Diana

Weird Narration is too distracting for me. DNF

Revisado: 02-09-24

The narration has a strange rhythm to it with a whispery husky voice. It's distracting and I cannot focus on the story.

I could not return the audio book - listened to about fifteen percent of the book and just can't waste any more time on this. So I am stuck with it. Listen to the sample - and those rave reviews are from people who got a free audio book.

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Started good, then all Horror DNF

Revisado: 08-08-22

At first there was a story Then it dissolved into vignettes of horror after horror. Unlike Science Fiction or Urban Fantasy which have ideas and possibilities explored this was just dismemberment, torture, explorations of cruelty and torture. With current events, my entertainment time and money are spent on humor, witty banter, neat ideas, and humanity striving to make things better. Not this. D N F (Did Not Finish)

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Slow story with irritating characters

Revisado: 08-03-22

No likeable characters, no witty dialogue, slow moving simplistic plot . . . halfway through the book and I don't feel entertained, I only feel irritated by each and every character. The main character reminds me of those people in horror films that go into the basement or some room where you know they aren't supposed to go. But in this case she is constantly interrupting or asking questions even though the detective she is with clearly said that he does all the talking. It would be okay if she actually had something meaningful or interesting to say, but she doesn't, she just interrupts to be a jerk. This is a book that is devoid of anything interesting researched or thought up. Just people talking to each other in different places. Nothing happens, no interesting twists, no unique ideas. Boring. This is a DNF (Did Not Finish)

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Glad I didn't start with this one

Revisado: 07-31-22

If this had been the first Discworld book I started with, it would have meant I missed out on the delights of Discworld. I plodded through this book in order to get to the next one - but I am glad I had tried Guards Guards some time back and most recently the group of four witches books done in this newly narrated version. Sometimes the early books in a series are just something to endure while the author builds something new. The book recommended after this one is okay. I've started and re-started it a few times and for now have set it aside and read other things. But I know better books are coming, so will get back to Discworld soon.

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Strange abrupt phony posh narration

Revisado: 07-31-22

It's so hard to listen to this strange speaking rhythm of the narrator. It would be better if she just spoke normally. Quick staccato bursts of a sentence or two, pause, followed by the next burst of another sentence or two, pause, and then again. On top of that some weird posh manner of speaking. It's so abnormal I can't stand it. I can't focus on the story. It might be good, but it's hard to tell. I'll try to read the book.

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Female narrator's young voice is distracting

Revisado: 07-31-22

The story line has the main female character as a woman detective - not as a teenager. So the "teenager voice" is a terrible fit. And when this same narrator does the old landlady's voice, it's like I'm sitting in a children's library circle listening to some parent doing an amateur Old Person's wavering voice. At this point, I removed the Ipod headphones, and now am returning this audio book. The annoyance and distraction from the female narrator is taking away from the story and I can't continue. It's important to find a good fit when seeking a narrator. This was not a good fit - the character was described as a woman detective - so the narrator needed to have a mature woman's voice. The male narrator is fine for this story. I will try reading this book via Kindle.

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Just okay - a bit flat and wooden writing style

Revisado: 05-18-22

There's potential here, but the characters were not likeable nor was there even one character I cared about. The stories could have been interesting, but the writing was so ordinary. No nuance,. Everything was explained. Just another book where people had conversations in different settings and things happened. Blah blah blah. Somewhere along the way in this book I wanted to remember what good writing is like so I binged the Murderbot series, then came back to this and finished it. These Spirelli book characters needed more vivid and different descriptions put in from time to time, and the old guy and young woman trope is tiresome (yes, the "Dragon" is old, but the woman is not)) Nuance and layers make a story interesting. I don't mean sexual innuendo, I mean give the readers credit and figure readers are intelligent enough not to have everything ordinary explained out loud. Unique observations and thoughts were missing. For the author - So many opportunities for laugh-out-loud humor were missed. (Read Patrick McManus short stories for good examples of laugh out loud written humor - Read the Murderbot series for good examples of richly written characters and writing with nuance, layers and intelligence - Read the Rivers of London series for examples of how research makes for better back stories and history) I don't know, maybe another draft was needed - Spirelli Paranormal Investigations became a chore for me to finish.

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Brilliant writing moments - my series favorite

Revisado: 04-14-22

There are some moments in this audio book where Ben Aaronovitch and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith are In-the-Zone. This is my favorite book of the series. It's brilliant.

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Very good science fiction story. Well done.

Revisado: 03-29-22

This was in my To Be Read listening queue for a while. Had a false start a while back, and switched to other books. Wish I had stayed with this one, it's really great story telling and narration. I noticed this book came out 5 or more years ago and checked social media to see if there is more. The past few years the author was posting that they were almost done with book 2. But, it's 2022 and there is no book 2 in the real world. Oh well. Too bad.

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Urban Fantasy in Ireland

Revisado: 03-28-22

Well, I love the Dublin Trilogy (gone past 3 books, but no complaints) and I love this series too. There isn't one particular character that I have latched onto yet with this series, but enjoy the ideas and what happens along the story line. This book kind of made me cringe a bit at the very beginning - the humor felt forced - but then the story settled down. I don't think these characters have hit their stride yet, but I love these first two books and hope for me. Great narration.

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