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Daniel Weber

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An amazing book for anyone and anyone interested in Japanese culture

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-21-18

I bought the hardcover edition of this book when I first came out after hearing an interview with Adelstein on NPR. Breezes through it my first read and absolutely loved it.

The book is non-fiction true crime, but it is so much more. It’s so fascinating, probably much more so than it sounds, to hear and about learn about Japanese police, crime, and reporting methods and rules and unspoken rules. And more over the littler known parts of Japanese culture. I found the chapter on Hostess clubs fascinating.

The bedrock of the story is the decade+ friendship between Jake and an amazing older police officer. The arcing plot is Jake’s investigation and attempting to report on Yakuza leaders making a deal with the FBI to get to the top of the donor list and receive transplants at UCLA in exchange for information on their criminal empire.

The book is fascinating, frequently funny, touching and informative. Adelstein can write so well it’s no wonder that he was such a great reporter as heard in this book. And the fact Adelstein himself performs the book gives you the standard perks of such: you know you’re hearing it the way he wants you to, his reading struck as true and important to him, and that added bit of emotion from when reliving these moments through reading is always such a great raw real experience for the listener. His voice is soothing but not too deep and certainly not high, sometimes he tends to speak a little fast but great job overall.

Anyone would like this book. Anyone. But if you are interested in Japanese culture, Yakuza, true crime, have an interest in journalism, this is especially true. 5* no doub

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A wonderful way to end a beloved series.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-06-18

Super Powereds Year 4 is something any aspiring writer will be baffled and flummoxed by. It’s very easy to feel overwhelemed listening to a final book in a series so deep in characters, so rich in dialogue, set in a world so vast in scope. You add to that that the 5 book series (counting “Corpies”) in question has enough content for two to three times that number of books, and one cannot begin to understand how Drew Hayes accomplished such a feat.

It couldn’t have done better at filling in all gaps and answering all questions burning in the minds of the fans of the series. Prolific may be too soft a word for both the series and the talent of independent author Hayes, especially when one is so sure that post-series depression will set in immediately after the last word of the last chapter. Somehow Hayes and Super Powereds Year Four is able to maintain its razor sharp wit, the “reader ownership-like” feeling and closeness to the main characters, and everything else that is to be loved about the series (including Kyle McCarly’s amazing performances through the series, an overall performance that could be nothing less than a labor of love), and leave you so hopeful.

I didn’t feel sad after this book, I was far too busy smiling to even remember that I was supposed to be depressed that this was the last book, the last year of College for the Melbrook 5. Besides, from what he’s hinted at in his blogs and social media posts, and from his track record and the fact that he is an amazingly talented independent artist by choice - the choice that’s allowed him to creat exactly what he wants - I feel like we will see all of these characters, characters so close to my and all other fans of the series’s heart, again.

In the end, all I hope is that this gets the attention it deserves in a world now saturated in teen and college age superhero and supernatural books, movies, and television. As admittedly good as some of them very much are, nothing touches Super Powereds. Nothing. I’d give anything to see this in a visual medium. And I’d give more than anything to have more of this world written by Hayes, hopefully much much more.

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Orconomics: A Satire Audiobook By J. Zachary Pike cover art

Satire is a perfect description.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-24-17

If you could sum up Orconomics: A Satire in three words, what would they be?

An incredibly smart, funny, and exciting book. It lives up to its billing as a Satire, as there are layers upon layers of social and political commentary to be found, as well as brilliant and innovative takes on fantasy and RPGs in a more general sense. Yet still it manages to be a completely engaging fantasy novel at the same time.

What did you like best about this story?

The writing is far better than the surface may suggest. The writing is such that the things that you may take on face value at first easily and eagerly coax you into a more appreciative and complicated meaning underneath. Deep characters and character developments- characters you become vested in heavily by the end. There's world building that could not have been thought out any better, exciting action and devastating revelations.

Which scene was your favorite?

The story takes its best turn once the Characters are led to the Orc Village around 3/4ths the way into the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I would say I got a bit emotional at times. The book is certainly funny, exactly in that satirical "Daily Show" satire way it claims to be. It does have sad turns as well, which may or may not have left my eyes a little watery.

