Debbie M.

Navigates the complicated emotions of abuse

Revisado: 10-23-24

This book isn't for everyone. If you are triggered by stories of child abuse and easily upset, this is not your book.

The thing that I loved about this book is that it was brave enough to humanize people that are typically vilified. That doesn't mean that it justifies anything, and reading her perceptions shift about him only highlights how damaging it is. Victims often feel obligated to openly despise their abuser, but their real feelings are much more complicated, and the guilt for *not* hating their abuser causes them to blame themselves and feel as though something is wrong with them.

Listening to this story as an adult, the abuse and manipulation and narcissism in play is plainly obvious. Because we are adults. But these are her memories, and as a child, she just wanted to be loved, and had no way to contextualize what they were doing. She doesn't justify it in any way, but, she does care for him, and as she gets older and comes to understand how messed up their relationship is, she has to disentangle her feelings of love from his manipulation. This is where some of the worst damage from abuse comes in.

This is the author's perceptions of an abuser, from the eyes of a child. We are on the outside, and it's normal to be incensed at this man's manipulation, but it doesn't delegitimize her experiences, or make them untrue. She was innocent and wanted love and acceptance, and he made her feel special.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

I LOVE this series, but...

Revisado: 10-23-24

I absolutely adored Book 1-4. I will always love the universe and world building that exists in this series. I will always buy the next book in the series and listen to it as soon as it comes out.

That said... I felt myself kind of disconnected from this book. Maybe it was because I binged through 1-4 right in a row, and there was a long gap before this book, and I didn't relisten to book 4. I did have to frequently pause and carefully google (to avoid spoilers) to be reminded who certain characters are. Normally I would say that it's on the listener to keep up, but, by book 5, there are still plenty of explanatory notes, like, reminding people who Bob is and where he came from. I wish that there were more reminders about relevant story points. Just a few sentences.

This is still one of my favorite series though, and removing 1 star doesn't mean I cherish it any less.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Compelling idea, but I have some problems

Revisado: 10-23-24

I watched the Netflix show first, and there were some pretty big plot issues that I had, but I found the idea so compelling, and this book was so highly recommended, that I wanted to listen to the book to see if it was just lost in translation to a TV series.

It wasn't.

There are a lot of really great ideas here. Lots of them. I want it to work, really badly. But the science just... doesn't science. And I don't need the science to be perfect, but, it's sooo far off that it removes immersion for me.

The narrator was great. Obviously this book is highly rated, so maybe it's just me? It kept me interested, and it's not *bad*, so even though I don't recommend it, it's probably a safe bet if you're on the fence about this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

It's not bad

Revisado: 03-13-23

I like Jon Ronson, but sometimes he makes me sleepy. This was the kind of book that I like to listen to in the background... something to have on, and a decently compelling story, but I've also read a lot of other pieces about the topic, and this one wasn't particularly memorable. If this is your first entry into the world of extremism, it's certainly very interesting and well written.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Cried a lot

Revisado: 03-13-23

I just lost my two dogs, and I really have just been binge listening to stories about dogs in order to help me grieve. I admit that I'm overly sentimental right now, but I think that the author did such a great job of capturing the mannerisms of dogs, and the narrator had a wonderful sense of whimsy in her voice. I still smile when I think about the "tiny piece of cheese." It's not the best book that I've read, but it scratched the itch that I wanted it to. If you're looking for a low stress book to validate your feelings about how dogs are truly the most wonderful creatures on this planet, and this is on sale, this will hit the spot. If you're paying full price, it wouldn't be the first "feel good dog" book that I would reach for, but you'll still feel good about dogs.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Beautiful Story

Revisado: 03-13-23

I was on the edge of my seat for this story, and I thought that it was beautiful. They author has clearly spent a lot of time with dogs... he captures their mannerisms perfectly. Lots of really great concepts to think about, and a truly creative idea.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Right to my heart

Revisado: 09-22-22

Lawrence Anthony's books hold a special place in my heart. I've listened to all of them, and I just have such overwhelming respect for that man. I was heartbroken to hear of his passing. This book was wonderful to hear more about the future of the sanctuary, and I was so happy to hear about how his legacy is continuing. I was completely invested and loved listening to it.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Great!

Revisado: 09-22-22

I subscribe to Jesse's substack and listen to Blocked & Reported, and I didn't feel like this was repeated material. Even if it was, it was nice to have it nicely organized. It was well researched, and a great listen!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Very creative story, but the ending felt rushed

Revisado: 06-27-22

I really have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.

The Good:
- Very creative. I listen to tons of post-apocalyptic/zombie/pandemic type fiction, and this doesn't sound like anything that I've read before. I was totally fascinated by the mixture of AI and zombies-but-not-really. The hook is very creative and kept me wondering what was happening until the end. Nothing about the story felt predictable.

- Wendig doesn't hold back. There are a lot of brutal and raw and shocking scenes that could have been glossed over, but I feel like diving in to them gave them much more weight.

- It's well written. I cared about the characters, everyone felt believable* (ish. See "The Bad" section below). It stuck with me and I was fully immersed in the story.

The Bad:
- The author is very vocally political in real life, and it seeps through into the story. All of the bad guys are people on the right and/or religious. It's not the worst, I'm on the right and I still enjoyed it, but I found myself sighing and rolling my eyes a few times when I could tell whether someone was going to be a good guy or a bad guy based on their political affiliation.

- All the characters get a little confusing. I found myself wishing that I had a physical book version, or that I was taking notes, so that 18 hours in when someone from Chapter 1 gets mentioned, I could check back and remember what their deal was. I found that the people at the CDC kind of blended together a bit. It's a really long listen, which is fine, but sometimes I'd space out for a minute and then be completely lost trying to figure out who was talking.

- I hate the ending. Other people might like it. It depends on how you feel about AI. (I welcome our robot overlords!) I also have just some practical issues with the ending, and I feel like in a 32 hour book, you had more than enough time to address plot holes that were created by it. There are some storylines where I wonder why it was even there if it's not going to be addressed later. It didn't ruin the book, but around 30 hours in, I was beginning to worry about how he's going to wrap all this up in under 2 hours, and at 31.5 hours in, I was annoyed at how certain storylines got resolved, and it felt very rushed. There is a second book coming out, so maybe it will be addressed in other books, but it felt like he had more story to tell, but had to wrap this one up quickly, so he just gives a super quick summary.

- This doesn't influence my opinion, but I just want to give a warning, there is a particularly brutal male-on-male rape scene.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

I was entertained I guess?

Revisado: 12-05-21

I mean... it's not *bad*.... it's well produced, well acted, good quality. It held my interest for 2 hours. But overall the story is confusing and strange, but not quirky strange, just like, "this plot is really awkward" strange. Maybe it's me? Maybe I'm just the one that doesn't get it and it's secretly genius? But I was left confused, and if I'm correct about the narrative, the main action in the story is just utterly implausible. But who knows, maybe you'll get something more out of it? It was a pleasant way to spend a couple hours.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas