Dianne

Not what I expected!

Revisado: 04-22-17

I was looking for some "light reading" before falling asleep. I chose "Perilous Waif" because I thought it would be a fun YA sci-fi, which it was, but it was much more. It had far more sexual content than I expected. I usually expect some teenage type fantasy so it was not a problem to start with, however the sheer volume of sexual innuendo was a bit too much. I am no prude, but there should be a warning somewhere that there is not only sexual content, but homosexual content to boot.

The story is not bad, and features a strong female lead character who occasionally falls into the day in distress weak female. The story would have been much improved by more fully developing the early part of the story where Alice is in the orphanage. Also Alice has most of her problems solved by "magical" tech that just happens to show up when she needs it. There are a number of secondary characters who could have been quite interesting and helped in the story development, but the author continually resorts to the near magical technology.

I reached the "gimme a break" point in the second book where after 28 chapters of Alice being an orphan, the idea that she is not an orphan after all was just a bit much. The author introduces a new character who fills in years of back story a number of times in the book which also becomes tiresome. So, in short, if I knew how thin the storyline was, how much sexual innuendo the author used to try to keep the reader interested, and the lack of character development, I would have given this book a pass. It's too bad really, this book had great potential but left me disappointed in so many ways.

My advice, save your credit!

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Teenage boy and his hormones

Revisado: 07-30-16

Would you try another book from Chris Philbrook and/or James Foster?

No, this is juvenile! It has an interesting premis but it's just a venue for the authors juvenile sexual fantasies.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not anything by this writer

Would you be willing to try another one of James Foster’s performances?

Yes! The only redeeming feature about this book is the narrator.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Tesser: A Dragon Among Us?

Tough call when it is so juvenile and genital centric.

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Pompous and boring!

Revisado: 03-25-16

Would you try another book from Jonathan Renshaw and/or Tim Gerard Reynolds?

No! The book was formulaic, dull, boring and predictable! If you really want to read a "gifted young man coming of age and saving the world" kind of story, read Harry Potter. I can guarantee you wil enjoy it much more than this book.

What could Jonathan Renshaw have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

A female character or two would have helped I'm sure, but this book has so much it is lacking that it's easier to just read a different book.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Pompous narration style, snooty British condescending sounding accent, irritating in the extreme.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Dawn of Wonder?

It's so predictable, and the author is clearly manipulating the reader, I would abandon trying to make this book enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

Save your credit, this book gets a pass.

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Excellent start to a new series!

Revisado: 03-18-16

What did you love best about Orphan X?

Gripping suspense never lets up, and characters are unpredictable.

What did you like best about this story?

The lead character is human, but an exceptional human in that he has abilities that have been finely honed since early childhood. The plot has twists and turns and what you think is the situation, often turns out to be something completely different.

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

This rates right up there with the best of his writing.

Any additional comments?

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm looking forward to more in the series.

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Disappointing

Revisado: 02-19-16

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I'm not sure anything could improve this book. The characters are very shallow, pompous, self interested and immature. They are not even remotely likeable or even interesting. The story is ho hum at best, and a real challenge to listen to. The narrator is pompous sounding as well. Maybe his voice and vocal inflections suit the characters but in combination, it makes the book even more unlike able.

What was most disappointing about Edward W. Robertson’s story?

The story was predictable and somewhat childish. I remember as a child doing "plays" with my friends. It was common for each of us "actors" to portray angry bossy characters. This book reminds me of those childhood days.

Would you be willing to try another one of Tim Gerard Reynolds’s performances?

I will avoid him at all costs!

What character would you cut from The Red Sea?

Dante!

Any additional comments?

I'm sorry I wasted a credit on this.

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formulaic writing matched by bad narration

Revisado: 02-06-16

What disappointed you about The Kill Switch?

The story was formulaic, predictable, implausible and amateurish. The situations were totally unbelievable! Imagine jumping off a train in the desolation of Siberia in winter with no injuries, finding your backpack as soon as you land and walking merrily to the next town in the middle of the night. Yet there is no problem with the cold, food, or other supplies. The character even has binoculars in his pocket. I imagine his snow shoes were in his purse! Talk about jumping the shark! Oh, and this all happens while he is being hunted by a sharpshooter who also jumped off the train carrying a rifle.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something by a writer who knows how to develop characters, as well as a story.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Scott Aiello?

