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NIklaus Earl

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Absurd. And WONDERFUL!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-02-24

Scientifically superior talking dogs from outer space? Looking for a lost tribe of dogs on Earth? Absurd. But that's why we love fiction. Especially science fiction and fantasy: because we get to have any kind of story we want! Face it, if you're a fiction fan, then you're willing to suspend disbelief for a good story, and that's what we get here. It's funny. It's cool. It's badass! But more than anything else, it's a story about just how damned much we love our dogs and how they add something profound to our lives. That bond, thousands of years in the making, is a beautiful, pure thing that doesn't define our lives, but REFINES them into something greater than what we would have without the love of a good dog in our lives.

You're going to laugh a lot listening to this book, but you're probably also gonna cry, and that's okay, because it means that your life has been touched by a Good Boy or Good Girl and you're better for it. Enjoy, kids, and give your doggo a scratch behind the ear for me!

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You'll never know if Earth is REALLY safe...

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-25-24

When your enemy is a fungal spore, you will never know if, when it's Over, it's REALLY over. That's the aspect of this story that I really love, because it creates dread, which is essential to good horror, and paranoia, which is the gift that just keeps giving.

With rising awareness of just how horrible fungi can be in reality, Robinson hits us with a great story with beautifully argued point and counterpoint arguments on the morality of how to handle a First Contact situation, along with shockingly horrific 'visuals', and an antagonist that will leave you feeling paranoid for the rest of your life, if you were to put yourself into the world where Point Nemo takes place. It's great fun!

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An outstanding tongue-in-cheek sci-fi comedy

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-24-24

To date, I've listened to quite a few of Robinson's novels and have thoroughly enjoyed them all. Solid sci-fi, solid horror, and solid apocalypse storytelling. Then I found 'Space Force' (!) [In my opinion, the Space Force title must always be spoken with an exclamation, just like 'Mericuh!] and I learned that Robinson can also lay down some solid humor! I laughed a LOT while listening to this book and loved all of the pop-culture references and breaking of the fourth wall, much like what you get in Deadpool. As someone who wrote a parody of The Scarlet Letter in my high-school literature class, where characters addressed the giant, yellow Empire #2 pencil in the sky, pitching about the absurdity of certain scenes, breaking the fourth wall in the right way has huge appeal to me. Robinson gets it.

If you like video games, hyperbolic descriptive diatribes, and pop-culture references, plus some scathing shots at government foolishness, and are looking for a good laugh, then you're in the right place. Just download and hit play. Tell them Ivan sent you 😉

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An old favorite in a familiar town

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-26-23

Yet another epic tale by King with the bonus of the man himself doing the narration! I was surprised to learn that, not only can he weave a hell of a story, but he has unguessed at dramatic range. Also, we get the pleasure of returning to a town where other stories have taken place, and that always feels a little like coming home. My only complaint is that, yet again, some genius thought putting discordant music in various places was a brilliant move, as they did in King's Insomnia. It isn't brilliant. It doesn't add anything. It is distracting, annoying, and often times drowns out the narration. Fortunately, it only happens now and then, but, if you're like me, you'll grind your teeth every time it does. Also, there's some crackly static in about three places. Don't worry, you aren't going crazy and it does go away relatively quickly. Other than those issues, it's a great listen. Enjoy!

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loved it!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-12-23

great historical fiction with a religious/supernatural bent. even though I'm not religious, I enjoyed the battle between heaven and hell being played out on earth and never felt that it was too preachy. also, the narration was excellent

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Not sure how I feel about this one

Overall
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
2 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-29-22

As a Book 0, this story may not show the true skill of the author. Or, it might. One thing I do know, I'm not a fan of the narrator. His pacing, delivery, and tenor are distracting and take me out of the story. I'm going to give book 1 a try and we'll see how it goes.

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Absolutely wonderful

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-28-22

An outstanding example of the military sci-fi space opera and a positively BRILLIANT performance in narration. If I had read this novel, I would certainly enjoyed it, but listening to it took the story to the next level... especially when we get to meet Skippy. R.C Bray brought this character to full life and had me laughing full belly-laughs. I can't wait to get the next book!

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A master-class example of hard sci-fi space opera

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-24-22

This is a brilliant piece of sci-fi story telling performed by one of the audiobook greats (John Lee). The science is solid without being ponderous and the characters are delightful. This is my fourth time going through this series (both reading and listening) and it never fails to impress, inspire, and entertain.

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surprisingly good!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-02-22

When I first began these two books, I worried that they might be somewhat sophomoric. However, after giving the first book a bit of time, things got good. These novels are campy, but gave me lots of genuine laughs and, surprisingly, the story evolves beautifully and becomes quite engrossing while maintaining its tongue-in-cheek humor. I really enjoyed these stories and hope to follow Jack to the conclusion. Enjoy!

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Thoroughly caught up in the story!

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-01-22

The story took a turn that I hadn't expected, but upon consideration, seems perfectly natural for the human race. Dalzelle nailed the capricious nature of humans, in general, and governments in particular when he wrote this addition to the series. I love that the second novel wasn't simply a straightforward gun fight with the alien bad guys. Well done! I can't wait to listen to the third book.

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