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The Best Comic Book Story You'll Read this Year!

Revisado: 06-23-15

Where does Steelheart rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Steelheart is a very good, and very engaging take on the Superhero genre. The book is for a younger audience, and some of its narrative underpinnings are a little weaker than I am used to from Brandon Sanderson, but the book is otherwise so well written, and so much fun, that you hardly even notice.

The opening chapter is as good as any Pixar movie, it gets you right into the action and the concept in less than five minutes.

What did you like best about this story?

As I've come to expect from Brandon Sanderson, the characters are what really make this story shine. The concept and the world are interesting from first pitch, but it you keep reading to find out what happens to David, Megan, Prof, Tia, Abraham, and even Cody. Each characters grows and reveals a little more about themselves as David gets to know them better, and we organically learn about David as well.

By the end of the book you really feel like you know this small group of friends, fighting desperately against foes of truly Epic Proportions!

What about MacLeod Andrews’s performance did you like?

I was irritated at first by MacLeod Andrews's performance at first, especially his performance of women, but I've gotten used to it. He has a habit of making all of his female characters sound constantly irritated and aggravated. It eventually kind of works for this book.

Perhaps unfairly I kept associating his voice acting with the awful 'Dragons of Dorcastle', so it took me several chapters to get past that unflattering association.

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

Brandon took the opportunity to unload as many terrible metaphors as he could, and hung a lantern on what he was doing. None of them are particularly laugh out loud funny, but each new terrible metaphor brings a smile to your face in an otherwise grim scene.

Any additional comments?

I'd recommend this book to fans of science fiction, fantasy, and superhero action. Its far and away better than most comic book story arcs (with the exception of Saga), and it gets better chapter by chapter.

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A Wonderfully Imaginative Tale of Sweeping Scope

Revisado: 06-14-15

What did you love best about The Grace of Kings?

The world building, and mixture of cultures is wonderfully imaginative. Adding Airships to a story might give you the impression that the book will lean on all the tired old steampunk tropes, but nothing could be further from the truth. Ken Liu has managed to create something entirely fresh and new.

The novel leans heavily on backstory and expository passages, interspersed with brief dialog. However, due to the style and the light touch with which this is done, it never bogs the story down or detracts from the action. Generally I don't like when writers employ this style, but I think it works in this case.

From a plot perspective, the plot primarily moves forward due to a series of incredible luck on the part of the main character, Kuni Garu. The solutions to the problems he encounters are often the fortunate combination of finding someone with just the right preternatural skill, while his opponents adopt a weakness of thought and strategy they have never shown previously. I still enjoyed Kuni Garu's successes, the solutions just seemed a bit too convenient.

The only thing I found somewhat disappointing was the transformation of the secondary character, Mata Zindu. In the opening acts he is an admirable and believable character, but gradually transforms into a more one dimensional fool. The events that precipitate this fall are well defined and well told, but I just thought it would have been more interesting if we had any reason to continue to root for Mata as well as Kuni, and we never do.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I didn't really have a favorite character, although I really liked all of Kuni's advisors and compatriots. If I had to pick, I would say Tazu, because Michael Kramer's performance of the Trickster God was particularly fantastic.

Have you listened to any of Michael Kramer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Michael Kramer was excellent as always. I particularly enjoyed his performance as the Trickster God, Tazu. He really lent the character a sense of menacing bravado, and desire to have fun at the expense of others.

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

I had several extreme reactions during specific scenes. There moments where I laughed out loud, and moments that caused me to catch my breath in horror.

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Wonderful world building, fun story

Revisado: 05-30-15

Phenomenal world building, fun characters, and a well done story. Events within the plot are often too convenient, but the cleverness of the world, and the characters forgives such minor quibbles. Overall an excellent no very fun read.

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Plodding and largely pointless

Revisado: 05-17-15

What would have made The Vorrh better?

The Vorrh would be better if it had a plot. And dialogue. And character development. And if it were not a collection of perverse and puerile ramblings. And if it were anything at all like the plot summary given in the description.

If you like to read engaging fantasy stories filled with interesting character doing interesting things... this is not for you.

If you like to read dense and often grotesque prose devoid of dialogue and meaning, then buy this book right away!

