michaelt

Better and better as it goes along

Revisado: 06-15-17

I had a hard time getting into this book initially, but it picks up pace quickly and gets interesting.

Humankind is under siege from the swarm, and daily battles decimate human forces, although Captain Granger seems to be able to defeat the incursion, albeit at tremendous, unsustainable cost. As the story progresses, though, the author reveals a much more intricate plot that quickly becomes interesting in a sort of Tom Clancy kind of way, and the pace of the story and the action increases right up until the end. Along the we way we get tantalizing glimpses into Granger's dreams of what happened to him when the Constitution was in the singularity. We also get some good old fashioned political conspiracy along the way, though I have to say the ending doesn't make the reader have any warm feelings towards the united earth president, even if she is working to save all of human kind from the swarm.

If you enjoyed the first book at all, you'll certainly enjoy this one, and will also want to read the third, concluding book to see how it all ends, and whether the swarm can actually be defeated, or negotiated with, or whether they have any good motivations at all.

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Space zombies, sort of

Revisado: 06-15-17

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

Well if you are a teenager, this book will probably appeal to you. If you're an adult, maybe not so much.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The story started out quite interesting, with a bit of a twist, in that nothing at all seems to have happened since the UFO landed. It quickly turned into a sort-of zombie romp, though with a sci fi twist.

What about Steve Carlson’s performance did you like?

It was just fine, no complaints

Could you see The Spaceship Next Door being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No, definitely not. We've got enough zombie stories to choose from already.

Any additional comments?

I didn't like the pseudo-apocalyptic feel of the last third of the book with all the death and destruction. I also found the ending to feel a bit forced. The author tried to turn everything into more or less a happy ending after all the zombie violence.

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Two amazing women working for peace in Palestine

Revisado: 07-22-16

What did you love best about An Improbable Friendship?

An amazing tale of friendship, but also of struggle. The history behind the characters and events is as impartial as possible. I was fascinated by the insights that Ruth provides into the psyche of Moshe Dayan, and I was also equally fascinated by the view of Arafat that Raymonda gives us. Such complicated men who were similar in so many ways!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Though the story is about Ruth and Raymonda, Raymonda captures the reader's attention the most. And this is appropriate as Ruth contacted Anthony David to tell this Raymonda's story and to help Raymonda continue her mission, that of promoting peace and understanding between peoples, particularly Israelis and Palestinians. But Ruth plays a prominent part of the narrative, and provides a counterpoint to the Palestinian point of view.

Which scene was your favorite?

I'm not sure you can describe scenes from a book like this as favorite. But there were some that were memorable. One was the poignant account of Raymonda returning to Acre to see the home she grew up in, which she assumed was now occupied by Jewish Israelis who claimed the various buildings abandoned by Arabs who fled for their lives during the conflict in 1948.

From the book: "It was only then that she realized that her childhood home had been turned into a museum of the bygone gilded 'Jewish life' in Acre. It wasn’t enough to steal the villa; the Israelis also stole her memories, her identity, her past. She followed the tourists like a phantom, silent and with her internal time bomb ticking away. On the whole, everything remained as it was, frozen in time: the spacious rooms furnished in the French style of the 1930s, chandeliers and mirrors with gilded golden frames of carved wooden flowers, the mirror itself spotted with age."

Yet she did not explode! But that experience helped me understand the reasons why the return of refugees is a major demand by Palestinians in peace negotiations. Something I had not really understood before.

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

This book is actually quite heartbreaking. Not so much for the personal tragedies that befell both Ruth and Raymonda, but because of the incredible lost opportunities for peace that Israeli leaders gave up through the years, especially right after 1967.

Any additional comments?

This book is, I believe, a fairly accurate retelling of certain historical events, as witnessed by Ruth and Raymonda from their respective points of view. The actors in this Israeli-Palestinian conflict are complex and both sides have acted in violence and bloodshed. Yet Moshe Dayan was not the blood-thirsty warmonger that many of Raymonda's friends and neighbors thought him to be. And Arafat was not the simple terrorist that Israel's government, especially Moshe Dayan and Ariel Sharon painted him out to be.This quote really stood out to me from near the end of the book: "Right-wing Israelis and the holy warriors of Hamas share the same fear: empathy."

The book serves a bit as a warning, I think, to what is yet to come in this conflict as the bloodshed is likely to worsen as Palestinians feel they have less and less to lose all the time. And the lessons in this book serve us well in America as tensions here rise over conflicts of race and ethnicity that empathy and humanization is essential. Indeed this is the mission of Raymonda Tawil, and also of Ruth Dayan.

Having Palestinian friends, I appreciate the accent that the narrator used when reading dialog spoken by Raymonda. I feel it captures accurately the accent and also the attitude and demeanor of Raymonda. I smiled the first time the accent was used in the narrative. Reminded me of dear friends.

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Fun time travel story

Revisado: 07-21-16

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably would be quite a fun read for the average 14-16 year old girl who has a bit of sci fi interest. The book is fairly clean except for one instance where the main character and her boyfriend touch each other in a very intimate fashion that parents may find suggestive and objectionable for young readers.

What did you like best about this story?

Enjoyed the twists and turns. Though the plot is familiar, and has been done countless times in sci fi, the twists the author brought to the story were pretty enjoyable. The story could be described in part as a psychological thriller as familiar people are not as they seem. I thought the author did a good job of describing how the world changed with the main character changed the past, and how she reacts to the changed characters and events. The plot has plenty of twists and turns.I found the ending rushed and less than satisfying, but actually this was the intent of the author. I can't say more without spoilers.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator probably would appeal to a 12-14 year old. I'm not sure but I think the narrator probably was a teenage girl. Sure sounded like one, even when reading the dialog from adult characters. Male characters were the worst. She used a ridiculous low tone voice that sounded like of like Jimbo from the Simpsons.

Was 15 Minutes: A YA Time Travel Thriller worth the listening time?

Mostly.

Any additional comments?

I hate present tense in books. Fortunately listening to first-person is more pleasant than reading it, despite the narrator.

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Amazing story

Revisado: 10-24-14

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

As I listened to this story, I had to remind myself that it wasn't just some tragic adventure story. It was real! Even knowing the outcome in advance, it was still gripping as I wondered how they would survive and what they would do next. The story is long, and a bit tiring, but well worth reading. Stories like this aren't told often anymore, and especially in such detail.

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Disappointing book

Revisado: 10-24-14

What would have made The Ringworld Throne better?

Less rishathra and more good story telling

What could Larry Niven have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Come up with a good plot, explore the ring world more, focus on the main characters.

What about Paul Michael Garcia’s performance did you like?

It was just fine. He's got more patience than I do to make it through this book, all while reading it aloud!

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really.

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