E.

Slow to start, but ultimately epic space opera fun

Revisado: 07-26-16

It took me about 1/3 of this book to really get into it, but when I did I was hooked. It's a long, slow build. There are some memorable characters, including several strong female characters (always worth pointing out in sci-fi, since many books in the genre are pretty dude-centric!) The big "plot twist" (about 2/3 of the way through) definitely caught me off guard and leads the story in a very interesting direction. I always enjoy John Lee's narrations, though some of his "backwoods yokel" voices and womens' voices in this book are hilariously off the mark.

I started this book almost ready to return it because it was so slow, but by the end I eagerly bought the next in the series. Recommended for fans of Peter Watts and David Brin.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Disappointing mainly due to narrator

Revisado: 01-07-16

Interesting basis for a story, but I wasn't a fan of the writing style. I LOVED Bacigalupi's other recent books Water Knife and Windup Girl, but in comparison the characters and story in this book fell flat.

I think this was largely due to the narrator. He sounds very young and overly eager - like every sentence is from the final epic confrontation in a teen mystery novel. His voicing of female characters was particularly disappointing and one dimensional.

I still love Bacigalupi's stories, but I'll just tell myself this was his first book from when he was in his late teens (even though it's not) to rinse the bad taste from my mouth. Not recommended. Get Windup Girl instead!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Poorly written, disjointed and disappointing.

Revisado: 07-14-14

After listening to all ten Harry Hole books by Jo Nesbo, switching to this book was a huge disappointment. It's so poorly written! The grammar and syntax reminded me of a high school English class essay, or an author's first attempts at writing fiction. Any author who uses phrases like "it sort of looked like..." or "just about..." is clearly brain-dumping narrative ideas.

The characters were poorly developed - the relationships between the male lead Joss and his two love interests were such sexist tropes they made me want to chuck my phone out the window.

The narration was alright, not bad, but a bit breathless and over-dramatic.

I almost returned this book, but decided to finish listening and give it a chance. I enjoyed hearing about a few of the scientific/technical concepts such as "greenforming" and being persecuted for "eco-crimes," but I just could not get past the atrocious writing.

I realize that, ironically, my review is quite poorly written. Maybe Brian Herbert's style is rubbing off on me. Blech. Time for a well-written palate cleanser!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Engaging and wonderful, if a bit depressing.

Revisado: 01-02-13

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The performance by Jim Broadbent was wonderful, he really brought a great authority and kindness to the story. I listened to this book while going on several long walks around my neighborhood, which was a great way to really get into the story. I've been almost exclusively listening to science fiction and fantasy for the past year, but picked out this title based on Audible's recommendations. It did not disappoint!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Interesting concepts, disjointed story.

Revisado: 01-02-13

I enjoyed snippets of this book, but the overall plot line wandered and seemed forced. Card wrote this very early in his career, and it shows. The characters and concepts he introduces are strong but they don't hold together very well. I think the concepts would have worked better as a series of short stories about the world of Treason, rather than strung together as one narrative. I also thought the ending was unsatisfying and sort of cheesy. Great narration from Rudnicki as always, though! (Although my boyfriend had to stop listening because of Rudnicki's deep voice - his style certainly isn't for everyone!)

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Cheeseball narrator turned a ho-hum story annoying

Revisado: 11-21-12

The narrator's voice was too sing-song and dramatically forced for my taste, his female characters too breathy. Add one-dimensional characters "the skeptical politician," "the self-righteous arrogant rival captain," "the eager cadet" (times about fifteen), and this book amounted to a real disappointment. I've been looking for a good epic sci-fi series to sink my teeth into but I'm bailing on this series after the first book. I found myself eager for it to be over so I could get back to something with real substance beyond battle descriptions and inner monologues about whether endless war turns people cold. I hoped for more from this book, but it came up short. Back to wishing I was still newly discovering Alastair Reynolds.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

An improvement on the first book, more complex

Revisado: 11-19-12

This book is worth the listen purely for Jefferson Mays' reading of Avisarila, the aging Indian politician grandma who curses like a sailor. Add in more starship battles, evil alien plots, political intrigue and the search for a little lost girl, and it's popcorn sci-fi at its best.

While the first book swapped perspectives between two key characters, this book covers four perspectives, more widely variant. The way the stories are woven together keeps the book moving along while more convincingly delving into the ethics and motivations of each character.

Also mad props to Corey for writing convincing, engaging female characters, something I've found sorely lacking in many other sci-fi authors like Alastair Reynolds or Orson Scott Card. Gone is the cheesy manic-pixie-dream-girl-in-his-head from the first book of the series, and in her place there's a gigantic kickass curvaceous Polynesian marine wearing mechanized body armor. Yes please!

I'm eager for the next installment!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 14 personas

Just the right mix of characters, concepts, action

Revisado: 11-19-12

I've listened to dozens of different science fiction authors on Audible now and James S. A. Corey is on my top 5 list. Not for depth or particularly thoughtful writing, but for pure shoot-em-up romping fun. "The Expanse" series is excellent so far (I'm two books in). His character development is engaging, the technologies and political concepts are just "near future" enough to resonate very well, and I enjoyed his active, fast-paced writing style. Jefferson Mays delivers a great performance - he does enough to differentiate the characters' voices without sounding cheesy. My only complaint, echoed by Joshua in his review, is the "imagined girl in the character's head as plot device" trope, which got a bit old in the last third of the book. But otherwise this was a great fun medium-weight sci-fi story that had me hooked from start to finish. I blew through it in a week and instantly downloaded the next book in the series. Popcorn sci-fi!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Nice distraction, but nothing special.

Revisado: 11-06-12

Would you try another book from Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston and/or the narrators?

I enjoy Orson Scott Card's writing, but this book fell a bit flat for me. As the first in the series it included a lot of build-up but not as much interesting storytelling.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Entertaining, but the narrator is a bit flat.

Revisado: 12-27-11

Would you try another book from Jack McDevitt and/or Jennifer Van Dyck?

The story is compelling enough - starships, scientists, mysterious disappearances and holes in space time. McDevitt seems to be aiming for detailed character development, but instead the story falls a bit flat, with lots of exposition and irrelevant description.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Something about the narrator's voice was just a smidge off for my liking - the way she reads dialogue is a bit forced and lacking in believable emotion. It wasn't bad enough to turn me off the story, but it didn't draw me in the way other performances have. I suspect a slightly different narrative performance might have hooked me better.

Was Firebird worth the listening time?

All that said, it kept me intrigued and amused for the entirety of the performance. I was glad to listen, if only to pass the time.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña