handwaver
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- reviews
- 13
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Last Argument of Kings
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 27 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Logen Ninefingers might have only one more fight in him - but it's going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the king of the Northmen still stands firm, and there's only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend and his oldest enemy: It's time for the Bloody-Nine to come home.
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Anti-Genre within the Genre
- By Joe Kraus on 05-08-17
- Last Argument of Kings
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
Blood & guts
Reviewed: 10-27-24
Interesting story, many different pov - really enjoyed complex interfacing of story lines.
Negatives: Abercrombie gets mired in endless descriptions of graphic blood & guts - head chopping, explosions of gore - I realize sword, axe, mace & arrow hand to hand combat is brutal, but he dwells on it so often & at such length that is becomes gore porn.
Also, while the writing is generally acceptable, I found myself incredulous over how many times the words “grimace, grimaced, & grimacing” came up - literally over 100 - I noticed because the narrator used a British pronunciation e.g. gri-‘mace-ing, which I have seldom heard (even from Brits). Be that as it may, it wasn’t the pronunciation, rather the endless repetition of the word that grated on my ears (& nerves). Yes, many (like multitudes) of the characters are “grim, hard, cold men of the north” kinda bad dudes, but sheesh! Expand your vocabulary a bit!
All in all, a fascinating story, but in dire need of editing.
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A Deadly Education
- A Novel (The Scholomance, Book 1)
- By: Naomi Novik
- Narrated by: Anisha Dadia
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life. Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his flashy combat magic to himself. I’m not joining his pack of adoring fans. I don’t need help surviving the Scholomance, even if they do. Forget the hordes of monsters and cursed artifacts; I’m probably the most dangerous thing in the place. Just give me a chance and I’ll level mountains and kill untold millions, making myself the dark queen of the world.
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Intersting concept, way too much self pity
- By Rune on 10-13-20
- A Deadly Education
- A Novel (The Scholomance, Book 1)
- By: Naomi Novik
- Narrated by: Anisha Dadia
Words, words so many angsty words!
Reviewed: 12-13-23
First, the good: I thought the narrator was great - she did a fantastic job.
Next the concept - Interesting - Kind of Harry Potter meets Hunger Games - A little (ok, a lot) derivative
The bad - Not in the least an adult focused book - so much teenage angst - endless ruminations in the main character's head - at least half to two thirds of the book is wound up in her endless ruminations about her unlikeability, snarkiness, mistrust, lack of relationships, yada yada ad infinitum. Tons, no, mountains of wordy exposition weighing the listener/reader down - so many words, so little imagery - so much explaining, so little info by actions/interactions.
I felt like I was caught in some high school mean girls bad dream.
If you like GOT, Name of the Wind, et al. give this one a miss - I won't be interested in any more of this series.
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We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
- Bobiverse, Book 1
- By: Dennis E. Taylor
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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There's a reason We Are Legion was named Audible's Best Science Fiction Book of 2016: Its irresistibly irreverent wit! Bob Johansson has just sold his software company for a small fortune and is looking forward to a life of leisure. The first item on his to-do list: Spending his newfound windfall. On an urge to splurge, he signs up to have his head cryogenically preserved in case of death. Then he gets himself killed crossing the street. Waking up 117 years later, Bob discovers his mind has been uploaded into a sentient space probe with the ability to replicate itself.
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Ignore the Publisher's Summary! This is Amazing!
- By PW on 04-12-17
- We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
- Bobiverse, Book 1
- By: Dennis E. Taylor
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
Ray Porter is fantastic
Reviewed: 12-30-22
Great series - all of them - such a great mixture of quirkiness humor, seriousness, inventiveness - a joy
to listen to. The narrator captures the zeitgeist of the series perfectly and does a wonderful job.
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Children of Ruin
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Thousands of years ago, Earth's terraforming program took to the stars. On the world they called Nod, scientists discovered alien life - but it was their mission to overwrite it with the memory of Earth. Then humanity's great empire fell, and the program's decisions were lost to time. Aeons later, humanity and its new spider allies detected fragmentary radio signals between the stars. They dispatched an exploration vessel, hoping to find cousins from old Earth. But those ancient terraformers woke something on Nod better left undisturbed. And it's been waiting for them.
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Not ideal for audiobook format
- By bogmonkey on 01-08-20
- Children of Ruin
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
Yada yada
Reviewed: 11-28-22
Way too much verbal explanation of complexities. Also, the last fourth of the book seemed like one giant denouement. I wouldn’t really recommend this to fans of the first book. It was kind of a let down for me.
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Two Serpents Rise
- The Craft Sequence, Book 2
- By: Max Gladstone
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Shadow demons plague the city reservoir, and Red King Consolidated has sent in Caleb Altemoc - casual gambler and professional risk manager - to cleanse the water for the sixteen million people of Dresediel Lex. At the scene of the crime, Caleb finds an alluring and clever cliff runner, crazy Mal, who easily outpaces him.
