Kernman

Concepts only not many solutions. Waste of a credit.

Revisado: 10-04-23

I hate to bash any books or authors. But this subject matter was important to me. And the reviews seemed pretty good. But not only was it less than two hours, which is OK if the content is helpful, but this wasn’t very helpful either. It just explained a lot of definitions and things to be aware of but I don’t feel any better having listen to it. Other than journaling, and. Meditation, I really didn’t get anything out of it. I’m still in my own head and I don’t feel like I learned anything to get me out of it. Hard pass.

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This is NOT Red Rising - it might be better

Revisado: 06-14-23

The post dismissing this novel as a Red Rising knockoff is entirely wrong. The poster needs to appreciate the book's profound essence sufficiently. The only thing The Will of the Many has in common with Red Rising is the age range of the main character. This is a different story altogether, but I can almost see where he/she is coming from. The world-building is splendidly intricate, immersing readers into a beautifully conceived fantasy realm. While the pacing may be deliberate, this serves to develop rich, nuanced characters whose journeys resonate deeply. The plot, though complex, is a testament to its genre, drawing from classic tropes while injecting novel twists.

As for the narrator, I have never heard him before, and now I will deliberately seek out his work. What a range! And the edge in his voice is perfect for this series.

Again, contrary to the earlier review that I completely disagree with, the resemblance to the 'Red Rising' series, in that person's opinion, doesn't diminish this novel's own unique value. Borrowing elements from successful works is a time-honored tradition in literature, yet this book still establishes its distinctive identity. The author's intelligent synthesis of familiar elements and original ideas crafts a narrative that stands on its own. It's unfair to label it a mere derivative work. The novel captivates with its blend of old and new, using shared genre conventions as a launchpad for its innovative storytelling. Readers would do well to appreciate this book in its own context and merits. I can't wait to see what happens next.

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Well, I finished it.

Revisado: 06-02-23

This was a decent sci-fi story. It had everything you would expect in a popcorn novel. Powerful bad guy, smirking main character, lots of supporting misfits in the crew, and a wayward kid. Without giving away spoilers, one of the main characteristics of the crew was some tech they received to give them a little something extra. But that part of the story wasn’t used much. I mean, without it, the story would have gone very differently, but I would have liked to see their “gift” more utilized. The rest of the story was mainly intrigue, chases, and a few scrapes with the bad guys. All in all, I finished it, but I’m not sure I will continue the series. I just didn’t care enough about anyone in the story. It was also rather predictable. It seem to borrow from a lot of well-known and better written novels. I think the author did nice job, but it’s style not for me. As for the narrator, I’ve listened to stories read by him before, and he usually does a great job. Ninety percent of the time he did well with the story, but the accent he used on the little girl was absolutely atrocious. This is supposed to be hundreds of years in the future and she sounded like someone from Boston in the 1930s. That distracted me every time.

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Good first 3/4, poor ending

Revisado: 04-12-23

Overall I like the story, hence the four stars. It took a little while to get going, and I could predict some of the things that were going to happen, but it was good science-fiction. I like the main character a lot, and some of the supporting cast. I didn’t care for Indie too much and didn’t invest a lot of emotion in her. The story arc, continued to ramp up and without giving away any spoilers, the last couple of chapters were a little disappointing. It set up nicely for the next book in the series, but not enough in my opinion to make me want to continue. I’ll think about it, and if there are any weeks when I don’t find something else to read, maybe I’ll continue. As for the narrator, I don’t remember ever hearing him before, but he was perfect for this story and I will seek out other titles he has narrated.

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What am I missing?

Revisado: 01-21-23

I’ll admit, LitRPG is not my usual go-to genre, but I’ve listened to few and most are a passable 2-4 stars. This series, however, is getting huge 5-star reviews. I literally started and stopped, and started over again three times, really trying to give it a chance. My third try went 3 1/2 hours into it. I finally gave up for good and returned it. Nothing I heard indicated some unique storyline. In fact, the MC is annoying at best. In addition, I couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be a comedy or an adventure story. The narrator almost had a laughing tone, like he was smiling while reading, if that makes sense? I just never felt connected or entertained. I’m not sure what went wrong for me, but I’m clearly in the minority.

