Christina Pickrell

A Phenomenal Production

Revisado: 03-23-25

I picked this audio book because I’ve read a number of the author’s novels. If you have done so, then you should.

But I did not expect the level of performance that was delivered. If the John turned gave numerous alien species flesh and blood, then Amber breathed life into them all. Each race is vivid and authentic.

And the short story feels like a novel. It’s like this was the winning entry in one of those contests to write a complete novel in as few words as possible. Then expertly brought to audio by an incredibly talented reader.

5 stars all around. And an extra star for each mun dog saved!

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Distracting Sound Effects

Revisado: 11-24-24

While the story was entertaining, the found effects distracted from it. They try to do move sound effects in an audiobook. The result is that you have no idea what is happening. It’s just chaos.
The voice actors were good though.

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Sci-Fi LitRPG with a Dose of Comedy

Revisado: 09-13-24

This three book series is a great addition to any library. A convoluted story with heavy referrals to ‘Back to the Future’, it provides a fun look at an alien invasion.

The voice acting is excellent. Each persona is clearly identified by voice. And both male and female characters are well represented.

Perhaps one of the best things about the trilogy is the ending. First, there is an ending. Yes, the characters live on to other adventures. But this story has a defined ending and J Pal doesn’t try to make the series run forever. Second, the ending is logical and ties up loose ends, or at least addresses them. Finally, the ending accounts for the big picture, not just the characters.

I great listens and a great value.

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Moving Forward

Revisado: 08-19-24

This book in the series moves Secunit forward into the scary world of emotion. While maintaining the same dry humor and sarcastic outlook, they progress into a more well rounded character. Martha Wells does an excellent job of threading the pitfalls to keep things exciting and thought-provoking.

But Kevin Freed is the star of the show. His voice acting brings out the humanity in this non-human character. Excellent performance of an engrossing book.

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Freaking Awesome

Revisado: 08-09-24

The reader takes a bit to get used to. But he does an excellent job capturing the essence of a bot struggling to deal with humans. The entire series is excellent.

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Neat Idea. Doesn’t Work.

Revisado: 06-28-24

The basic concept of the world is different, perhaps unique. The idea that items have a spirit that can be interacted with provides some interesting possibilities. But when you apply that concept across everything, it becomes unmanageable. The story gets around this by simply ignoring inconsistencies and inconveniences.

The main character is interesting in the first book or two. By book four, he’s just boring. Despite literally fixing his own flaws, he never changes and his flaws never change. He remains socially incompetent throughout all the books. The idea that he gets a girlfriend is completely absurd.

The presentation is also less than ideal. In many places, the voice actor doesn’t read the entire line to understand the appropriate emphasis in lines.

Stop after book 1 and it is a good story.

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An Amazing Production

Revisado: 04-18-24

There are a number of things that make this audio book enjoyable. But what makes it great is easier to define. Simply put, this is not an audio book - this is an audio production. It is more than just the incredibly talented voice actors. It is the combined talent and technology applied to a unique and engrossing story.

From the very beginning, there are a couple thoughts that stick with you. Is voice actor Jeff Hays that manic in person? Why does author RinoZ know so much about ants? Will Gandalf sue for the use of his beard in a book? These are the questions that just never go away.

The production has to be experienced to understand it. So stop reading my dull review and go listen to this 3 book ANThology!

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Silly Humor Brings Down Story

Revisado: 01-21-24

Jason Asano finally becomes more than bad jokes. This is something that is long overdue in the series. Unfortunately, other humor is introduced to just bring silliness to a otherwise dramatic situation. It is a good addition to the series. But could have been much better. 

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Great Story Overcomes Mediocre Reader

Revisado: 09-06-23

I love this series. It is an excellent mix of fantasy in a sci-fi setting. And the reader is a good reader… who is also a mediocre voice actor.

The voice acting improves over the series, but struggles with female voice’s throughout. Fortunately, he gets better with the main character’s voice quickly. But even the MC voice is irritating for the first several chapters.

But the reader can’t overcome what a great story this is. And the extra half book is pure bonus. To be fair, the half book is really just retelling the same story from a different perspective. But there are so many spin-off stories that beg to be told. The author will be able to keep us engrossed with this series for years to come.

And I can’t wait!

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Fire Burns

Revisado: 03-01-23

The characters and settings of this book are unique and somewhat humorous initially. But they quickly develop into solid characters with hopes and dreams. The narration helps with this by subtly weaving those dreams into the wistful thoughts and emotions.

But the are only so many ways that you can say ‘fire burns’. The continual baptism in fire and heat and ember gets old. There are some creative uses of the magic. But the continued development of magical understanding started to take away from development of the story.

In the end, the author manages to pull it all together into a package that is light- hearted, yet not quite funny. It’s entertaining and well worth reading. And as the characters are only introduced to the broader world at the end this book, I look forward to starting the next book.

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