GM

One of the most beautiful books

Revisado: 08-04-24

Writing a review of this book is beyond my skill. It is a sprawling story set in a tiny hamlet shaped by global intrigue. Humane, poetic, vivid, and passionate - It is simply a masterpiece. strong recommendation

Audible notes: I was, at first, a little turned off by the narrator but over the course of the book I came to enjoy his interpretations of the voices. His performance is great!

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Have you seen Peeky Blinders?

Revisado: 06-08-24

Just curious...have you watched Peeky Blinders

This is a pretty good book and the narrator is good. I dont go in for long reviews. The series does mature and get a little deeper. However, this first book seems to draw some serious inspiration from a certain TV series. Im interested to see how the series ends up and that says something about the story. But i found the similarities to the famous Brit TV crime family to be almost distracting.

Give this a listen instead of binge watching a series on Netlix (again).

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A unique story with memorable characters.

Revisado: 12-23-23

While there are some tropes in this story that may be considered a bit cliche, they end up making the stpry enjoyably predictable. comfort food if you will.

I will say that the author has a thing against father and patriarchy. That doesnt make the book bad, but this goes beyond politics and seems to indicate the author really doesnt like dads hahah. while moms fair much better.

overall the narrative performance is good and well intoned. the drama seems real and kept me listening and interested.

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Solid 4 Stars

Revisado: 11-29-22

I found the narration by Kevin Gray and Aiko Nakasone to be interesting. Mr. Gray did not have to many distinctions between voices, but dialogue is not this book's strong point. Ms. Nakasone did a good job of keeping her female side of the story delicate and yet compelling and strong. The only reason I do not give them 5 stars is that they read well worn character roles in well worn voices. That said, it is like comfort food, easy to listen, and enjoyably predictable.

The story itself is the same enjoyable predictability. There is a certain poetry to the prose, (here the narrators should receive credit along with the author). For those expecting lavish detail and colorful descriptive world building, look elsewhere. But the story and the pace do a good job mimicking the pace of koans and what other few original works from this period I have read . The characters stay in line with gentle stereotypes that, while they do not challenge, do not fail to entertain. This is not a fantasy book per se, though there is a bit of magic, it is more a piece of historical fiction with sprinkled with a little magic to help the heroes win.

I hate reviews with spoilers or that read like an 8th grade book report, so I won't summarize the plot. But I will say that the plight of "the hidden," was in fact a historical fact in 17th Century Japan and it works in the context of this story quite well. I particularly enjoyed the fact that it was used subtly as a plot device to add flavor rather than as some sort of coded message. If you want understand what I mean listen to/ read the book.

The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that it wasn't over the top amazing, but it was worth the money and the 8 hours it took to finish it.

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Dated, contrived, forced, and useless ....

Revisado: 11-27-22

The only thing reasonably good about this offering is the narrator. Phil Thron does a pretty good job of making this almost worth one's time.

Now the story: If someone was a middle aged man (definitely 40+ male), was a huge fan of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, obviously really liked Mad Max, and had a C+ sense of humor, one could be the author of this book. If one finds pop culture references that are relegated to those of us old enough to remember Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom relevant, then one might find this book funny. However, Such humor doesn't age well. It just sounds dated and irrelevant. I am probably the same age as the author and this book just makes me feel old; tethered as it is to a bygone age of VHS and satire from MAD Magazine. If the book had ben written in the 90s it may have seemed kitsch, now it just seems superfluous. This book has all the charm of an assistant principle trying to relate to high schoolers by reciting his favorite lines from The Blues Brothers.

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Pete Townsend is a bore

Revisado: 10-21-21

He may be a great rock musician and an artist of great talent and vision, but he is truly an arrogant bore that enjoys, with little humility, the snotty aura of his own story. I still love his music but cannot abide one more chapter of this book.

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Sometimes a story captivates you

Revisado: 07-18-21

This is an amazing story. I assume 90% of it is true and unembellished and that self-aggrandizement is minimal. The author admits he is not proud of all of his actions so I am sure there is some editing on his part that omits some things. That being said it’s now one of my favorites of all time.

Along with 9 Years Among the Indians and Empire of the Summer Moon and 6 years as a Texas Ranger it stands out as a classic of the American frontier. Like “9 years” it completes a narrative with pathos and emotional intelligence. But unlike the former, it completes the narrative of a full life time.

The author is talented and at various points poetic and touching without being maudlin. He escorts you into the Montana and NW Canadian wilderness through the plains and mountains. He lets you ride, hunt, and fight with him. He lets you experience his fears and sadness as much as his bravery.

It’s a wonderful story.

However, If you listen to it speed up narration to 1.1 or 1.2 speed. I think there is a flaw in the recording or it was recorded before audiobooks were digital. It’s a little slow. Once sped up a little the narrator sounds a lot better.

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The dude is a liar - but a good story teller

Revisado: 12-30-20

Listen in to this admitted thief and conman weave his tale of bad-assness. It’s a good story and maybe some of it is true. But at one point early on he says that a band strikes up “when death calls” by Black Sabbath. That was released in 1989 and he is describing events that supposedly took place right after Woodstock. If you can’t get a simple fact like that straight you’re just weaving a tale not recounting events or even a facsimile of events. So interesting story and good narrative but ultimately full of shite

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Sort of interesting

Revisado: 04-28-20

Sort of interesting if your really into hearing about the way criminals think (I am). But not really anything more than an insight into the way this man thinks.

There are some neat stories but scant on details. Sort of repetitive but the story is not ghost written and as a result rings true. Imagine Pimp by iceberg slim without the poetry and introspection. If you are easily put off by someone bluntly telling you that they lived for money and had very little regard for anyone, including his wives and kids, the. This is not for you. If you are into true crime and learning about liars, criminals, and thieves this should be considered worth the thee hours or so that it takes.

Side note: true crime doesn’t always have to be about serial killers this isn’t.

The narrator is great and very authentic.

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Brian McClellan is an Artist

Revisado: 03-28-20

I. John Teller does a fantastic 5 star job of narration.

II. Brian McClellan is an artist. He manages to build a fantastical world of magic and gods and heroes that rivals any author. The magic and sorcery are plot tools not the focus. The characters are believable and likable. The heroines (and there are many) are genuinely interesting and the villains are as well. The main villain in this book is a little one dimensional, but that is made up for by the depth of the main characters and their fully developed personalities. Most importantly McClellan allows the reader/listener a chance to travel through this land like an adult not a child that constantly needs to be reminded of various attributes or nuances, in other he lets the reader/listener pay attention to details and use them as they see fit to picture his environment. Over all amazing trilogy

On par with The First Law Series - I feel like that’s the only comparison. That’s because both take the fantasy sword and sorcery model and build a real world that’s not just fantastical
but inhabited with “real” people.

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