Scott Aiello has a great voice, but he overacts to the point of melodrama.

What character would you cut from The Kill Switch?

All of them.

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Tim Curry Rocks!

Revisado: 01-18-16

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

Yes, I would recommend the whole series. It was a little dark so I would not recommend it for very young listeners, but for adults who enjoy fantasy, it's a definite yes. Tim Curry is one of the finest narrators I've ever listened to and I've listened to a lot of audio books. The only downside to the series, and the reason I did not give it five stars, is that the author seems to be a bit of a sexist. Every second scene has the female leading characters either wiping away a tear, having tears roll down their cheeks, or their eyes filling with tears. Really? It's 2016, can we finally allow women be strong characters without constantly demeaning them by having them burst into tears in every second scene?

What did you like best about this story?

Strong female characters (except for all the tears that the male characters never seem to be afflicted with). Mind you, from the other perspective, the male characters seem to have weaknesses that require them to be rescued by the female lead characters time after time.

Any additional comments?

Leave out the tears and it's a pretty darn good tale.

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Good murder mystery spoiled by bad narration

Revisado: 01-11-16

What did you like best about Angels Flight? What did you like least?

I like the Harry Bosch series. I guess that's evident by the fact that I'm reviewing book number 6 in the series. During the course of listening to this book I checked to see who narrated the next in the series because this would be my last if this narrator read any more in the series. In fact, I've even looked to see how much time was left to decide whether I could even finish listening to this book.

What did you like best about this story?

I like Harry Bosch! Michael Connelly has the ability of telling a story with enough twists and turns that there is little chance you can figure out "who done it" without listening to the very end

What didn’t you like about Peter Giles’s performance?

Peter Giles reminds me of listening to a teenager reading in class. His inflections are all pretentious and fake, and his reading voice is forced and unnatural.

Did Angels Flight inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me to listen to samples of every book in a series not just the first one.

Any additional comments?

Disappointed!

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Battle after boring battle

Revisado: 07-05-15

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This was an ok story but it could have easily been told in one or two books. The characters are not well developed. We have the good guys on one side and bad guys on the other. The bad guys are evil and have no humanity or redeeming features. As a reader you can't empathize with them or the way they became so evil. The good guys seem to be flawless except for their longing for "the simple life without great power". I put this in quotations because it's such a cliche. One other cliche that got really aggravating was the women characters bursting into tears on a regular basis. Please! This is really condescending to women. I wish writers would get over this fantasy that women can't be strong characters who don't need rescuing on a daily basis. The men in this story are all heroes and the women are all tears eyed damsels in distress!

What could David A. Wells have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

It would have been much better if there was more character development, and fewer battles. All the battles kind of smear together after a while and they are all the same.

Did Derek Perkins do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

He did a pretty fair job, it's not his fault the material wasn't great. His depiction of the female characters were kind of blah, but his dragons were great.

Was Reishi Adept worth the listening time?

No

Any additional comments?

Ho hum!

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Somewhat enjoyable series.

Revisado: 06-29-15

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

I wouldn't say the time was well spent on this series. It could have been a great series but...there were too many "she wiped away a tear". Tears filled her eyes", she fought back tears". Tears tears tears! Do men really think women are bursting into tears all of the time?
Other than this, there is an awful lot of repetition, sometimes a section is repeated almost word for word. Was the author not paying attention or did no one proof read the manuscript.
The characters were likeable enough. The author spends time developing a character and then moves on to the next one. Characters from earlier in the series undergo no more growth or development they become caricatures of themselves, one dimensional and boring.
The battle scenes are interchangeable. It's just your stock battle scene insert here, here, and here.
The main character seemed
D likeable at first, but by book six, even he has lost his personality. He makes stupid decisions to prolong the story when he could have ended the book much earlier. I have read up to and including book six and I will finish book seven just to see how the author ends the tale. That is if the characters all don't get bored and leave in search of a better tale to become involved in. I sure hope it has a good ending because it's been a long sloug.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

There are no endings so far.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

He could have skipped all the handkerchief scenes with the female characters, such a lot of crying females!

Was Blood of the Earth worth the listening time?

Not so sure, maybe after the series is over I can answer that. If it has a decent ending yes, but if book seven ends the way the others have, well the answer would have to be no.

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