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Jonathan

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An Ordeal...

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

Reviewed: 04-10-22

I have loved the other books in he series, but this one was a real hard slog. Almost no main character activity, and a never-ending procession of the hard to remember names and places that just blur together well before they ever begin to end or make sense.
With he exception of a couple of short moments toward the end, it just drags on and on in a very frustrating way.
If I had the hard copy, I can guarantee I would have skipped over vast swaths of this one just to save my sanity!
The disconnected timelines of the last book went completely off the rails with the downright bizarre 'dream sequences' of the beginning, and I became completely exhausted with the author's tendency to drag out identifying characters within a scene for ages out of some need to be cryptic or mysterious.
Add to that the less than satisfying ends of certain antagonistic characters, and it just feels like a discouraging read all around.
For this to be a series about witchers, this has almost nothing in it on the subject to show.
Be aware... 😡

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Brace yourself for a whining teenager's hissy fit

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

Reviewed: 06-16-14

Like the films these books are... almost entirely.

Like the last film, this one is full of almost too much whining and self centered childishness of a kid you really just want to shut up and deal with his stupid self...

While there are tidbits of interesting backstory and a modicum of expositional internal dialogue, I gave this book a lower score mostly because it comes off far more as a radio show than a well written novel.
In addition to the theme songs, the narrative itsself actually fails to convey the subjects without a HEAVY reliance on sound effects to describe what is ultimately Not described at all in the actual writing... For instance, I particularly dislike a far too repetative "Swoosh" sound used over and over and over to signify breaks between scene, or movement between settings... As if a real writer could not simply drop a line or two of narrative to make the transition clear...

I think the narrator does an Excelent job hoever, and manages to replicate the sounds of essentially All the characters from the film - Just as they are portreyed in the film....

If anything, I found myself refering to screen shots of the film to get a clear picture of what exactly each alien species and setting looks like - again, because the narration fails to explain their look sufficiently without it... Thankfully, there are actual images of every location and creature, but in an abscence of them as reference, the actual descriptions given are beyond usefully constructive... many times I listened to the explanation over and over, before finally pausing playback and refering to google images... :-/

The one thing that this version does well however, is the description of lightsaber battles, oddly enough... an investigation into various methods and the blow-by-blow exploration of technique comes over far better in this version than the quick, theatrical swordplay of the film...

Finally, I think this series in the cannon is really annoying in its use of characters that just slowly wear you down... Everyone knows Jar Jar is one of the most annoying characters ever introduced, but the novels generally keep his part minimal (perhaps in response)... no, it is Anakin that I find myself getting Sick and Tired of in this series Far Far more than anyone else...

I found his part whiney and selfinterested in the movies, but to be stuck inside his stupid head time and time again in the book draws out his stupid part to really become unbearable. It is ultimately a Relief to finally get over his sad self and wrap this stuff up!

Not a bad book, and a decent audible variation on the film... but not nearly as much Added to the film content as I had hoped for... Some people did their jobs very well, but others seemed to be leaning far to much on the film version to fill the blanks they left out of what comes off as laziness...

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5 people found this helpful

Needful Things Audiobook By Stephen King cover art

My all-time favorite Stephen King book!

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

Reviewed: 06-09-14

My favorite by far, this book by Stephen King is thrilling, interesting, descriptive, and fun, without being an ordeal to listen to, a big decision to take on, or a haunting story to make you rue the day...
It has, I think, one of the coolest underlying messages than any of his other work I have thus far read... I had always been a fan of the premise, and it is perhaps my favorite of his films, but the book, as always, is just that much better!

While the slow ratcheting up of tension is exciting to move along with, when the ish finally hits the fan, you get the 'pleasure' of a slow motion exposition of every second of splatter... it's like a nuanced exploration of the beauty of a firework, one spark at a time... and in a spine tingling conclusion, King again manages to present what may seem like questionably simplistic sounding events in a realistic and textural way that makes them triumphant when they might otherwise run the risk of popping the suspended disbelief...

Most of all, as someone who tends to hesitate at beginning Any New King novel, for the sake of the lost nights of sleep and the stress, I'm glad to find one that, I think, presents all of his writing skill and thrilling storycraft while also being one I can readily reccomend as 'fun' for most anyone... and, like I said, one with some really neat underlying logic and mechanism... not to say 'morals'...

