Jared

Better than I thought possible.

Revisado: 09-04-19

This is a perfect audiobook in every way. Seriously. Noah delivers a tale so unique, so timely, so personal it demands attention. The accents and languages of his South African home add to the experience of the text seamlessly and make this one of those books that is unquestionably better on audio. The writing, production, and performance are all flawless. I promise you will not regret taking the trip. 6/5

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A tasty but seedless variety.

Revisado: 06-07-19

Naturally this is quite well presented, as one should expect from The Great Courses. But the professor expressed some opinions tangent to his area of expertise that were controversial at best, and downright misleading at worst. His Marxist analysis of industrial food production, and his take on the GMO "golden rice" were particularly questionable. Always charming, Professor Albala may have missed his true calling as a professional dinner guest. I enjoyed, but cannot endorse this production.

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This is not the audiobook you're looking for.

Revisado: 02-28-19

This collection isn't read by a single narrator. There is significant variety of performance skill and recording quality to be found from story to story throughout. Sometimes the experience is wonderful and rich. An hour later, it may be intolerable-- with poor pronunciation, wooden character performance, terrible phrasing, evident lack of comprehension, and an utter absence of prosody. (One of the narrators is so remarkably bad both technically and artistically, I almost could not bear to continue. I did so, but not with much enjoyment.)

Older audio books can sometimes be lower in quality than the polished products we now expect. This collection is made of such older recordings (re-purposed more than once it seems -- the Audible section headings are read in German), and clearly intended for the discount rack. It simply does not properly respect either its listeners or the source material. Anyone who loved Sherlock Holmes would not have treated these classic stories with such blatant disregard.

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A book discovered between ages.

Revisado: 12-31-18

At first glance, it was nothing more than The Count of Monte Cristo in space. I say "nothing more" as if that weren't quite an undertaking of its own. It would be, if it were only that, still something. But the book revealed itself slowly to be something else entirely. Part classic literature, part dystopian cyberpunk, part psychedelic morality play, Bester's book gives us so much more than it ever seemed to promise.

Gerard Doyle's performance was very good throughout, and superb when it needed to be.

Don't overlook this presentation of a surprising classic.

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An excellent companion to the podcast.

Revisado: 11-07-18

It's hard to give this book the positive review it deserves without making it sound like a self-help book. It's really not written like one. But it's not about the science of bigfoot or aliens either. It is written instead as a toolkit and guidebook on how to avoid the pitfalls that lurk in our every-day modes of thinking. It details the what, how, and why of minds led astray from disciplined thought and the strongest possible basis in reality. And it encourages us to find those errors in the arguments we make to ourselves, as well as those we share with or hear from others. So to the degree that they avoid pendantry, the authors have, if by accident, created a great self-help book, hidden in a book about understanding science and the human mind.

Novella's reading was about 10 percent slower than the usual conversational tone he uses in his podcast, but that was easy to correct for with the Audible app. As a long-time SGU listener, I found the chapters from the Rogues and the interview at the end of the audiobook especially enjoyable.

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The right book read the wrong way.

Revisado: 11-07-18

This book is rightly considered a classic among sci-fi classics. I would not hesitate to recommend it in any other format but this one. The sole reason for this is that the George Guidall, though skilled and expressive, was the _wrong_ reader for the job.

There are, you see, two characters that feature primarily in this book. One of them is androgynous, and the other's name is Ai (pronounced I). Guidall's rich, sonorous voice might only suit the latter, and he seems to have trouble modulating it enough to avoid outright confusion during conversation, or where characters alternate narration. It is a rather brilliant book-- something that deserves a better, or at least a more suitable, reading.

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An error of comedies.

Revisado: 11-07-18

The production quality of this piece is sheer perfection. I felt like I was there. The cast of this performance is truly outstanding. One could hardly have hoped for a better ensemble. I only wish they had read a better play. Because this one is simply bad.

From the first moment the main character awakens in his bed after a restless night, to the final catharsis (that I won't spoil, as much as it can be spoiled), there is nothing funny or moving or original to be found in this script. It was, quite frankly, difficult to finish.

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The pinnacle of pop-anthropology.

Revisado: 09-30-18

This book is full of facts. Facts can be boring. But in Sapiens, facts are presented with insight, personality, charm, perspective, wit, and a narrative pulse that rivals even the best novels. There is also some of speculation in the book. I do not see that as a flaw. The worst thing a scholar can do is withhold his opinion. Harari's work is bold, and Derek Perkins' reading is masterful.

One of my favorite listens this year.

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Narrative Dies at the End

Revisado: 08-26-18

This is not the best of the author's work. Superficially philosophical, moderately disjointed, a little preachy. Doesn't reach the high bar set by the first two. Barely reaches the low bar.

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A proper spiritual heir to Firefly

Revisado: 06-03-18

From the void left behind by the crew of the Serenity, the author drew new life and a new galaxy to explore. It may be the backwater serial space drama we deserve.

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