DoktorKruel
- 14
- reviews
- 27
- helpful votes
- 45
- ratings
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Awaken Online: Catharsis
- By: Travis Bagwell
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
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Jason logs into Awaken Online fed-up with reality. He's in desperate need of an escape, and this game is his ticket to finally feeling the type of power and freedom that are so sorely lacking in his real life. Awaken Online is a brand new virtual reality game that just hit the market, promising an unprecedented level of immersion. Yet Jason quickly finds himself pushed down a path he didn't expect. In this game, he isn't the hero. There are no damsels to save. There are no bad guys to vanquish.
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WELFARE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-07-17
- Awaken Online: Catharsis
- By: Travis Bagwell
- Narrated by: David Stifel
Off-Brand Narrator
Reviewed: 04-25-24
How can one be a professional voice actor and not look-up to he pronunciation of unfamiliar words? Every time he spoke “trebuchet”as “trebu-SHET” I shook my head. His voice is just awful and grating. I don’t know about the other reviewers who gave “performance” five stars. Story was alright, though. Like a lot of lit-RPG it was overly and unnecessarily dramatic.
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The Downloaded
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Brendan Fraser, Luke Kirby, Vanessa Sears, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Original Recording
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In 2059, two vastly different groups of people portrayed by the compelling trio of Brendan Fraser (Academy Award winner), Luke Kirby (Emmy Award winner), and Vanessa Sears (Dora Award winner) undergo cryonic suspension. While their bodies are frozen, their minds, still active and awake, are uploaded into a massive quantum computer. The first group are all astronauts, about to leave Earth on a one-way interstellar colonization mission. The second group consists of convicted murderers and volunteers who elect to serve their sentences in a virtual-reality prison.
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Poor writing- agenda piece
- By Amazon Customer on 10-27-23
- The Downloaded
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Brendan Fraser, Luke Kirby, Vanessa Sears, Colm Feore, Andrew Phung, full cast
Woke AF
Reviewed: 01-20-24
I’m not a fan of this format. The sound effects and cast of characters is a distraction. Otherwise, the trope of an uneducated, unintelligent conservative antagonist was introduced in the first few minutes of the book. (His dad was a blue collar worker rather than an academic, so of course he knocked his kid around.) It was no surprise when we got to atheism, “dead naming,” and ultimately shaming people who opted-out the COVID vaccine later into the story. It seemed forced. Not my cup of tea.
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Pushing Ice
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 19 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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2057. Humanity has raised exploiting the solar system to an art form. Bella Lind and the crew of her nuclear-powered ship, the Rockhopper, push ice. They mine comets. And they're good at it. The Rockhopper is nearing the end of its current mission cycle, and everyone is desperate for some much-needed R & R, when startling news arrives from Saturn: Janus, one of Saturn's ice moons, has inexplicably left its natural orbit and is now heading out of the solar system at high speed.
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Proof that a good story doesn't require a trilogy
- By Jesse on 01-14-12
- Pushing Ice
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: John Lee
Bad narration; great story
Reviewed: 04-13-23
The narrator… phew. All his voices sound the same, his pace and tone are identical throughout, no matter what’s happening in the text. I almost quit listening and returned the book.
But the story was awesome! Something totally different. I wish there was a sequel.
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He Who Fights with Monsters: A LitRPG Adventure
- He Who Fights with Monsters, Book 1
- By: Shirtaloon, Travis Deverell
- Narrated by: Heath Miller
- Length: 28 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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It’s not easy making the career jump from office-supplies-store middle manager to heroic interdimensional adventurer. At least, Jason tries to be heroic, but it's hard to be good when all your powers are evil. He’ll face off against cannibals, cultists, wizards, monsters...and that’s just on the first day. He’s going to need courage, he’s going to need wit, and he’s going to need some magic powers of his own. But first, he’s going to need pants.
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Great!
- By tb3 on 03-10-21
- He Who Fights with Monsters: A LitRPG Adventure
- He Who Fights with Monsters, Book 1
- By: Shirtaloon, Travis Deverell
- Narrated by: Heath Miller
Mixed Feelings
Reviewed: 01-25-23
It’s an interesting story, an interesting world, interesting magic, and interesting characters. The writing is alright—not great, but alright. On one hand, I’m curious where the story goes in book two, but on the other, I’ve never so detested a protagonist. Maybe Ponyboy in The Outsiders, and for the same reasons I dislike Jason: he’s a both a loser and an asshole. There are enough of those in the world that I don’t want to spend my free time reading stories about them. Doubly true for stories where, despite their self-inflicted faults, and through no effort of their own, they get ahead.
