Gan

Many awkward stops and pauses

Revisado: 01-11-23

Good voice on narrator. But inattention by the audio editor makes this file unlistenable. Am wanting my credit refunded.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

My favorite SF series

Revisado: 07-14-22

Narrated to perfection! During 10-plus re-readings these past couple decaded, my mind's ear had heard a few names differenrly pronounced. I now revise them. The narration is perfect. Now to relisten to all five books start to finish.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

All that I'd hoped for.

Revisado: 06-17-22

My favorite author, his second best series of books (next to Cugel), narrated to perfection. I've reread this one uncounted times. Now I can listen that many again.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Goos story, too flatly narrated.

Revisado: 06-01-22

I likely would have enjoyed the story a great deal more if narated with less flat, machine-like cadence. Which may have been intentional for the main character, but carried through to all others as well.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A longtime favorite, perfectly narrated

Revisado: 03-05-22

Jack Vance has long been my favorite author. This series, The Demon Princes, is my most favorite among all his works, if which I own all. I began collecting JV titles first as out-of-print paperbacks, reading and re-reading the five Demon Princes books in particular untill the bindings began to decay.

I have lost count of the number of re-reads. Somewhere between 15 and 18. I like it that well. Not merely the plots and character developement, but also the kaleidoscopic breadth of its universe. Mainly, though, it is the unique motivations of each Demon Prince.

For not one of the villains is evil merely for evil's sake. Not one is a shallow archetype. Nor yet is the hero. At times, there seems little difference between hero and villain, something which troubles the hero himself, when he has time to consider the matter. Both hero and villians are given depth, more so in books 3-5 than in 1 and 2.

On obtaining a better paid job, I re-collected the series in hardcover, signed by Jack himself.

Now, at long last, I have enjoyed to hear it narrated, and by my favorite narrator, no less. Mr. Rudnicki's voice and intonation never fails to penetrate my mild loss of hearing (due, in part, to that job which paid so very well). I like to listen while driving to and from work. Never do I miss a word due to noise from tire noise or wind. Further, he conveys the gravity of every scene to an exacting degree.

Hardly can I wait for the whole series to be complete. While this one book, all by itself, I might rate at 4 of 5 stars, and the next book is some better yet, and books 3 through 5 are all-time classics, to be rated, in order, 6, 8, and 10 stars out of 5.

As an aerospace test engineer, I admit that math does not seem to work out. Nevertheless, I stand by those numbers.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Tragic Beginning of Epic Story

Revisado: 06-17-13

I had read this novel in print back sometime in the 90's and remembered it very well. I remembered also thinking that the first book started out slow and was almost insufferably tragic. But too, I also remembered that the story really took off and held me in thrall from about the last third of this first book and through also the second and third. I give the story itself only four stars only because I must reserve a five-star rating for certain other of Jack Vance's works (sadly none of his SF seems to be yet available as audiobooks).

In comparison to Jack Vance, I'd have to give almost any of Tolkien's works, and very particularly The Hobbit only a three or even a two-star rating. Why? Because in all of Tolkien's works the reader can almost always be certain that just when the going gets really hard for the hero, some wizard will just pop in out of nowhere to save the day, send a flock of eagles, or something. Vance never makes it so easy for any protagonist of his. Mainly they have to solve heir own problems.

Also I like for the female characters to have important roles. In much of Jack Vance's SF this is not so much the case (being written in the early 60's) but he does so in his later novels,of which this is one. The Elder Isles being an ancient, patriarchal society, their roles are suppressed. But still Jack allows for some to shine through, especially in the last book, Madouc.

Lastly let me praise this whole series for being extremely well read. The narrator could not have done better. As for the story itself...

Herein begins the Lyonesse Trilogy, a tale of greed, tragedy and revenge such as only Jack Vance could ever have written. It begins a bit slowly in the first chapter by setting the scene of the overall background, narrating the history of the Elder Isles in a way that I generally only skim over lightly when reading a book in print. Jack Vance does this, principally, to set the mood and motivations for certain of the characters, namely Suldren's father, the king. Just let those bits wash over you as there is no need to memorize any details. While the principal movers and shakers of this world of Vance's creation may be the kings and their machinations, the principal characters of the story are more the sort that any reader can personally identify with. Nevertheless, Jack Vance gives full characterization to all, so that the motivations of each make sense within their separate contexts. It is a full bodied story and doesn't take on the greater part of its overall scope until very nearly the end of this, the first book of three.

I'm sure the reader will enjoy this whole series, however apparently slow might be the beginning. From about a quarter of the way into the second book it will have become very clear that the first could not have been in any wise different. It serves as the foundation for what will forever be a timeless classic.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 11 personas