Jason

Not AT ALL what's on the cover

Reviewed: 09-07-17

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

...And then?It's predictable, relatively feel-good, and open for a sequel, but not amazingly satisfying.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Christy Romano?

Just about anybody else. If you consistently mispronounce the name of the main city of the book, you probably shouldn't be narrating it. In addition, she fails to deliver some of the book's jokes properly, causing them to fall completely flat. Quite frustrating.

Any additional comments?

The description of the book is horribly misleading. I was expecting a suave group of sharply-dressed individuals that did battle against equally outrageous supervillains, something along the line of Kingsman. It wasn't that, at all. It was still fun, but if you go into the book with that premise, you'll be in for a bit of a rude awakening.

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The ending was... Not my favorite.

Reviewed: 08-24-17

This felt like HP & The Half Blood Prince. Lots of building and setting up. Not the most in the way of new development. Still quality, though.

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On the fence about this one

Reviewed: 02-02-17

What did you like best about Emergence? What did you like least?

The premise of this story is great - monsters suddenly reappear after millennia of absence, and an average guy stumbles into the spotlight as he defeats a few and randomly gains great power. The execution, however, leaves a bit to be desired. The author does a good job of developing a fairly wide range of supporting characters - then he drops a dense, uninformed "party animal" into the spotlight. Said party animal proceeds to screw up just about everything, yet saves the day despite himself.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I'd have made the main character as smart as the book claims he is. The book tells us he is an engineer with multiple degrees, who leads a team of fellow engineers on an oil rig guaranteeing its performance and safety, but instead we get a fairly dull character who is more interested in drugs and women than just about anything else.

Was Emergence worth the listening time?

Barely. I like the premise enough to give the sequel a shot, but it's going to have to impress me to keep my interest.

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I just...I can't do it...

Reviewed: 02-02-17

Would you try another book from John Birmingham and/or Mark Zeisler?

Based on this and the first book in the series, no, I don't think so.

What was most disappointing about John Birmingham’s story?

The main character is disappointingly dense. We keep getting reminded about how he has multiple engineering degrees and is in charge of a team that performs dangerous and exacting work. What we actually get is a moron who rarely bothers to think, and when he does, it's typically not with his head. Time after time, we're shown that he is surrounded by competent if sometimes contrary individuals, and time after time he chooses his own inane answer instead of listening to sound advice. There's a major disconnect here, and it's infuriating.

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to like this series. It's a cool concept, and has some fun possibilities. It's fun to see the monsters of old run headlong into the technology of today. The main character is entirely too obnoxious, though.

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1 person found this helpful

Insert heading here.

Reviewed: 11-23-15

Starts good, then really picks up in the last quarter. Got fed up with a certain character that tested my patience, but it did effectively show the two sides of the empire.

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