Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Pompous Author, Abridged Audiobook

Reviewed: 03-05-21

From the moment I heard in the intro that this author thinks he’s the “father of LitRPG” to when I realized comparing it to the ebook that this is abridged, I found numerous reasons to not like this book. It is bland, trope-y, and repetitive. Kong might be good at self-promotion but as a writer he is absolutely mediocre. Only the narrator made this even remotely listenable.

If you want good LitRPG try Drew Hayes (“Spells, Swords and Stealth”) or Luke Chmilenko (“Ascend Online”).

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Massively Disappointing

Reviewed: 12-01-20

I’ve ready RPO multiple times and every time I read it, I’m usually so drawn in and engaged that I finish it in a single day, sometimes two.

RPT took me a week to get through because I keep getting so disgusted I had to take a break. The book read like a stream of consciousness hack job that a fanfic writer came up with one night while jacked up on too much Dr Pepper. None of the characters felt real. The quest and how it was solved was forced and boring. There was no real suspense or drama.

The reveal of the big bad was slightly surprised but other than that the entire storyline was formulaic and predictable. The secondary big bad was so underused he might as well not even have made an appearance.

Most aggravating though was that the author tried to cash in on the trans wagon by making a secondary character who very quickly went from potential love interest (which would have been interesting) so simple fetch-quest fan girl minion. The heavy handed attempt at virtue signaling would have been great if it was sincere, but it was so obviously just shoved into one early part of the book and then almost entirely forgotten that it was clear the author was just checking off marketing notes.

All in all, Wil Wheaton did the best job possible of trying to make a crapburger actual seem appealing but even he has limits. This book is definitely going into the recycle bin.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Nothing Redeeming

Reviewed: 01-14-20

I normally would never spend a credit on this short a book, but after seeing the author on various pages/groups on Facebook whining and begging because nobody was buying his stuff several months ago, I decided to to throw him a pity credit. I just finally sat down to listen today, and made it maybe 5 minutes before stopping. Nothing about this is good. The narrator is terrible, the characters are boring, and you can just feel the author's try-hard-ness flowing through. I'm not even going to return this for a credit refund. I will let it sit, stinking up my library, as a reminder to trust my instincts.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Brilliant Start

Reviewed: 06-26-19

I honestly don't know what I want more: a sequel to this, or a new book in the Super Powereds universe.

Both. Definitely both.

If you are reading this review and trying to decide whether to get it, get it. Drew Hayes is the best fantasy writer of this generation, or at least tied with Brandon Sanderson.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Even worse than the second

Reviewed: 03-20-19

The first book was phenomenal.

the second book was plodding, sexist, and boring.

The third book is infuriating.

It's no surprise the final book isn't here.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A Strong Introduction

Reviewed: 11-09-18

An interesting look at mortal existence through the perspective of a demon/angel pairing much like Crowley and Aziraphale from "Good Omens" or Lucifer and Amenadiel from "Lucifer." I wasn't a huge fan of the narrator, as it actually sounded like just a regular guy reading to me with some minor voicework, but the story itself was enticing and has me wanting more.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A Huge Surprise

Reviewed: 07-18-18

I have read Brent Weeks's "Lightbringer" series several times over and loved it. When I found out he had another series, I was stoked to say the least. Within an hour or so, I had to turn the audiobook off. There was so much child abuse (including violent, graphic child rape scenes) in just the first couple of scenes, I couldn't believe I was reading a book from a respected author. A year or so later, I decided to just suck it up, get past those scenes, and hope it got better. It didn't. Next up were graphic scenes of a little girl being beaten and mutilated almost to death. So again, walked away.

Recently, I was talking to a friend about this experience and she told me that I quit when the worst of it was over, and to give it another try. I did, and while it was true that was the worst of it, things still weren't great. This may be the first of hundreds of audiobooks I've listened to where I just couldn't follow along with all the names (mainly because each person seems to have at least 3-4), and had to keep rewinding/restarting chapters. Towards the end of the book, I realized a lot of the problem was that it seemed like my audiobook file was somehow corrupted, as scenes seemed very disjointed and scenes started to repeat themselves. Everything from when the shit hits the fan (to try to avoid spoilers) until the end made hardly any sense at all.

This book is simply disgusting and either poorly written or horribly edited. I will just stick to Lightbringer, and even then, I don't know if my opinion of this clearly perverted and disturbed author will ever recover.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

Excellent, But Derivitive Of Earlier Works

Reviewed: 02-23-17

Carlin at his best, but if you already have "George Carlin Reads To You" you've already heard all the best bits. If you are trying to choose between the two, get this one, but if you have one, you don't need the other.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

An Unexpected Treat

Reviewed: 10-15-09

I had no idea that Eoin Colfer had been tapped to continue the Hitchhiker series. I was checking to see if there was a new Artemis Fowl book yet and saw this... had to have it. Fantastic listen! The reader deserves a full 5 stars, but I marked the book at 4 simply because of a few nitpicky things. Colfer seems to be trying too hard at times - a few too many "guide notes," the footnotes we all know and love, and names that are so ridiculous they remind me of the later Xanth books. I don't mean just odd names, I mean names that are supposed to be funny because they sound like what the person has done. You'll hear what I mean.

Bottom line is this - if Brandon Sanderson does half as good a job finishing The Wheel Of Time series and Colfer has done here, there are going to be a lot of happy Jordan fans.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

24 people found this helpful