VTP

Half a King is Not Half a Book!

Revisado: 12-10-19

I liked it. I've read all the Abercrombie books, I avoided this one because of the reviews hating on the narrator, John Keating. I love a Pacey narrated book, so it put me off, reading all the dis on Keating. I get some of the criticism: someone speaks in a deep rumbling voice, and it comes out a tenor. Well, we don't all have the capacity to do a bass voice, nomesayin'?

I liked the narration, over all, and the story was very good. There's a lot less grim in this grimdark novel, but it was well told and engaging. There's no Glokta types, but we get a little B9 in the character Nothing. The others were interesting and you get to caring about them all.

I have a saying: any beer is better'n no beer. Now I'm saying, any Abercrombie's better'n no Abercrombie.

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The Name of this Wind is Gas

Revisado: 12-12-18

All the other one star reviews have said it all. I felt obligated to join the ranks. I'm returning this one.

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It won't be you who wakes up naked in bed!

Revisado: 02-28-18

The Dispatcher is pretty diverting story with a strange premise. When people are murdered, they disappear and reappear alive and "reset" in the place they feel safest. That'd be cool.

However, this idea was ruined for me by a famous writer of sci-fi who warns that when something like being transported Star Trek style (and probably this) happens to you, YOU aren't the person who gets reassembled. The new soul thinks s/he's the same, but s/he isn't.

You can go ahead and risk it when this kind of travel becomes available. I guess I'm stuck with regular forms of transport.

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Someone should have gleaned this book.

Revisado: 12-01-17

This is a YA novel, obviously intended for the Hunger Games crowd. THG was far better. It also has problems with its premise, but didn't feel like so much disbelief had to be suspended as with this one. The basic premise is intriguing, but fraught with difficulty to pull off. Shusterman didn't.

Execution was poor and full of holes. There are too many obvious ways to control population without resorting to "gleaning" even in this world. Splatters? Leave them dead after the second offense. Birth control? There're no obvious moral or religious objection in this society, but it isn't even suggested. Abortion? Nope. People are allowed to live for centuries and reset to youth over and over and have as many children as they want? Silly AI....

Is it necessary for the apprentices to train to be ninjas? Is ninja training simply de rigueur for these books? No one is allowed to fight back or their families are gleaned. There's no reason to have more than one method of killing. There's no need to train extensively in martial arts or with obscure weapons. Having armories with every conceivable type of weapon seems simply to alleviate the Scythes boredom with killing too many people the same way.

Some plausible reason for the necessity of having a social caste organized around culling the herd should have been given. It is also a stretch that they would be accepted as anything but outcasts, much less as celebrities. Scythe trading cards? Red carpet treatment? Yikes!

Also, the rogue Scythe group performing obvious acts of terrorism are allowed to continue unchallenged except by a 17 yo boy. I can't see any organization based on a moral code such as the Scythes' allowing mass executions by flame thrower, katana, machinegun, etc. with only a few members condemning their actions and motives. The rest are OK with it?

There's a lot more. Don't get me started on why two upright morally fit young people who are so opposed to becoming Scythe apprentices become believers so readily.

Narration was competent, but the material too ludicrous to sound anything but hokey. Not your fault, but .....sorry. 3 stars is being generous. I got this on the Daily Deal, so I'm not mad I wasted a credit. And I did listen to the whole thing, partly because I'm profoundly cheap and need to wring every penny's worth out, but also because it was something of a train wreck and I was compelled to look.

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esto le resultó útil a 15 personas

It's not a Jabberwocky, you nit!

Revisado: 09-27-17

Pretty good. There are a few other dark interpretations of the Alice story, such as a video game from the earlier days of gaming. The performance was fine, the story entertaining, but it bothered me that Alice kept calling the Jabberwock the Jabberwocky. In the spirit of the novel, where everything is explained, Jabberwocky is the title of the poem, meaning something like "Concerning the Jabberwock". Small thing, but irritating. The book was on sale, so I'm satisfied.

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What we all look for in an audio book

Revisado: 03-07-17

Very few books make me laugh out loud. This one did a few times. DC Smith is his own man and he does it his way. The story is good, the characters are honest, and the narration is stellar, Nicely done! I'm in.

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Bad Country for Old Men, Women, and Dogs

Revisado: 02-08-16

There’s a fair mix of reviews here on Audible. Apparently you’re going to love this book or hate it. Many have a problem with the lack of lightness and humor. I dunno. There’s some humor. It’s dark humor, I grant you. I laughed out loud a couple of times, which is rare for me.

Some complain about the darkness and the squalor and the bleakness of the character’s lives. What’s not to understand? What do you think the author is trying to tell you when he titles his novel like he did? I think you should kinda know what you’re in for when you pick a book called “Bad Country”, or is it just me that thought it might not end well from the get-go?

I found this book a good effort in the “No Country for Old Men” style. Yup. Bleak. Sordid. Desperate. Dark. People scratching out a living in a desperate location. If you call it living. There’s ugliness and greed and despair and depravity, in spades .A bunch don’t make it out alive. That’s bad country, all right.

I thought the writing was fine for this style of whodunnit. The narrator’s performance was better than good, but not awesome. Gun nuts are going to find nit-picky problems with some of the firearm related descriptions. Maybe rodeo nuts will find issues with rodeo related descriptions. It's not that important. This isn't rocket science, it's a detective novel.

Lots of listeners like this book and want more. I agree. I'm looking forward to a sequel. If this kind of story is not for you, though, you’ll want to pick something else.

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2nd time around

Revisado: 10-30-15

I liked this story alright the first time I listened to it, and was out of books and needed a listen, so I started "Vicious Circle" for the second time. This is a few years later, and I now know the narrator from other books, esp "Mistborn" and "The Way of Kings". More about that later.

The story is fine, a bit long, and keeps your interest with twists and turns, interesting characters, and some good humor. All is well, but.....

The problem is Michael Kramer. His "British" accents are.....not good. OK, horrible. Sorry, all you who love him, but I'm thinking they need a real Brit to get the story right. What? They did get one? Hallelujah.

I can't listen to any more accent butchery. OK, I'm spoiled. I have since listened to some terrific Brit narrators like Stephen Pacey, Simon Vance, etc. whose talent would have catapulted this series into the stratosphere! I'm skipping #3 and going in for #4 with a real Brit.

I'm just sayin'.

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Clint Eastwood meets the Electronic Zombies

Revisado: 08-27-15

I did not feel that I completely wasted my time on this audio book. It had moments where The Man With No Name (just a number) gets into some interesting complications. Three: Legends of the etc., gets threes (heh!) overall, because there are these moments, and the performance is all right with some excruciating exceptions.

As hinted above, Three is a cliche. Over-the-top-anti-heroic, stoic, and nearly mute, Three saves the child and gets the job done, no matter the odds, no matter the cost. Over and over. And over.

The narration bothered me when the narrator spoke like a small child, a squeaky-voiced woman, or Grampa McCoy. You can get used to anything if you persevere.....

Anyway, this one takes a bit of patience and a willingness to accept a comic book hero in a comic book setting with a comic book story. I've stuck through worse. I got it on sale, but would have returned it if I'd used a credit.

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The Best I've Encountered in the Genre

Revisado: 08-27-15

For a Zombie Apocalypse novel, this one shines. Thoughtful, original, well written, well narrated, and all-around entertaining. You aren't easily going to find a zombie novel better than this interesting take on the way it could happen. The author and the narrator have both excelled at their jobs by producing an audio book that is definitely worth the time investment.

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