C. McCoy

A fun thriller but spoiled by technical errors

Revisado: 03-08-15

Would you try another book from Rick Campbell and/or Fred Berman?

I might if he does better research on the technical details especially when he relies on them to get out of bad situations. I read his earlier book which was far better written than this one.

What could Rick Campbell have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not use rediculous and far fetched solutions to resolve bad situations. For example, sucessfully landing an entire airwing on a carrier that has a 40 foot hole in the flight deck that takes out all the Cross Deck Pendants (wires that the an aircraft tail hook catches on landing) and shortens the useable landing distance. Then asserting that every aircraft could stop using only their brakes before running out of landing space. Plus all pilots being blinded by the dense smoke of the Carrier on fire, and relying on automatic landing system alone. Not withstanding landing an entire airwing in less than 20 minutes. No modern jet combat aircraft could land and come to a full stop using only its brakes even if a full length flight deck were available. Landing an entire Airwing worth of aircraft in 20 minutes could not happen during a normal operation as each aircraft also has to clear the deack for the next aircraft that is already on final approach. Each aircraft further has to be moved to a parking spot to allow recovery of all aircraft. His scenario of this is ludicrously laughable, pattently rediculous and detracts from what could be a great book. This is only one of several glaring techical details that ruined my full enjoyment of the story.

Did Fred Berman do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes I liked his portrayal of the main chracters but as some one else remarked the yelling of various watch standers reporting to operational commanders got to be too much.

Could you see Empire Rising being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Never its too stupid on some of its technical details and the heronine too much of a Super Woman to be accepted as genuine. Maybe a. Graphic novel character but not otherwise

Any additional comments?

As a retired Navy officer I found the premise of China out manuevering America on the cyber level is a definite and realistic possibility maybe even a probability. The U.S. Thinks itself as superior in the cyber world and Thinks of China as inferior. It simply is not so. Most of our fighting machines are highly dependant on software programming. We have aquired superior aircraft that are incapable of doing the job they were designed for because the software is not ready and in some cases are years away from being ready. We are cutting corners and reducing and eliminating funding across the board injudiciously - impeading the availability and functionality of weapons systems we are already committed to and form an integral part of our readiness and defense. This novel at least does a good job of highliting that we may losing future conflicts on the basis of software performance and/or vulnerability of being sabotaged. If you doubt this is a real threat you only have to look at all the recent major companies that have been hacked, some of whom were defense contractors. Some of this hacking has been traced to China. Who do you think writes the vast majority of the programs for our weapons systems? What is the likely hood of coders being bribed or coerced into sabotage? Civliian Defense Contractors are the answer to these questions. All of this is made clear in this novel, even if it has glaring errors in other ways. For that reason I did enjoy the story.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

Boring

Revisado: 01-17-15

Would you try another book from Tavis Smiley and David Ritz and/or Tavis Smiley?

Not if its an audio book and Travis is reading it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

None - the books was boring

How did the narrator detract from the book?

His dull and lifeless voice drones on as if reciting the Multiplication Tables. Its turns the listener off, causes the mind to drift and otherwise wish the narration had come to an end.

Do you think Death of a King needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not from these two

Any additional comments?

No doubt the story has good information of historical interest and significance but the narrator just shuts my mind down.

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Fun and Intriguing

Revisado: 07-30-12

The author says be believes this second book in the trilogy is the best of the three. I just downloaded the third book so we will see. I will say that Watch was better than Wake because there was more intrigue involved when governments start hunting for the source of internet autonomous intelligence. It is a well used theme in ScFi for governments to see everything they don't understand as a threat, the fun part is that in this case its a benevolent intelligence and that surely would raise the suspicions of any government don't you think? There is no doubt in my mind that these books are well worth the reading, they are light but just thought provoking enough to hold my interest and for me as a retired network engineer, not a bad basic primer on the fundamental workings of the internet. Fun, entertaining and a bit thought provoking - good SciFi to me.

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Excellent explaination of Buddhist Essentials +

Revisado: 12-19-11

Buddhism isn't really a religion nor is it the "pop cult' that began around 1960 in the USA. Ponlop's basic message is the need to strip the cultural trappings and the "Kung Fu" image away from most of the Buddhism practices and dogma currently passing for Buddhism. He makes the best case I've seen so far, for Americanizing (Westernizing) the practice of the Historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gottima's, teachings. He spells out the steps needed in a logical and, for me, compelling way for individual practices. He offers direction for the growth of Buddhism by showing that having an Asian face is not required to be a wise and effective teacher. He shows that Buddhism has always been adapted to the culture of the area in which it practiced. There are different cultural traditions in different regions none of which are essential to the practice of what Buddha taught, but many of which help its adherents understand and relate to Buddha's teachings. Essentially Buddhism is an education system teaching wisdom, ultimate wisdom. It needs to reach its students through the culture they understand and relate to. Thus I think what Dzogchen Ponlop's "Rebel Buddha" means by "The Road to Freedom" is the releasing of people from following cultural trappings in order for them to see the real teachings of the Buddha.