What was most disappointing about Brian Catling’s story?

The most disappointing thing about the story in the Vorrh is that there really isn't one.

The Vorrh boils down to five hundred pages of descriptions written in excruciating detail, in an acerbic and clever writing style. This works okay for about the first fifteen pages. But you keep waiting for the payoff; for something, anything, to happen, and it never really does. It really is just five hundred pages of densely worded prose in a cliched stream of consciousness.

Of the hundreds of pages that make up this book, you could probably fill only three with actual dialogue; two if you don't count the feverish whining of a dog having a dream about forcing himself on another dog. That is an actual sentence that I typed because of the Vorrh. This book is that bad.

There are characters in the story, of a sort, but again, they don't actually do anything. Some of them have done things, certainly, and in those cases we are treated to long backstories in stream of conscious monologues. These backstories occasionally intersect with other characters like billiard balls. This is as close as the Vorrh gets to a plot.

I should note that there are women in this story, if your definition of a woman is a thing that men want to sleep with. Oh, and they can also die horrifically to give men motivation. So there's that.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene is when a Lawman viciously mutilates a child, just because he is standing in his way.

Actually that was terrible and awful, and I wish I'd never read it, just like the rest of this book.

What character would you cut from The Vorrh?

There aren't really any characters in this book. There are descriptions of characters certainly, but that is as good as it gets.

Any additional comments?

I feel I should note that Alan Corunder is fantastic throughout, and performs a skillful and entertaining narration despite the overwrought prose he has to slog through.

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An Explanation, rather than a Story

Revisado: 05-04-15

What disappointed you about The Dragons of Dorcastle?

As the title indicates, this is actually a relatively short story, explained (rather than shown) to the reader through a series of long dialogues between two characters. Virtually every detail of the world and the characters comes through long, drawn out explanation rather than true development.

What was most disappointing about Jack Campbell’s story?

The two main characters are difficult to like, and only display occasional flashes of competence. I could title every chapter with things like "the worst rescue attempt ever" and "the worst escape attempt ever". Virtually every character in the world is hostile to the two main characters on a thin to nonexistent pretense. We see roughly two people in the entire world that are helpful to the main characters, and the sole purpose of one of these characters seems to be to provide an information dump to the reader with no real justification.

A dichotomy between two guilds is explained in exhaustive detail, but it is taken to ridiculous lengths. One of the characters is ignorant of time measurements (maybe), and distance measurements (doubtful), and even the fact that hot metal searing flesh is painful... which is simply ridiculous.

The magic system (not so much a system so much as an unformed idea) is equally silly, with a somewhat interesting initial concept that the author stumbles through with poor development and inconsistent explanations. The limits of spellcasting are entirely unclear, and the author relies on his characters being consistently at the brink of exhaustion to avoid having them use their abilities in clever ways.

As mentioned above, all of the details of the world come to us in long, drawn out explanations, and are not developed much further after initial mention.

Oddly, while the book is called "The Dragons of Dorcastle", Dorcastle is not mentioned even once until Chapter 10 (of 14), and said Dragons are first mentioned in Chapter 11. This plot element would have been a great focus for the story, but it just kind of appears at the end after we've suffered through ten chapters of two incompetents explaining things in minute detail to us.

Finally, the words "Mage" and "Mechanic" account for roughly 60% of the word count of the first five chapters, in my sarcastic estimation. In Chapter two through four it feels like they occupy literally every other word.

Would you listen to another book narrated by MacLeod Andrews?

I might listen to another book by MacLeod Andrews. The performance was fair, if not great.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Dragons of Dorcastle?

I would have edited out much of the purely explanatory dialog between the two main characters, particularly in the first 4 chapters. Then mixed in those bits of background information more gradually, rather than as an "information dump" on the reader. I beleive the first 10 chapters could be compressed into 4, and the main story in Dorcastle brought into focus more quickly, with more time taken to develop those important story details and plot elements.

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A Wonderful Setting with Wonderful Characters

Revisado: 01-11-15

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

Mistborn tells an exciting story, set in a richly detailed world. One thing I find particularly impressive is that the author has thought through the various implications of his "magic" system, and the effects it would have on a society. Many authors do not do this, and it is admirable that it has been done here. The story moves along quickly, propelled by the characters themselves, and not a simply the "tide of events".