Good stuff! I think I've found a new favorite!

(while I gave the performance 4 stars, it was mostly to do with little things... the sometimes shakey use of dialect, maybe not entirely flawlessly transparent and believable... but mostly the way I don't like his pronunciation of the letter "L"... back in the throat... funny how little things just get on your nerves after several hours!) :D

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The Best Book for the Editing Proceedure...

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

Reviewed: 03-01-14

I collected up a handfull of publications on writing to explore between drafts of my own book. Several deal with the craft of writing, developing characters, plot devices, and so on. however, none were as effective as this one with the simple tho difficult task of Editing my book.
While many of the options dealt with the process of creating the story, the characters, and the plot, most of them fell down when it came to simple and direct assertive guidelines to help cut out the clutter of a manuscript already essentially developed.
This book was refreshingly direct, tho a bit dense for any single reading, when it came to simple statements of 'do This and Not That'...
I may suggest a hard copy that can be flipped between and refferred to on your desk as you work, but the book itsself is perhaps the single most usefully important book for any aspiring writer to reference!
It was highly reccomended and I have been nothing but pleased with the end results!

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34 people found this helpful

Better than the last...

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

Reviewed: 12-11-13

While I think Dan Brown's work can be a little bit formulaic... crazy zealot, beautiful sidekick, quasi religious motivation, extensive historic references... etc.
I have to say I think this book exceeds the somewhat flat ending of the third book and thankfully deviates from the religious confrontation he delves into previously. While perhaps not completely unpredictable, I do find it to be an excelent read and a hell of a ride!
For readers who enjoy his other works, I cannot help but think this will be yet another pleasant book well within his forte.
Nicely Done!

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A bittersweet experience...

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

Reviewed: 12-08-13

I had avoided the last in the series for this author, in much the same way as I avoid the last of many series I love too much to end, but after completing the gambit 4 or 5 times, I decided it was time to take on 'the Last'...
It is odd and sometimes frustrating to hear an author wrap up a yarn of such glorious length, and I often wonder to what end it will proceed, but in this way, O'Brian is left mid stream like a record who's needle suddenly drifts to center... and, in a way, I have to respect that...
Respect that O'Brian ultimately gave us absolutely Everything he possibly could, and that only his death alone truncated his attempts... indeed, one could say he 'never wished' to tie up his ends in a feigned grandiose 'end' to some farsical 'happily ever after' but that the lives of the characters end, very much as the sailors who are unexpectedly killed in an action... which is to say, in a more Realistic way... that is the candle unexpectedly snuffed out...
Nevertheless, I was impressed with the quality of a work that was deffinitively unfinished, and the fragment is not without its endearing moments...
I shall then think of the tale as the proceeding notes describe it, which is to say, as a ship which simply sails off into the sunset with all our beloved aboard, thriving and content...
Not an ending to be feared, therefore... but the last breaths of a man who strived to keep telling his tale, till he could no longer speak...
perhaps a more appropriate end for a tale so grounded in history, which never ends, and in the reality of everyday lives, which are forever doomed to continue on unfinished when we are ourselves, removed from the tale...

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8 people found this helpful

Listened to in a single day! Once I got going!

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

Reviewed: 12-06-13

One would think that any novel you start and finish in a single day would prove to be one that you would reccomend to others, and one would be quite correct in thinking so!
This novel, once I got into the characters and situations was simply not one I could bear to wait to finish... What would seem, at first, a somewhat macabre novel, proves in the end to expose more kindness and sympathy despite the death around its characters than I could have first anticipated...
As someone with an interest in historical novels, it is also an interesting take on 'pre-revolutionary' France, and is remarkably insightful should I ever get the priveledge to actually visit Paris, and its catacombs...
Not without sadness and tragety, it yet contains a tenderness which is uncovered that seems the more real and miraculous in spite of itsself...
Overall, an excelent read! Romantic in its way, fascinating, and compassionate, it is an excelent break from the sappy traditional victorian anxt, while keeping that historic and period correct edge!