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Some of the most inventive fantasy written today
- By A reader on 10-03-14
- Two Serpents Rise
- The Craft Sequence, Book 2
- By: Max Gladstone
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
Ho-hum
Reviewed: 03-31-22
In 3 words: grandiose, hyperbolic, bombastic
Also did not really care for the narrator very much. Not enough expression and difficult to determine who is speaking because of little vocal variation. Everything he said sounded like he was narrating sort of a Jack Reacher type novel
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The Saints of Salvation
- Salvation Sequence Series, Book 3
- By: Peter F. Hamilton
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Humanity is struggling to hold out against a hostile takeover by an alien race that claims to be on a religious mission to bring all sentient life to its God at the End of Time. But while billions of cocooned humans fill the holds of the Olyix's deadly arkships, humankind is playing an even longer game than the aliens may have anticipated. From an ultra-secret spy mission to one of the grandest battles ever seen, no strategy is off the table. Will a plan millennia in the making finally be enough to defeat this seemingly unstoppable enemy?
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Totally confused
- By Jonny Dex on 11-19-20
- The Saints of Salvation
- Salvation Sequence Series, Book 3
- By: Peter F. Hamilton
- Narrated by: John Lee
Good, coulda been better
Reviewed: 09-01-21
Epic, wide ranging, multiple viewpoint space opera they had some amazing concepts & engaging characters.
A lot to like in this continuation of a very intriguing storyline with intricate society and world building.
Lots of action, yet also moments where characters & relationships are fleshed out more fully, a plus for me.
But, (you knew there had to be a but) I think the book could’ve used a fair amount of editing it did not get.
I must admit to being confused (& a little bored), by all of the time flow expositions & the possible future universes & where the “message” that inspired the Olyix’ mission etc.
I listened to this on Audible and maybe it would’ve been a bit more comprehensible if I had had a printed page to refer back to again and again, but then it reached a point where I just didn’t care. I think I could have found several thousand words to axe in more than one section.
Also, the ending segments seemed without an identifiable climax & the denouement was sort of meandering & frankly, a bit tedious.
All in all, I enjoyed the “read”, but, you know how some books make you feel sorry the end is approaching? Not this one…I was ready for the end.
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1 person found this helpful
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The Empire of Gold: A Novel
- The Daevabad Trilogy, Book 3
- By: S. A. Chakraborty
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
- Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Daevabad has fallen. After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people. But the bloodletting and loss of his beloved Nahri have unleashed the worst demons of Dara's dark past. To vanquish them, he must face some ugly truths about his history and put himself at the mercy of those he once considered enemies.
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Ecumenical. Exquisite. Exemplary.
- By 🎧AudiobookFiend on 07-04-20
- The Empire of Gold: A Novel
- The Daevabad Trilogy, Book 3
- By: S. A. Chakraborty
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
1/4 of this book needed to be edited out
Reviewed: 10-31-20
First, Soneela Nankani did a fantastic job of narration. The shifts in characters from male to female, Daeva, Djinn and Marid were all handled flawlessly The story itself had some great moments, some very interesting intrigue etc. however it was far too “angsty” - waaayy too much internal guilt, moaning, complaining, and whining from several characters. I really could see 25% of this book chopped away by a good editor. Towards the end, after the climax, I thought the dénouement was excessively long. I enjoyed parts of the book, but really I was kind of relieved when it was over
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2 people found this helpful
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Bandwidth
- An Analog Novel, Book 1
- By: Eliot Peper
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A rising star at a preeminent political lobbying firm, Dag Calhoun represents the world’s most powerful technology and energy executives. But when a close brush with death reveals that the influence he wields makes him a target, impossible cracks appear in his perfect life. Like everyone else, Dag relies on his digital feed for everything - a feed that is as personal as it is pervasive, and may not be as private as it seems. As he struggles to make sense of the dark forces closing in on him, he discovers that activists are hijacking the feed to manipulate markets and governments.
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This novel made me think!
- By Wayne on 05-20-18
- Bandwidth
- An Analog Novel, Book 1
- By: Eliot Peper
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
Unlistenable
Reviewed: 05-01-18
I have been reading this on my Kendall for a bit when this title became available on audible. I enjoyed having both any print copy and the audible version. It enables me to listen when I’m in my car at the gym and read when I’m home in bed or whatever. I’m enjoying the book thoroughly, but I absolutely can’t stand the narrator. He’s got a boring singsong voice - it just does not capture any of the intensity or emotion of the dialogue or happenings. It sounds very much like somebody reading a book. The delivery is drab and the cadence is off, the prosody is missing or misplaced. This is a book I will finish reading with my eyes. Having just finished reading Brandon Sanderson‘s earth bring her near rated by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer I was so disappointed. The two of them do a fantastic job I only wish They had narrated this book.
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3 people found this helpful