Glenn

Martha! Martha! What’s with All of the F***Bombs?

Reviewed: 04-27-21

As others have observed, an interesting continuation of the Murderbot series if a bit stretched with filler. And yes, SecUnit was more entertaining when he was on his own having adventures. In previous installments his actions and internal dialogue drove the plot. Here, on the other hand, the plot seems to drive Murderbot to points in the story where it is convenient for him to be so the narrative can progress.

Each of the previous novellas ended with you wanting more. With Network Effect I was beginning to wonder when it was going to end. Not a good sign for a series that has been entertaining up until now.

But my biggest gripe with this installment was how frequent F***Bombs were used entirely unnecessarily. This was not the case with the previous stories that also contained startling events that stirred emotions in SecUnit. Why the potty mouth now?

Network Effect seems to have altered the style and atmosphere of the Murderbot series and not necessarily for the better. I am now looking at the next installment a bit wearily and not as eager to use a credit as quickly as I had for Network Effect.

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“Ground Control to Major Tom”

Reviewed: 05-26-20

There are plenty of books and biographies on the lives and adventures of America’s astronauts during the push to the Moon in the 1960’s. After all, explorers like Shepard, Glenn, Grissom, White, Armstrong, and Cernan where the faces the American public associated with fulfilling Kennedy’s “before this decade is out” pledge. Granted, those stories are fascinating and deserve to be told.

This, thankfully is not one of those books though. In this instance “Apollo” means the planners, engineers, and administrators that were task with fulfilling Kennedy’s commitment before the end of the decade. This is the story of those that invented the concept of Mission Control. Ultimately, this is the story of the often unnamed engineers that manned the consoles that got the astronauts to the Moon in the first place.

You may know about Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo from the glitzy astronaut biographies that have appeared over the years and become the basis of documentaries or major motion pictures. But unless you also know about the sacrifices, bewilderment, and nail-biting experiences by the folks that created NASA or staffed Mission Control, you don’t really know about America’s space program of the 1960’s.

I heartily recommend this listen. And it’s quite listenable at 1.3 or 1.4 speed. Which is the case with most of the audio books I consume.

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Less About the Shuttle, More About the Experiences

Reviewed: 09-11-19

Less About the Shuttle, More About the Experiences - Call it ‘Shuttle Lite’

Perhaps I hadn’t read the description very carefully, but this is not the book that I was expecting - or perhaps hoping for.

The description includes, “In this spirit, the team at NASA set about developing the space shuttle, arguably the most complex piece of machinery ever created. The world's first reusable spacecraft, it launched like a rocket, landed like a glider, and carried out complicated missions in between.” It adds, “from the days of research and design through the heroic accomplishments of the program.…what it was like to create a new form of spacecraft.” You might think the book was about the Space Shuttle. It’s not. It about the people involved with the Space Shuttle.

I was hoping for a more technical look at the Shuttle’s inception, development, construction, and use. Rather, this was a compilation of oral recordings pieced together in roughly chronological order. Very little about the Shuttle hardware itself and more about the experience of being involved with the Shuttle program. If what you want to hear are stories and experiences, then this is the book for you. But if you are looking for a technical look at the history of the Shuttle, then you might be disappointed as I was.

There are plenty of books and documentaries about the Apollo program and hardware, and the people involved. But surprisingly very little about the Shuttle Program. Sure, there are biographies of Shuttle astronauts and their experiences from the 1980’s and on. But very little about the Shuttle itself between the periods of the 1960’s and 1980’s when it finally launched. I had hoped this book had filled that gap, particularly since the title specifically calls out “1972-1986”. And while there is some of that, it was really Shuttle Lite.

