David

Great Historical Fiction and Narration

Reviewed: 05-21-25

I have long been a fan of the movie The Thirteenth Warrior, but for whatever reason, this remained one of Chrichton's books I had not read. I chose the audiobook, narrate by Simon Vance, who did a stellar job. I was pleased to read in the author's note that it was, indeed, a version of Beowulf, or, more accurately, based on a similar story from a lof of varied manuscripts that may, or may not exist. Such a style does not always work, but was uniquely suited to this book, particularly when performed in audio because it allows the story to be narrated directly, told, as the narrator in the book tells it, in the first person. It's a great story, very much in line with the movie, though some of my favorite parts of the movie appear to have been added after the fact. Highly recommended for lovers of historical fiction.

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Really Fun Book, Perfect Narration

Reviewed: 05-21-25

I had no idea what to expect when I ordered this, but following on the author's Starter Villain, I DID anticipate the humor. Also, since it is narrated b Will Wheaton, who is an apparent perfect match for Scalzi's books, I also expected a good deal of sarcasm. I wasn't disappointed on either count.

I was surprised, however, how relevant the story felt, despite it's premise of the moon suddenly turning to cheese. This book isn't really about that at all, though there are some admittedly sketchy swats at science throughout. It's about characters. It's about how organizations, governments, and individuals face adversity. It's riddled with interesting characters, some clearly at least loosely modeled on current events and recognizable celebrities. But also the church, the unbelievers and believers alike, the reply guys on social media, the young, and the old. This is a book about people - regular people - all confronted with an unexpected, impossible situation, and how they react.

It is a great book, and very happy I had Will Wheaton around to read it to me.

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A good, solid series start and an intriguing myste

Reviewed: 04-29-25

Chicago Detective Carrie Starr has taken a job as Marshall at the reservation her father grew up in. She has no association with this place that she is aware of, other than that link, but hopes to find some sort of redemption after the murder of her daughter.

Young women have been disappearing for a very long time from the reservation. Due to federal, town, and reservation jurisdiction issues, most of them passed with little or no investigation or resolution. To top this off, the mayor of the nearest town, and a big oil company, are lobbying for the rights to draw oil from the native land, promising healthcare, education, and the possibility of enough cash to build a casino.

Starr isn't really interested in any of it at first. She runs headlong into angry family members of missing girls and becomes their verbal punching bag.

The plot is complex and well thought out, mixing in folklore and legend with human darkness. The narrator, Isabella Star Lablanc, did a great job of voicing the characters and bringing the story to life. My one quibble is that, like so many Native American stories, this one relies on some of the same old tropes for its big issues. It is a solid, entertaining read.

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The best book that I have read in years

Reviewed: 04-06-25

I find it difficult to gather all of my thoughts on this book. Every time I think I know what I want to say, more occurs to me, or things re-arrange in my mind. This is clearly the best book I've read in a very long time. It is very seldom these days that a book is so good that when I have to stop reading, I keep thinking about it. I listened to the audio, which was brilliant, and several times found myself sitting in the car, not getting out, or going in to work, or home, wherever it was I parked.

It started slowly, and drew me in. This is even harder without spoilers... Over the course of the book I found myself coming to care about characters, only to come to loathe them, and then understand them. I found the arctic loneliness of Shelley's Frankenstein and elements of Stokers Dracula. I have a Weasel Plume T-shirt on the way. I own exactly two shirts based on someone else's novels. Both of them, as it turns out, were novels written by Stephen Graham Jones.

This book, though... historical, the voices so perfect, the name choices... the glimpses into a lost time, the strength, and weakness, of the human will. The depths of vengeance possible.

This is clearly the most unique modern vampire novel I've experienced. It is next-level storytelling. You will never forget this story. The voices, provided by Shane Ghostkeeper, Marin Ireland, and Owen Teale will be living in my head for a very long time. Thank you Good Stab, Three Persons, and so many others.

Highest possible recommendation.

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Vampires, crime, and Racial Tension

Reviewed: 11-20-24

<i>THE GATHERING</i> is a novel about vampires, but it is so much more. Barbara Atkins, Forensic Vampire expert and detective, is sent into a small Alaskan community to solve a murder. A young boy has been killed, apparently by a vampire. The community wants her to authorize a "cull" - where they will kill the entire vampire community, but Barbara has her own history, and a job to do.

The parallels between the vampire community and the marginalized communities of our world is clear and poignant. Ingrained hatred, built over years - different standards for those considered ... different.

Racing against time, and distracted by a number of only semi-related incidents also racially motivated, and dark, Barbara, and a disgraced officer have to solve the killing and settle the community before the death sparks "The Gathering," the final battle between vampires and humans.

Highly recommended. The narrator, Lorelei King, did a masterful job of voicing a variety of characters, spanning races and genders.

