R.A.

A bit 2D

Reviewed: 06-13-25

I found this story long and uncompelling: everything felt flat (the characters, their relationships, the world they lived in). The world(s) felt implausibly small (as though there were only 10 people in the universe and everyone is either related or had had a romantic relationship) and its characteristics felt artificial and/ or purely decorative — it’s not clear what the world’s relationship to ours was (or if there was one), not why it has any of the features it had (bright days that are unbearably hot; magical healing pods powered by some advanced tech, while the rest of the world appears to be more or less at our technological level — aside from the ability to travel the multiverse).

Psychologically it wasn’t compelling, either: the motivations of the characters wasn’t clear or convincing and felt like it was there to drive plot, not the other way around.

If you enjoy anything multiverse and are just looking for something to listen to, it might be your thing. If you appreciate well thought out sci fi (Banks, Chiang, Le Guin, Scalzi etc) or solid character driven fiction then this probably isn’t for you. I got it in a 2 for 1 and wish I had given up on it instead of listening all the way through. Destined for my archive.

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I don’t understand the positive reviews.

Reviewed: 05-22-25

I bought this going entirely off of the high rating — I assumed it must have something really good if it has such a good rating,

I really didn’t find anything of value in the entire book. I think the “rules” provided are highly questionable (and several will make public speaking more difficult for you).

I have a lot of experience in public speaking so it’s possible that I am just the wrong audience. That being said, I think there are more helpful guides out there, regardless of prior experience.

This book read less like a book the author wanted to write and more like a contract he had to fill. Throughout, the way he describes toastmasters made it unclear if he thought the organization was useful or just out to lunch. His ultimate endorsement was not convincing. The feeling I’m left with is that toastmasters is u likely to help you with public speaking and most people would benefit more from participation in a improv class (see Alan Alda’s work, which explores the effectiveness of this approach).

I believe the author read the work and I think that says it all: there is nothing wrong with the narration but there is no personality and it isn’t engaging. He doesn’t really discuss rhythm, pacing and tone (he certainly doesn’t use them).

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Needed to pick a lane.

Reviewed: 05-06-25

Interesting premise. But it felt like the book was trying to be too many things: philosophical & scientific, action-packed, emotionally compelling, and it just didn’t work.

Half way through, the story has reached the climax of the “expected” version / focus. This made me curious to know where the story was headed. The answer is nowhere. The second half consists of the same points being repeated over and over. The pacing lagged and ultimately the story failed to deliver a layoff that made the wait feel worthwhile. It felt like Crouch was trying to write thoughtful sci fi that could also be marketed as an action movie / series. He’s a very creative author and this title probably reflects the realities of the industry more than anything about him.

If you’re just looking for entertainment and don’t care about the above elements, or if you enjoy his other work then you’ll likely enjoy this one. It’s not bad, it’s just not as good as it could have been.

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No redeeming characteristics.

Reviewed: 05-02-23

My wife and I suffered this one until the end because the star-rating is fairly high, so we thought it must have something to it.,, It does not,

Trite, artificial, and simply boring. The narrative is so contrived that we found ourselves annoyed with the author’s lazy tactics (eg constantly referring to the contents of a letter known to both characters and the narrator, without ever sharing the contents; all in an attempt to create interest and suspense. That can pass for an intro chapter, but not as the driving force of an entire book…).

The narrator didn’t help, but it is entirely possible there was nothing much more she could do, given the story itself.

The best part was that it ended. At least we got to share the experience of loathing the book ❤️

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1 person found this helpful

Weird / creepy narration

Reviewed: 05-20-20

The meditations themselves are a great source of perennial wisdom, but this is a terrible narration: they went over the top with the “content to fall asleep to” — so the narrator doesn’t read in a natural way, making the sentences difficult to follow. His voice is deep and breathy, so it’s like having a big unknown man whisper Marcus Aurelius in your ear, loudly; bummer because I love the book, but I wish I could delete this from my library.

