J. Barnes

Larger-than-life technicolor style

Revisado: 05-05-20

I'm loving everything about the relaunch of the Edgar Rice Burroughs universe and especially enjoyed this first novel from Matt Betts set on the Amtor that Burroughs first imagined. I have read a few of Burroughs' books and am familiar with the aspects that have made it into the larger popular culture like Tarzan but I am by no means an expert. However, you do not need any prior experience with Burroughs to enjoy this book. It's non-stop action with plenty of alien races, odd happenings and sneering villains to keep you entertained in larger-than-life technicolor style.

But if you are a Burroughs fan you will appreciate the attention to detail that ERB has shown. I loved the meta nature of the introduction in which Betts tells us how he "received" this story from Carson himself, just the way Burroughs purported to be only a transcriptionist. The pulp style of bold moves and brash banter has been retained but I love the way Betts injects a subtle self-deprecating humor that modernizes the characters a bit. If you are looking for an escape this is highly recommended. I have both the limited edition and the audio version and would note that the reader also does a great job of capturing the swagger and humor of Betts' Carson

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Truly Hallucinatory

Revisado: 09-05-19

This was creepy and ratcheted up in a very subtle way, eventually reaching a sheer cliff of anxiety. My favorite thing about the Evolutionist was the way in which it tracked everyday fears of modern life (relationship problems, health, mental wellbeing, children) alongside the possibly of a cataclysmic event. The sense of impending dread was palpable and it was impossible to tell which caused more anxiety, the slow unraveling of the protagonists life or the possibility of the end of everything. Mason has does a great job of drawing you in slowly and really rakes the reader over the coals. I felt a bit exhausted after the experience!

I enjoyed the narrator's performance and particularly like the way she used a different voice for the main character's audible speech versus her internal monologue.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

An Unexpected Delight

Revisado: 07-25-19 El oyente recibió este título gratis

This was an unexpected delight. It was my first time reading Ludwigsen and I really enjoyed the tone, a little old fashioned and a smidge odd. The idea that ties the whole thing together, the story of a low budget Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents style TV show presented alongside some of its episodes was a nice touch, although the initial story about the show perhaps overshadowed the succeeding stories that were supposedly on the show. The consistency of tone and voice helped to pull this off in a way that I don't think many writers could. Ludwigsen's ability to stick very close to truth make his fabrications completely believable. His portrait of how things would have gone with the Manson family if they had been in the 70's kept making me believe and the use of citations was fabulous. His is a more subtle magic than many genre works and it's all about imagination, the everyday fantasies that get a person through the week. These may not be stories of otherworldly marvels but they will envelope you in a way those larger, more outrageous tales can never do. I even enjoyed the story notes. Readers who prefer novels may find this story collection less jarring than most because the shifting of gears is minimal.

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Regrets

Revisado: 07-24-19

I wish I hadn't downloaded this. Even though it's free it's still a waste of time.

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Charming and Inscrutable

Revisado: 04-24-17

Any additional comments?

This is a a charming, somewhat inscrutable, novel that never gives you what you expect but is satisfying nonetheless. The tone and prose are full of whimsy that sometimes turns dark, sometimes humorous. Weird and unsettling things lurk at the corners but they are not central.

The reader will experience long tramps in the rain, the eccentricities of the upper class on display during a house party, a couple of unique picnics along with a lightning-strike romance and the aftermath of that encounter. There is an ephemeral quality to everything here as if the reader sort of floats through the novel. Aickman is expressing a lot while saying only a little. If you are a reader who prefers to make up their own mind about things and not be told explicitly what to think this book is perfect for you. There is much to discover here and most of it lies beneath the surface events.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

A Lost Treasure

Revisado: 04-08-17

What did you love best about Sweetheart, Sweetheart?

I don't know how Valancourt finds these lost treasures but they sure have a knack. Sweetheart, Sweetheart is a classic ghost story with all the foreboding and bittersweet moments you can possibly stand lined up and waiting for you. There's a decent mystery to unwind and the pacing is perfect, not too fast or too slow. Many stories like this come across as silly but Sweetheart, Sweetheart provides some truly chilling moments and never strays into the ridiculous. There's also a great lesson here about trusting your partner and not keeping things from them in order to protect them. Though this is a quite straightforward white male narrator if you're interested in themes of female madness there's a lot to think about here. Highly recommended!

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