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A novel that will leave you with questions

Reviewed: 10-10-24

A young artist, Toya Gardner, returns to her ancestral home in rural NC to complete her thesis, a piece that ties her to her ancestors, mother, to daughter, grandmother to mother, back through time.

A drifter is found sleeping in a station wagon with a notebook full of local names, and a white KKK hood.

One after the other local officers of the law find that their community, and their own beliefs, are not what they seemed. History unfolds, drawing them together, and driving them apart. A death, and a beating open deep wounds.

Those We Thought We Knew is a novel that will dig into your mind and dredge up questions you might not have realized you needed answers to. Questions it shouldn't take death and hatred to bring to light, or a lifetime to answer.

This was performed by MacLeod Andrews. His presentation was dead on, voicing characters across a spectrum of deep accents, genders and emotion.

Highly recommended

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Entertaining Dark Gothic Tale of Family and Horror

Reviewed: 09-05-24

This was a reread for me. I read and loved this book many years ago when it was first published. When Jacob returns to his hometown in very rural NC, he expects to just be there long enough to catch his breath, settle his parent's affairs and move on. Maryfield, the town, the people and the home, have other ideas.

There is a ton of southern charm in this one, some humor and some very dark moments as Jacob learns more about his own life, his parents, and is drawn further and further in to a dark mystery that might just swallow him whole.

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Fascinating Story, Dark, and poignant

Reviewed: 04-05-24

I went into this book with no expectations because I bought it on someone's recommendation but had somehow never heard of it. The story of the crazed man creating a dog army, capable of fighting for a country that gave up on him. The notion of talking, upright dogs arriving in New York... all of this is a grand parade, and the back story is both touching and fascinating.

But the strength of this short book is in the last chapters. The relationship the protagonist, who is not, in fact, a dog, with these creatures is poignant. There is a letter from one character to another near the end that is one of the finest bits of writing I've encountered in a very long time. I cannot recommend this too highly, though I will say in the form of a slight trigger warning, there are some very dark parts in early life of Rank, the creator of the dogs.

I listened to the audiobook edition of this, performed by George DelHoyo and Mary Jo Smith, who turned in stellar performances across many characters, some with odd accents.

Highly recommended.

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A Very Unique and Powerful Collection

Reviewed: 03-12-24

Very rarely does a collection by a single author maintain the clarity and quality Talabi manages in Convergence Problems. From the very clever and very worthy theme embodied in the title of the collection, to the engineering detail and uncanny application of just enough detail that unfamiliar places and concepts feel real, this is a masterwork. Too often authors take all the short fiction they have, toss it into a book with a table of contents and send it into the world without direction. This book has a constant theme running throughout... futures and societies where things that seemed so close to perfect, or correct, are not quite accurate, or are violently skewed by the application of reality.

I have some clear favorites in this collection:

"Saturday's Song," offers a group of storytelling siblings finding new ways to reach old truths in a series of very interesting, intertwined tales. "Gangers" confronts a slew of psychological and societal issues, while peeling back the sometimes-stubborn onion we call freedom a layer at a time.

“Nigerian Dreams” is a story that, and I assume this to be at least part of the purpose, sent me down a small rabbit hole of research on the history of that country, trying to get a full grasp on the two very separate opinions on what would constitute the Nigerian Dream.

Some of the works, like “A Dream of Electric Mothers,” need no new comment from me, but I was both amused and somewhat concerned for the world while reading "Debut," where - very similar to the misconception authors have previously presented - that aliens, if they visited Earth, would communicate with us as we do with one another, visits the notion that if AI ever actually created something unique and meaningful, it would not be so to us - but would be targeting other forms of AI.

This is a powerful collection. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by the talented Ben Arogundade, who was the perfect voice, cultured and smooth and able to lend the proper emotion, while perfectly comfortable with the engineering and technical aspects of the prose.

Highly recommended.

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One of the best books I've read in years.

Reviewed: 05-24-23

This book is one of the most intricately plotted, beautifully written things I have ever read. The collaboration between Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone is seamless. I listened tot he audiobook, and the performances by Cynthia Farrell and Emily Woo Zeller are a perfect match.

Two agents, reprsenting opposite beginings and endings of time, whilc fighting one another for the supremacy of their 'sides,' begin a correpsondence and relationship that defies both endings. They teach and learn of love, pain, remorse and hunger, as one of the most fascinating romances imagineable unfolds.

The mixture of history, science, mathematics and physics with the interplay of the actions and reacitons of both Red, and Blue, never misses a beat, never feels forced, or even impossible, even when letters are penned in unfathomable scripts and shared in ways both intimate and frightening, all under the watchful eyes of superiors unaware of the depth of their connection.

I cannot stress enough how good this story is, so you'll have to read it for yourself. I recommend you do that with haste, and I absolutely recommend the audible edition.

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