Marco Selmo

Not my cup of poisonous tea

Revisado: 11-05-24

I gave it a shot knowing it is a YA on a dark magic school to listen to something different.
Although narrator does a good job, and the premise being interesting, the whole book boils down to 2-3 repeated topic, over and over again.
Joining an Enclave, Orion here, Orion there. I'm alone against everyone.
That's it. The whole plot could last 2 hours if you remove these 3 recurring monologue themes.
It's a shame as there are very intriguing ideas in this book, the Maleficaria, surviving each day and not being able to trust anything and anyone, the dark prophecy.
These are all developed well enough. Still I yearned for a moment of showoff of the protagonist true power, which does not really happen since we are listening to her overanalyzing Orion.
Not for me.

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A wonderful taste of classics

Revisado: 02-01-24

Stephen Fry's narration is a guaranteed satisfactory experience as always and provides the right amount of gravitas and nuances to depict dread and horror.
The story themselves are good, product of their times so it is up to the individual taste.
All in all great audiobook!

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Speechless

Revisado: 02-14-23

Finally I understand why this series is so famous and revered. I was worried about the leght of the book, being quite challenging but I don't want it to finish now.

This first book has me completely hooked:
Rich, deep, flawed, realistic characters are so entertaining to read/listen, marvellously written and flashed out.
The world is so complex and detailed, precise and plausible with tons of research on history, philosophy, esotericism and psychology that the reader can feel though the pages.

There is so, so much great worldbuilding that can be overwhelming but it's well paced and Brandon gives time to absorb new knowledge.
Voice actors give an amazing performance, subtle and convincing. Some male characters could sound similar but they were so many that it was bound to happen and does not bother dice the performance is so good.

Brandon takes his time to layer each character slowly, giving you time to absorb the vast knowledge of the world and the POV tiny perception of it.
If you compare a character from start to their end status, the difference is astounding and the way it happens is so natural that feels earned.
There is so much going on for each of them, many many layers that if jumbled together could be too much. Instead the pacing makes their backstory enjoyable and deep.
Each character earns their spot in the world and they are not taken for granted.
And when the payoff arrives, it is so incredibly satisfying.
I'm ecstatic.
Totally recommend it, 10 stars.

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If I could give 6 stars out of 5 I would

Revisado: 11-08-22

Well, I'm genuinely amazed by how much I loved this book.

At first I though I was listening to a D&S session from the thief POV. So many things went bad but in a fun way, I was imagining the critical failures rolled by the hypothetical party!

From start to finish just a joy to listen to:

The world building is extremely detailed and credible for a high fantasy. The amount of precision, history and consistency in the cultures was so intriguing. You know you're onto something good when Goblins are so wicked and vicious you dread meeting one.
You can feel how much work went into crafting the deep lore which is explained to the reader thought the MC lens. It's never boring or repetitive. What I enjoyed the most is the fact that there are few key historical happenings and those shape the world completely (i.e. goblin wars, the stumbles). Small things generate avalanche of change

The level of humor and sassyness is perfect, all characters contributed heavily to the comedy.
It's hard to put into words, you just need to have a listen. One of my favourite parts was the Bathhouse misunderstanding.

I did find challenging the Author's accent, not being a English native speaker so I had to really focus on it to properly understand him but then I got used to it. I though of giving 4/5 for the reading but it's a personal issue and not the narrator's.

I cannot wait for a sequel. It was genuinely one of the best fantasy book I listened to this year.
Super Highly Recommend.

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Just a masterpiece

Revisado: 06-26-22

Third time I listen to this book and it's still amazing and engaging from start to finish.
Stellar performance from Stephen Pacey, the absolute best narrator there is.
Man I love this book.

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A great narrator wasted on a annoying MC

Revisado: 07-07-21

I will start by praising Moira Quirk's work: she has been great from start to finish:
She entepreters Eskara magnificently, truly encapsulate her stubborness, self assurance and pride. Moira never once pulled me out of the story. Her voice range is good, most characters felt different and unique (perhaps too many raspy people.).
I will check out more of her work.

*** Beware of spoilers ***

The story itself is ok. It's a prison break with a dash of magic. Not necessarely original but it was interesting.
I like the teasers of future events inserted here and there, made me want to read the next books (at first).
The world building is ok, explored between chapters in events before incarceration.
The magic system is original: Sources need to be ingested in order to wield them and even so, a Sourcerer ought to be attuned (most people can attune 3 sources) to them or the pain would litteraly kill them. Even so, it's only a matter of time before the Source has to be puked out of the magician's body.
The system's rules are very clear and there are no cheap ways to circumvent them. Much appreciated it.

Now... the worst part: the MC.
Eskara is insufferable, an egocentrical, arrogant, hypocrite.
I get you don't necessarely HAVE TO love the MC (and I look for shades of grey protagonists) but, when I start to, out lout, curse for her choices, something isn't right. A controversial MC is great (Jorg Ancrath I'm looking at you), an annoying one is hard to root for.