We’re led to believe that Jason is in a dead-end life: no job, no woman (she left him for his brother), no money, no relationship with his family, and no plan. It’s obvious why. Then he’s randomly teleported to another world and instantly—without even a couple pages to explain the 180-degree change in his character, he’s smart, handsome, strong and agile, cleverer than everyone else, powerful. sophisticated, wealthy, connected, well-liked, and excels at everything he tried. He disrespects and mouths-off to everyone, and never gets his comeuppance. Nobody likes those people, and nobody likes it when those people randomly (and without any effort or intent) achieve greatness.
Maybe that’s the hidden story here: an observation on what happens when someone plays an RPG. When a neckbeard logs-onto an RPG, they’re instantly transformed into the best version of themselves. And while they do great things in-game, they know (and we know) that they’re still the same person underneath. Perhaps that’s Jason’s story. Great and exciting things happen to him, but he hasn’t actually changed—or at least he hasn’t changed by the end of this book—into a better person worthy of his adventures and successes. If he ports back to our world, which one will he be?
I’m curious about the story in book two, but I’m not rushing out to buy it. I’m sure Jason continues to rank-up, lead heroes, defeat incredible enemies, gain wealth and connections… and be a jerk. If there’s some assurance that Jason would get laid-out or taken down a couple notches, I’d prioritize the read.
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4 people found this helpful
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Kill Decision
- By: Daniel Suarez
- Narrated by: Jeff Gurner
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Linda McKinney is a myrmecologist, a scientist who studies the social structure of ants. Her academic career has left her entirely unprepared for the day her sophisticated research is conscripted by unknown forces to help run an unmanned - and thanks to her research, automated - drone army. Odin is the secretive Special Ops soldier with a unique insight into the faceless enemy who has begun to attack the American homeland with drones programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets.
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LEO WAS RIGHT, PART II
- By Mark on 07-25-12
- Kill Decision
- By: Daniel Suarez
- Narrated by: Jeff Gurner
Cliché
Reviewed: 06-02-22
I was a big fan of Daemon, Freedom, and even Delta-V, but man oh man, this book is “not good.” I actually wonder whether Suarez was trying to find out how cliche he can make a book without anyone realizing it was a gag. Some of the tropes are so bad I chuckled. I won’t write any spoilers, but you don’t need me to tell you how the story goes: it’s totally transparent. The hero is the same guy from a thousand other contemporary thrillers: the baddest badass operator ever. A rugged, handsome man with a “strong jaw” and “grey-blue” eyes. He’s a loner, but he trusts his small team implicitly, and they follow his orders instantly and without question.He will sacrifice everything including his life for the mission—any mission. He’s the strongest, smartest, and most tactically-proficient operator on the team of subject-matter experts. Enemies fear him… and he loves Mexican orphans, cuddly animals, and of course, the helpless, swooning, much younger female lead. (He’s also a “gentle/generous lover,” and the sex scene is gross and gratuitous.)
If you’ve ever served in the military, you’ll grin at the notion of a high-tech, cross-border a-team commanded by a master sergeant with no officers anywhere and (less-credibly!) no civilians managing the money. Even as the team fights *against the military* they have unlimited military funds for everything from C-130s, experimental tech, “disappearing” world-class scientists, underground lairs, and every type of gadget.
The villains are carbon copies from every other tech thriller: the shadowy and power-hungry cabal that pulls the puppet strings of the military industrial complex.
I can almost hear Suarez’ vertebrae popping as he bends over backward to name-drop technologies and tactical equipment: everything from the brand name of “the best boots money can buy” to someone calling for an extra mag for their “HK-416” in the middle of a gunfight, someone yelling about a “Lapua 338” round while under sniper fire, and a reference to the “AK74-U” rifles that a random NPC was carrying. The technobabble doesn’t do much for me.
I enjoyed the brief but interesting dialogue about how the advent of how autonomous drone combat will affect the need for “consent of the governed” in political science. I liked the hypothesis of the book. I really enjoyed the narration. But unfortunately, based on my experience with this book, I won’t be in a hurry to pick up Suarez’ next title.
