Nicholas

Did an AI write this?

Revisado: 04-08-25

This is one of the most disappointing books I've read in the Lit RPG genre. It sincerely makes me wonder if the author used an AI to write the book.
1. Firstly, the book barely has a plot beyond a person living out a gore-murder fantasy.
2. Second, the author has put so little effort into actually developing the fantasy world the MC is transported to. There is no reason for the fantasy world to really exist, as the vast majority of the story then takes place in one of two towers, wehre the MC just battles monster after monster. Descriptions of the fights are poor and repetative, and there is no suspense or tention at all.
3. The book lacked an editor. The same adjectives are used multiple times in a sentence, several times in the audio book there are mistakes made... I wonder if even the narrator was rushing to finish this book.

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A mash-up of Murakami's favorite tropes

Revisado: 05-29-23

This was hand's down one of the most disappointing books I've read by Murakami. As other reviewers have mentioned, there are no new ideas. The well, the isolated house, the mysterious spirit, the lonely narrator... it's all here. In addition, however, there is the fetishizing of a young girl that feels uncomfortable at best and borders on inappropriate at times. Murakami plays with a lot of ideas, but seems to struggle to land on what he wants this book to do. So, much like the narrator, we do very little. There are many better books by Murakami; so, if this is the first of his books you are considering, you'd be better off with some of his earlier works.

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Not Simmons' best work

Revisado: 05-27-21

I really enjoyed some of Simmons' other work, especially the Hyperion duology, but Ilium felt like an exercise in self indulgence by the author. The chapters spent musing on the meaning behind Shakespeare's sonnets or Proust's search for the meaning of life can be interesting, if you enjoy that type of writing in your sci-fi. The chapters spent naming every captain present in the Greek armies along with the family lineage for each, as well as Hellen of Troy's bathing attendants and their fathers... that became tedious in the extreme. There are also incredible plot holes in which characters have no idea how to microwave a bowl of rice in one scene, but somehow know about stomach bacteria in another. There is just no coherence to what "old-fashioned" humans do or do not knowow, which comes in handy when an exposition dump is required by the plot. Finally, there are very out of place scenes in which Simmons comments on how Jerusalem has been a site of suffering for the Jews for 5000 years - without ever mentioning the Palestinians - or when a main character suddenly remembers images of people jumping from the Twin Towers on 9-11. I don't mind if authors want to make books political, or reference modern events, but these were just so out of place in the overall story.

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Lacking in both story and humor

Revisado: 05-03-20

I don't mind reading a book by an author who has political views different from my own, but I have never seen an author so defensive about someone not liking his book. The first chapter of this audio drama is spent with the author writing himself in as a character and insulting anyone who didn't like his first story. The majority of the humor in this book is very low-brow, which is fine (I love low hanging humor sometimes) but the writing itself is just poor. In one chapter, the author discusses how manatees have poor aim and, in the following chapter, they have expert aim. Whatever will further the plot, I suppose, even to the extend of using magic to just win the day. There is no plot, just a loosely strung together scenes that I'm sure the author thought would land really well on his select audience of people who would rather be watching an action movie.

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Will kick your ass until candy comes out

Revisado: 02-16-20

Gideon the Ninth is a space odyssey about lesbian necromancers set in a haunted house and driven by a murder mystery. There are swords, naughty magazines, undead servants and a 10,000 year old god emperor king. It’s an insane mashup that somehow works brilliantly; never taking itself too seriously while, at the same time, never sacrificing the plot. Humor and tragedy are inserted into the narrative, rather than the narrative being written just to include them. I seriously enjoyed this book so much that I found myself sad at its ending, which hasn’t happened to me in years. The writing style is uniquely informal, which works well as most of the novel is set from the perspective of Gideon the Ninth, who has been bullied reluctantly into joining her dark and petulant necromancer high-lady in a competition against other noble houses, when all she really wants to do is sword-fight and stare down the neck of pretty women's shirts. The only difficulty I had was in keeping the names straight, as each character – and there were 16 of them – had several different titles that were used fairly interchangeably. The author does provide a chart to help keep it all straight, but, reading an audio book, it’s hard to refer back to. Regardless, it never kept me from understanding what was going on.