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9 people found this helpful

A Short Holliday Story

Reviewed: 12-16-19

If you enjoy “A Christmas Carol” and stories meant to warm the heart, built around holiday festivities, you’ll surely enjoy this story.

There’s not much more to say about it than that, though. If I recall correctly, I received it for free one Christmas, as a gift from Audible to all its members. I’m glad I didn’t pay for it (though I wouldn’t have regretted it, had I got it as a daily deal).

The story wouldn’t hold up to any sort of reflection: it is contrived to create a sense of “good feeling” and the setting is at a time when “things were simpler,” and the children bare no resemblance to any children in the real world that I have ever encountered etc etc but that’s the point of the story: to evoke a magical world, better than ours, where families are united by the magic of the season etc.

Richard Armitage’s performance was perfect in all respects. I’m not even sure he has to *try* - it just seems to come to him so easily.

Hope you enjoy, if you give it a shot!

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A Different Perspective on A.I.

Reviewed: 12-16-19

THE SHORT:

This short story packs a lot of unspoken punch, so to speak. Martha Wells deftly walks many fine lines: including humour without wrenching the reader out of the story; some great world-building without laborious hours of description, and - the finest of all - she evokes provocative questions about the nature of consciousness without any of the sophomoric philosophical self-importance ... All of this wrapped in a genuinely entertaining story. The narration makes an art of unobtrusiveness: Kevin Free shines by letting the story take centre stage (which takes real talent). Highly recommended, especially if on sale.

THE LONG:

As mentioned above, this story is particularly great in that it manages to grapple with philosophical issues without being annoying in that special way that new-initiates to philosophy so often are: you don’t have to think about this story at all, to appreciate it - it’s just plain old good story-telling. However, from start to end, I found my mind spurred on by Wells’ brilliant but subtle, take on A.I.; presenting it, as she does, from the perspective of a “construct” - a complicated blend of technology and organic parts (basically an android) that has hacked it’s own system, effectively endowing it with free will. Even just the choice to present the story from this point of view, creates and sustains interest from start to end.

To my mind, Wells’ brilliance is in making all the fine issues and ideas *implicit* in the story. There is no over-wrought explanation of the philosophical perspectives on free-will or good and evil or anything of the sort. But the ideas are all there, and it seems clear that these underlying currents are to be explored in later books in the series.

She also gives us action, without boring us to death — really, as a story, it is beautifully balanced.

Of course, it’s *just* a story - so don’t get your hopes up. I hate writing positive reviews, because they inevitably create expectations that can’t be met, which ruins a perfectly good book for others. So I’m not saying this book will blow you away: that’s not the scale of this story. You may not appreciate the above elements in the same way, & just find it an ordinary SciFI story. But I think it’s worth a read, and think Wells deserves some credit for her obvious show of craft: I think her talent will be apparent to those who care about such things, and won’t take away from the story, for those who don’t. I really hope you’ll enjoy it, if you do give it a shot.

THE NARRATION:

First stop on reviewing a narrator is to remind anyone reading this to just listen to the sample: I find individual tastes vary too much for anyone’s opinion to be very helpful, especially if you have specific aspects of narration (fry, drop-off etc) that really get on your nerves. The sample here is accurate in its represention of the narration of the whole story.

That being said, Kevin Free deserves special mention for letting the story take centre stage. His performance is of the type where you can’t quite be sure if what you’re hearing is someone who has mastered the craft, or someone who has inadvertently created a masterful effect. For example, he breaks the natural cadence of speech a few times in the story, which creates a very genuine effect of “otherness” in the android / construct. However, it’s the kind of pause that could’ve also come from a flubbed reading, that just happened to work in the context - later books in the series will tell, I suppose.

He doesn’t do much in the way of voices, but characters are distinct and dialogue is easy to follow (as much thanks to Wells’ writing, I’m sure).