Any additional comments?

As a bonus, the book has legs - as even after you're finished reading you'll find that rereading it will almost give you another book entirely. Not to give anything away (and I don't think this does) it's kind of a literary version of watching Memento or Sixth Sense for a second time - Pike plants things in Orconomics all the way through, as only one that is truly great at his craft can, and things will take on more (if not new) meaning when you catch them on a second pass. If you aren't itching for the second book to be finished by the time you've read the last sentence, then you either hate fantasy... or you just aren't very bright. Seriously, Mr. Pike, PLEASE get Son of a Liche out - like yesterday!

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Satire is a perfect description.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-24-17

If you could sum up Orconomics: A Satire in three words, what would they be?

An incredibly smart, funny, and exciting book. It lives up to its billing as a Satire, as there are layers upon layers of social and political commentary to be found, as well as brilliant and innovative takes on fantasy and RPGs in a more general sense. Yet still it manages to be a completely engaging fantasy novel at the same time.

What did you like best about this story?

The writing is far better than the surface may suggest. The writing is such that the things that you may take on face value at first easily and eagerly coax you into a more appreciative and complicated meaning underneath. Deep characters and character developments- characters you become vested in heavily by the end. There's world building that could not have been thought out any better, exciting action and devastating revelations.

Which scene was your favorite?

The story takes its best turn once the Characters are led to the Orc Village around 3/4ths the way into the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I would say I got a bit emotional at times. The book is certainly funny, exactly in that satirical "Daily Show" satire way it claims to be. It does have sad turns as well, which may or may not have left my eyes a little watery.

Any additional comments?

As a bonus, the book has legs - as even after you're finished reading you'll find that rereading it will almost give you another book entirely. Not to give anything away (and I don't think this does) it's kind of a literary version of watching Memento or Sixth Sense for a second time - Pike plants things in Orconomics all the way through, as only one that is truly great at his craft can, and things will take on more (if not new) meaning when you catch them on a second pass. If you aren't itching for the second book to be finished by the time you've read the last sentence, then you either hate fantasy... or you just aren't very bright. Seriously, Mr. Pike, PLEASE get Son of a Liche out - like yesterday!

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Odd, interesting, entertaining, worth it.

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-04-17

What made the experience of listening to The Disaster Artist the most enjoyable?

This book I feel can be very interesting even to those who haven't seen the room, but know of its infamous reputation at least. I am one of those people. Greg Sestero has a up and down performance reading the book, sometimes it feels like he is so far over it the reading lacks an emotion, but for the most part it's the exact opposite, almost as if reading through certain passages jog something loose in him and he feels those emotions again. Overall it was a bit up and down, but an adequate performance and his TW impressions are so spot on it feels as though there are two readers of the book - and the impression works to great effect for you to imagine and understand Tommy.

Tommy comes off, I feel, whether intentional or not, as deeply sympathetic for the most powerful parts of the story. Eccentric, odd, secretive, all of that too of course. But I feel that Greg's quote about Talented Mister Ripley really encapsulates how he and we should feel about Tommy: "A tortured person can do horrible things for sympathetic reasons."

The use of quotes before chapters may seem hackneyed at first but really, the more you get into the book, the more you appreciate and realize how spot on and needed those quotes are in order to further understand Tommy, and Sestero's experiences during his relationship with Tommy and his overall experiences as an actor.

It may take a little time for you to fully get on board the book, as it's a bit of a slow starter and a book very different from what you may be used to reading/listening to. But by the second or third chapter, you should be fully on the Tommy train to Planet Tommy and I myself thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Like all good books it left me wanting more in the best sense - I wished the ride didn't end, and there was more for me to digest. Great experience.

What other book might you compare The Disaster Artist to and why?

I don't think I've heard anything like it before.

Have you listened to any of Greg Sestero’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to nor do I know of any other Greg Sestero readings but he did a good job if not being a little up and down.

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

Absolutely. But it works piecemeal as well.

Any additional comments?

I firmly recommend this to people who both have and haven't seen The Room. And like I mentioned, hang in there it is a slow starter, but by chapter 2 or 3 you should be fully on board.

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