Aaron B

Quick But Satisfying

Revisado: 11-07-23

These little side missions with X, Joey, and the rest of his crew are like little appetizers to the main course of the novels. They serve to add color to the world and deepen our connection to its characters without asking the reader to commit to an entirely new book.

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Exactly What Every Marvel Fan Is Looking For

Revisado: 10-16-23

This excellent audiobook covers the detailed history of Marvel & the MCU all the way through mid-2023. It’s not a paint-by-numbers fluff piece and goes into detail on many of Marvel’s early failures, sex discrimination, Hollywood backstabbing, and more. It’s a great book for anyone interested in learning more about how the MCU became a household term.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Good Story, Fun Nostalgia

Revisado: 07-21-23

This was a good, if not great story. I loved the late 90’s nostalgia (Limp Bizkit, GoldenEye on N64). I bought this book specifically for that stuff; as an Xennial (born between 1977 & 1983), this hit right in my formative sweet spot, and I was these kids & knew these kids when I was growing up.

The story missed out on the creepy factor I was hoping for. It substituted blood and gore for what could have been some real spine tingling tension. I’m honestly not sure if the narrator’s flat delivery contributed to that, but I never really got the “oh jeez my skin is crawling” sensation I was hoping for.

It’s not a bad book - don’t get me wrong! I just wish it had leaned a little less into the gore and done a little more to build the tension. At the end of the day, it’s still a solid book!

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Fun for the whole family!

Revisado: 03-03-21

I downloaded this on a lark, wondering when the opportunity would arise that I could listen to it with my kids. We don't spend a ton of time together in the car, so it seemed like a long shot. Well, lo and behold we find ourselves making a 30-minute drive to an evening activity and this was just the ticket. My kids are 10, 8 & 6.

Billy Kelly's comedy style consists of a combination of observational humor ("Have you ever noticed meteorology has nothing to do with meteors?") and catchy songs ("Repetitive Bird" and "Mouth and Brain" are two of our favorites) aimed at engaging the funny bones of kids while keeping the humor just close enough to keep adults entertained. My kids cackled with laughter and we ended up listening to it more than once on our drives.

It is far more family friendly than other singing comedians like Stephen Lynch or Rodney Carrington. He's not as funny as a Jim Gaffigan, but I can say that my kids loved it. As long as they are not too old, I'm betting your kids will too.

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A Thrill a Minute!

Revisado: 12-03-20

This was a thrillingly good book! Harmony House resident Eddie Parks is a gifted inventor working on a device with the potential to upend security and espionage throughout the world. When his new doctor, Skylar Drummond, helps him complete the project, they are thrown into a conspiracy that reaches father and deeper than they could have possibly imagined.

Structure: The setup is given just enough time to engage you in the characters and then the action starts. The stakes are quickly revealed and they players are given enough time to feel like fully fleshed characters. My favorite part of the structure was that there were two entirely different antagonists, both trying to outplay the other to obtain the MacGuffin. It made for entertaining scenery as the antagonists tried to escape anyone and everyone.

I’ve seen several complaints about the ending, which I actually loved. It set up a sequel very nicely and left me ready to jump into the next one. Then again, I’m listening to this series in December 2020, after both books have been published. If I’d have been left hanging for a year by the ending, I may have felt differently.

Characters: Eddie Park is my new favorite character. I, admittedly, have had very limited real-life exposure to people with special needs. Eddie felt real - relatable, consistent and endlessly entertaining. I truly enjoyed this little peek into his head and look forward to getting more.

Dr. Skylar Drummond was compassionate and intelligent, with enough life experience to be able to truly connect with our main protagonist. Her driving force is fleshed out throughout the book, and gives us insight not only into her life, but why she is so able to connect with Eddie where others have failed.

The antagonists were just shadowy enough to make you believe they could do what they were doing, but not so “all powerful” or “all knowing” that it broke my suspension of disbelief.

Audible Narration: Narrator Christopher Lane does a phenomenal job, giving each player distinct voices. Even more impressive, he gives voice to Eddie’s unique manner of speaking given his Aspergers without coming off as hokey or insensitive.

Five stars - I’m already 3/4 of the way through the next book, The Sound of Echoes, and can’t wait to see how everything plays out!

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Hilariously Funny

Revisado: 01-06-20

Hilariously funny, uproariously irreverent, and super enjoyable. Unlike most series that tend to taper off after 3-4 installments, the Space Team series just keeps getting better and better. I remember thinking, “where could he be going with this,” with Splurt nearly six books ago and then he went through and explained all the Splurt stuff and still managed to make the little bamston one of the best characters in the series. “Redunk Topa,” a clever play on “The Hunt for Red October,” cleverly plays off of the plot of “The Running Man” (or the SPACE Running Man). It’s a story you’ve heard before, but never with this level of sass and backtalk. You’ll want to wash the books mouth out with soap and spank it for being so naughty. Just buy it. It’s awesome.

