Eric Mesa

I thought like the author in high school; then I grew up

Revisado: 03-22-25

First, the performance was fantastic. The narrator does a great job in portraying the characters, and he takes pains to vary the rate of talking, tenor, and even the rhythm of his speech to portray characters. The result is a kaleidoscope of voices that give life to the story.

It has been said that the author makes the story and then invites readers to draw conclusions. If so, then I would say that the author does a great job. My conclusion is that the world that the author depicts is as impossible as any fantasy story. It’s a world without the beautiful or the magical- it only has the cold logic of the useful. Even desirable things are only there because they have some form of utility. Toughness is the most valuable commodity, and all other values are subject to loyalty. In that sense, I’d argue that the author’s story holds a far lower value to humanity than it ought, and all of their value judgments are incomplete, and wrong, because of that.

I find the author’s work rather flabby and silly as a political ideology- just another argument in defense of fascism. That’s not even worth consideration. But the thing I learned the most from is how tight margins make science fiction a caricature of reality. His writing is undoubtedly one-dimensional; it lacks the depth of unpredictability that our chaotic world has. Everything, even things going wrong, follow a predetermined pattern that is meant to benefit the characters. Real problems- the imposition of the universe on any given plan- are conveniently abolished, giving a railroad-track style plot.

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SO BAD

Revisado: 03-20-25

I don’t want to spend too much time on this review, because there’s no point in throwing a rock at a sinking ship. The writer had no sense of style, no idea how the military works, and no originality. This is a cookie-cutter thriller story that is little more than an excuse for blatant sexism while taking turns in the plot that’s so predictable that toy train sets could take notes. Acting was terrible.

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Great story, great performance.

Revisado: 03-11-25

This was a fantastic story. My girlfriend referred me, and I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy it. But the story was so interesting and engaging. Not just about horses at all, but the story sheds light on a cornucopia of themes, from personal conduct to the importance of avoiding political fanaticism. The narrator was pretty good. I believe that his portrayal of characters is better than most, but occasionally his portrayals blend into each other and become a bit exaggerated. All the same, ill be listening to this again.

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Wonderful

Revisado: 12-13-24

Tim Curry gives a wonderful reading of the classic story. Honestly, I don’t really know what else I might add to that. I enjoyed it immensely, and I highly recommend it, especially around Christmas time.

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Must-hear audiobook

Revisado: 09-20-24

This story was tragic and gut-wrenching, but also beautiful and heartbreaking. I don’t think anyone should go without a story like this, that cuts you to the core.

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Trying too hard.

Revisado: 09-16-24

There was just too much attempted in this book. The author was trying way too hard to sound clever and put his sociology degree to work.

What I learned from this book is that immersion, when done correctly, doesn’t call attention to itself. But when overdone, it pops like a bubble and leaves the reader yawning.

Plot was disparate and chaotic. Social references were either ham-handed or completely inaccurate takes (for instance, one character compares himself to Jean Valjean of Les Misérables by virtue of having done time in jail- a superficial comparison at best. This reader is convinced that the author has never been around or seriously studied Amish or Mennonite culture after hearing his description of them.

In the end it was just too big a turd for the actors to polish. Brendan Fraser did well, but shame on you Brendan for using profanity! You shone like a wholesome diamond throughout my childhood. You didn’t need to swear; you are better without it.

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I really like it

Revisado: 08-28-24

This seems like a relevant and interesting topic, and I learned a lot from it. I don’t agree with every point the author makes, but I do appreciate the thoroughness and hard work that she put in to make this book. Delivery was great. I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles with feelings of self doubt and inadequacy- though I would encourage them to also dive deeper than the book.

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This audiobook is bad, and the author should feel bad.

Revisado: 08-27-24

I picked up this audiobook for a historical and perhaps social and cultural analysis of last stands throughout history. I was bitterly disappointed.

First and foremost, the author insisted on making ridiculous and highly biased comments on current social issues. He refers to “social justice warriors”, “toxic masculinity”, and “political correctness” in such an infuriating manner that I was tempted to give up on the narrative completely. He claims that warfare is a “celebration of masculinity”- pretty bold statement for a man who has never served. Like all armchair quarterbacks, he takes on a distorted and perverse view on the subject of self-sacrifice, and then sets up straw man arguments about anything he feels like as if I asked his opinion. I’m not entirely against his way of thinking in some issues, but his connection between his comments and the history that I bought the book to hear about is sketchy at best.

The history itself was okay- just okay. He could have done a better job bringing up lesser-known last stands among other cultures, instead of making a portrayal of Judeo-Christian/Classical cultures against barbarians and monsters. In the end, though, I suppose that’s up to the author’s biases to decide- since the author himself lacked the courage to rise above them.

All in all, the book might be worth listening to again, if it weren’t for moronic statements like, “can a last stand be politically incorrect?”, and his whole rhapsody about himself (the warrior that he never was) being a “loner because I was brought up that way”. His analysis of Iraq and Afghanistan is fundamentally flawed, and I don’t have the time and gummy bears to get into it. And counter to the author’s argument, there was nothing heroic or poetic about Custer or his death. But such are the ranting of a man who never served. In the end I’m grateful that he never served, though- I imagine he would have ‘knocked out a drill sergeant’, like all braggarts who never enlist so boldly claim.

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Awful

Revisado: 08-12-24

I had high hopes that a star-studded cast could deliver a fresh interpretation of a classic story. But I was left with only disappointment. The story itself was so badly written- taking the brilliance of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work and reducing it to little more than a Fast-and-Furious-esque storyline that was so vapid and banal that it didn’t even merit listening through to the end? Do I have an idea of where the storyline will progress? Partially; the balance of hero, villain, and MacGuffin are so plain that there are only a few believable possibilities. Yet my interest is so feeble in the story that I can’t even bother enough to give my thoughts a definite form.

The actors were good- I think Phil LaMarr deserves special credit for his performance. But good actors can’t be expected to keep a bad production afloat. In the end, it wasn’t how the characters were being portrayed but what they were being portrayed as, that caused such poor quality.

I have a rule for writers who intend to take an existing character in a unique direction- if you can’t make a good story without twisting a character into an unrecognizable figure, then you’re better off just writing a unique character. And I think if the writer had done that, then I might have enjoyed it more. Alas, Sherlock is a victim of hero deconstruction and Moriarty is- well, twisted by moral relativism into a confusing and overly-complicated mass. Nothing in the story is less entertaining than that.

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Wonderful and Terrifying

Revisado: 08-09-24

Like the other books in his series, Elie Wiesel takes a deep and haunting look into the meaning of life and suffering. George Guidall does an incredible job bringing the story to life.

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