A. Meyers

He doesn't drink eels; you may think so at first

Reviewed: 07-16-22

This book is chock-full of wild adventure, hard-learned lessons, and lots of.... ale. As the narrator speaks with a strong Highlands accent, it took me a bit to catch on to his pronunciation, But the arc of the story is worth it (although picaresque at points) and the hapless young Corin gradually grows on you. The main character channeled Conan the Barbarian at times, Aragorn of Gondor at others, sometimes a sodden neer-do-well, but the author never let the grass never grow under his feet. If you're looking for a long epic to immerse yourself in, this one is worth the credit. Just be sure to listen to the sample first and gauge the flexibility of your ear for a strong, but appropriate and not unpleasant accent.

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Excellent addition to my Varley library

Reviewed: 07-13-22

I've been reading John Varley for at least 20 years. The pages of the paperbacks I picked up after first checking them out of the public library are now yellowing and their covers cracked eith use. Hearing the author's voice added so much to my enjoyment of this audio book, but will greatly enhance reading his work in print as well. If you're a fan of this brilliant writer, get this book.

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Another entrancing dream from Helen Wecker

Reviewed: 05-21-22

This is a sequel worth reading. I look forward to similar works from this author.

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Good story, but history is stretched a bit too far

Reviewed: 03-22-22

I enjoyed the story and the narrator was well-suited to it. But at times the appearance of historical personages seemed improbable given the author's apparent attempt to overlay the existence of magic onto actual historical events. Still, it made for an engaging fantasy told from the viewpoints of two strong women characters.

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Imaginative story hampered by narration

Reviewed: 02-18-22

I found the story to be imaginative and compelling, but the narrator got in the way at many points in the experience. Ms. Summers mispronounces many words (even accounting for her British speech) and slips on cadence of sentences at some points so that I had to go back and listen to some passages to be sure I understood the text. While she does have some varying voices for characters and manages to keep them constant, as others have noted her choices are puzzling: Southern U.S., Scottish or Irish, Yorkshire, BBC "proper".... wow. As for the content, Ms. Shannon weaves an audacious tale that includes fantastical beasts, ancient prophecies, and love- lots of love stories. She made it easy to empathize with the depth of those love stories between both heterosexual and same-sex couples with equanimity and without making either seem salacious; bravo! However, I recommend a re-release with a different narrator.

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Better each time I listen

Reviewed: 08-02-21

I read the original novel The Handmaid's Tale when it was published, and reread it several times over the years. Learning that Atwood had published a sequel was intriguing, so I added this to my library as soon as it was available. Since then I've listened twice more, gaining nuance each time. Ann Dowd's narration adds immensely to the audio edition, as her performance of Aunt Lydia in the Hulu series is spectacular.

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My Favorite Austen

Reviewed: 07-11-21

Excellent narration. I loved her characterization of Mrs. Bates. I've listened to this audiobook five times and will return to it again.

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Slowing down

Reviewed: 12-06-20

I'm hooked on the world of Callidore and the arc of Minalin's life, so I'm sticking with the series no matter what. But gosh, this installment dragged for me. I was hoping to learn more about The Forsaken from the increased haul of tekka Minalin acquired, and Gareth's efforts to get it working. Instead, the book consumed a lot of slogging through the Magelaw from battle to battle with major characters again avoiding even serious wounds. I had expected those captured Enshadowed witch stones to cause some harmful effects on our gallant mages but alas, no drama there. Not that I hope for any tragedies to befall our heroes, yet.... they are extremely lucky for war mages, I think. The last few chapters were the BEST in this installment. I cheered for the Goddess Bova's intervention! That was imaginative and downright charming. The heated council discussion confirmed some suspicions I had about the Alon. I hope Terry will give us more than battle after battle after battle in coming books. There's a mystery to be solved, (Will the Vundel untimately be allies of the Humani?) and that's a lot more intriguing to many of us than repetitive martial encounters. I look to video games and movies to scratch that itch. I look to Terry for truly original fantasy material. Finally, I can't say enough about the marvel of John Lee's skill as a narrator.

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Difficult to hear if there's background noise

Reviewed: 12-03-16

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I haven't finished the book, but this review isn't really about the plot; it's a a technical issue. The sound isn't up to snuff with other books I've purchased from Audible. It sounds as if the reader is very muffled, reading in a too-small studio with a bad microphone.

What didn’t you like about Liam Owen’s performance?

Mr. Owen's performance is okay; that's not the issue here.

Any additional comments?

So long as I don't have other sounds to distract me and I can listen carefully, I can hear the story adequately. But if there are other sounds (such as while I'm washing dishes, etc.), it's harder to hear and enjoy the book. This one would be better to listen to with headphones or ear buds.

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Everyone nodded

Reviewed: 08-27-15

Would you consider the audio edition of The Final Empire to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the book in print.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Vin, I suppose. What's not to like about a female Harry Potter analog?

What does Michael Kramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He does a nice job of giving some vibrancy to the characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Any additional comments?

I was very annoyed for at least the first half of the book by the author's constant use of "nodded". "[the character] nodded" appeared so frequently, I was tempted to keep count of how often he made use of that phrase. Spoiler alert: Sanderson continues this habit throughout the trilogy. I wouldn't let that keep you from listening to it all, but I'm stunned that his editor let this through.

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