D. Berzack

Spastic, disjointed trash

Revisado: 05-01-25

I've obviously been reading DCC since book 1. I was really looking forward to this book as a culmination of a lot of what's been building up. It isn't that. It's just a mess.

DCC has always been chaotic and irreverent. It progressed from a fairly straightforward scenario (guy and cat get thrown into a deadly alien video game and overcome challenges with awesome power-ups) to a really complicated game world and intergalactic political landscape. That isn't in itself bad. But with all that complexity, Dinniman isn't focused on making a coherent story of it. He seems much more interested in injecting random chaos at every moment than maintaining a cohesive narrative or following the thread of what's been set up before.

It's 100% shock value, irreverence and special effects.

This book is deeply self-gratifying. I'm sure he's enjoying writing this stuff, with his idea clear in his own head and a license for freewheeling creativity. And there may be a type of reader that might enjoy frantically jumping between random explosions and obscene, irreverent gags. But by any conventional notion of literature, this is hot garbage. Dinniman's lack of skill and art in writing becomes more and more evident. It feels like with his rise to independent popularity, he has far too much access to recreational drugs and far too little editorial oversight. Just my guess.

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Decent into material, but basic and repetitive

Revisado: 12-13-24

if you're new to Stoicism, this is a basic introduction. otherwise, it's not very insightful, fresh or intelligent.

in a nutshell, you should frame setbacks as challenges by fate to test your resilience. Doing so helps for a happier and more effective mind state. That's it. That's what this book offers.

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Not a plan. Just a rant and some general advice

Revisado: 11-19-24

This book doesn't provide detailed information or advice. It provides stories about patients' and families' suffering, a lot of ranting about the medical system, and the most general of advice. In a nutshell: you should consider preferences for end of life care, communicate and document those clearly for the people who will deal with it when the patient can't make competent decisions. That's about it.

As for the performance, the book is self-narrated, and that seems a good decision. Volandes delivers the message with frankness and earnest emotion.

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Tired, lifeless ramblings

Revisado: 10-31-24

This book is like getting life advice and stories at Grandpa's knee. Only instead of being a wide-eyed five-year-old, you're a grown adult. And instead of the warm, familiar voice of a beloved elder, it's delivered by an early text-to-speech algorithm. Seriously, this narrator has less emotion and color than an average AI reader.

The content is a series of the most generic, long-winded life coach pep talks, peppered with uninspiring personal anecdotes. There's nothing of substance about music theory, production or composition. There's no specific advice on creative process. There's no meaningful insight into the work or thinking of a musical genius. I can't remember when I last read something this pointless and poorly rendered.

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Mediocre gay romance in space

Revisado: 08-27-24

This is very middle of the road sci fi. Some fresh ideas and interesting twists, but ultimately not especially exciting, fulfilling or memorable. i suspect it gets more positive reviews because it plays to the gay thing. that aside, this is not a 4-5 star book. but it's not a 1-2 either. it really is decidedly mediocre.

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Garbage

Revisado: 08-15-24

I tried to listen to this. Twice. The writing is stilted and stodgy, like much run of the mill Sci Fi. And the narration is especially annoying. if you're familiar with how humans or their emotional expression works, you may lose your patience with this.

The premise is interesting, but also far-fetched and more fantastical than it lets on. And it progresses soooooo slowly. Honestly, I'm just annoyed with myself for forgetting what sucked about this the first time and wasting a few hours again.

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Not great

Revisado: 02-17-24

It paints the colonialist hellscape pastiche, but the whole experience feels detached and distant, and the characters are remarkably two dimensional, even cartoonish. I assume people acclaim this book because it's an important story to tell. It just isn't told well.

i revile colonialism, Christianity and Divine Manifesto as much as the next guy, but if you're trying to present a realistic and moralistic picture of colonial Africa, you can't just brush aside the native African routine of tribal warfare, slavery, rape and infanticide that long predate the arrival of White people and wave it away in two vague sentences.

Of course this is an unpleasant book to read. it's supposed to be. But heavy stuff like this demands more depth and intellectual merit than Kingsolver can apparently muster. This isn't worth the slog.

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Decent enough... but stuffy, and forgettable

Revisado: 11-30-23

The writing style is pleasant enough, but as many have mentioned, the content mostly centers around the ins and outs of posh society. It's intelligent, artful writing, and engaging enough to enjoy while working on cleaning the house and sewing. But after spending over 30 hours with this, I can barely remember what happened, and it certainly didn't leave me with any striking impression.

I came to this after reading Piranesi, one of the most remarkable and unique books I've ever read. I would strongly recommend that one. This one is really a solid three stars; perfectly mediocre.

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A very unique, surreal story

Revisado: 10-15-23

This book is beautiful, poetic, strange, and quite unlike anything else I've ever read. I can understand why some don't like it, but I really love it as a remarkably fresh piece of literature.

The narration is pleasant and stately. No complaints. But I like it when the narrator "does the voices", imparting character and life to the figures, and he reads all the dialogue in the same voice. Maybe that preserves the stately, mythic tone of the book, but I think it's a missed opportunity to enrich the telling.

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A children's war story

Revisado: 08-20-23

This is a vibrant tale, packed with rich, colorful characters. And the full cast narration really brings it to life. It belongs in the top ranks of classic kid lit, alongside Peter Pan and Narnia.

it is essentially an Arthurian-esque legend played by woodland creatures. It is grim. There's lots of death, and the baddies are properly dark. But it isn't terribly scary because the sense of immediate danger never persists more than a few tense moments. I really appreciate the depth of the characters. The villains are evil in different, interesting ways and the heroes have various moral faults as well, and there are lots of characters in the middle.

I enjoyed it, and will be handing this over to my precocious seven year old without reservation.

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