Thomas Cavano

Making a monster

Revisado: 12-21-23

I didn’t want to read this because I didn’t think I could enjoy anything about the Hunger Games antagonist. My curiosity at what else Suzanne Collins had to say won out and I listened to her expert construction of the rise of a young gentleman as he develops into a sociopath. Good writing! The narrator understood his job well and executed the narration artfully. This profile of the political class is worth a look for every American.

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Fantasy bodice-ripper

Revisado: 07-07-23

Intrigue and seduction for the sci-fi or horror affictionado. Plotting depends on huge gulps of exposition. Plenty of action scenes, but thinly-drawn characters. A fun ride, but not intellectually intriguing. Narrator relates steamy scenarios well.

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Tour de force return to DODO

Revisado: 07-15-22

I admit it took me awhile to get used the the storytelling devices, choppy and spare at first. Then as more narrative develops the story takes hold of this holdover from a Neal Stephenson novel idea. Meantime Humanities Nerd meets Shakespeare’s London at full stumble, much mirth, some strained magical rules, a perfectly adorable antagonist or two help the story take off. And the voices! This was more radio theatre than narration, the voices and history vignettes joining for a jolly good sequel and inviting more. Good show!

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Revenge of the Human

Revisado: 02-04-22

What does it mean to matter? What does it take to best a god?

I admit spending much of the listening to this book thinking of it as a modern gothic bodice ripper. Diary of a Vampire. Twilight “Saga.” Perhaps it is this and more. The author’s voice is sure of itself. The conflict spills out into centuries of despair and stupid hope. The characters are served up with humor and affection. For a bodice ripper it doesn’t take itself that seriously. The story careens around the world chaotically until it is nailed down at the end. Good stuff!

The narrator’s voice is strong with the characters, confident with the narrative, and a collaborator with the author’s sense of vulnerable delicacy.

All in all, even though I’m not a fan of gothic romance, the irony gets me, and the people are fun to know. Worth the time, I think. And maybe as another reviewer says, it is the best book in the world.

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Not the Luck of the draw

Revisado: 10-01-21

Had just finished Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time and picked this one sort of randomly. This one seemed to me at once imitative and juvenile. Got to chapter 7 and gave up. Suggestion - listen to this one first to set low expectations, and then go to The Wheel - you’ll be amazed!

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Masterpiece

Revisado: 09-21-21

Brandon Sanderson picked up the Jordan torch and ran with it. Since we weren’t going to get the Jordan finish we were lucky to get Sanderson’s confident touch to the end of the Wheel of Time epic series. The whole series is a success. The narrator/actors are the best in the business. They balance each other well and sometimes hand a character back and forth between them - now they’re just showing off! Well and professionally brought off. And I hear now they’re gonna make a movie!

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Rewarding and frustrating

Revisado: 05-22-21

Somebuddy told Erickson that he was a good writer, that is clear. And they were right! His capacity for the unexpected plot turn, the fascinating characters, the overarching theme, the engaging and profound prose, are all as good as the Malazon series. Nobody ever told him that less is more. His editors were obviously overawed with his language and left way more fat on the bone than would make this a good cut of meat. Character introspection meanders on long enough to make one suspect the author was paid by the word. In fact, the unnecessarily florid and leaden introductory framing device almost had me return this recording to get my money back. But I hung in there to the bitter end, hoping in all this embarrassment of riches something would gel into a unity. But it just plods along, swimming in poetic devices, wading in irony, flapping like a loon trying to fly, barely skimming over the surface for hours and hours before settling back to the surface, unexalted by altitude. Maybe another sequel is out there to justify all these intriguing, if ultimately frustrating plot lines. But for me, despite Edwards’s excellent performance, and Erikson’s excellent prose, this bird didn’t fly.

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The bones the bones the bones

Revisado: 05-01-21

The Bone Ships story over the two currently-existing volumes envisions a pre-industrial maritime society in which wood does not exist -trees do not exist - and the great sailing ships are made of leviathan bones - extinct sea-dragon bones. This civilization is a matriarchy where rank is a matter of fertility and men are objectified for their beauty and fecundity. But similarities exist - there is enough steel for swords - ship-authority is absolute, and loyalty is the most prized virtue. Also there is song-magic. R J Barker fills the characters with passions and flaws, Jude Owusu’s unique interpretation Is stylized and effective, and magic bird-creatures conjure the winds for the ship wings. A wild ride!

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Outstanding vocal work, satisfying story

Revisado: 04-15-21

Wooding’s second offering, like his first, jumps all over the steampunk-punkish world from rain forests to the North Pole- relatable characters told in excellent character voices- the plotting turns and twists and covers more ground than you would expect in a mid-length story. Imaginative and humane. Likeable villains, flawed heroes, hopeful romance - hopeless quests - good stuff!

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Between legend and myth

Revisado: 04-02-21

The reader/listener of this series - that you have come this far in Steven Erikson’s Book of the Fallen Means you have suffered and been exalted by the author’s vision and the narrator’s voice. The journey has been long and completely unpredictable. The cast list is long, the geography of the world seems mutable, and the quest is unachievable. The doings are mysterious. At least 25% of the time we have had no idea what was going on. Sometimes we didn’t find out for a book or two. But the language is evocative, the characters (hordes of them) are fascinating, and laugh-out-loud humor laces the plot.

The narrator’s excellent storytelling flows along at a varying pace. From chapter to chapter, the story shifts on and off the world, back and forth in time. And yet it always seems to be set in a distant age somewhere between legend and myth, basking in the glow of imperfect gods and deathless heroes.

You have dragged yourself through eight of these heady tomes and are wondering if what remains is worth the time and energy. It is. Hold on to your faith in the author. Finish the journey. I did. And oh sisters and brothers, it was worth the ride.

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