Eskara spends most of her time telling you how powerful she is-was-will be, how special she and Josef are, how relentless and tough she is. The first half of the book is not so bad.
Josef is described by her like a super competent sourcerer, the best (after her). He is her brother-friend-lover-soulbond. They are always together, watching each other's back. Until she leaves him in the Pit once he makes a decision she doesn't approve. After that is label at every occasion a TRAITOR.
Isen, the romantic interest, is a good fighter who battles in the ring to get more food and rewards. The tension is strong between them and, when finally they get it on... she not satisfied at all. Eskara pushes him away and labels him a COWARD and a XENOPHOBE from now on.
Why? Who knows.

More than once I was reminded of a Sith, who only deals in absolutes. Only One and Zeros. No middleground.

The secondo half of the book was full of her hypocrisy and it was hard to get trough. She never asks Josef or Isen or any other side char anything about their views or motivations. She just expects they come along.
After listening to Josef complete backstory, his decisions were sound and made absolute sense. Too bad Eskara didn't bother asking him anything, just expected to have a warm pillow at night. My boy Josef, stop Simping Eskara.

Eskara uses people until they are not needed or suit her plans. She'll find someone new quickly.
When, after leaving Josef behind in the Pit and after pushing Isen away for his poor performance, she longed for Josef's embrace and understanding, I got litterly mad.

Perhaps it's the type of person I cannot stand but I was physically annoyed by her.

Moira Quirk, you were so good I breezed through this tough read. I want a button with all her Tamura's quotes whenever I feel down.
This book was not for me.

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A surprisingly charming book

Revisado: 06-24-21

This has been a pleasant surprise.
Anna Smith Spark has a way to merge ancient legends high poetry with the gritty, dirty and cruel reality in a way I never read before.
General:
The plot is interesting at first, it's a slow burner. The world building is well paced, not too much at one time. The fantasy elements are cool and kept vague and mysterious (appreciated it). Nations, families and languages, were a bit similar, so in audio form it's harder at first to keep them separated. I give only 4 stars for that minor thing and some choices torwards the end of the book I wished were different.
Narrator:
Both narrators were amazing, perfect for the setting and characters. The voices are different and don't mix. My only major issue, especially at the start, were Colin's odd pauses.
For some reason he breaks down phrases in a weird fashion, not only with other nations languages (which I would understand), but also with English ones.
You get used to it, but at first it halted the flow for me.
Other than this, the narration is perfect.
Content:
The story is good, the setting is super interesting for me. A mix of Paulo Cohelo's The Alchemist, Game of Thrones (on a smaller, manageable scale) with a sprinkle of fantasy elements (dragons!). I was engaged right away.
Being a grimdark fan, I was satisfied by the morally gray characters, their choices and their flaws. The battles were truly well written, quite gripping and crude. What sold the book for me are the details: we are in a world of jewels, silks and sand, where an emperor is regarded as a God, blood and ancestors are legends. it feels like an old tale from the Middle East... and then there's shit, gore, blood, sweat, tears, puke and addiction.
Now that's grimdark.

A great recommendation, I will certainly pick up the next book.

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Worth listening over and over again

Revisado: 05-24-21

Well, this is a grimdark masterpiece.
I listened again to The First Law with neverending joy. I'm not much of a re-reader but this has been a blast.
A slow burner that focuses on sowing seeds (pun intended) for the great books later on.
The only critique would be the lack of a proper plot, so not a title for those used to chosen ones on a path to greatness.
Joe Abercrombie character work is the best in the business.
Stephen Pacey spoiled my enjoyment of other narrators. He has range, depth, class and sarcasm. From battles scenes to delicate monologues.
A must read for Grimdark fans

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Good book with an interesting premise

Revisado: 05-06-21

The Traitor God is an enjoyable grimdark tale with an interesting protagonist and world.
I enjoyed the ride, especially Paul Woodson, which I'd now like to hear narrate my autobiography. That man voice is smooooth. His performance was excellent, the only minute observation is that characters' voices are a bit too similar.
The plot itself is ok, it didn't hook me at first but got me towards the end.
I also appreciated the setting, even if I wished some parts of the mythos were explored more thoroughly. Some concepts are not explained properly and left me the curiosity.
Another small thing is the level of grimdark being forced: I read almost exclusively said genere and I felt the amount of filth, guts, shit, piss and blood was excessive. The book centered the genere even with less mention of said bodily fluids.
All in all, a good read!

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Great conclusion for a great trilogy

Revisado: 04-23-21

Joe Abercrombie deliveres once again. I'm a huge fan, probably my favourite author of late so I might be biased.
Shattered Sea was added to my library only after listening to the First Law, Standalones and Age of Madness audiobooks, so I was a bit worried I might not enjoy it as much, given being the first, the setting and voice actor are different.
Well, I was wrong.
Ben Elliot delivered a great and consinstant performace throughout the serie and most certainly I will check out more of his work. The range of voices is surprising, given there are a Lot of characters. Comparison with Stephen Pacey is inevitable but Mr. Elliot surpassed my expectation greatly.
Storywise, the conclusion is fitting to Joe's other books (or perhaps the other way round). If you are familiar with First Law you'll know what I mean. Just finished the book and my mind is surging, drawing my own conclusions and generally super exited for the whole journey.
Character work is superb. The cast is interesting, complex, well written and never boring.
Each book has interesting people to care about. In the latest entry, Skara amongst my favourites.
Cannot reccomend it enough.

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