tvjames

ugh

Revisado: 03-19-25

I knew a plot twist was coming because every review on here talked about one. The book slowly plods towards an eventful and oh-so-conventient 20 seconds. You can't avoid time travel comparisons by making a joke about a Delorean and then inventing a confusing poorly explained mishmash for whatever this was, some sort of attempt at Looper meets (well, spoiler). I listened to the second to last chapter at 2x and jumped through the final chapter, so frustrated at the absolute opposite of a payoff.

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Over the top performance

Revisado: 01-15-24

After starting this book I came to realize that I absolutely prefer audiobooks over radio plays. This is a performance with multiple voice actors, lots of sound effects and a story that doesn't really hold up. This takes place in 2048. COVID2, er, "Cato" has come and gone and Amazon, er, I uh, I mean "Telos", has taken over large parts of the U.S. The antidote to Cato has mostly healed people, but in some people, it amplifies certain aspects (resistance to cold, or heat, or reduces their need for oxygen, or whatever). Our protagonist finds out some shocking information and immediately falls in with revolutionaries who are trying to take down Telos. The notion of revolutionaries should be a second shock to her, but it isn't. The first shock is apparently motivating enough for her to jump right on board. But that motivation doesn't feel well-explained. The revolutionaries have rules which they constantly break and it's all supposed to be within their near-police-state-like atmosphere where Telos can track your every move, except when it's not convenient. I'm perfectly fine with their being ways to subvert "the man" but you can't do that after explaining that's impossible to do so. I think that was just sloppy world-building. There's also things that feel more "2022" than "2048" - things that I think even today are more advanced than they're portrayed in the book (even though this was released in 2023), things like AI and types of means of securing buildings or computers, or the hackability of the very devices that are supposed to be tracking everyone. I am 75% done and I'm going to go to the end, but there's a lot to be annoyed by with this title. Fortunately, it was free.

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Not Time Travel

Revisado: 05-25-23

The first chapter is a rather compelling argument for suicide, which is what ends up happening at the end of the first chapter, after which Nora finds herself in a library full of books. All of the books, save on, are stories of other lives. She has (until she doesn't) the ability to explore the other lives she's simultaneously living in parallel universes. With the aid of the librarian, Nora Quantum Leaps her way into those lives finding out how different choices have led to other lives changes, big and small. I think this was recommended to me because I'm a fan of time travel, and this is not Time Travel. It's narrated really-well and the stories and vignettes are mostly interesting, but we've hit several points so far where it felt like we were approaching a resolution. Much like Nora's watch stuck on midnight, I feel like the countdown on this book is unchanging and I really don't understand the point or goal. It is interesting enough that I plan to see it through to the end, but I don't know how there's still possibly two hours left.

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Not fully baked

Revisado: 03-06-23

Felt like the plot moved along without any real conflict, jeopardy or risks to our characters. A super-secret "evil" organization full of good guys (who only rob from rich people and power companies apparently, but destroy a YMCA without sending an anonymous donation?). A utopian island where everything is free and everyone works for no pay for the greater good and the core leadership takes on a new member with only the lightest of vetting. I won't be continuing this series.

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Not sure why it's so well liked

Revisado: 02-03-23

It is an interesting premise, but I got tripped up pretty early on by four odd details:
(1) while on a Postmates delivery, he steals an Academy Award from someone. Sorry, but Postmates will rat you out to the authorities and they take that kind of theft seriously.
(2) An LAPD officer is referred to as an L.A. City cop.
(3) An LAPD officer attempts to write a citation on a freewat and the guy argues his way out of it by claiming they are inside Burbank city limits so it's not his jurisdiction when in fact a better argument would be that it's actually CHPs jurisdiction. (City police do have leeway, but it's rare for them to pull someone over on a freeway.)
(4) None of the houses he goes to have cameras of any kind? It seems like it's pretty common to have cameras these days.

It just felt really sloppy and lazy and I eventually just gave up. Bummer, because I had been pulling for the main character.

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Eh

Revisado: 01-08-23

I really enjoyed the first one and Wil Wheaton's narration adds so much, but I felt like the first book answered questions better. In this book, it felt like there were too many tangents to distract us from questions that ultimately couldn't be answered.

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Fun

Revisado: 03-14-22

This was fun. I look forward to hearing more of this series and learning more about this world.

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wish the world had ended

Revisado: 03-04-22

I decided to follow it through to the end, but it was a bit disappointing.

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It didn't have to be this confusing

Revisado: 02-15-22

Both of the main characters had names starting with W. I struggled to keep track of which one was which. It was unnecessary. They should have been given more distinct names.

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Why is this free?

Revisado: 12-07-21

I don't know why Audible is giving this away for free. Good story, amazing production and sound design. I'm not usually a fan of radio plays (sound effects, background noise) but this was really well done, even more impressive when you find the narrator is also the author. Quite a few funny bits, a very imaginative world. The ending felt rushed, but it was still a good read. Looking forward to inevitable sequels.

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