Its an easy book to read, interesting and thought provoking for me and hits the mark for what I have learned from the Monk who is my guide and teacher - so much so that I recommended the book to him as well. For those who find this book interesting and want to know more I recommend another book, unfortunately not available as an Audio Book, "The Collected Works of Venerable Master Chin Kung" subtitled "The Awakening of Lovingkindness." Its a free book published by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, in Taiwan. You may find it in your public library.

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Insightful and Informative without being boring

Revisado: 10-20-11

From Gandhi's lips to my ears! Gandhi wrote this account in a manner that revealed some of his short comings and most of his accomplishments. I enjoyed the book but was at times a little lost regarding some of the events because Gandhi recounted them as if the reader were already familiar with them. He has always been one of my heros but here he reveals aspects of himself that were disappointing to me. In the final analysis he, like all heros, had his flaws and short comings as any human being does. He manages to show himself as conflicted at times, yet able to prevail in spite of that. Sometimes he shows himself to be stubborn and arrogant, yet at other times flexible and tollerant - If you have always admired Gandhi, be prepared to see him in the raw at times. Having said that, there were times when I had the feeling he was glossing over or slanting things in his favor. He was far more complex a person than I had imagined and this book shows it. Well worth the listen and a good historical account of the times.

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esto le resultó útil a 13 personas

Top Notch Listening

Revisado: 11-06-08

This is the 3rd book by Brian Freeman and I have read the previous two as well. Each one of them is a terrific listen. Freeman not only spins a great mystery with lots of action and a thrill a minute but also has a great way with words. Its like he carefully considers each word's impact before using it in his story. He has plenty of twists and turns, surprises and convolutions to keep me not only interested but on the edge of my seat. I have had his last two books for 5 days and have listened to them both hardly laying down my player for a moment. I love his main characters, their humor,interaction, friendship and their "lives" are fascinating in themselves. If you like fast action, detective stories, with plenty of action, sex and drama you can do no better than this author and his books. Do not hesitate to get them and listen to them you will not be sorry. My wife who isn't into audio books turned me on to Freeman after she read his first novel and now has read all three of them too and loves them! Whatcha waiting for?

Additionally, Joe Barrett, who narrates these books makes the character and story come to life in a big way. He has distinguishing voices and tones even regional accents for each character. The main character Lt. Stride, was born and raised in Minnesota - he has the "Norwegian flavored" accent down pat for him. The books are made ten times better by this actor! Barrett has assumed the mantel of my favorite narrator from Guidall whom I love very much.

GET THESE BOOKS!

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Difficult but Intriguing

Revisado: 10-23-07

I loved this book. It explained a lot and cleared up many questions I had wondered about. But it was very challenging to follow not because of the way it was written but because of the complexity of the subject matter. I occasionally had to fight the urge to Fast Forward to avoid being lost in the details. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in science and the cosmos. Just be prepared to work hard at listening and absorb as much as you can. I probably will have to listen to this at least one more time just to get what I missed the first time. An excellent book.

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Enjoyable but a little too idealistic

Revisado: 10-23-07

I enjoyed the story and the intrigue. It kept me going and guessing and expecting a surprise end that would leave me breathless. But alas the protagonist's (Mark Stoner) final swan song sounded like a High School Valedictorian's speech. "We must make the world a better place for all mankind, we all must work together" was a bit too corny for me. However, I really liked it that author avoided the perpetual SF theme of governments hiding the existence of aliens from the population. I always felt that such an action was as stupid and it was implausible, in spite of the public reaction Orson Wells's famous radio broadcast. Over all it was a fun listen.

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Excellent Series

Revisado: 09-01-07

I have just finished reading the third of the first three books in the Outlander series and I found all three books, (Outlander, Dragon Fly in Amber and Voyager) to be extremely excellent and entertaining. I loved the adventures and as a dyed in the wool romantic, I enjoyed the romance as well. I know these stories are probably considered in the same vein as "Chick Flicks", but I found them exciting as well as informative. Diana Gabaldon's exhaustive and accurate research of Scottish history provides an entertaining as well as an excellent view of and insight into the history of the Highland Scots. They are filled with intrigue, deception, action, and adventure that are unforgettable. They truly unfold an epic saga I would strongly recommend that these books only be read in the order they were published. I can't wait for more of the series to be released in the Unabridged form as I would hate to miss even the smallest details in the lives and further adventures of the characters.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Superb Novel

Revisado: 01-29-07

Undoubtedly the most heart warming story I have read in years. I admittedly am a romantic and love stories that end "and they all lived happily ever after." This novel comes close to that ending and so wins my favor automatically; however, the story itself was so moving - especially Jacob at 90 (or is it 93)and his observations of nursing home living. I relate to it so very much as I spend every day with my mother who is in a nursing home. Jacob tells it like it is and his reactions are certainly typical in every way - I grew to love him deeply as his story unfolds. I empathized with him and his circumstances every step of the way. I also loved Jacob at 23 and the unfolding story of his true love with all the surprises that it holds. His story too brings the romantic out in me even more. DO NOT PASS this book by -- read it and you will enjoy it, I guarantee.

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