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5 people found this helpful

Leaves you with Years worth of reading to look for

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

Reviewed: 12-05-13

While I've read a handfull of the Modern Scholar series, to differing results, this is by far the most complete and comprenensive recording I have thus found!
The Lecturer clearly knows their subject well and, while they cover a huge number of books, in a staggering variety, each read is nevertheless given its time, and presented in a way that makes you interested to hear it.
If I were wondering which read to take on Next in the Scifi genre, this is probably the best guide I could imagine!
Time and again I find myself noting books or authors I'd like to explore, who's work I can now more fully appreciate in context, and who's stories are sorted in a way I both agree with, and largely credit with foreknowledge.
While there were several books listed I had already read, in a way that I felt did the work credit, there was a multitude more I had not heard of, in shades and flavors I have yet to experience!
By far my favorite modern scholar to date!
Very Well Done!
Would that they all could be so accessable and comprehensive!

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Vintage SciFi Experience!

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

Reviewed: 07-15-13

If you could sum up Logan's Run in three words, what would they be?

Retro Distopian Classic! Somehow the subtle 70's infleuence seeps into the weave of the fabric of this accessable SciFi Classic. With its own unique mix of futurism and societal decay it is Not an experience to miss!

What other book might you compare Logan's Run to and why?

Easily at home among others of its day, I would compare it to Issac Asimov, or similar...

What about Oliver Wyman’s performance did you like?

Somehow accomplishes the impression of sound effects in the background in retrospect... With such an adventurous tale in such futuristic locations, one not only finds each character represented well and seemlessly, but afterward you find yourself questioning just which of the various environments were actually presented as expressly as you remember them...

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

In the right environment, I could see myself listening to this completely in a single day, however, I think it more reasonable to break it up into two or three bits...
not Too long to stop you, but quite possible to take in smaller doses...

Any additional comments?

Having been familiar with the movie, I went into this read with an interest in discovering the hidden depths of the original novel... As is almost cliche in its occurrence, I was pleasantly rewarded in uncovering a deeper understanding to the more complete reality presented by the author and was additionally surprised to find the novel a Series of books to go on with...
Beyond the simple reality and poorly explained spectacle of the film, there is a deeper commentary on society which is the rare mindstretch I seek out most actively in all my reading. While I've had other series prove less enthralling in future installments, I am nevertheless left with higher hopes and greater interest in persuing the rest of the story having read this book.
A Classic in its tone, texture, and underlying principles... everything I most look for in my delvings into the older science fiction genre... Worth a Look.

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The backstory... the origins... the reasons...

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

Reviewed: 07-08-13

Having been an avid nintendo player as a child (what 80s kid wasn't) I was immediately interested in the content and story behind the scenes of such a huge infleuence. I was not dissapointed! Moreover, I often found myself completely familliar with the various tunes, characters, backgrounds, and itterations discussed without any need to refresh my memory!

Perhaps commonly for those who witness the decades long progress of a genre of culture, I often dispair at the complete lack of understanding among modern gamers of the long histories and development behind our favorite titles, and their changing scope and complexity over various platforms... This book, gladly, not only misses essentially Nothing I could recall, but often includes various stories that happened offstage to make the changes and moves I so often witnessed from the outside in wonder.

With the stories of things like the origins of the names, the design of the characters, the various omages to significant actors, and all of the buisiness dramas that underly the years of change, I found this book to be both informative, and nostalgic.

Beginning with the long years before the rise of video games of any sort, and moving step by step through the gambit of the rise of home consoles and modern gaming, this book seems to leave no yellow question mark stone unshattered!

I mostly enjoyed the discussion of the various new techniques and breakthroughs that enabled each successive game advance, with an emphasis on what sorts of additions were made to each of the oldest game systems to squeeze out the next best thing!
I also enjoyed hearing and remembering all of the 'new releases' and 'greatest game systems' of the past, we so fought over and despirately 'needed'... which seems funny to compare to the systems which came after... so far outshined...

A well delivered and descriptive history, the only real issue I had with the book is the author's tendancy to string all of it together in such a way that made it Hard to Find a Stopping Place to end, and then restart the story later on. Because of this, I read the story through essentially over the course of a single day... which may itsself be taken as an endorsement, but would seem the less difficult method, and most natural way, when actually reading it.

Ultimately, a great trip back to my childhood and a very revealing history of gaming to date...
As we enter the period of super realistic, highly interactive, and hugely expansive games which the new systems allow, I find myself missing the pure genius and simplicity of the great games of old... valuing more from the use of less to achieve so much, than the comparatively vast and unrestricted possibilties of modern gaming...
It's a trip! And a Tale worth telling...

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