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Fantastically Screwball...and the Outtakes!

Revisado: 07-18-19

This was a very funny entry in the expanding universe of superhero (or sidekick, in this case) novel category. If you have enjoyed series like Peter Cline's "Ex-Heroes," Drew Hayes' "Super Powered" and "Forging Hephaestus," or Scott Meyer's "The Authorities," you will likely love this book as much as I did. The storyline isn't the strongest part of this book, although it is solid enough to keep your attention. The thing that will keep you coming back again and again are the characters.

When the Justice Platoon is suddenly and summarily killed by some unknown force, the government calls on its old, retired sidekicks, activating The Sidekick Initiative and drafting middle-aged Sam; "Kid Random," Anna; "Allergy Girl," and Randy; "Butterfly King" into service. Trained by former villain turned good guy Kapitan Nazi, the Sidekicks have no idea how to use their powers, what great evil they are facing...or how they will survive. Except Randy. That guy knows how to kick some ass.

Seriously, Randy might be my favorite new character in a book in years. Basically useless, yet filled with grit, determination and a never-say-die spirit. His lines are the funniest in the book, and are made even funnier in the outtakes following the book. I've never heard an Audible book with outtakes, but hearing narrator Phil Thron crack up repeatedly at the things Randy was saying made me laugh so hard tears streamed down my face.

If you're at all interested in Superhero Fiction, this book is a great one.

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esto le resultó útil a 13 personas

Average Story, Awful Narration

Revisado: 03-27-19

First off, props to the author for coming up with an interesting, engaging and compelling idea. A meteorite smashes into the Earth in 1952. Nations unite as they race against time to get off of Earth and colonize nearby, the Moon, Mars, something. The novel is based in science that, like The Martian, sounds plausible enough that it enhanced the novel. Unlike The Martian, the main character is less than engaging or interesting to follow. I recognize that this was the 1950’s, and she is acting as women did at the time, but instilling some sort of rebellious streak or even some more backbone would have made the character easier to identify with.

This story takes place over a span of years, and is part of a larger story, “The Lady Astronauts” saga. Between that and the awesome backdrop for this story, I feel like so much more could have been done to make this rise to the level of an epic. As it was, the story stayed remarkably small, focused on a small group of women and the men they had to work with (or maneuver around).

Even the penultimate confrontation between our heroine and her biggest detractor feels small, taking place in a confined area that could have felt tense but ultimately left me...wanting. The climax is satisfying, and the author did a strong job of setting it up, but by then the stakes felt so small in the grand scheme of things that I just couldn’t bring myself to care.

I see the author wrote a sequel and has plans for more books. Good! I hope she figures out how to raise the stakes and give this epic storyline the grandeur it deserves.

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Good...could have been great

Revisado: 08-15-18

It’s good… I can’t help feel that it could’ve been great. The verbal sparring between Vader and Thrawn makes for many of the highlights of the book. There is much jockeying for political power between the two, and an intense game of mental chess is played out on the pages. While Thrawn maintains the intellectual and strategic superiority he is most known for, Vader proves to be a worthy opponent in political gamesmanship. I think the biggest disappointment comes because the stakes are so low. With these two iconic characters, I feel like the challenge should have been greater. As it was, no one appears to be in any real danger, and so the climax disappoints, leaving me wishing for more substance.

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Solid Sophomore Effort, an Enjoyable Heist Book

Revisado: 01-25-18

An enjoyable heist style story. It’s hard to review an Andy Weir book without comparing it to The Martian, but I’ll try. Artemis brings a lot of the same things that made that book so great (science-y dialogue, juvenile humor, fantastic cussing) back to space, this time to a moon base. (Eat your heart out, James Bond.) Main character Jazz is the right amount of grounded in reality with enough edge to make her unpredictable. She’s no Mark Whatney, but she’s not trying to be. I thought her character was well-developed and had just the right amount of sarcastic smart ass for me to identify with. I didn’t find her nearly as obnoxious as I’ve read in other reviews. Perhaps Rosario Dawson’s narration helped with that. The side characters are good, but don’t feel as fully fleshed out as they should be. There is a particularly entertaining side-story involving Jazz’s ex-boyfriend that made me laugh, but to be fair I’ve got the sense of humor of an adolescent. I enjoyed it, but not as much as The Martian (damn, didn’t make it). Four stars.

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