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The Little Book of Stoicism: Timeless Wisdom to Gain Resilience, Confidence, and Calmness
- By: Jonas Salzgeber
- Narrated by: David Angelo
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Where can you find joy? Gain strength? How should we face our fears? Deal with the death of a loved one? And what about those reoccurring depressing thoughts? While traditional schooling doesn’t address such questions, it’s exactly what ancient schools of philosophy were all about: They taught you how to live. Even though these schools don’t exist anymore, you and I and most people are in as much need of a philosophy that guides us through life as we ever were. This compelling, highly actionable guide shows you how to deal more effectively with whatever life throws at you.
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Noticeable Improvement
- By Garret on 01-12-21
Worst Narration I’ve Ever Heard
Reviewed: 05-16-22
I thought the narrator’s voice was weird on the sample, but I bought it anyway. I shouldn’t have. There’s something very wrong with his voice, it almost sounds like he’s not a native English speaker. His “ancient philosopher” voice is ridiculous, too, like a child’s impression of what an ancient philosopher would sound like. It totally distracted me throughout the whole book . . . it basically ruined the book for me. Otherwise, I found the content to be average. There’s some good advice and some good summaries of stoic perspective, but the techniques for applying stoicism to one’s life are pretty routine.
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The Meaning of Life: Perspectives from the World's Great Intellectual Traditions
- By: Jay L. Garfield, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Jay L. Garfield
- Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
- Original Recording
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What is the meaning of life?It's a question every thoughtful person has pondered at one time or another. Indeed, it may be the biggest question of all-at once profound and universal, but also deeply personal.We want to understand the world in which we live, but we also want to understand how to make our own lives as meaningful as possible; to know not only why we're living, but that we're doing it with intention, purpose, and ethical commitment.
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Thoughtful, Evenhanded, Precise, and Well Spoken
- By George on 03-12-14
Amazing, but sadly exclusive
Reviewed: 05-01-22
I REALLY enjoyed this lecture. It turned me onto a number of different philosophies and world views with which I am unfamiliar: stoicism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hindu, and even Native American, even atheist. I’ve really noticed myself thinking about these topics lately, and I’ve already bought some other lectures on some of the philosophies I want to study more. The reading is also great.
But for some reason, Professor Garfield didn’t find a chapter to discuss the Christian (or Islamic) beliefs concerning the meaning of life. Since billions of people globally lead their lives in accordance with those philosophies, I think that’s a major oversight.
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Fallout
- Expeditionary Force, Book 13
- By: Craig Alanson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 22 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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The problem with lying about having a super weapon is that the bad guys might believe they have nothing to lose by doing something stupid that both sides will regret. Or, they might just call your bluff. Either way, the Merry Band of Pirates need a plan to deal with the Fallout.
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How much more epic can this get???
- By Daniela on 12-08-21
- Fallout
- Expeditionary Force, Book 13
- By: Craig Alanson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
Getting real slow
Reviewed: 04-27-22
This is the worst book in the series (except for the weird audio play, which I returned because it was so bad). The story’s getting reeeeeeeeally slow. There are nearly entire chapters that consist of irrelevant dialogue. The Alanson’s stretching, and it shows. Bray is on-point as always!
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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
Skip it
Reviewed: 01-17-22
Liked the first book well enough, but I had to Will myself through this one. Wish I hadn’t bought it. The narrator’s voice is like eggshell paint—it’s there, but not interesting at all, all the characters sound like, and I still don’t know what the bot is called—autofabian, artoffabian, r2fabian? The story was okay, but jumped around too much, had too many monologues, and not enough action. I literally had to listen to some of the chapters three or more times because my mind wandered to work tasks, or what other books were waiting for me in my queue. I’ll pass on whatever titles follow.
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The Reincarnationist Papers
- By: D. Eric Maikranz
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot, Michael David Axtell
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Evan Michaels struggles with being different, with having the complete memories of two other people who lived sequentially before him. He fights loneliness and believes he is unique until he meets Poppy. She recognizes his struggle because she is like him, except that she is much older, remembering seven consecutive lives. But there is something else she must share with Evan - she is a member of the secretive Cognomina. They are, in effect, immortals - compiling experiences and skills over lifetimes into near superhuman abilities that they have used to drive history over centuries.
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Lost myself in it
- By Kelly on 05-12-21
- The Reincarnationist Papers
- By: D. Eric Maikranz
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot, Michael David Axtell
Excellent Story, Well-Narrated
Reviewed: 05-14-21
I am so pleased to have found this book! The story is fantastic, and the narration is some of the best I’ve come across. I gave it five-stars across the board.
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22 people found this helpful