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GodlessPriest

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I might have to tap out of this series

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 03-06-25

I enjoyed the Backyard Starship books, though I haven't worked my way through all of them, and have mostly been enjoying this related/continued series as well. The story is interesting, as are the characters and setting, but the dialogue sometimes feels a tad forced and off-putting. The main issue that I'm having with this series, however, is the scope and scale of the characters and factions are ballooning past my ability to keep track of them all. I will fully admit that this might be due to the fact that I do get through a good amount of audiobooks AND my old man memory capacity just isn't what it used to be. I often find the narrator mention a character or race or planet or faction, etc, and I find myself thinking: "now who tf is that, actually??". While this might largely be my own admittedly terrible memory, I think the authors REALLY REALLY need to do more by way of reminding the reader/listener who this revisiting character is, in relation to the main characters. Unlike film, we don't get the visual association of actors to help us mentally link recurring characters to the plotline, and it's a real impediment to me, at least, in keeping track of who's who in the story... their relationships, their history, etc. Since this isn't just a 'hero-goes-here, solves-problem, goes to next problem' kind of format like the Backyard Starship series, and tries to encompass a wider scale of galactic war and all the politics and players involved, the listener is forced to mentally juggle an increasingly large cast that eventually overwhelms their ability to 'see' all the players and movements on the board. So, feeling a tad lost, I might have to dip out of Peacemaker Wars until, like the main character Mark, I can make it to one of those mod-doctors to get my smol and smooth brain upgraded.

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Great voice acting, the story? not so much.

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 12-15-24

Ray Chase's performance does a lot of heavy lifting to carry this subpar narrative forward. Well, I say 'subpar', but I'm not especially experienced with Koontz, having only 'read' one other of his books, but thoroughly enjoyed it. That makes me wonder if his other book was the exception and not this one. There are a few head scratching moments where the author breaks the 4th wall to speak to the reader about the narrative technique he's using and why, but it always seemed awkward and unnecessary. Is this book intended for Young Adults or an even younger audience? I'm not sure, but it seems that way. Also head scratching is one of the book's characters expressing his distaste for electric vehicles, several times, out of the blue and irrelevant to the story. (And based on both misinformation and exaggeration often espoused by the anti EV crowd) I don't know if that is intended to solely be the character's opinion or if it's the author's, coming to the fore. Honestly, I don't care which, but it's another example of needless, head scratching items in the book which distracts you from the narrative, taking the reader out of the experience. Regardless, I found myself disinterested in the plight of the main characters and both confused and unimpressed at the way his 'bad weather friend' chose to intimidate the antagonists. I can't honestly say that it's a 'bad' story, it just left me cold and coasting to its conclusion with hardly a care as to what was happening. I plan to try more of Koontz's work and I hope this one was the anomaly.

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dragged down by Rupert Farley's absence

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
2 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-24-24

Great story, great series, but the audio isn't up to the standards of the books narrated by Rupert Farley. I'm glad this book was included with membership, it is a great addition to the series. But the audio lacks the quality of the more recently recorded books, and Davidson's work isn't of the same caliber of performance. The audio has a tinny, scratchy quality like older, highly compressed files used to have, and Davidson's performance is further dragged down by odd, ill-timed pauses, distracting mouth noises, and lacks the overall voice acting talent of Farley, who is superior at distinguishing different characters and breathing life into them. Still, it's a great book and worth your time. But for those of you with a low tolerance for mid to sub-par audio, caveat emptor.

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The mark of a great author

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-04-24

A mediocre or subpar author can take a topic or theme that you're already interested in, and make it feel like you're wasting your time by consuming the content they created. But a great author can take a theme that didn't seem on its face to be anything that you'd bother with, and take you on a fascinating journey into a creative vision and leave you breathless with its unpredictable and satisfying conclusion. Adrian Tchaikovsky is definitely the latter. Granted, you won't reach the conclusion that I mentioned until the sequel, but each of the 2 books is only around 4 hours long; meaning that your reward for this experience will far exceed the time you invest. This story (and its conclusion in the sequel) is a fitting example of why Adrian is such a lauded, award winning author. Kudos once again to Mr. Tchaikovsky.

