PygmyOcelot

Good, but abridged.

Reviewed: 03-18-22

I really wish Audible would clearly label when a title is abridged. I kept feeling like I was missing parts of the story, which, it turns out, I was because they'd been cut out. I ended up buying and reading the book, which is waaaay better than the audio book. Contrary to others, I really liked the narrator. I thought she was good and easy to understand. The recording quality was subpar. I think I'll return this as the story is extremely abridged. Too bad as I liked the narrator and it's such a great story.

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1 person found this helpful

Still needs updates

Reviewed: 06-02-21

First off, these are great recordings. Unfortunately, the chapters are still labeled (in the chapter list) as "Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc" instead of with the bird names. Highly impractical, and because of this it's waste of a credit/money. The full boxed set-- "Stokes Eastern and Western Birds"-- has the chapters labeled with bird names and accompanying PDF, both of which are greatly helpful. Since, at the moment, I'm only interested in western birds, I was hoping to cut through the tedious sorting through parts to get to what I wanted by buying this. As it stands, it's useless as a refreher/learning tool without proper chapter titles. I could go through and bookmark everything, but for $20 I shouldn't have to. I'm returning this if I can, but I'd be willing to buy again if the chapter titles are updated/fixed.

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1 person found this helpful

Finally on Audible!

Reviewed: 10-02-20

I love this book! I'm so glad they finally put it on Audible. The characters are strong and complex, and the world is rich. I highly recommend this book and the rest of the series. I really hope the rest of the series is put on audible soon too, because the other two books are just as fantastic.

I thought the narrator did well. If you read books before you listen to them, the characters always sound different in someone else's hands, but I thought the narrator did a reasonably good job. My only sticking point was the mispronuciation of several bird names, but this may not matter much to others.

Great fantasy book! Read or listen to it!

Edit: June 2, 2022
Audible, please put the other two books ("Ashes to Fire" and " Creatures of Light") in the series up! I'm getting antsy waiting for them! ;)

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4 people found this helpful

Getting groan-worthy (in a bad way)

Reviewed: 09-02-20

I felt this series had a lot of promise.

Unfortunately, this book takes it on a turn downhill I'm not sure it can recover from. Tropes are starting to abound. There was a "twist" that was set in motion very early in the book that is brought to the forefront at the end. I guessed what was going to happen the instant it was set in motion, so when it was brought to its "conclusion" at the end of the book (where it's no doubt meant to be an appalling cliffhanger) all I could do was roll my eyes. I did that a lot during this book.

A love triangle-- really?! Ugh. I'm so tired of this theme, and it's not done particularly well.

I also dislike how every single character needs to be matched up to be whole.

Overall, here's the breakdown: The narrator was fine. I don't know if the author was in a hurry to finish the book or what, but I'm disappointed. Not much really happened in the greater story-- it was basically the thing I mentioned above getting set up and tangled. I think the reason for that is likely to stretch the story out-- I think I read it was supposed to be 7 books total in the series. That being said, she has created an interesting world. And despite my eye rolling and groaning, I did finish the book. I will probably listen to the next one, because I am interested in the world and, to a degree, what happens to the characters. This is like being addicted to sugar, honestly. I may also just be too old for what is presented here (mid 30s). However, if the caliber of the story isn't lifted, I could see myself abandoning the whole series rather quickly.

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2 people found this helpful

Nice, but too short

Reviewed: 08-26-20

Just what it says in the headline. Wish it was a bit longer. Overall, nice soothing sounds.

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1 person found this helpful

Nice recording

Reviewed: 08-22-20

This is probably one of the better soundscapes I've heard. This is because it's more "full" than the others. It's not just one nature sound (like rain), it's the full of what you might actually hear during a winter night in Yellowstone. This includes rain, wind and trees creaking. It also put me right to sleep.

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Not the right narrator

Reviewed: 08-10-20

I love this book. I read it on my own many years ago. I was excited for the audiobook as I like having familiar favorites to listen to. I was a bit disappointed. The book was still good, but the narrator wasn't a great choice. She might be great for another book, and in fact I believe I have listened to other audiobooks recorded by Carolyn McCormick and enjoyed her performance. She's just not the right choice for this one. Katniss is supposed to be 16 or 17. Carolyn McCormick's voice is just too mature. If you want to listen to this on audiobook, I suggest getting the special edition narrated by Tatiana Maslany. I'm not completely thrilled by her narration either (she sighs a lot), but at least her voice is more age appropriate for the main character.

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Very good. Very dark

Reviewed: 01-28-20

I really enjoyed this one, and typically super dark is not my thing. I am all for reinventing old stories, and this one delivers. I will warn though that if you have very sentimental feelings about or view "Alice in Wonderland" as an innocent, carefree and childlike tale, you probably won't like this. I personally always found that book to be somewhat f-ed up, so this version is on the money for me. Very creative, dark spin on the story. Dark as it is, there is still a touch of wonder and even bits of humor. As always, Jenny Sterlin gives a fabulous performance.

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Must live in a green friendly place for this

Reviewed: 11-06-19

Seriously. This is neither a statement for or against this particular title, just a straight fact. I started listening to this at first without my medication and was just kind of "meh" about it-- lots of pop culture references I don't particularly care about or find amusing for a variety of reasons. I found it a tad disappointing given all the talent involved.

But then I had a high pain day and decided to listen to more after medication. OMG, what a difference! I was dying-- I literally have not laughed that hard in years! I particularly enjoyed a lot of the bird-related jokes.

So take that for what you will. Definitely an adult title. A bit trite, but hilarious given the right circumstances.

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24 people found this helpful

Surprised how much this helped

Reviewed: 06-12-19

I'm currently in grad school. As much as I wish I could say this actually did make me smarter, I can't honestly say that it did. That being said, I found that listening to this on a low volume while studying or doing homework does help improve my concentration and focus. That in itself is just about priceless. I generally don't like affirmation-type audio, but I really like the music and the affirmations by the narrator are pleasant and unobtrusive. Worth the $5 or so that it cost. I will definitely be purchasing other titles in the series that will hopefully help me in other areas as well. I didn't have high expectations and was really surprised how much this little audio book helped. Thank you!

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1 person found this helpful