Arseny
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The Lincoln Highway
- A Read with Jenna Pick (A Novel)
- De: Amor Towles
- Narrado por: Edoardo Ballerini, Marin Ireland, Dion Graham
- Duración: 16 h y 39 m
- Versión completa
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In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett's intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden's car.
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I'm totally opposite
- De Meaghan Bynum en 10-10-21
- The Lincoln Highway
- A Read with Jenna Pick (A Novel)
- De: Amor Towles
- Narrado por: Edoardo Ballerini, Marin Ireland, Dion Graham
Clever, Wise, Indulgent
Revisado: 02-23-25
The book is a strange mix of clever writing tricks and witticisms, a meandering plot, indulgent asides, and genuine gems of wisdom.
Characters are distinct but at times too stupid to be believable (not just Woolly whose defining trait is being dull).
As an example, let's say, without spoilers, that there is a scene where the group of main characters ruins a collection of obviously valuable things, apparently not realizing the consequences. It's an equivalent of using paper dollar bills for starting a fire when there's plenty of blank paper available. A six-year-old might make such a mistake, but when most are nearly 18? I don't believe it.
The author stuck the landing, however, so there's that. I don't regret reading the book, but much of it was a slog.
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Martian Time-Slip
- De: Philip K. Dick
- Narrado por: Jeff Cummings
- Duración: 9 h y 45 m
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On an arid Mars, local bigwigs compete with Earth-bound interlopers to buy up land before the Un develops it and its value skyrockets. Martian Union leader Arnie Kott has an ace up his sleeve, though: an autistic boy named Manfred who seems to have the ability to see the future. In the hopes of gaining an advantage on a Martian real estate deal, powerful people force Manfred to send them into the future, where they can learn about development plans.
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Autism, schizophrenia, and Martians
- De Darwin8u en 01-22-17
- Martian Time-Slip
- De: Philip K. Dick
- Narrado por: Jeff Cummings
PKD at his best.
Revisado: 05-25-24
Classic PKD with a trademark blend of reality and unreality. Great performance by the narrator as well.
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Stoner
- De: John Williams
- Narrado por: Robin Field
- Duración: 9 h y 46 m
- Versión completa
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William Stoner is born at the end of the 19th century into a dirt-poor Missouri farming family. Sent to the state university to study agronomy, he instead falls in love with English literature and embraces a scholar's life, far different from the hardscrabble existence he has known. And yet as the years pass, Stoner encounters a succession of disappointments.
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A story of sadness and serenity
- De Anton en 10-13-12
- Stoner
- De: John Williams
- Narrado por: Robin Field
Caught me off guard
Revisado: 05-12-24
Something bout his book strikes hard, perhaps because in some ways I can relate to the main character so much. Some of his life choices and some other characters' behaviors might seem grotesque today, but somehow they still remain believable in the universe of the book.
A very worthy read that makes you stop and reassess where you are in life.
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His Master's Voice
- De: Stanislaw Lem
- Narrado por: Nick Sullivan
- Duración: 9 h y 17 m
- Versión completa
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A witty and inventive satire of "men of science" and their thinking, as a team of scientists races to decode a mysterious message from space. "I had the feeling that I was standing at the cradle of a new mythology. A last will and testament...we as the posthumous heirs of Them...."
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Excelent and entertaining
- De Jakub en 01-10-12
- His Master's Voice
- De: Stanislaw Lem
- Narrado por: Nick Sullivan
Thought >>> Plot, in a good way
Revisado: 05-12-24
Definitely more of a thoughtful book, with a tour de force exploration of a wide range of problems in ethics, philosophy, and antropology, and methodology of science.
Still it has enough plot to keep going without turning into a textbook or a series of lecturs on these subjects.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I think the ending could have been a bit stronger.
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The Eye of the World
- Book One of The Wheel of Time
- De: Robert Jordan
- Narrado por: Rosamund Pike
- Duración: 32 h y 55 m
- Versión completa
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Moiraine Damodred arrives in Emond’s Field on a quest to find the one prophesized to stand against The Dark One, a malicious entity sowing the seeds of chaos and destruction. When a vicious band of half men, half beasts invade the village seeking their master’s enemy, Moiraine persuades Rand al’Thor and his friends to leave their home and enter a larger unimaginable world filled with dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.