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A very thoughtful & satisfying conclusion

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-04-24

Adrian Tchaikovsky has done it again. What a master of sci fi world building. No clichès or 2 dimensional characters here, just a fantastic and unpredictable conclusion to the intriguing mystery built up in the first book. I most definitely will be listening to these books again.

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gritty anti-hero does gritty things. yawn.

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-06-24

Again, RC Bray proves that his talent and vocal style can lend any story added weight and character. If it weren't for him, I don't think I'd have made it 6.5 hours into it before giving up. The protagonist is mostly unlikeable, the characters paper thin and stereotypical, and I just couldn't find myself giving a damn about where the story was going. It's kind of a mess; but not even an interesting mess, b/c you're just never really properly motivated to care about the people involved in the story. Are the characters just flat, or too cliché? I dunno what they are, but I know they're not interesting.

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Loving this series so far

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-22-24

I am really starting to like this series more with every title that I add to my collection. The voice acting of Rupert Farley's is fantastic, especially his work with accents and dialects. When he speaks Richard Sharpe's dialogue, I can clearly visualize the actor Sean Bean delivering the lines. Which brings me to the point: these audiobooks have ruined the BBC TV series for me. ;) Sean Bean was great in them, of course, but the early '90s TV budget just could never have had the scope or the cast of thousands that these stories require. Still, I'm thankful for having seen and enjoyed more than a few of those episodes, and that having given me enough interest to explore the audiobooks. I will definitely be continuing these stories and really hope they're all as excellent as these first 3 have been.

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witty story told from a different perspective

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-22-24

Tchaikovsky has a real talent for taking us on a trip through the workings of non-human minds and giving us a glimpse of how they might think and act. That trend continues in this book, and is often very funny, despite the setting of this story being a bit bleak. He also does a really good job narrating this one too, which stands to reason, considering he knows the intent behind every spoken line, and can properly deliver every inflection and pause. These are his characters after all and he knows them better than we ever could. A wonderful book and I plan on listening to it again.

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I wish I liked this more than I actually did

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-28-24

Where to begin here? Well, the voice acting and recording quality are EXCELLENT. The overall premise of the story, is interesting and has the potential to be the foundation of a great book. But after about 21 hours in this series, it felt like such a slog, tiresome, like work. I kept feeling the need to "push through" to the finish, but that is NOT what good entertainment makes you feel. When I'm TRULY enjoying a book, I chew through it like a hungry dog who's gotten to a cheeseburger that fell on the floor. So I gave up. I tapped out. There wasn't really anything that was off-putting about the story, and the narration is top notch, it just feels as if the overall length of the 3.5 book series overstayed its welcome. Maybe a very edited version, cut into less than half of its actual length would have saved it for me. Maybe not, though. Like I said, I really wanted to like this series, it has so many of the Sci-Fi tropes I love about the genre, but it couldnt hold my interest until its time ran its full course.

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Childhood (and old, cold war rivalries) Revisited

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-28-24

This wasn't the first book I read as a kid, but it WAS the first book I read voluntarily (not a school assignment, etc). I remember thoroughly enjoying it then, and it set me on a lifelong path into science fiction. For that, and those memories, I've had a fondness for this title ever since. But like many childhood memories, I'd been personally skeptical if the book would actually hold up to a little adult scrutiny. Basically, I'd wondered if this old book I once revered merited that place in my memory. I should have had more faith in my tastes as a kid, because this book was a lot of fun, it was interesting, well written, and even as a YA novel, it kept me interested even as a senior citizen. Plus, back then I didn't have an actual voice actor fleshing out the characters with pretty damn credible accents, which added a new layer of the book which I didn't have previously. Good stuff. I'm glad it's in my library, and when I'm feeling nostalgic, will probably give it another go at some point. It's only 5.5 hours long after all, why not?

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