first five books in this series, so I was expecting more of the same in this one. I got that and I didn't get that. It was fine right up to the end, at which point the plot evolved in a way that I really didn't like. My three-star rating reflects how this really ruined the story for me. But give it a shot. Most people didn't seem to have the same reaction. Maybe you won't, either.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Stunning

Revisado: 06-22-21

Because of the grandiose title I expected a certain level of hyperbole. I was wrong. This book is a brilliant summary of what makes humans unique. It's well worth the few hours that it takes to read (or listen to) it.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Takes a while to get going

Revisado: 06-22-21

Absolutely hilarious first volume of Twain's autobiography. Or should I say "autobiography"? It turns out to be very useful to check Wikipedia every now and then because this is really part autobiography and part tall tales, and you'll want to check the accuracy of things fairly often.

And the first several chapters are stuff related to, but not the actual autobiography that you're probably looking for. That doesn't start until chapter 20 or so.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Simply brilliant

Revisado: 12-16-20

Absolutely loved this book, both the psychological aspects of the love stories and the military history contained in the battle stories. I decided to tackle this one after finishing a biography of Napoleon, which turned out to be a great choice. When you know the events that this book is based on, it's even better.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

C. S. Lewis's take on Edgar Rice Burroughs's Mars

Revisado: 11-21-20

Lots of authors have been inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs's Barsoom books, and it's fascinating to see how these pastiches differ from the original. If you're Robert E. Howard (author of the Conan stories), such a story would naturally involve fighting aliens using various swords. If you're C. S. Lewis, such a story would naturally involve discussions of theology with aliens. And that's exactly what you get in this series of books. It doesn't have the silly footnotes that some authors throw in to emulate Burroughs (1 sleen is the amount of theology that 1 blorg can discuss per squark), but they're excellent stories nevertheless. If you're a fan of the genre, you'll absolutely love these books.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Didn't like the narrator

Revisado: 11-06-20

I understand that this is purely a matter of personal preference, but the narrator just didn't work for me. I'm apparently in a small minority of people with this opinion, so don't let my taste stop you from listening to this one.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Good but not great

Revisado: 01-25-20

Not perfect, but then what is? Of the random science-fiction books that I've picked up to listen to while traveling, this was one of the better ones. Not art, but reasonably good entertainment. If you've read the first book in this series, you might be surprised by how different this one is from its predecessor. The first book was much like a novelization of the Infocom game Bureaucracy. This one is more like a story of what happened in a Traveller role-playing game session. Lots of similar terms, technology, etc. Different from the first book, but still worth the time.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A good attempt

Revisado: 01-25-20

Not perfect, but then what is?

Of the random science-fiction books that I've picked up to listen to while traveling, this was one of the better ones. Not art, but reasonably good entertainment.

The protagonist faces a series of problems that are more than a little like the challenges that you faced in the classic Infocom game Bureaucracy. Intrigue. Cheats. Thieves. Corruption. That sort of stuff. Not your typical science-fiction story. Definitely worth the time.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A chapter from a longer book?

Revisado: 06-22-19

As a chapter in a longer book, this might have made more sense, but as a standalone story it really came up short for me: no background on the world, the characters, etc.

I started to give it three stars, but Amazon suggests that three stars indicates "Pretty good" while two stars indicates "It's okay," and I'm afraid that this one just didn't seem to be "Pretty good" to me.

I'm glad that I didn't pay for this one, but for a free story it was a tolerable way to spend a couple of hours. But since I kept wishing that I was spending my time listening to something else, anything other than "It's okay" really wouldn't be honest.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Good, but not as good as the others

Revisado: 06-19-19

While I absolutely love the other books in the Columbus Day series, I both liked and didn't like this one. The plot was pretty much what you'd expect - the usual characters saving the Earth yet again. That was the good part.

But some of the dialog didn't quite work for me. I probably would have sounded just fine if it was read by the usual R. C. Bray, but it just didn't sound natural to me when read by actors.

Despite this complaint, I'd love to see more full-cast productions set in the Skippyverse. I'd definitely buy them and listen to them.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas