KJ

Good narrator, but didn’t like the story

Revisado: 09-09-23

Story was too ‘preachy.’ Would have been okay if these were better integrated into the plot, but there are so many times where the plot stops and brief sermons occur. Instead of progressing the story, these pulled be out of it. A rare DNF for me . I stayed in to chapter 10 but by then was bored, and just couldn’t continue. Regretting I waited to long to start this one so can’t ask for my credit back.

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Hits all the right marks!

Revisado: 08-30-23

Perfect blend of fantasy, SF, and romance! I would LOVE to see more like this. I love all of Susan Grant’s books, was surprised to see that I hadn’t given this one a review before as I’ve had it for years and relisten annually! The narrator does a great job, and not once takes me out of the story.

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Great narration, but the story…

Revisado: 04-26-22

I wouldn’t have guessed this is an Eloisa James novel! It’s ok, but not her usual standard. The characters are scattered at times, took me a good portion of the book to figure out which were the main characters. Even then, there is a lack of buildup to their relationship and I never saw any sparks. Too much of the secondary characters for at least the first half of the book.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Amazing as all her books! 5 stars for the story!

Revisado: 02-24-21

I was dying to know how Moning would wrap up this series although dreading seeing it end. This series has consumed me for years. I can’t explain just how much, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt a series so deep in my soul. Especially when it’s not my usual genre to read, and I find main characters almost as annoying as intriguing. Fascination with this series has led me to meet some fascinating people online and irl while having many, many discussions — a group of fans that can only be described as a tribe.

I just finished the audiobook and I’m satisfied. Of course not everything gets answered, but the key issues did. I’m happy that the story left some interesting possibilities open for Moning to write more in this ‘world’ with some new characters that I’d be happy to see again, if she so chooses. As always, the story takes your emotions on a rollercoaster ride that you don’t want to stop, even as you reach for a box of tissues.

As for the audio narration, it was ok. I did find some of Snow’s character voices a bit distracting that pulled me out of the story a few times (one that made me cringe). Cobb did better in the previous books, not sure why she changed fir this one. Also changed some pronunciations which pulled me out of the story and left me wondering what’s right. There were times it seemed both narrators were going a bit over the top on trying different accents inconsistently (didn’t flow naturally), but the story is so well written and compels the imagination enough that those hiccups in narration wham be pushed aside.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Good narration

Revisado: 12-14-19

The narrator is good. The story is most definitely NOT the Sanditon novel I read years ago and was hoping to find again. It’s still an ok story, but I wouldn’t call it great, and it doesn’t seem very Austen-ish at all.

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esto le resultó útil a 20 personas

Want my money back!

Revisado: 08-27-19

I REALLY hope this was written as a satire because I can't justify this one any other way. I kept listening because I was thinking it could only get better. Nope, proved me wrong. An happy ending is the only thing I liked about this story. It definitely tried to be funny but tried too hard and failed. OK, SOME parts may have been funny the first time around, but not the second or third, and definitely not the tenth. Found myself reaching for the skip forward option way too much -- I did restrain myself because I have this thing about finishing a story once I've started, but I regret it. I'll give the narrator points for being a decent narrator working with what can only be described as eye-rolling material.

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Please tell me this is a prequel!

Revisado: 06-21-19

I found the concept of the story very interesting! This short audio introduces us to the concept, but leaves unanswered questions of how and why that make me want a much longer story. We're given a glimpse into consequences and societal impacts of 'the issue' but again, just hints at more and bigger potential uses, misuses, effects, etc. I want more! Left my mind pondering way too long when I should have been sleeping.

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A solid start to this series.

Revisado: 03-25-19

(Drawback to reviewing an audiobook, have no idea how to spell many of the names and locations, so I apologize for misspellngs.)

