Sam Oglesby

Mostly smut

Revisado: 04-12-23

Not my cup of tea, but it never hurts to step outside your comfort zone every now and then. But yeah, this is pretty bad. "Romance" novel that is about 10% sweet, 30% cheesy cliches, and 60% smut. Narrators were good at least.

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Mediocre at best

Revisado: 11-25-19

There are two main characters/storylines that the book bounces back and forth between. The Vargas storyline is actually pretty interesting, investigating a group of murders in the middle of nowhere Mexico. Beth's storyline is nothing but whining about her sister though, and it just drags on and on.

Narrator is ok. His pacing is very slow to start out, but does improve over time. His character voices are not the best. Basically, they have a Mexican accent or they don't.

The soundtrack part is actually pretty good. The sound effects and dramatic music pieces add a nice touch of vividness and suspense to the story.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for this honest review.

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When cloning God goes wrong...

Revisado: 02-14-19

The book follows two main characters: Lysandra and Thomas.

Lysandra's storyline is pretty interesting. She is more or less a clone gone rogue. Except, she was cloned from DNA that is supposed to be from Jesus. At least, that's what the Church was trying to do. Things went wrong when the parents found out they were having a girl instead of a the Son of God Reborn.

Thomas' storyline is rather bland. He's a stereotypical leader of a powerful organization that has more money than they know what to do with. The author just happens to label this organization as The Church. There's just not a lot or new with Thomas to keep me interested in him.


On the narration:

For the most part, Sarah does a well-enough job. She gives the main characters a distinct voice for dialogue. However, some of the secondary characters' voices start to run together, and it can be a bit difficult to follow along with the conversation. She also sometimes lets some secondary voices bleed into her narrator voice as the book transitions out of a conversation.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.

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Some potential here

Revisado: 05-16-18

I felt the first half of the book was a bit disorganized. We follow the growth of Esh, but the story just sits there the entire time. There's nothing to look forward to in the next chapter. The story doesn't really start until he enters the tournament and meets the blue princess.

The writing annoyed me - too many unnecessary sophomoric jokes and the forced terminology (substituting "day" for "sun-cycle"). It adds nothing to the story except some confusion. Save the complexities for the plots and characters.

I understand how/why some listeners did not like the narrator as his voice can grind on people's ears, but I thought he did a fantastic job of distinguishing the different characters. Conversations were super easy to follow, and he conveyed the emotions pretty well.


Disclosure: I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for this honest review.

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For D&D / tabletop RPG fans

Revisado: 07-19-17

Would you listen to NPCs again? Why?

Probably not. I did find it rather humorous, but the middle of the book sort of slowed to a crawl. It was good for one listen, but as the story wasn't very deep, it's probably not worth a revisit anytime soon.

Which scene was your favorite?

The bookends were well-written - where the author incorporates the PCs into the story and how they try to nix all of the DM's plans for the campaign.

Any additional comments?

Roger Wayne makes it very easy to follow along all the different conversations going on in the book. Very distinct voices for each character. Well done!

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Quick and clever

Revisado: 07-19-17

What did you love best about A Rare Book of Cunning Device?

While still a short story, the author still fits in some suspense and intrigue.

Any additional comments?

The ending sort of fell flat for me. With the clever build up, I was expecting something a little more grand at the conclusion.

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Less talk, more action

Revisado: 07-19-17

What could Henry James have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

This story was dragged out way too long. I get that that is probably a part of the appeal - the suspense of not knowing what will happen next. But when it takes 3 or 4 chapters between scenes, it just dragged on.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Emma Thompson gives a very heartfelt performance. She narrates with a lot of passion, which is good and bad in this instance. Good since you get a real sense of how the characters are feeling. Bad since the prose of the writing doesn't really make it easy to spout out inner monologue ramblings in one breath.

Any additional comments?

I received a free copy of this book to help comment on the Soundtrack Edition portion in exchange for this review.

I honestly didn't really notice the soundtrack elements all that much. There were a few moments where I could pick out the background music and sound effects, but they were rather faint (or perhaps it was because I don't normally listen in absolute quiet environments).

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Good start

Revisado: 06-14-17

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you like character building, this is a book for you. The bulk of the story is focused on Aedan and how he handles different situations. The only problem with this is some of the smaller chapters that do not advance the overall plot of the story.

Which scene was your favorite?

The process of making swords and bows was amazing; fantastic storytelling.The few chapters involving Kulthum was the most intriguing part. The moments were intense, and the flow of the scenes were perfect.

Any additional comments?

This is the first audiobook I've listened to, so it was a bit of an adjustment to having paper and ink in my hands. Overall, the story was well told, but there are definitely extraneous chapters that don't really do anything to the story. The ending was not quite what I was expecting, but it left some emotions stirring.

I've read review on how TGR is considered one of the best narrators out there, and after listening, I understand the high praise for him. It was easy to follow conversations between characters, and his delivery of the less-than-serious moments in the book were spot on.I'll keep an eye out for the next book in this series, but by no means am rushing to get my hands (or ears) on it.

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