J. Green

Dark,thoughtful and yet hopeful

Revisado: 01-08-25

I really enjoyed The Girl With All the Gifts, and was looking forward to this book continuing the story. The author kept the insight, tension and humanity in this work as it was in the last, and the prologue felt like the two books liked into on well crafted, intelligent story which transcends the standard zombie tale. The narrator was also excellent, enhancing the story.
Like (maybe loved?) the first book, and even more now that the larger story has been told.

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Convoluted and unfocused compared to previous

Revisado: 06-27-15

What did you like best about Machine World? What did you like least?

The basics of Larson are here: fun characters, engaging style, and entertaining action.
On the other hand, the story felt needlessly complex, with political intrigue and maneuvering which didn't quite seem to flow or make logical sense. As a result, the characterizing of James was also confusing, which wasn't the case in previous books.

If you’ve listened to books by B. V. Larson before, how does this one compare?

Similar, with the previously noted deficiencies.

What does Mark Boyett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His interpretation is wonderful. Boyett's style and delivery has consistently been one of my favourites among the Audible narrators, and he does not disappoint.

Was Machine World worth the listening time?

If this is the weakest the series gets, it is completely worth reading. If this is the trajectory of what is to come, the next book in the series will be my last. And I will be disappointed.

Any additional comments?

I like Larson's work, and look forward to more.

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Hit and Miss

Revisado: 05-04-14

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This was an entertaining book, and worth the listen overall, but...

Any additional comments?

The lack of any apparent objective criteria, aside from the authors' opinions, and the lack of length were both misses. On the plus side, it was an entertaining listen, and some of the ideas clearly fall in the "they thought that was a good idea??" category. Like "New Coke."

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Surprisingly engrossing

Revisado: 09-10-12

Purchased on a whim, mostly due to our family's liking of Hunger Games, Divergent isn't necessarily better, but it certainly is a well written, engaging, and though provoking book. Playing with ideas of class conflict, political power, and group thinking, it explores a future world gone wrong through the eyes of a sixteen year old girl who doesn't quite fit anyone's mold. While it is more clich?? than the aforementioned, including more teen love focus, it is, nevertheless, worth adding to one's library. As is the case with a good series, it has forced the prompt purchase of book two.

On a performance note, Emma Galvin's narration is first rate, matching the book extremely well. Voicing for a sixteen year old, I was left wondering just how old Emma herself is. She is able to bring excellent emotional, tonal and pitch range to her voice, and to set off other characters in a way which makes the story easy to listen to.

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Great story read by a great narrator

Revisado: 11-17-11

This book is a continuation from Daemon, picking up then bringing closure to the characters and events of the previous work. Daemon has become one of my favorite books, though the open ending always left me wanting for more... until now.

Suarez is an excellent writer. Granted, some of his political and philosophical views are not particularly subtle, at times nearly overshadowing the rest of the work. Despite this weakness, his characters and plot are extremely well done and engaging. From a story standpoint, this book is excellent, though I doubt it would have nearly the impact on those unfamiliar with its prequel.

Gurner's reading is first rate. His rate, tone, pacing, and pitch are all very good. His voices he uses for different characters works well, and isn't distracting. I am hoping to see more readings from him in the future, as he is on my short list of best narrators I have encountered through Audible.

The two stories together follow several characters, including a police detective, an identity-stealing Russian hacker, an NSA cryptology expert, and various other military and misfit characters. At the back of these characters, driving the story, is a dead genius and his global computer virus he has unleashed. Battle lines are drawn and redrawn as governments and corporations scramble to maintain the status-quo while others, working with the dead genius' virus, seek to create a new society. Not only is who will win in question, but who should win.

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Forced me to finish it

Revisado: 06-28-11

I began listening to this one while commuting, and it might be one of the only audiobooks I felt was compelling me to finish it. Stephenson did a wonderful job creating a future world, drawing together interesting characters and ideas which made me want to continue listening. Unpredictable, with just the right edge of "yes, that might be the direction our world goes in the future," this story held me captive. Some elements were not quite to my taste (occasional level of violence, sexuality), but these things served to drive the story, and so were not a major hinderance.

I was also impressed with the narrator's presentation of the story. Good pacing, pleasant diction, and a decent range of tone made her very easy to listen to. With the quality of writing, and the strong narration, it is easy to see why this audiobook is a popular choice.

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Surprising??? after seeing the movie.

Revisado: 08-23-10

I was NOT a fan of the film, but after talking to older friends who suggested the book was worth reading, I too the chance on this one. Somewhat philosophical in its approach, with as much to say about our place in society as anything, I found the story engaging and enjoyable. Narration is decent as well. Some similarities to the movie of the same name are certainly present, but in the main this is a totally different story, with different values and sensibilities.

For fans of Sci Fi, this should be in your library.

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An excellent talking book.

Revisado: 05-17-08

This book is excellent, both in terms of content and reading. The narrator is one of the better I have encounter, while the story its self is engrossing.

Ed Viesturs tells the story of his climbing of all 14 8000m peaks. In doing so, he displays a keen understanding of how to teach the elements of high altitude climbing, combined with a sense of humor and a knack for bring out the human element so often interwoven in his experiences. Hardly a "look at how great I am" sort of autobiography, Ed regularly discusses other great climbers, often with a sense of awe in finding himself in their company, or standing where they stood. In his discussions of his many high altitude expeditions, he bring a strongly human focus to bear, leaving readers not only with a sense of the beauty of climbing, but the painful realities as well.

Perhaps one criticism which could be leveled is one of organization. Because he regularly detours to tell the stories of others he knew and climbed with, there are points in the story where the time lines become slightly blurry. This is, of course, a danger with any book tracking a narrative from more than one character's perspective.

Excellent narrative, excellent narrator.

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Weak rendition of an interesting work

Revisado: 04-02-07

I have never read any of the Foundation cycle, though I am planning to. This version is abridged, which is a disappointment to me, but it did serve to get me interested in reading the series, if for no other reason than to discover what had been cut from this audio book. The version its self is weak. The narration is good, but there are long pauses, or (worse!) musical interludes which do nothing but stretch the time out meaninglessly.

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A master story teller.

Revisado: 02-07-07

Sherlock Holmes is a character who needs no introduction, and these stories represent some of the best written about him. The reading are decent, though I find the narrator a touch raspy. That said, I usually dislike cast readings as some of the voices can be difficult to hear in a car, though I have not found that a problem with these at all. I would recommend them to anyone interested in discovering Sherlock Holmes.

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esto le resultó útil a 17 personas