The only criticism is that we do get some audible aspirations at the start of sentences, which is surprising because Free seems to be part of a collective or group of performers, and I would’ve thought they’d have training on how to avoid / minimize this. Fortunately, it did not distract from the performance (& may be due to the recording setup - I know it is *very* challenging to get rid of this entirely).

Really and truly, his talent in this book is in not really drawing attention to himself (compare e.g. Will Wheaton, who will never let you forget that *he* is reading the book - which is great, if you like Will Wheaton next to you for every Scalzi book you ever listen to). At a time when trends in narrators seem to be headed in the direction of film-actors with recognizable, distinct, and literally “unforgettable” voices, I found a narration that is “forgettable” in this positive sense - i.e. of letting the story shine through - refreshing and enjoyable.

OVERALL:

A thought-provoking, entertaining short-story that is well-narrated. Altogether, a nice blend of “classic” 20th century SciFi with the best parts of 21st century tech and culture. Can be listened to on it’s own, without purchasing later books in the series, but would recommend purchasing later books in the series if every they are sale. Definitely worth a listen.

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3 people found this helpful

A Good Story & Worthwhile Listen

Reviewed: 07-15-19

The Short:

If you like Banks, you’ll like this novel. It is a more solid bet than many others in the series, and it’s pretty much certain you’ll enjoy it, if not love it.

If you have yet to read any Banks, it could be a good place to start (maybe better than the first novel in the series, which is much more space-opera than the others).

_. ._
The Long:

3 stars might seem harsh, especially when matched with “worthwhile listen,” so let me start by saying that, having listened to about 5 novels in the Culture series, so far, I haven’t been blown away as so many other listeners seem to have been.

I’m a big fan of Sci Fi, but have yet to connect with the elements that so many are quick to label as “genius” in Banks’ work. That’s not to say that I don’t think they might be there: I would certainly consider re-listening to a few of the books, for a second look. It’s very possible that the subtlety requires greater attention than what I give the story, when listening to it (i.e. it might be that, in my case, the stories would be more revealing if read, rather than listened to).

That being said, besides a few interesting ideas and a little forays into some disjointed world-building, I just didn’t find very much in this particular story. I *enjoyed* it, but find that Banks relies a lot on a quasi-vacuous form (here I mean vacuous in the technical sense, not in the colloquial sense): he leaves out a lot of the story for the reader to fill-in. This isn’t done artlessly - to some extent it contributes to the interest of the story, and maintains interest; however, it also feels very much like a Dalian curtain winding it’s way up & down, back & forth and at odd-angles to hide the deus (dei?) ex machina that breathes life into his novels.

Personally, I am neither for nor against the use of “deus ex machina” - it can be used to great effect (as it is in the BBC’s Sherlock series), and it can be just be cheap and lazy (see all truly mediocre Sci Fi !); however, in Banks’ case, it feels misplaced. The volume of information and details not explicitly provided makes it feel as though Banks himself was aware of this mis-fit of the narrative tool, and so tried to minimize it’s presence.

If all this crap about narrative techniques annoys you, let me say that I’m (normally) with you on that front - literary analysis has its limits. More than anything, the above is simply an attempt to understand why it feels as though there was perhaps 5-8h of story missing from this novel. In plain language, that is really what it felt like: some interesting ideas, some great characters, but a few parts that just don’t fit together, and it seems as though the author knew it, as well.

Overall:
Not a waste of time or money. Definitely entertaining. Not genre-defining Sci Fi, nothing to blow your mind. A safe bet for entertaining listening.

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1 person found this helpful

Could’ve Been Good but Goes Off Course

Reviewed: 06-07-19

THE SHORT:

A story with a strong start and so much potential with a veer in the narrative that renders it absurd and strips it of all its dignity and interest. Great performances, great production, terrible waste of good character development. Not recommended (even if it’s free — there are better things to listen to, with your time).

The author definitely has a lot of potential, though — just made a lazy choice for resolving the story (unless it was the actors who brought the first half to life).

