Duncan McRae

We Need More Matt Carter!

Revisado: 01-04-23

Full disclaimer, this isn’t my first time reading Almost Infamous by Matt Carter. I read it in print when it was new. This was, however, my first time listening to the audiobook. And honestly, it really makes me wish more Matt Carter books were available in audio format.

Almost Infamous is a truly great supervillain novel. Unlike a lot of “supervillain” books that turn the protagonist into a sympathetic character, Almost Infamous truly plays with shades of gray. Aiden Salt/Apex Strike isn’t a good guy. He’s a total jerk. However, he is understandable and likable in his own way. The book expertly helps us understand without force-feeding it to us that Aiden is really just an angsty young adult. It’s a phase a lot of people go through and is instantly understandable to the audience. At the same time, while he’s definitely a supervillain and a jerk, we understand that he’s not a particularly evil person. This makes Aiden and his rag-tag group of supervillain friends feel like legitimate supervillains and like the book isn’t pulling its punches, but they’re also very easy to root for.

The story is engaging and complex. Again, the book deals heavily in shades of gray. As a result, while there are heroes and villains, as well as protagonists and antagonists, there really aren’t many true good guys and bad guys. This is a brilliantly refreshing take on the age old superhero/supervillain archetypes.

It’s also worth noting that despite this being my second reading, the book is still so unbelievably engaging that I couldn’t put it down. Whenever I wasn’t actively listening to the book, I was thinking about the book and when I’d be able to read it next. This is something that rarely happens with me. I think part of this is related to the world of the book. wWhere Matt Carter truly shines as an author is his world-building. I’ve never read another author who is so good at creating engaging, well-developed characters and worlds. Despite all of the superheroes and locations in this book being entirely new and original, the world feels so well-thought-out and lived in that it sucks you right in. There are major pieces of exposition, especially the anecdotes that appear between chapters, but largely, it never feels like the book stops to explain the world. Instead, it clues you in little by little in a way that makes you feel like you’re really experiencing the world.

Matt Carter is one of my favorite authors. All of the books I’ve read by him are among my favorites, and Almost Infamous is no exception. While the narrator has a few missteps, and some of the jokes don’t land as well in audio format, I think he did a brilliant job bringing this world to life, especially with the many foreign characters with accents. This is currently the only Matt Carter book on and it gets my highest recommendation. I only hope that one day, some of his other books, especially Pinnacle City and Bennytown, get a similar treatment.

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READ THE BOOK FIRST

Revisado: 10-29-20

This Audioplay is really good. Ender’s Game is, in my opinion, the greatest space opera book ever written, and getting to experience the story in this form is really good. The acting, in particular, is really good, especially that of Ender and Col. Graph. However, as much as I highly recommend this Audioplay, I recommend it with a caveat: read the book first. Not only is the book a masterpiece that should be read by any science-fiction fan, anyway, but this Audioplay acts more as a supplement than a replacement for the original story. Very little description about the world, characters, or environment occurs in this Audioplay compared to the original book, so it can be difficult to picture unless you have read the book. Additionally, this Audioplay skips MASSIVE parts of the story, only briefly mentioning some important events. Even as someone who’s read the book, it got a bit confusing at times, and if I hadn’t read the book first, I’d have absolutely no idea what’s going on in the second half of the Audioplay. There’s a really good audiobook of Ender’s Game here on Audible or you can pick up a physical copy for pretty cheap. Either way, I recommend reading the original story first. If you enjoy it (which I really think you will), THEN give this Audioplay a listen.

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Frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

Revisado: 09-25-20

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of my favorite books of all time, so when this book was made free as part of the Audible Plus catalogue, I immediately picked it up. This is, without a shadow of a doubt, the single greatest audiobook I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Scarlett Johansson perfectly understands the whimsical nature of the book, down to the way the words are put together, and appropriate reads it with the perfect amount of whimsy in her voice. Additionally, she does an extremely fantastic job at creating completely different voices for each of the characters, and if you’ve ever read this book, you know just how many characters there are and how difficult this task is.

I truly love this audiobook. It’s just so delightful and makes me so happy. I highly recommend that everybody pick this audiobook up.

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A Great Scott Lang Story

Revisado: 06-05-20

Full disclosure: my greatest passion is comic books and my favorite comic book superhero of all time since childhood is Ant-Man. Specifically, my favorite character is Hank Pym, but Scott Lang is a close second. When I saw that this book had been released, I had to read it, and when I saw that there was a Graphic Audio audiobook of it, I downloaded it immediately. This is a great Scott Lang story. I say Scott Lang story because it does something interesting and lets the costumed antics of Ant-Man take a backseat to Scott Lang, a man trying to do his best to offer stability to his teenage daughter Cassie despite being a single father in New York. Don't get me wrong, Ant-Man does take a major role in the narrative if that's what you're here for, but it's really nice to hear about the wholesome relationship between Scott and Cassie. The plot is a bit on the predictable side, but it's extremely enjoyable nonetheless. Additionally, Graphic Audio knocked it out of the park with this audiobook. In particular, the voices of Scott Lang, Cassie Lang, and Tony Stark are absolutely spectacular, as is the narrator. However, the whole cast is phenomenal, and it really feels like an evolution of old radio plays rather than just another audio book. It sucked me into the world completely and I enjoyed the experience from start to finish. If you're a fan of the Ant-Man character, I highly recommend picking up this book.

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