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Great mashup of dystopian and space adventure

Revisado: 01-07-22

I like science fiction of all types. I tend to gravitate towards either zombie apocalypse stories or space opera. This blended the two very different genres perfectly. At the time a read The Last Exodus, it was a free listen as part of the Plus Catalog. Usually those are just so-so titles. But this one was excellent.

I should mention, the reviewer with the most helpful votes is wrong about this being a paint by numbers story. I’ve never heard one transition from scorched earth survival, to buddy story, to outer space adventure so effectively - at least that I can recall. It was unique. For someone who has a very short attention span and tends to give up quickly, I found myself wanting to know what happened next. When a story has me idling in my driveway a bit longer than necessary, I know it’s going to be a 5-star experience.

It was light on the technical aspects of sci-fi but there was enough to explain some of the weapons, armor and other things to my satisfaction. I didn’t need to have some believeable overly complicated explanation about propulsion or anything like that. I also did not feel like the story dragged on. The pace and length were just right. There were also no eye-rolling sections or over-reliance on humor that had me frustrated like a lot of sci-fi these days (i.e. like Skippy). In fact, it was downright horrifying and violent in a lot of ways. The ending also left me satisfied and wanting more.

I don’t recall ever hearing anything read by Victor Bevine, but he was the perfect choice for this series and now I’ll look for other books narrated by him. All in all, for a free title for members, I loved it. I’m starting the the second book as soon as I post this review.

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Masterful buddy story, but a slog to get through

Revisado: 05-18-21

Andy Weir is my kind of author. He writes in plain language about very complex things. He also has a great sense of humor and makes the mundane very palatable. Project Hail Mary is not to be compared with the Martian. It’s that simple. This is a new story, with new characters, and an entirely unique plot. Yes it takes place in space, yes there are other planets, and yes the protagonist must solve problems. But that’s where the similarities end.

The bottom line is, as others have said, there is a lot of filler. This is typical Weir style, and it makes sense in the Martian where we could feel ourselves marooned on Mars along with Mark Watney, rooting for him and his science successes over every Sol that passed. But in this story, the details of experiments, and tests, and language barriers, and many other scientific processes got a bit boring to be honest. The test to mutate something (no spoiler) seemed to happen overnight, so the timing of things seemed very short compared to reality as well. That took me out of the story a bit.

The best part of the novel was the relationship Grace made on his journey, but I won’t go into that to reveal spoilers. Let’s just say there is a common mission throughout, and it really turned into a buddy story with a side of science fiction.

Anyway, I enjoyed it but I didn’t love it. It took me longer to listen to then most great stories. I see it is getting a lot of good reviews, and that makes me happy for Mr. Weir. I hope he keeps writing, and I hope it stays in the science fiction genre.

As for Ray Porter, he’s clearly one of the best, but I think it depends on what type of story it is. He works for nerdy science fiction, but is a bad choice for something like say a spec ops badass. For some reason I’m just not as into him as a narrator as so many other people are. But if you are a fan, he does a great job.

For me, Project Hail Mary was neither a hit nor a miss. It was just sort of a decent average story that had too many details for my liking. I finished it, and I’m not sorry I did, but it didn’t move me like a 5-Star book. Will I listen to it again? Not likely.

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It’s a shame this book isn’t more well-known

Revisado: 04-08-21

Wow. This book was perfect. You can stop reading now. Seriously, at first, I thought it was a YA book and more of a Mortal Kombat style of fiction - a video game brought to life or maybe LitRPG - and I almost passed on it. But it really wasn't. There are stat and leveling-up portions, but those seemed extremely necessary and not like the RPG stats that annoy me when they are read. Another reviewer used the term "magic system." Get that picture out of your head completely. There is no magic system and this has zero elements of a fantasy book. There is alien technology that humans have learned to harness. It's as simple as that, and most of the story centers on the CAD (alien tech) and how it becomes symbiotic with the user. I've also read some people write that there are shades of Ender's Game, but I don't see that at all. At best, the similarities are that Rei is a teen, it's science fiction, and he improves as the story progresses. He has bullies and allies throughout - and it's a very nice balance of both. Rei is nowhere near as cerebral, tactical, emotional, or as deep as Ender. He's smart, but it's not the same. Instead, it reminded me more of the Super Powered series by Drew Hayes (also excellent).

