gzander

A great listen

Revisado: 07-19-23

Narrator is fantastic, the story is compelling and…imperfect—not in the sense that it is bad but in the sense that it doesn’t shy away from the fact that humans and the human world they have created are flawed. Truly enjoyed it.

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Great book, outstanding narrator

Revisado: 11-28-21

A good whodunnit wrapped in mythic struggles. This is not a series (although I am now tempted to seek out the author’s short stories set in the same world.

The narrator is…magnificent. A true master of her craft.

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Action and Intrigue

Revisado: 03-19-19

Very fun read, and the second book was even better (at least to me). The magic system is a weird combination of arbitrary and systematic (meaning the author has thought through all or most of the angles) but it really works well. The characters are fun, and the plot moves along at a nice clip. The world is very well conceived and expressed. All in all one of my favorite reads in a while.

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Zelazny meets Lovecraft meets Adams?

Revisado: 03-19-19

Take the family dysfunction of Nine Princes in Amber, mix in a little cosmic horror of Lovecraft, add a dash of absurdist Hitchhiker's Guide humor and snark, and the author's own quirky style and talent and you have The Library at Mount Char. That's not to say this book is derivative in any way--but it's hard to place it in any one genre. I love it when I have no idea where a book is headed and this one definitely does that. Just read it, and watch out for Barry O'Shea (no idea if that's how it's spelled...but if you listen to the book you'll get it).

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An unexpected delight

Revisado: 03-19-19

I really love this series. It's one of those rare things where I slowed down listening as I got closer to the end because I was sad that there were no other books in the series (yet? seems like there's room for more if the author wants to continue it). The world building is great, the characters are fun, and the style is swashbuckle-y and political all at the same time. A real delight!

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Two dimensional

Revisado: 05-09-16

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. This book tries just a little too hard to show its nerd credentials. The female characters are especially tiresome: the protagonist's relentlessly Manic Pixie Dream Girl in particular. The mystery, such as it is is not all that interesting. And the sucking up to Google is really obvious. Was the author angling for a job there or something?

Would you recommend Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore to your friends? Why or why not?

No, see the answer to this question above.

Which scene was your favorite?

I actually really liked the beginning of the book -- the slow reveal of what this place was. But the rest was just not that interesting.

Do you think Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Only if the author can muster up something with more heft and substance.

Any additional comments?

The narrator is pretty good; and it's not that the book itself is awful--it's just mediocre.

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Fantastic fun

Revisado: 05-09-16

Would you listen to The Mechanical again? Why?

I don't know whether I would listen to it again, but that is not really a mark against it (there are too many books to listen to/read, I don't have time to go back).

Who was your favorite character and why?

I really enjoyed Hugo -- the main characters (Jax and Berenice) are wonderful, but I just liked Sergeant Longchamps a lot.

What about Chris Kayser’s performance did you like?

Goodness, this guy is really good -- his characterizations are distinct. He's pretty good at pitching his voice higher for female characters. His monotone voice for the clackers is great. If I had to sum it up, my favorite thing about his performance is his versatility.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Free will has a price.

Any additional comments?

I'm pretty crazy about this series and the world building. But at a micro level, the pacing, characters and dialogue are all just so fun. Spoiler alert: the second book is just as good.

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Love the story, not so much the narration

Revisado: 05-09-16

What did you love best about Bitter Seeds?

Ian Tregillis is a master craftsman when it comes to world building, pacing and complex characters.

What did you like best about this story?

The varying shades of gray of all of the characters in the story and the prices they are willing to pay to get what they want.

What didn’t you like about Kevin Pariseau’s performance?

Oh my god, this man is a talented narrator as long as he is not using accents. This is a personal pet peeve anyway, but if people are speaking German to each other there is NO REASON FOR A GERMAN ACCENT, none at all -- especially a cartoony, over-the-top one. Each of the German characters sound utterly ridiculous. The British/Scottish accents are not much better (the Scotsman is some sort of weird amalgam of Irish and maybe some sort of north country). It's really distracting and it takes away a lot from the book. Please, please someone re-record this. I want to be clear that Kevin Pariseau, when reading without accent is clear, engaging and energetic -- he's just a poor fit for this story setting. Maybe get the guy who did The Mechanical to do it.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not a single moment per se. There are many moving moments as each of the characters has to confront what they want and what they are willing to do to get it.

Any additional comments?

Once again, a terrific tale marred by a capable but poorly matched to the source voiceover actor.

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