M. Abbott

The triangle is the strongest shape

Revisado: 12-31-24

It’s a well written story about pain cruelty, revenge, the unfairness of the world, and shooting lightning at people.

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Pounded in the butt by the overcoming of queer trauma with queer joy

Revisado: 11-21-24

First and foremost: this book puts its money where its mouth is. The themes of queer experience often being focused on primarily as tragedy while ignoring the entire range of human experience are at the forefront of this story, and while there certainly is tragedy the book explores how joy, determination, and hope are equally as important to our stories. The writing is masterful, far beyond what you might expect from the author of “Pounded in the Butt by My Own Butt.” The plot itself is good, I suspect most readers will figure it out before being let in on the story’s secrets, but it’s still an enjoyable experience. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

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A stunning and uniquely presented novel

Revisado: 06-23-23

First thing’s first: if you enjoy The Magnus Archives you will enjoy this. Full stop.

A gripping story consisting of many interconnected vignettes tell the tale of what happens when those who are complicit in the suffering of others are confronted with that knowledge. The chapters, each from a different perspective, investigate both the personal and the systemic elements of exploitation, greed, and callousness. Well written and performed expertly by an ensemble cast of narrators, this novel keeps you engaged and offers a very satisfying conclusion (though not without acknowledging the sad realities of the system we take part in).

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Interesting idea and good characters, doesn’t stick the landing

Revisado: 06-14-23

The story was interesting, though the execution sometimes didn’t make a lot of sense. I liked the protagonist quite a lot, and some of the secondary characters were compelling. That said the ending was abrupt and unsatisfying. It’s still worth a listen, but don’t go in expecting to be wowed.

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An excellent follow up but can be difficult reading at times

Revisado: 11-11-21

My review of the work’s qualities will be brief. It is excellent in all respects. The writing is superb, the performances are largely top shelf (Kaveh can be a bit stilted at times, but as he isn’t a professional voice actor I’m willing to cut him a bit of slack, he still does quite well), and the characterization is phenomenal.

I would caution readers, however. They very skill with which Ellis writes can make certain sections of the book incredibly difficult to read. I can’t recall ever reading a book that so precisely and effectively portrays both the mental and physiological effects of trauma. PTSD, the drive to self-harm, panic in its rawest most unmanageable form, loss, abuse, and the emptiness that follows are rendered in excruciating accuracy. At several points I had to stop and give myself time to process before continuing. That said, I feel that the story is well worth the effort.

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A real slog

Revisado: 02-18-19

This review assumes you have read the previous books in the series.

Oh boy, where to start? This book is a long, boring slog. Weber tends to drag things out in general, but this book is the crowning achievement in that regard. I am not kidding when I say you can start from chapter 65 and not miss anything vital. 80% of this book is either a recap of events that we’ve already seen or is completely superfluous. It is made worse by the performance. Technically the recording quality is much worse than every other book in the series, it sounds like they were recording on a USB mic in someone’s den. Additionally, the narrator is incredibly slow, stretching an already overlong book into an intolerable nearly 40 hours. I listened to the bulk of this book at 1.75x speed (jumping up to 2x during particularly bad parts) and I had no trouble following. Honestly, it sounded like natural narration at 1.5x. Unfortunately, there is some very serious plot development in the last two chapters or so, so it is required reading for the series (unless Weber copies it wholesale in Uncompromising Honor, which is something else he is wont to do that irritates me about the series), but I highly, HIGHLY recommend skipping to at least chapter 65 (honestly, you could probably get away with skipping to even later, but 65 is where the “current events” in the series kick in).

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A great book marred by production issues

Revisado: 09-12-18

The story is a semi-fictionalization of the ending of the Sengoku Jidai, or Warring-States Period, of Japanese history. It’s a good story, though quite long.

The production of this audiobook leaves a lot to be desired. I think the book would have been better served by having multiple narrators, as the perspective shifts frequently. The narrator’s pronunciation of Japanese is spotty (which isn’t his fault, that lays solely on the director and producers for not correcting him), and the end of a take is extremely noticeable as the sound fades out slightly near the end of each take (so every couple lines the audio dims, which is very frustrating is you’re not listening on the best speakers). Still, all in all, it’s worth getting, despite its flaws.

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A solid story with some minor performance issues.

Revisado: 09-02-18

It’s a solid Stephen King story. If you like Stephen King, you’ll like this.

The performance was not bad at all, but there were some issues that bothered me. One of the idiosyncrasies of King’s writing is the repetition of certain words or phrases, a sort of written leitmotif. It just so happens that a couple of the words he chose to do this with (“punkin” and “tootsie”) are irritating to me, and when read in the performer’s voice hit me like nails on a chalk board. Additionally, there are some musical interludes and non-diegetic sound effects that are poorly mixed. When the narration is at a comfortable level, the music is far too loud. That all said, I still largely enjoyed the production.

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Classic story, amazing performance

Revisado: 11-20-17

Not going to go into the story much. It's a classic, it's well done, if you like mysteries you should check it out. Kenneth Branagh's performance is extraordinary, he's excellent at voices, and I particularly like his Poirot.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

A bit long, a bit dry, but very good

Revisado: 11-03-17

The Terror is not going to be for everyone. It reminds me of the Aubrey-Maturin series in it's presentation, though admittedly it is much more grim. The story is a fixtionalized account of the very real Sir John Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Trapped in ice at the extreme northern Canadian islands above the arctic circle, the crews of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror struggle to survive in the most inhospitable place on earth. With tensions running high, rations running low, and scurvy setting in, things grow more dire when an unknown creature begins stalking and killing the men. Possessed of unearthly strength and guile, and seemingly immune to gunfire, this white furred beast is only the most overt terror the expedition faces, for even monsters cannot compete with humans when it comes to inflicting pain and misery.

The story is well written, if a bit dry in places, and is very emotionally investing. There was one point where I was so crushed by an unfortunate turn of events that I actually had to set the book aside for a few days to calm down. The book delves into 18th century British naval convention, Inuit survival techniques and mythology, and medical drama. The performance is great, with excellent voices and good pronunciation of the more difficult Inuktitut words. I could see some people having difficulty getting through it, but if you like historical fiction, I cannot recommend this enough.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona