JP

Ponderous Prattle

Revisado: 06-17-24

I didn't' think anything Ray Porter read could be dull. I was wrong. This story--if there is one here--is so slow in developing that even Mr. Porter couldn't keep it alive. By the time I was 2 hours into it, I knew there was no character about whom I'd ever care and no plot worth the effort of waiting to recognize.

Bought this on a daily special, so I can't return it. If I could, I would. Since I can't, I'll state philosophically: "I've already paid for it; I don't have to listen to it, too."

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Excellent Book - Fantastic Reader

Revisado: 11-12-23

The author has grown and so too has the storyline. The world of Murtagh is not for the faint of heart, but well worth the journey for those who love Alagaësia. Gerard Doyle once again gives voice to the story in an unparalleled fashion. 10/10

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Chronicles of a Darwin Candidate

Revisado: 09-05-23

The character one must assume is the protagonist is obnoxious. She has a nearly endless series of "plans," each of which should start with "Hold my beer." The resolution was a surprise, but it was an unsatisfying one.

The narrator, however, is a gem. I persevered because Rosario Dawson's voicing was outstanding. She deserves better material.

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Why bother?

Revisado: 09-01-23

Not sure whether this book is more confusing or more dull. The narrator has a whiny little voice with which he tells us of a strange collection of characters, none of whom are engaging. Listened as long as I could--about 3 hours--then gave it up. If it had more character I could dislike it. As it is, I just don't care.

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Ponderous

Revisado: 08-07-23

This would have made a fine short story, but expanded to book length, it dragged. You can overdo recursion, and the author did. The reader was quite good.

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Run at 1.1 Speed

Revisado: 11-26-22

This book is the first half of Clancy's magnum opus, the second half of which is "Executive Orders." To my mind, it is the better half, but the combination is a magnificent display of Clancy's art.

Everyone seems to agree that the story is great, but most who snatched up the Audiobook when it was new also agreed that the reading was truly awful. I was among them.

Now, however, the truth is out. It isn't the reader; it's the producer, and the problem is easily corrected with current players. The Audiobook is published at less than the reader's original speed. When it was new, that was a near-fatal flaw. Now however, all that's needed to correct it is to raise the speed of the player to 1.1. This will bring the reading up to the narrator's recorded speed, and the result is amazing.

Enjoy!

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Actually, a One-Sided Story

Revisado: 08-03-20

While very interesting for what it is, the book might more accurately be called "A Wistful History of the Airship" or "An Appreciation of Hugo Eckener." As either, it seems thorough and balanced. However its treatment of the airplane seems superficial--and of airline pioneer Juan Trippe, jealous-to-hostile. Perhaps Trippe and the airplane lack the romance of fighting--and losing--in a forlorn cause.

From "Empires of the Sky" i learned much about the technological and political aspects of Zeppelin development, and i valued the information enough to add a Kindle copy of the book to my library for easier reference. If I'd relied upon this for information about airplane development, though, I'd have learned little, and much of that would have seemed negatively biased. Concentrating on Pan Am and Juan Trippe, I'd have missed the contributions of the nascent airline not only to air travel in general but also to US interests in the interwar period. Besides countering German influence in South America, Pan Am developed bases in the Pacific which were vital to the conduct of WW II and did much to advance airborne radio communication. When Roosevelt travelled to Casablanca in 1943, he did so on the Dixie Clipper, a Pan Am flying boat requisitioned by the US Navy but still operated by a Pan Am crew. Trippe, painted in this book as a devious charlatan, was an aviation pioneer. The people with whom he dealt were Presidents, Cabinet Officers, and other captains of industry. Maybe he was not a very nice man, but contrary to the impression given in "Empires of the Sky," he did not develop his airline by tricking Girl Scouts out of their cookie money.

In short, while I would recommend this book as an introduction to the glorious, if ill-starred, airship, I would caution that an understanding of airplane development and especially of the contributions of Pan American Airways and Juan Trippe requires additional reading. "Pan Am at War," also available from Audible, might be a good place to start.

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Disappointing Presentation

Revisado: 04-01-20

Pan Am at War was disappointing from two perspectives. First, the reader demonstrated conclusively that clear enunciation is not enough. Chamberlain reads the same way Siri or Alexa reads. His performance suggested no comprehension of the material.

Poor reading exacerbated the problem of poor organization. There is much interesting information in the book, but the presentation seems disjointed. This is not a mystery story; the listener should be able to follow and to anticipate, but the structure is inadequate to allow either. Further, the authors' fascination with insignificant detail allows important themes and events to be obscured.

All in all, a disappointment. The material deserves better treatment.

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Deceptively Titled Bio of Henry Ford

Revisado: 10-24-17

If you're looking for a few, often repetitive hours on the lives of the first three generations of Fords, look no farther. Their lives certainly had impact on the Arsenal of Democracy, but addressing the latter purely from the perspective of the former does the war effort a grave disservice. The narrator tends to whine, which doesn't help. Overall, a disappointment.

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More Psych than Science

Revisado: 10-06-17

Genuinely interesting, but not really a story of time travel. Rather, this is an exploration of the reactions of three personalities to the effects of severe dislocation. Two of these three exist to highlight the third, so much of it is really about one guy. The setting, however, is sufficiently engaging to overcome both the lack of science in the fiction and the author's apparent lack of familiarity with both firearms and techniques of hand-to-hand combat. It's a story about people under stress, and it's a pretty good one. The reader is appropriate to the story.

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