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A fresh take on a classic
- De Sarazeen Saif Ahana en 11-18-21
- The Eye of the World
- Book One of The Wheel of Time
- De: Robert Jordan
- Narrado por: Rosamund Pike
Okay story and narration, mostly strong writing
Revisado: 03-15-22
The story is very engaging and gripping, but so far(one book in)-somewhat shallow. I know LoTR quite well, and I knew WOT will have similarities, but the extent of similarities was striking. Not only the plotpoints and the general arc (a group of quiet farm friends discovers that they are being searched by the dark one, as one of them holds the key to his power, are helped by a mage (Moreine/gendalf) and a strider (warden/Aragorn)), but more subtle things too.
I think the overall arc similarity is fine, what irritated me were the subtle things that were also copied. The dark lord's ability to seek with his mind's eye, search for the chosen one, and the chosen one's mental struggle against the dark lord. The ways in which Gendalf/Moraine rely on intuition and kind of let the things flow, trusting the fate. The way in which they describe that attitude is very specific and very similar. I am fine with the author copying the broad concept and giving it a new spin, but it felt a little lazy when the subtle detail of "the chosen one"'s emotional struggles and shades of other key characters' personalities were copied too.
I liked the prose, and generally the writing is quite strong, for the most part. My only ununtended chuckle was when one of the characters was unironically compared to an onion (because he's deep and has layers).
Narration is... ambivalent. On the one hand, the narrator does put her heart into her work. Her shouts and battle cries were somewhat moving the first time I heard them, but became very annoying or comical upon repetition. Especially the "nooooo"s. Also these are just way too loud.
Another minor issue was that some of the characters blend together voice-wise, but it's not too bad, and 95% of the time I was able to keep track without too much effort.
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Frankenstein
- De: Mary Shelley
- Narrado por: Jamie Bell
- Duración: 8 h y 10 m
- Versión completa
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In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris and horror.
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Classic with Great Narration
- De Amazon Customer en 09-12-23
- Frankenstein
- De: Mary Shelley
- Narrado por: Jamie Bell
Classic in a slightly overzealous rendition
Revisado: 12-16-21
I loved the book. Since childhood, I mistakenly associated the name "Frankenstein" with a generic monster-vampire entertainment story, and I was glad to discover that the story is much more nuanced than I expected.
The narration is a bit too dramatic at times, for my taste, but overall it's a great performance.
Back to the book itself. It is a classic for a reason, it is beautifully written and is highly engaging. The story is of great historical significance too, as, essentially, the first book in the science fiction genre.
I have found a few story elements a bit contrived, however. Some of the protagonist's decisions, unfortunately, felt like stemming the need to move the plot forward, rather than being a natural consequence of the character himself.
Examples of that (with mild spoilers) below.
One such example is when the protagonist does not reveal his discovery to anyone out of fear of being ridiculed as a madman, even when such reveal could have saved a person. He could have clearly demonstrated the truthfulness of his words by replicating his result on small, harmless scale (the book states that he's done so many times in the past).
Secondly, the fact that the protagonist could not see through the meaning behind the monster's main threat is incomprehensible.
**Slightly stronger spoiler below**
Lastly, the line of reasoning for refusing the monster's demand is flawed on many levels. Most obviously, he could have easily prevented the danger of monsters overtaking the earth by making them infertile.
Overall, the story is a work of great imagination, but there are a few rough spots in the plot & in maintaining the tension, at times.
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The End of Eternity
- De: Isaac Asimov
- Narrado por: Jon Lindstrom
- Duración: 8 h y 48 m
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The Eternals, the ruling class of the Future, had the power of life and death not only over every human being but over the very centuries into which they were born. Past, Present, and Future could be created or destroyed at will. You had to be special to become an Eternal. Andrew Harlan was special. Until he committed the one unforgivable sin - falling in love. Eternals weren’t supposed to have feelings. But Andrew could not deny the sensations that were struggling within him. He knew he could not keep this secret forever. And so he began to plan his escape.