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Single best literary reference ever

Revisado: 08-06-18

As I imagine is the case with most people who eagerly awaited Kill the Farm Boy, I am a huge fan of Kevin Hearne from the Iron Druid Cronicles. So I was quite excited to hear he is embarking upon a satyrical romp through classic fantasy. Admittedly, Kill the Farm Boy starts off very strong and, throughout the book, maintains an interesting cast of characters. Unfortunately, the Book does not have Hearnes usual well-timed humor; rather, Kill the Farm Boy is somewhat overloaded by low-hanging jokes and some of the same ideas are repeated again and again until you can practically make the joke for the book. All this being said, I appreciated the book for what it is and, as the headline states, the single best literary reference I have ever come across is barried Deep within the novel... when a Troll is caught Reading "Alliance of Nincompoops". I would certainly read the second in the series, when it comes out, but would just warn that the book, while enjoyable, might grow tiresome for people expecting anything like Iron Druid.

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Honduras’ past and Archeology’s Future

Revisado: 11-13-17

Stories of lost cities, lost civilizations or lost explorers fascinate me. (Maybe I just get lost a lot so can sympathise). After reading the Lost City of Z and several Arctic Adventures, the Lost City of the Monkey God was an obvious next listen. What I immediately appreciated from this book was the fact it is modern; the book details the search for a lost city in the Honduran jungle that took place within the last decade. In particular, the author enters into explanation of the new science of discovery: using Lidar to map inaccessible or hostil environments. While delving into Honduras’ past, we are also seeing a glimpse of archeology's future. Unfortunately, the author abandons talk of the jungle about three-forths of the way through the book and enters into a drawn-out description of a parasite a number of the members of the exploration picked up. Although related, this creates a huge contrast and feels as though you are reading an entirely different book. Nevertheless, it does provide some interesting musings on the infections that swept across Latin America shortly after the arrival of Spanish explorers and, indeed, a warning about what diseases might again threaten humanity.

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A Necessary Discworld Compendium

Revisado: 06-08-13

The World of Poo is a necessary guidebook for any hopeful tourist to the Discworld. We follow young Jeffry as he travels to the bustling city of Ankh Morpork for the first time. Along the way, Jeffry discovers the amazing world of Poo in all it's many forms. We examine the poo of some of the Disc's most fascinating animals, from the elephants of Hawandaland to the Gargoyles of the great city. We even journey into Harry King's personal poo empire.


The World of Poo is a creative piece of "children's literature" and draws upon many of the characters and places we are familiar with from other Discworld novels. Pratchett captures the viewpoint of a six-year-old boy who has a curiosity for poop... as do all little boys. Especially interesting is his description of the changing digestive system of the Ankh Morporkian gargoyles.

One cannot help but wonder... what kind of poop does great Atuan produce?

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Historical Science Fiction

Revisado: 05-26-13

The Lensman series is an important piece of historical science fiction. Many examples of modern day SF--from the epic Hyperion novels of Dan Smith to comics like the Green Lantern--pay homage, in part, to the Lensman series. Doctor Smith showed awesome imagination in his creation of the multiple races and worlds. I found it especially interesting to note that Triplanitary focuses on a racial breeding program that spans thousands of years. When considering this book was written in the 1930's, it is even more impressive.
When reading Triplanitary, it is important to remember that this book was written during a different era. Men and women have roles which tend to horrify a person raised in the 21st century. Furthermore, Doctor Smith's love story within the book seems somewhat contrived and childish. Time, too, is something Doctor Smith seems not to fully grasp. In the span of a few hours, his characters are able to construct massive space ships and discover here-to-for unknown technology.

Unfortunately, this audio book suffers most from a narrator that exaggerates the books weak love story. The narrator is adequate, but the characters he voices tend to sound the same and his women will make you cringe.


Again, this book is important as an example of the development of the science fiction Genre. Though it suffers from weak characters and an implausible timeline, it stands out for it's originality. Sadly, the narrator let's the story down perhaps further than what it deserves.

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