Good Characters. Good Story. Good World Building. And a Good Performance by Michael Kramer.

What did you like best about this story?

The best thing about this story is that the heroes have a plan, and are almost always actively striving to have a positive effect on the world at large. In many (bad) stories, the villains are the only ones with any kind of plan (it is one of the reasons why we root for them), and the heroes only react to events around them.

In Mistborn, the heroes put together a plan, and methodically work to bring it to fruition. Sometimes the reader doesn't always know the plan, or understand it, but the characters are always working toward it.

Beyond that, we also have a female character in this story who is an actual character. This is a triumph in and of itself. Vin is defined by her resilience, intelligence, and creativity; rather than her beauty and sex. She is interesting, powerful, and vulnerable. You like her almost immediately and never stop. Her counterpart, Kelsier, is equally appealing for somewhat different reasons, but you always want to return to Vin.

We get quick flashes of the primary side characters that give us just enough of an impression of them, without distracting from Vin and Kelsier, and they seem like real people.

What about Michael Kramer’s performance did you like?

Michael Kramer's performance is soothing, and generally very good. Anyone with such a deep voice would naturally struggle a bit with female characters, but I didn't find it too jarring. I am more than thrilled that he narrates the other books in the series, and several of Brandon's other series as well.

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

There were several moments in the book that made me laugh out loud. Sometimes from surprise.

Any additional comments?

A Great Book. I can't wait for the next one!

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Interesting Ideas ruined by Bad Characterization and Ridiculous Sexism

Revisado: 01-11-15

Would you try another book from Brent Weeks and/or Paul Boehmer?

I would not try another book from Brent Weeks.

There are some genuinely interesting ideas in this book. Unfortunately, the book suffers from quite bad characterization, and ridiculous amounts of sexism.

Massive gaps are left in the story. This is interesting when the reader is intended to infer things from the narrative. It is not interesting when it leaves out any depth of characterization. For example, we know Azoth and Jarl, as well as Logan and Kylar, are friends because we are TOLD they are. Almost any scene that would establish this fact is left largely to our own imaginations.

Worse still, practically every female character (at least every female character worth describing) is described as beautiful, with very large breasts ("six feet of breasts" in one case... whatever that means), and defined entirely by the Virgin/Whore dichotomy. It is as if there is literally nothing else about them the reader needs to know. By the end of the book, a new female character's breasts are the only detail the author deems worth noting about them. I laughed out loud at the sheer ridiculousness of it by the mid-point.

The only other thing I will add about the over the top sexism is that the primary female character is virtually "fridged" in the opening chapters. By definition the sole purpose of this event is to further the male protagonist's plot, and that's just lazy, bad writing.

It is too bad really. If the author had deleted the vast swathes of text devoted to describing beauty, curves, and breasts; he might have had space to provide detail and life to all of the characters. Instead we have a collection of cardboard cutouts defined by single words (assassin, orphan, prince) and their props (virgins and whores). This would have been fantastic, because there are several characters with real potential, but they never really advance, and we never really learn anything about them.

As it is, instead of getting a story, the author tells us a plot, in fits and starts.

Also, if the villains weren't rapists, child abusers, and much worse; I might root for them instead, because they are actually effective, and have long term plans and goals. The protagonists spend the majority of the book clutching their brows and hesitating for extreme lengths of time, until the flow of events finally forces them to action.

Would you ever listen to anything by Brent Weeks again?

I would not listen to anything by Brent Weeks again.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was passable. Not bad. Not great. He frequently used the same voice for different characters. This would be fine, but he frequently does it when the characters are talking to each other.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Way of Shadows?

If I were the editor, I would remove most of the expository describing how beautiful, curvaceous, and busty every single female character was, and flesh out all the main characters in detail.

Any additional comments?

This book is bad. Just bad. It gets so bad, that I started laughing out loud toward the end. Particularly every time a new female character is described. Again, I cannot state enough how disappointing this is, because much of the background and world building seems very, very interesting. But it isn't worth wading through drivel to get to it.

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