Being composed of oral accounts, the content sometimes felt like filler and fluff. Of course, when you are dealing with peoples recollections, the way it’s conveyed can take twice as much time and half as much information than the words of a documentarian author. And much of what was said in the 2nd half of the book about each flight has already been covered in the many astronaut biographies and video documentaries out there. If someone was entirely unfamiliar with the Shuttle Program and the early flights, then this might be a good cursory overview for the uninitiated. Unfortunately, I lost interest, didn’t finish it, and returned it.

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2 people found this helpful

Meh! Not Enough Bob Newhart 🤨😢

Reviewed: 04-06-19

Overall it was cute. Bob Newhart definitely deserves the plaudits here. But this particular presentation was a bit of a disappointment. Not nearly enough material about Bob and his career, and way too much fluff about the comedians talking with him.

There are some remarks about his early days and how he got his start in standup. But nothing whatsoever about his TV career. Too much time is spent by Gen Y and Millennial comedians blathering on about themselves. Why is there no comprehensive biography on the life and career of this entertainment legend?

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Skippy Ex Machina

Reviewed: 09-02-18

I agree with some of the other reviews that “Spec Ops” feels a bit slower and repetitive when compared to Book One “Columbus Day”. There it felt like the reader was being carried along by a wave from one place to the other. There was frequent changes of scenery and new places to explore.

“Spec Ops”, on the other hand, was repeated shots in the dark to look for items Skippy needed. That’s fine, but I wish it could have been handled more as a Heist in Space story with more elaborate planning, preparation, and execution to go after the desired items and outwit the Thuranin and Kristang. At was all too straightforward with no twists and clever storytelling. It just felt a bit lazy like Alanson had run out of ideas and was trying to fill time so he could get on to the next book. It could have all been so much more fun.

That’s not to say the story didn’t hold my interest and I don’t feel like I wasted a credit. The relationship between Bishop and Skippy continued to be interesting. There did seem to be way too many convenient rescues for a “beer can”, thus the Skippy Ex Machina title above. His seeming unlimited abilities in some instances appear to be contradicted by his claims of “I can’t” in others. The story all too often advances due to Skippy’s convenient powers, but plods along when ‘filler’ appears to be needed.

Bray’s narration is excellent though and is probably a major factor in sticking through to the end. Overall, “Spec Ops” was just Ok. It didn’t meet my expectations, yet I’m still looking forward to the next books. I’m trying not to be spoiled by reading further reviews. Nevertheless, I worry that I have heard the best of the series with “Columbus Day”. Let’s hope that is not the case.

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1 person found this helpful

Blown Away!

Reviewed: 05-02-18

I’ve just finished the book today and still can’t put into words how moved I have been listening to this biography and tragedy.

First, it’s already a heart wrenching story of the loss of a sensitive soul and poet. Sure, Randy could be a jerk and was often self-absorbed in his reverie with nature. His sheltered upbringing in Yosemite was no doubt a significant contributor to the kind of man that he would become. At the same time, I’ve know few people that have had such a deep connection with nature, and with Kings Canyon in particular. And not in the metaphysical, tie dye, hippie way. A genuine Man of the Mountains. I’ve personally known one other man who’s personality and mindset paralleled Randy’s - my father.

This gets to the second reason why “The Last Season” has blown me away. In the late 50’s & early 60’s my father was a seasonal Ranger in Kings Canyon Park before he married. He bunked and patrolled from the very Ranger Stations referred to in the book. Though his service ended when he married, he continued to backpack into the park most summers. And for at least four of those trips I joined him as a teenage. Rae Lakes, Pinchot Pass, Dusy Basin, McClure Meadow - all of these locations (and more) hold special memories for me and my view of my Dad. As I listened, these images came flooding back after more than 40 years often nearly bringing me to tears. I am convinced that at some point over the years my father, or myself, have spoken with Randy during these trips, or at the very least, we literally passed him on the trail. I have never had such a personal connection with a book as this one.

Like Randy, my father had a quiet and personal respect and love for Kings Canyon. And like Randy, he had failings that ended his marriage. With Blehm’s account I am not only touched by the inspiring life and tragic lose of Randy Morgenson, but I have been helped to understand just a little better the Man of the Mountains that I grew up with as well - my father.