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__The Long__

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__The Story__
This story starts off well: told through phone class & voice-messages, it builds the story of the life of a young Indian girl in the US and her relationship with her mother, turning around finding a husband. The characters are well-developed and the story captures some moments of family exchange with an impressive poignancy.

However, what starts out as a storyline with subtle, curious undertones, veers to the absurd as the author suddenly wrenches the narrative out of reality and makes a farce of the entire piece. For the life of me, out of all the options available to the author, I cannot understand why they chose this direction: there is no redeeming value, other than some fleeting drama.

In the end, I am just left feeling disappointed: like I missed out on a story that could’ve been really good — one that successfully captured the difficulty of the uncertainty of life, and the complications of family etc. Instead, it’s just meh-entertainment.

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__Performance__

Really solid performances across the board. A range of emotions and difficult scenes that were carried off with complete success. The entire team should be proud of their work.

Major kudos to the recoding and production teams as well: a masterful bit of audio. The performance and production were the redeeming parts of this audiobook.

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__Overall__

If it’s free and you have nothing else to listen to, give it a shot & see what you think. I’m sure some people will enjoy it for its entertainment value. Personally, I was too disappointed by the ending, as it framed the entire story; unfortunately, it was a cheap IKEA frame and the whole thing came crashing down as soon as it was hung up.

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1 person found this helpful

A Genuine 5-Stars

Reviewed: 06-07-19

THE SHORT:

If you know (and enjoy) Vonnegut — there’s no reason to hesitate on this one. Without a doubt, it is amongst his best work.

If you don’t yet know Vonnegut, this is *not* a comprehensive introduction to his style and range, but it exemplifies the thoughtful social commentary that is always present in his work. A good place to start, but if ever you don’t like it, I wouldn’t dismiss him without also checking out Slaughterhouse 5, Breakfast of Champions and Sirens of Titan.


THE LONG:
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__THE STORY__
The humour in Player Piano is much drier and more attenuated than other, more fantastical, Vonnegut novels; perhaps because it mostly plays on very on-point social commentary. The story itself is very engaging: Vonnegut paints the picture of a society using ~3 parallel, non-intersecting, threads. Unlike many other novels where such narrative structure is used as a gimmick to create artificial suspense (ie a hook to keep you reading that would not work if you were to re-read the novel), in Player Piano, Vonnegut has used it so deftly that, even though the characters in the various parts have nothing to do with one another, there is no sense of a split story line: all of them carry the central theme forward, seamlessly.

The near-future world that Vonnegut imagined resembles ours so closely that his prescience alone makes the story gripping, and his ability to articulate the discomforts accompanying a technocratic world gives the whole thing a eerie prophetic feeling. I just wish he had been a bit more clear in his final statement: on a first listening, there is not a clear conclusion to the “discussion” he has with the reader, throughout the story.

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__The Narration__

In a word: perfect. I have never heard anything else read by Christian Rummel, and I think he is the first or second narrator out of ~450 audiobooks, for whom I’d considered buying other books simply on account of his talent.

I don’t recall seeing anything about Rummel having won an award for this novel, but I don’t know how that could possibly be the case. Not only does he distinguish characters effectively, without blowing the dynamic range, he absolutely nails several characters, bringing them to life.

I’m not one to be excessively enthusiastic: there’s nothing worse than a huge endorsement to get your expectations up so that the actual product can’t possibly live up to them, but if you’re able to give Rummel a fair listening, I think you’ll agree that his performance is spectacular: a few of the characters are so spot-on, that I wondered if he had met Vonnegut. He definitely transformed the book for me, as I would not have been able to imagine such perfectly matched voicing for those characters. Of course, not *every* character has something special that you wouldn’t get with another narrator, but there’s no doubt he was the perfect choice for this book.

He also carries off some Vonnegut-esque sound effects (onomatopoeic machine noises) to great effect: capturing the playful sarcasm and irony that colours so much of Vonnegut’s writing.

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__OVERALL__

Highly recommended. A book I will listen to again, without a doubt - which is ultimately the highest praise I can give any book :)

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32 people found this helpful