James

No Martian, but worth a listen

Reviewed: 08-06-18

Weir set the bar pretty high with The Martian. Artemis doesn't quite live up to that standard, but it's still an interesting and often funny heist story. It's worth listening to just for the line “On a scale from one to ‘invade Russia in winter,’ how stupid is this plan?”
I'm a little surprised there wasn't a single Mare's 11 joke though.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

My first Ethshar

Reviewed: 11-13-17

This was the first Ethshar book I ever read. I've read the others in the decades since, but this still holds a special place. I really appreciated the way the characters think through situations instead of just acting rashly. Similarly, Watt-Evans really thought through the way the various systems of magic in Ethshar would work and stayed consistent throughout the series.
More than a decade ago, I contacted this author and asked him if there were any audio versions of his books. He said he'd never really thought about it. I was thrilled when his books started appearing at Audible. I sincerely hope they produce the rest of the series.

“Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry”

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

First World Problems, the novel

Reviewed: 12-14-16

Would you try another book from Lev Grossman and/or Kirby Heyborne and Lev Grossman ?

I really enjoyed Grossman's Magicians books, so I started working backward and read Codex (mediocre) and now Warp (don't waste your time). In the foreword Grossman talked about not being able to let this book go so I'm at least glad he got it out of his system so he could move on to write much better books.

Warp reminds me of Catcher in the Rye because practically nothing actually happens and you end up resenting the privileged protagonist for whining about things that aren't real problems. It falls into the "pretentious people sitting around talking about things" genre. Nothing ever seems to produce change or even consequences for the participants or the listener.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment, even for a first novel.

Any additional comments?

Try the Magicians books instead (MUCH better than the TV series). Lev's twin brother Austin has also written some really entertaining books.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

Finally, an Ethshar audio book

Reviewed: 01-08-14

Would you listen to The Vondish Ambassador again? Why?

I'd probably listen again as I pine, wishing for more books in the series to appear in audio. I've been reading Watt-Evans' Ethshar books for 20 years and about seven or eight years ago even emailed the author to ask if any audiobooks had been produced. He replied that as far as he knew, a few had been made as part of a "talking books" program for the blind but weren't available to purchase. I was elated to hear about this audio version, but there is some indication that due to complicated publishing rights issues this may be the only one in the series to become available.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ethshar of the Spices. Although not anthropomorphized, the city still feels like a character.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

He tried a little too hard to differentiate characters so the voices were a bit exaggerated and therefore sounded forced. Also, it's pointed out in the story that Emmis is relatively young so the gruff voice didn't really seem to fit. Didn't really bother me; it's just something I noticed.

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

If I had that much free time, yes.

Any additional comments?

Read all the Ethshar books. They're smart, funny, and entertaining. The worldbuilding and magic systems are very consistent and although there is a definite chronology and some connections between books, they don't have to be read in any particular order.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

Great book, only one pet peeve.

Reviewed: 05-01-13

Would you consider the audio edition of Ender’s World to be better than the print version?

The essays collected here are very good and cover a variety of aspects of the Ender books with a concentration on Ender's Game.

The only real problem I had was that one name was consistently mispronounced. It's not the narrators' fault; most people would pronounce "Bonzo" like the chimp that acted with Reagan, but as Petra clearly pointed out in Ender's Game: "Not bahn-zoe, pisshead. bone-so. The name's Spanish. Bonzo Madrid. Aqui nosotros hablamos espanol, senor gran fedor."

The producers* should have known this and told the narrators. Normally audio versions of Card's work are exceptionally good so an obvious error like this is particularly jarring.

*Especially if Stefan Rudnicki produced it since he read the above line himself in the Ender's Game audio. Can't remember if he did this one, but he's produced several of the Ender titles.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

Great series. Average narrator.

Reviewed: 04-07-11

There's not much point in commenting on the story. If you're listening to this, you're (hopefully) at least somewhat familiar with Neuromancer and Count Zero.


As for the narration, it's fine. Neither outstanding nor abysmal. His Japanese isn't as good as his French, but it's not bad or jarring. My biggest problem (as with many audio books) is the lack of preparation. If I knew I was going to be narrating books two and three of a trilogy, I think I'd be sure to listen to book one first, particularly since Neuromancer was read by Gibson himself* so I would know he pronounced all the names the way they were intended. Had Jonathan Davis done this he'd know that "Armitage" isn't pronounced Armitahj (just one example). This happens far too often with audio books, as if the producer hands the narrator a book at random and says "Here, read this" without ever checking with the author or publisher to make sure they get the names and accents right.

*A true pity Audible doesn't carry it and evidently can't acquire the rights to produce their own recording.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Not his best, but better than many.

Reviewed: 12-09-10

This book has great characters, a well-defined magic system, political intrigue, and lots of action. It's a great selection, but still not nearly as compelling as Weeks' earlier Night Angel trilogy, all of which are also available from Audible.

The narrator does well enough, but has a tendency to raise the pitch of his voice at the end of sentences, making everything sound like a question.

The sound quality and production were fine...except that, for some inexplicable reason, the pauses between chapters are much longer than with most other audio books. Several times when I encountered long silences, I would get to the point where I had decided that it wasn't just terrible editing--there must be a problem with my player. As I reached for it to check, the next chapter would finally start.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!