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As Riveting As When I Read it 18 Years Ago!

Reviewed: 09-19-16

I had read the book not long after it had been released and was stunned by it at the time. Krakauer's first-hand account of 1996 Mount Everest disaster. The human drama, self-preservation, self-sacrifice, and the resilience of the human spirit is staggering.

Listening to it once again 18 years later was just as riveting. I think I was able to imagine myself there on the slopes of Everest even better this time around.

I will say that the audio version could have used an editor. At least six times the reader repeated sentences and passages. I realize that is the nature of narrator recording (multiple takes). But these repeated should have been edited out for a smoother presentation. Otherwise, the narrator was excellent in capturing Krakauer's experience.

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1 person found this helpful

What A Pleasant Surprise!

Reviewed: 09-11-16

Better than expected!

Sure, this book is, what, over 30 years old now?! For some reason, then, I expected it would be dryer than more recent biographies. But what a pleasant surprise.

Actually, I wouldn't classify this as a true biography. It's more memoir or anecdotes than bio. Still, Feynman, with the help of Ralph Leighton, goes into more detail about various events that he was involved in than I had anticipated. Funny guy too!

No doubt a bit of Asperger's is reflected in his personality, as is sometimes the case with brilliant academicians. Nevertheless, his style of story-telling and his talented method's of teaching, demonstrate he's been able to overcome the hurdles of social awkwardness that hampered him in youth. Always bold though, and willing to speak his mind.

Loved hearing about his time at Los Alamos with the Manhattan Project, safe-cracking, and his shoulder-rubbing with physics greats like Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Enrico Fermi, and Robert Oppenheimer. I do wish there had been more material from this period though and the development of the atomic bomb. (Do any of his other books cover this period in more detail?)

What a character too! I'm only about half-way through the book, but had to post this. By the way, his childhood growing up in Far Rockaway, NY, and antics as a budding scientist, reminded me a great deal of Oliver Sacks' childhood - boyhood lab, experiments, and nearly burning the family house down. If you liked this you might appreciate Sacks' book Uncle Tungsten.

Now, back to the story...

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Classic Story. Confusing Performance.

Reviewed: 04-09-16

Dune - What more can be said that hasn't already been said about this classic story?

However, as others have observed, the presentation is very odd and, at times, confusing. Some sections are performed by a cast while other portions are performed by the narrator alone. This led to a story that sometimes was hard to follow, even for a longtime fan that is very familiar with the story.

Characters were often lost or hard to follow after the frequent transitions from cast performance to narrator performance since the same character was being performed with entirely different "voices" just moments apart. I'm completely baffled why this approach was taken with this classic and it detracts from having a consistent, immersive narrative.

Better would have been to either present it with the whole cast recording, or have it performed by the narrator alone, who was quite competent and who, I must say, I much preferred over the lackluster cast performances. Very puzzling indeed.

I'm still giving the whole thing high marks since Herbert's story seems to rise above the confusing performance and remain enjoyable.

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Good Account Let Down by Poor Narration

Reviewed: 03-15-16

Would you consider the audio edition of Thirteen to be better than the print version?

I know this event well having read multiple accounts and seen many documentaries on the flight of Apollo 13. But, I'm sorry, I've gotten 40 mins into this book and can't go any farther. The problem is the narration. The reader's monotone sounds like he's reading the phone book.There is no emotion to this performance whatsoever. It sounds like a technical manual read by an engineer. Contrast this with "A Man on the Moon", "Footprints in the Dust", "Failure is Not An Option", or Lovell's own book "Lost Moon", and "Thirteen" is just a dry slog through a story that could have much better been presented.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of J. Paul Guimont?

Charles Stransky did an amazing job with "Red Moon Rising". I would love to have heard him read this.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Already done.

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