K. Thompson

Stunning Performance

Reviewed: 07-05-24

I liked this story a lot but I was so taken with the narration and very glad I chose to experience it on audio.

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One of the best audiobooks I’ve heard in a while!

Reviewed: 04-03-24

Story and performance are both fantastic. I loved how the author and the narrator were both able to emulate the speech and thoughts of children.

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Feminist Horror for People who Have Never Heard of Patriarchy Before

Reviewed: 08-20-23

This book is an absolute mess. To start the prose itself is lackluster, aiming for maximum ornamentation at all times even when it’s redundant or makes no sense. The story is poorly paced with stakes that are unclear up until the last hour or so of the recording. On top of all that this is the most entry-level feminist genre thing I’ve ever read, to the point it’s insulting. The author googled “Freud misogyny” once and concluded from that that all male therapeutic professionals are evil. I’m well aware of how misogyny works especially in regards to mental health and the presentation here is absolutely ridiculous and sophomoric. Every point this book makes is unsubtle to the point of farce and there’s no ultimate point to any of it. The gore writing is passable but I swear the horror scenes in this were written like a lost episode creepypasta, just repetitive to the point of boredom. What an absolute joke.

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Little weird but cool - awful narration

Reviewed: 03-21-23

Definitely the horniest Octavia E. Butler book I’ve read so far, for better and for worse. She does the classic “so she’s 53 but she looks 10” thing bad anime does, which was pretty disgusting but that and some lackluster repetitive writing towards the end (Shuri reiterates her feelings in the same words a lot) were my only problems. Butler’s greatest strength imo is her concepts and i adored her take on vampire existence and community, particularly community. The narration was pretty bad, though. The narrator attempted accents she had no ability to portray and it was quite laughable a lot of the time. The weakest Butler I’ve read but still a fun ride.

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Very Disappointing

Reviewed: 01-06-20

I was pretty disappointed by this. It starts extremely strong with Clytemnestra’s story and then cuts to her son Orestes, who is the POV character for most of the novel. There are two more brief sections narrated by Electra and again by Clytemnestra, and all of these sections are rather good. The Orestes sections really lost me, as they were, in my opinion, rather boring. I didn’t like Orestes as a character, I found him somewhat blank and strange. I struggle to think of an action he takes in the novel that he takes on his own initiative (there is one, that comes rather late, I’m just realizing). I understand that he is supposed to be the single honest member of a family of snakes, and that’s an interesting concept, but he is not charming or interesting on his own and his family is much more interesting. I don’t know if this was the author’s intention, as it is not commented upon explicitly by Orestes or any of the characters. Him being strung along by basically everyone he has ever met is a cool idea, it’s just not fun to follow his point of view. Even his big Mythical act (SPOILERS, I guess?), killing his mother, isn’t undertaken on his own initiative. He thinks about it, but then immediately after he says to himself “I really should kill my mom” his sister presents him with a weapon and a perfect opportunity. Tension? Never heard of her. I wish, ultimately, that the novel contained more of Electra’s point of view, because there were a lot of missed opportunities. This is probably the hardest time I’ve had finishing a novel on Audible.

The writing was acceptable in third person and quite good in first person. I don’t know why the author decided to write the Orestes sections in third person, but I think it contributed to those parts not being engaging. It would have helped me get to know the character. I felt I got to know and like Clytemnestra and Electra, but never got that opportunity with Orestes. Something I noticed was that he uses the form “X said” a lot. Like usually repeatedly. I wasn’t a fan of that.

Finally, the performances on this were quite good. Clytemnestra was the best, followed by Electra, and then Orestes. Given my reaction to the Orestes sections, I might be biased.

If you are looking for an expansion of a Greek myth focusing on a minor female character, like Circe or Silence of the Girls, don’t read this. You’ll get that, and you’ll probably like it, but you’ll mostly get a whole lot of wandering around in the woods and being thirsty. I don’t know who I’d recommend this to.

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1 person found this helpful

Amazing Performance!

Reviewed: 10-31-19

The performance was amazing and I was very entertained by this audiobook. However, I felt it moved a bit slow at times and the story was a bit predictable. Of course, the reason it's predictable is that it has been reworked 10000 times since it was written. The actresses playing Laura and Carmilla were my favorites, they both brought so much to their roles and they had a lot of chemistry. I shouldn't have to tell you that David Tennant did a great job. He was actually one of the reasons I grabbed this, and he did fantastic. I couldn't even tell it was him, but I guess I just don't know his voice very well.

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Professor Daileader Rocks!

Reviewed: 10-21-19

I have listened to all 3 of Professor Daileader’s lectures on the Middle Ages and they’re all fantastic. I highly recommend them to anyone with even a passing interest in the period. My personal favorite was the Early Middle Ages because of its obscurity and just because I’m a big Late Antiquity nerd. Thanks for the hours of entertainment and learning, Professor Daileader!

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Amazing!

Reviewed: 10-25-17

This is the first I've listened to the Great Courses and wow am I impressed! I was riveted to this. Professor Garland paints a magnificent picture of ancient civilizations and talks about things I never even thought about! My one complaint is that I would love to have learned more about ancient China or India or civilizations not typically explored in this manner, but I suppose there wasn't enough information in the historical record for that. Still, absolutely amazing and a must-listen for fellow daydreamers.

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