As for the story, it was seamless despite two authors. The character and world-building were outstanding. The characters that needed backstories got them. The secondary characters were consistent. I suspect other major characters will be fleshed out more in sequels. The dialog between characters was witty and realistic. Even some of the teen angst didn't bother me at my age, as I remember what that awkward feeling was like. I even cracked a smile or two for some of it. The combat, while detailed, did not linger so long as to become monotonous. There was definitely some padding in the middle portions of the book, but I can see why it was needed. Again, I never got bored, but it was okay to lose focus occasionally and not miss anything vital. No spoilers, but the last 1/4 was very good. Plenty of intrigue and tense build-up. Some critics have said it was predictable. Maybe, but most coming of age, hero stories are and I knew that going in. Seeing as this appears to be a series, I thought it was an excellent first book. Even if you stop reading at the end of this story, it ended nicely enough to be satisfying. No frustrating cliffhangers and for that, I thank the authors. Best of all, at 34 hours, it is an outstanding entertainment value. Thank God they didn't break it into three or four smaller books. I don't need to say anything about the narrator Luke Daniels. I got hooked on him from the Ember Wars and Frontlines series of books years ago. Outstanding as always.

I judge a book by how much I look forward to putting in my earbuds and continuing. I found myself getting in the car to run errands or going to bed earlier just so I could listen. That's how you get five stars from me.

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More like a pilot episode of a new Star Trek

Revisado: 03-24-21

I can’t complain too much because this book was free as part of my membership. So I gave it a shot on a six hour round-trip drive. It is very slow to develop, and lacks intense action. Military sci-fi is my kind of genre so I eagerly gobble up new books. The author can write, and the character development was OK, but not great. The tech is more or less explained away by alien communications so I wasn’t very impressed. What combat action there is, is pretty brief. About 2/3 of the way into the book the author spent almost an hour in audio time just bringing the Ingenuity in for an upgrade. It literally took that long just to describe the journey from orbit to a secret base. I very nearly stopped listening permanently. No spoilers, but the end had a little more action, but not enough to satisfy me. This is clearly a first book and a set up for the rest. It was enough to get me interested in the second book, which is also free, so I will listen. If it doesn’t improve and we don’t get real combat and tactics, then I’m done with this series. A final word on Jeffrey Kafer the narrator. He’s One of those consistent readers who has been on audible since the beginning. Some people love him, some people avoid him. I’m kind of in the latter camp. I don’t always care for his cadence. But for some reason it didn’t bother me much in this book so he neither added nor detracted. The narration is about average.

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Lone wolf has turned into a wolfpack

Revisado: 03-12-21

I know this is going to be an exceptionally unpopular opinion based on the reviews in the entire series, but I’m kind of turned off to the Court Gentry who has friends. Let me explain. The very first book, Gray Man, was one of the first audiobooks I ever listened to. From that point forward I was hooked. I absolutely loved the character and his ability to act superhuman while maintaining his humanity. What I love most was that he was a solo artist. He relied on people when he needed them in certain instances, but for the most part he was his own boss. At least up until Back Blast. Then he started to develop relationships. It was OK for the first couple of books after back blast, but with this one Court seems like a secondary character in a way. He is still the star of the book, but it seems like some of the other characters are getting equal billing. As usual, the story is masterfully written, and Greaney is really coming into his own with some exceptional storylines. But for some reason this particular book took me the longest to get through. I was bored at times. I miss the days of breathless action without a lot of complicated relationships. I guess that’s just me. But if this series is going to continue with the Court Gentry “team” instead of just the Gray Man, I may abandon it. We’ll see.

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