Chris Jorgensen

Interesting third installment in the Enderverse

Reviewed: 06-19-24

Readers likely only get to this book through Card's first two in the Ender series. He had the ideas for this story separate from his thinking about the Enderverse, then used the Ender story to bring the concept of phylotic connections. Good business move to capitalize on a fan-base. The story is interesting and opens an important discussion about mental health AND the nature of the universe. The frequent use of ex machina is a bit awkward, but I still recommend the read.
HOWEVER, the performance is awful. Different readers giving the same characters different voices with random accents is quite distracting. The prosity imposed on the Hive Queen is painful to listen to and the blatant racism in voicing the Chinese characters is arbitrary and offensive.

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Masterful Work, Masterfully Performed

Reviewed: 02-22-24

This book is an inspiration of virtuosity and commitment. It’s got rough language and graphic descriptions, but feels like a completely honest telling of MPW’s journey told by MPW. Gritty and witty!

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Brilliantly written and performed

Reviewed: 02-05-24

First, I'm a huge fan of Ell Potter's narrations and that is a primary reason I selected this book. She did not disappoint. Her readings capture the emotions and moods of the dialog and make the setting descriptions real. Brava!
The book is an amazing debut for Ms. Dean. The story is somewhat disturbing because of its frank portrayals of child abuse, masochistic sexual behavior, and mental illness, none of which are gratuitous. The reveal late in the book brings the whole narrative into sharp focus and skillfully brings foreshadowing and plot together.
If you find strong language and the topics mentioned above offensive, you might choose another of Ms. Potters's readings. If you like skillful and haunting debuts, I highly recommend giving Girl A a listen.

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Not relatable to most cooks; Annoying reader

Reviewed: 02-05-24

I understand why many people liked this audiobook although I did not. The stories and anecdotes were indulgent and the recipes are inaccessible to most cooks as they are ingredient-complex and very time-consuming. The print may have been a better choice for me. YMMV

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Not exactly Alighieri, but fun

Reviewed: 06-02-23

Niven and Pournelle have collaborated on quite a few novels. I've read many and most were quite enjoyable.
The rings of Hell are generally faithful to Alighieri, and the dialoge (Niven/Pournelle specialty) is fun. Hell stays pretty lighthearted untithe sudden baffling conclusion. Whether you agree or disagree with Jerry's (protagonist) conclusions is up to you. I found the climax and denouement quite disappointing.

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Fun true fictional science

Reviewed: 05-27-23

I've listened to the first two books in the Bobiverse series. There is nothing particularly deep or profound in any of the plot or characters. That said, it is truly fictional science (as opposed to science fiction). Most of the technology is ex machina and only makes sense if you suspend disbelief--which is kinda the point of this type of writing. There seems to be no attempt to remain within theoretical possibilites and the technologies are simply entertaining.
The performance is fabulous! Mr. Porter reads with a sense of style and occasional sarcasm that brings the narrative a welcome wit and charm. I'm sure I would have abandoned the print versions.
This series is much like eathing cheesie poofs as opposed to a lovely cobb salad.

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Very good science, very poor presentation.

Reviewed: 01-14-22

Lopez-Alt has conducted thorough testing and research to write this book. His science is interesting and enlightening. The bonus .pdf is also very instructive and contains loads of useful recipes.
Unfortunately, Lopez-Alt's overly egotistical and patriarchal style (constantly references his wife and often in unflattering ways) and mysogynistic language detract from the substance of the book.

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7 people found this helpful

Beautiful language; Intriguing story

Reviewed: 10-17-20

Once again, Tana French gives us a lot to think about while weaving a tale of human valor, entanglement, and hubris. Ms. French has a true gift for using dialogue, description, narrative, pacing, and discourse to tell a story about people. In this case, the protagonist is somewhat misplaced as a former cop from North Carolina dropped into a small village in Ireland. The compare and contrast of values is part of what makes this a fabulous work. Some have said that this is her best work. While it is certainly her most mature and polished work, I think it is another in a grand set of novels by this talented writer.

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Not for your first Heinlein read

Reviewed: 11-22-19

I'm a Heinlein fan. I've been reading his works since my early teens starting with Starship Trooper (book report for 7th grade English). To Sail Beyond the Sunset is not his best work and comes quite late in the stories of Lazurus Long and the Howard Foundation novels. Don't read this one first. Start with Stranger in a Strange Land to meet Jubal Harshaw, then continue with Time Enough for Love (one of my favorites and one of Heinlein's best). Enough advice.

To Sail Beyond the Sunset is full of sex (including a lot of incest) as it tells the story of Mama Maureen through the centuries. The descriptions of sex are often quite graphic and definitely not for young readers (I'm not a prude but would rate this book a hard R if not NC-17). If you aren't familiar with this story line (Lazurus Long/Howard Families) you'll lack the context needed to see beyond the lewdness to understand the message of the novel.

Ms. Dunne's performance is very good. She paces just right and includes enough character inflection that one always knows who is talking.

Bottom line: if you're familiar with the story line, want another dose of Heinlein's bawdy writing and are curious about the fate of Mama Maureen, it's worth a credit.

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Great Math/Science/History Thriller

Reviewed: 05-01-19

This is a fun listen for anyone interested in math, science and history. It is well constructed with lots of historical milestones from WWII and the evolution of the internet without struggling too hard to be strictly accurate. I gave up on trying to understand all of the intricacies of cryptography and just enjoyed knowing that these things are amazingly interesting and complex.
As a linguist, I have one caveat: I found the narrator's random pronunciation throughout the book to be both distracting and annoying. With a little bit of research, those errors could easily be avoided. I grant that 42 hours is a lot of reading, but a more careful approach to the vocabulary would have greatly enhanced my listening experience.

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