Leo

A hard read, about tough times

Revisado: 11-07-21

This isn't post-apocalyptic. it's about the beginning of the Apocalypse. And the people it's happening to.
We're watching America fall apart. For all the reasons that we've known were coming and collectively did nothing about.
we follow a young woman as she lives through it, and comes to develop a philosophy that just may be the way out. Or at least provide a better way to live.
But like another apocalyptic book, The Road, there's beauty in this tale of horror. And this one shows the possibility of light at the end of this dark tunnel.
Looking forward to the sequel.

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An important part of American history

Revisado: 09-29-20

To really understand the civil war, and Abraham Lincoln's radical views that made it inevitable, you have to read this set of four essays that influenced him at a young age.
David Walker was assassinated shortly after the release of the final essay in this book. after reading his words, I now understand why. these are words of fire that several decades later would result in the war that finally brought down the institution of slavery.
It's particularly interesting to watch the writer, over the course of these four essays, evolve from a man who believed that God would take care of things in time, into a man who preached it was America's Christian duty to stand up and end slavery themselves.
Especially fascinating in these times when so many Americans are demanding that racial violence end once and for all.

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A very big story, in more ways than one

Revisado: 07-08-18

This books covers a lot. A lot of time and space, a lot of subjects, a lot of genres, and quite a bit about human behavior and motivation.
Humans have destroyed the Earth and almost all of each other. Ships are sent out with technology to seed other planets with life. Desperate humans follow after, hoping to make a new home after their predecessors have torched the old one. Things get worse, and very desperate. But will they get better? Can the people of Earth learn to be better? What exactly does "people" mean anyway? Do they even deserve a second chance considering our historic behavior?
Are any of the characters we meet something we might recognize as ourselves? Does it matter?
So many questions are explored here.
Fun, exciting, horrifying, depressing, inspirational, thought provoking.
Educational, philosophical, insulting, and funny.
This story will alternate between all of those things.
I highly recommend that everyone should read, think about, and then discuss this book.

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Bad voice casting ruined this, better to read it

Revisado: 06-19-18

This is a review of the audiobook version of this, not the book itself (which I really enjoyed)
I really hate to say this because Dick Hill always reads perfectly. He always gets the intent, meaning, and pronunciation right on whatever he's reading. Something even many excellent narrators struggle with.
But in this case, he chose to use a very, very enthusiastic Shakespearean British voice with long rolling Rs and tremulous vibrato. You almost picture him standing in tights, holding up a skull in the classic Shakespearean stereotype.
The result is that he sounds like the story is a comedic farce, and it completely ruins what is, at it's heart, a gritty, historical war story.
Don't take this as an insult to this award-winning narrator. But he was definitely miscast. Or at least, directed badly. Because he's actually American. So why THAT accent and voice?
I'm not sure who decided to go with that approach, but it came across as cartoonish.
In this case, I'll suggest the print version.
Skip this recording, for your own sake.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Some of the most unlikable characters ever

Revisado: 02-25-18

Wow, it's obvious that Brandon Sanderson has grown as a person and a writer in the years sense this book came out.
I first read Elantris about 10 years ago. Back then I thought it was kind of predictable, but really liked how the magic played out.
Now, rereading it was hard to get through because of the judgmental, self righteous, passive-aggressive main characters.
They walk through the story making condescending comments on just about everyone they meet.
Every person around them is "foolish", "wretched", "homely", and in need of the wise, benevolent leadership of the two main characters. It's a good thing that they are fated to fall in love and be together because everyone else is just a pitiful mess in their eyes.
And the thing is, pretty much everyone agrees.
No one can think for themselves, figure anything out on their own, or even recognize something they love without the main heroes leading them to it.
Women and dark skinned people really get blasted.
They're all pitiful idiots, waiting for either of the tall, brilliant, self-sacrificing heroes to tell them how sad they are, and lead them to a better way of living.
The fact that the female lead is shown as an Amazon-like genius who's heart is filled with charity for the inferior masses doesn't stop all other women from being brainless fools.
There were a couple of dark skinned "Dulas" who received complimentary descriptions. But even they were basically the classic faithful servants. Basically Gulliver's noble willing slave, Friday. But don't fret: the rest of the people encountered are just as silly in their own sad way.