Ethan is the leader of such a band of cyborgs, along with some like-minded humans and humanoid aliens. The story begins when he is approached by a client willing to pay a vast amount of money for Ethan’s business to find a new planet for his group to call home. The search must start immediately and involve all of Ethan’s ships. This will be enough money for the cyborgs to find their own home. It doesn’t take long to reach the fourth quadrant, where, after a few attempts at exploring different planets, Ethan’s group reaches the planet Dreshian, which seems perfect with it’s atmosphere and Earth-like environment. There are already some colonies there, but they are welcoming and there is enough space available to support new colonies.

Ethan and some of his group meet with the planet’s ruling council, who themselves are colonists from another world. Ethan also encounters a group of more primitive people known as the Athians, who are native to the planet. The Dreshanians discuss how welcoming the Athians have been and mostly accepting of the advanced technology that the Dreshanians introduced to the planet, although some Athians have chosen to follow their own primitive lifestyle.

I don’t want to give away too much of the story but from that point Ethan discovers all if not what is seems, as he finds himself drawn ever closer to a particular Athian and gets drawn into political, cultural, physical and emotional situations that he wasn’t expecting.

In general, I liked the idea of post-war cyborgs tired of war and wanting to find a home of their own off a devastated Earth. The idea of these cyborg funding their search by providing assistance to other groups wanting to move off Earth is also appealing.

I felt the opening was too fast and a little too incredible. Really, ALL ships are available to leave today? No calling in ships from other pursuits? No time necessary to stock supplies? No recalling crew from shore leave with families? And the time to reach a little-explored quadrant was only a couple of weeks – so close why wasn’t this area previously explored? (I can think of a few explanations, but none were given.) The story itself is a fun ‘read’ but I think aspects could have been expanded – more time for the hero and heroine to grow attached to each other for starters. As it is, the relationship was a bit rushed and a little too easy.

Finally, I found the narrator difficult to get used to. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and a number of British narrators, so I don’t think it’s the accent but not sure why.

Bottomline: I know this author is capable of more, so I expect further books in this series to be better. Had to do a lot of origin and world-building starting a new series, so it's not uncommon for the first book to leave me expecting more. Definitely worth giving more of the series a chance.

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Excellent! Worth every cent (or credit).

Revisado: 09-20-18

Skimming the other reviews, I expected a so-so audioboook experience. That was so wrong! I thoroughly loved every minute! I suspect a lot of listeners expected the same narrator used in previous books and were reacting to the change. Having recently listened to the previous 3 books back-to-back, I was quite familiar with the character voices, but didn't have any issues adapting to the new narrator. Sure, the voices for each character are different, but in every way equal to the previous narration. I think Saskia has an excellent range of voices, far better than a lot of narrators I've listened to (and I've listened to many, as I'm an audio-addict). As for the story itself, as always, Deborah Harkness has spun a fabulous tale. I didn't find it as action-packed as the original AST trilogy, but the writing is wonderful. Getting to know Marcus' backstory, learning how to be a vampire along with Phoebe, and watching Diana and Mathew develop as parents to fascinating twins that are having their own magical adventures is captivating. I was hooked before the end of chapter 1. I really appreciate that Saskia' narration doesn't get in the way of the story, but instead adds to the immersive experience. I found myself forgetting I was listening to an audiobook, instead feeling as if there's an actual movie playing in my mind. The combination of writing and narration was really that good. Equal to the previous audiobooks in the series.

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One of the best stories I've ever listened to!

Revisado: 04-01-17

Would you listen to Leviathan Wakes again? Why?

Yes. And listen many times more.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Leviathan Wakes?

How to pick from so many? I don't want to give spoilers, so I'll just say 'the end'.

Have you listened to any of Jefferson Mays’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this the first.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Makes me wide awake and looking for the next one.

Any additional comments?

I got this after seeing Season 1 of The Expanse series on SyFy. Amazes me how well the show follows the book, although naturally the book has more detail. I feel that I really understand the characters, their relationships, and motivations a LOT better.

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