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Amazing story. Audio quality could be better.
- De NM en 09-02-20
- The End of Eternity
- De: Isaac Asimov
- Narrado por: Jon Lindstrom
As epic as the name suggests
Revisado: 10-14-21
I've previously read and enjoyed many other Asimov's works. This one did not become an exception. As always, using a brush of a captivating personal story, Asimov is painting a magnificent cosmic-scale landscape in space and time.
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Ubik
- De: Philip K. Dick
- Narrado por: Luke Daniels
- Duración: 7 h y 56 m
- Versión completa
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Glen Runciter runs a lucrative business - deploying his teams of anti-psychics to corporate clients who want privacy and security from psychic spies. But when he and his top team are ambushed by a rival, he is gravely injured and placed in "half-life," a dreamlike state of suspended animation. Soon, though, the surviving members of the team begin experiencing some strange phenomena, such as Runciter's face appearing on coins and the world seeming to move backward in time.
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Holy sh*t
- De Amazon Customer en 03-17-17
- Ubik
- De: Philip K. Dick
- Narrado por: Luke Daniels
A work of genius
Revisado: 07-20-21
The story is a masterpiece. It's enjoyable as a puzzle or a mosaic of a kind and as a bizarre brainchild of unrestrained creativity, a true work of art.
I would imagine it's not everybody's cup of tea. If you have low tolerance to uncertainty-don't pick up the book. That being said, it's not a meaningless acid trip, neither it is a bunch of "unrelated plot lines". It is a complete story, reasonably structured.
The narrator did a great job of making all of the characters feel alive and recognizeable.
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Dune
- De: Frank Herbert
- Narrado por: Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, y otros
- Duración: 21 h y 2 m
- Versión completa
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Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Maud'dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
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This classic deserves better
- De Matthew Salvo en 07-01-21
Lived up to its praise
Revisado: 07-18-21
The book lived up to its reputation of an all-time classic. After reading a few reviews I was worried that this would be a dry political piece with no emotion, sluggish pacing, and incomprehensible narration.
For half a book I braced myself for a political slog or terrible narration that were supposed to come, but they never did.
It's a great book, with a detailed, believable, captivating world, full of engaging characters. The book recording is also of high quality.
Politics are involved, but (in my view) as a plot mechanism and an element of any realistic world, but not politics for the sake of enjoying politics.
Overall, I highly recommend this book and the recording.
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The Left Hand of Darkness
- De: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrado por: George Guidall
- Duración: 9 h y 39 m
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A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can change their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters. Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement.
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Almost 50 and still amazing
- De kwdayboise (Kim Day) en 06-07-17
- The Left Hand of Darkness
- De: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrado por: George Guidall
Expected more from a sci-fi "classic"
Revisado: 07-13-21
It's been a while since I struggled so much to finish a book. A few times I was ready to give up, but went forward. I even tried switching to a printed version, but it made little difference.
A good chunk of the book describes an arduous journey through harsh weather. It was my favorite part. Maybe the slog pace of the first half of the novel is a metaphor for how the characters feel during their journey later.
The setting is interesting: a planet filled with hermaphrodite humans. I expected to have some mind-blowing insights about how it would affect society. Unfortunately, it never went beyond "since there is no man-woman distinction, there is equality". Maybe it was eye opening when the book was written, but today it seems underwhelming.
Overall,
Setting/world-building: 4/5 - solid, deeply thought-out world, but not as insightful (in terms of reflection on our society) as I expected
Plot/pacing: 2/5 - I believe the plot was not meant to be too exciting. The plot is solid, although simple, but the pacing is terrible (especially the first half/two thirds of the book)
Characters: 2/5 the main protagonist is extremely weak and passive, which turned following him into a torture. There was not a single thing he actively did on his own volition, instead, he was just thrown around by the plot like a ragdoll. The secondary protagonist was okay. There is little character development, but some interpersonal interactions are interesting.
With all that being said, I don’t regret reading the book. But I do regret that the book is what it is instead of being a better version of itself. It seems like a huge pile of missed opportunities. With better pacing, plot, and characters (at least one of these three), it would have been a wonderful read.
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