I still really liked the magic of this world.
But otherwise, I'm glad that Sanderson has improved his character development skills over time.

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An entertaining sequel that can't reach IQ's level

Revisado: 01-04-18

Not much happens in this detective story. The main case is solved fairly easily and quickly. But it's told in snippets that are mixed in with other snippets from the past.
Even minor characters, and some of the bad guys get a mini biography, and those are some of the most entertaining parts.
But really, none of the so called mysteries are hard to figure out, and none of the detective's deductions (or is that "inductions"?) are very clever. Some stuff happens, it get's resolved, and we watch it happen.
If your main character is supposed to be a street level Sherlock Holmes (his Watson is a reformed street hustler named Dodson... get it?) then you've got to have some big reveals. And if his nickname is IQ they better be very clever.
A definite 3 out of 5 on this one.

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So many cool ideas in a highly flawed story

Revisado: 01-04-18

I won't spoil anything, but at the very beginning of this story, scientists are faced with some surprising data. As a group, their response to the data is... extreme.
Are we the audience supposed to think that actual working scientists are so fragile, and gullible? Is it just Chinese scientists?
The author presents multiple cool, speculative ideas, but the overarching story feels ridiculous. So many of the characters are clever, but silly fools. Is that comic relief?
Maybe it all comes together better in the sequels?
I sure hope so. Otherwise, I honestly don't get what all the hype is about.

As always, Luke Daniels does a fine job narrating, But the voices he chooses while acting out the characters can be irritating.
He reuses the Goofy Scooby Doo voice from the Iron Druid series for one of the main characters here. It's very distracting.

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Great story that defies expectations.

Revisado: 12-25-17

First of all, I expected this to be a Whodunnit.
It's not.
We do watch an arm chair detective use deductive, I mean inductive reasoning to figure out a crime. Which is fun, but the point of all this was not to keep the big reveal a secret until the last page.
it was more of a coming of age story, for the hero and surprisingly, another character peripherally involved.
A fun read that is tense, violent, funny, and very touching at times.
I'll definitely look for more of Joe Ide's books.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

A mixed bag of brilliance, marred by missteps

Revisado: 11-24-17

Brandon Sanderson is one of the greatest story tellers writing today; and this series is his magnum opus. Book 3 is not the strongest of the series. But it still soars in many places, despite some missteps throughout.
Parts of this book left me cheering out loud! Parts of this book are truly awe inspiring.

Other parts had me shaking my head, as long established characters suddenly behaved in ways that contradicted everything the author has told us about them in the past.
For such an immense book, it surprised me how many times an obvious shortcut was taken in order to setup the next scene.

There was one long scene involving a female lead that had no purpose other than comic relief. This bungling, slapstick detour was so jarring, it was hard to return to the rhythm of the story. Worst of all, it felt amateurish, and just wasn't funny.

Almost every competent character had a moment of incompetence so glaring that it became obvious this was a deliberate gimmick. Possibly a recommendation from an editor, but taken too far?

But still, with all of that said, this is still a mostly brilliant story. The action scenes top any blockbuster movie put out this year.
It was filled with many pay-offs from the previous books, some of them setup so expertly that they still surprised me, despite the clues revealed before.

Like all of his books, this was also a vehicle for the author's social, political, and moral view of the world. Presented nicely as part of the story with not-too-much outright preaching.

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esto le resultó útil a 94 personas

A must read for any creative type

Revisado: 11-14-17

Part memoir, part writing journal, and part technical manual for how to make time for your creative endeavors when you have a full life to live, and a living to make.
As famous as King is, he sometimes doesn't get the credit he deserves as a master of his craft due to the sheer volume he produces.
He's been referred to as a Hollywood hack, and his output is so prolific, there's no doubt you could find an example of his work that supports that idea.
But his body of work is filled with so many masterpieces that you have to acknowledge that his success is well earned.
The common theme of the anecdotes sprinkled throughout this book is that through all the ups and downs of his life; through poverty, amazing success, addiction, family tragedy, and the lure of fame, he continued to work hard at the job of writing every single day.
Let his fun, fascinating example inspire you to do the same with your own passions.

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