Great period mystery piece. It was kind of a Sherlock style mystery, but Sherlock is imprisoned and it's his musclebound helper doing all the work. GeGreat period mystery piece. It was kind of a Sherlock style mystery, but Sherlock is imprisoned and it's his musclebound helper doing all the work. Generally straightforward, the only real twists came right at the end and I thought it was a pretty poor twist at that. It was probably the biggest gripe I had with this book. The other was that it seemed like events were forgotten, only to finally be resolved much later. For example 'dual at dusk'...weeks go by, I go back in the audio to see if I somehow missed something, nope, finally the dual happens after a bunch of stuff in between. Most of those ended up fine, but I really was questioning what I missed. (especially prevalent being audio)
The narrator did a good job, but all the female voices sounded pretty much identical, so I often had difficulty telling which of the handful of female characters were speaking at times. But all of the characters were quite interesting. None of them felt flat, each with their own motivations.
I will be looking for more books from Turton. ...more
Honestly I expected weirder coming from Jodorowsky. It was definitely weird at times, and the ending had a 2001: Space Odyssey style trip, but a lot oHonestly I expected weirder coming from Jodorowsky. It was definitely weird at times, and the ending had a 2001: Space Odyssey style trip, but a lot of it was fairly straightforward sci-fi/fantasy. Overall I liked it, but it felt like it went on too long for what was there.
Moebius' art was pretty good. It faded in quality, but sometimes was still great. It definitely has that 1980s style illustration that is familiar to anyone that has seen the movie Heavy Metal. ...more
Flycatcher aka Prince Ambrose, soon to be King Ambrose, gets the hanging knights armor, who turns out to be Lancelot, and Excalibur. He jumps down theFlycatcher aka Prince Ambrose, soon to be King Ambrose, gets the hanging knights armor, who turns out to be Lancelot, and Excalibur. He jumps down the witching well and gathers a ghost army, moves into the fablelands and starts a kingdom to fight (without blood) the adversary. The ending was great. Actually, the whole thing was quite good. ...more
A book recounting the early political years of Roosevelt's career. It focuses on city and state government roles and honestly I don't really care abouA book recounting the early political years of Roosevelt's career. It focuses on city and state government roles and honestly I don't really care about him being an alderman and various offices. It makes the claim that New York is really what shaped Roosevelt, and for certain that's at least partly true, but it also seems to kind of pick and choose it's evidence. The book barely touches on his presidency, almost not at all, which is unfortunate. In general, it was just pretty dry listening to the Republican party's machine of the late 1800s. ...more
Some pretty good scenes. A little bit of human experimenting and cloning. Was hoping for more on the nuke but it was basically abandoned right at the Some pretty good scenes. A little bit of human experimenting and cloning. Was hoping for more on the nuke but it was basically abandoned right at the start....more
Excellent continuation of the story/characters. Like the first, it's entirely character driven, so the plot is pretty light. I like this, but it comesExcellent continuation of the story/characters. Like the first, it's entirely character driven, so the plot is pretty light. I like this, but it comes with the price to be a little drawn out boring at times, especially in audio. The introduction of new characters was done well. Time passing for immortal beings is tackled nicely, although it's still relatively short amount of time (about 15 years). ...more
A mix of little things like Christmas, short stories, pointless questions answered in comic form, as well as the adversary council discussing invasionA mix of little things like Christmas, short stories, pointless questions answered in comic form, as well as the adversary council discussing invasion of earth. Pinocchio tells them what a bad idea it is....more
I didn't realize going into this that it is actually a novelization of a movie. I had seen Prometheus and I thought it was interesting it was like a dI didn't realize going into this that it is actually a novelization of a movie. I had seen Prometheus and I thought it was interesting it was like a direct sequel to it, and it turns out, it is! So, I was a little disappointed in that, I guess, because the intended medium is the movie, not a book. And it kind of shows in how it comes across, much more visual. ADF did a fine job of turning it into a novel though, but I assume most of the work is still in the script itself. Standing on it's own, it felt like it hit every single one of the Alien cliches. I love the Alien franchise. The first film is one of my all time favorite movies. But scene after scene in this I felt like I had seen in another movie before. And since I didn't know that this movie had come out, I clearly didn't remember from seeing it in this one. Despite that, it was still an enjoyable, entertaining read. And the narrator did a good job - except when he was a woman yelling. Then it just got screechy and annoying. ...more
By far the shortest book from Stephenson that I have read. This has been on my to-read list for ages and I finally got to it. I shouldn't have waited By far the shortest book from Stephenson that I have read. This has been on my to-read list for ages and I finally got to it. I shouldn't have waited this long! I loved it. It does still suffer from the exposition barely disguised as dialogue that is so common to Stephenson and those parts do indeed drag, but the rest of the book is very fast paced.
The heros are very much Hiro Protagonist and Mary-Sues. In other words, that can't really be beat any anything. They are perfect in almost every way. That gets to be a little too much at times. It's still played well, but it would have been more believable if all the perfection was relegated to the Metaverse (VR world) like being the world's greatest swordsman [there is even a scoreboard with Hiro at the top]. But they were still fun characters.
The worldbuilding was fantastic. It's sort of a dystopia in that it's almost collapsed USA but almost a world of capitalism to the ultimate extreme. Everything is a business.
Mowgli searching for Bigby Wolf is an adventure in itself. He has to prove himself to packs of wolves after he gives up amongst humans. Eventually he'Mowgli searching for Bigby Wolf is an adventure in itself. He has to prove himself to packs of wolves after he gives up amongst humans. Eventually he's found, requested to make a mission into the Adversary's lair and then returns to live happily ever after [maybe] with Snow White and his brood. Secondary story of Cinderella trying to cure a giant in the clouds so they can make an alliance. The covers always blow me away with how amazing they are. ...more
It's been a while since I've read Fables, so picking it back up is always a little bit of a chore. This comes after finding out who the Adversary realIt's been a while since I've read Fables, so picking it back up is always a little bit of a chore. This comes after finding out who the Adversary really is. The Arabian fables are now being attacked, so some are coming into the real (Mundy) world. Sinbad and Djinn and a huge following. There is strife because the Western world is anti-slavery. The djinn gets released but the witch does some pretty clever switcharoo and dispatches the bad guy. The end has a fairly interesting story from the perspective of one of the wooden soldiers falling in love. ...more
This is a mix of fairly interesting story and ridiculous plot with gratuitous nudity. The parts between the harem nonsense is a pretty decent story ofThis is a mix of fairly interesting story and ridiculous plot with gratuitous nudity. The parts between the harem nonsense is a pretty decent story of treasure hunting and mix between 1940s and (moderately) current times tied together by the protagonists being relatives.
The artwork is really well done. Everyone is easily recognizable. Colors are muted but nice. I'm really on the fence about reading the next one in the series of 7 or so....more
Fun anthology of worldwide spooks. Some of the stories read like a campfire story, some were not as good. I knew of most of the monsters, but a few weFun anthology of worldwide spooks. Some of the stories read like a campfire story, some were not as good. I knew of most of the monsters, but a few were new to me. ...more
I was surprised how well this read in that the writing almost seemed more modern than typical books of the era. Then I was surprised at the modern useI was surprised how well this read in that the writing almost seemed more modern than typical books of the era. Then I was surprised at the modern use of the term Uncle Tom, because Tom was a man of valor. Looking it up to be sure I wasn't mistaken in the meaning, apparently a stage play 'grossly distorted' the meaning into what it typically means now.
It's no wonder this book has been credited as what set off the presidency of Lincoln and the start of the Civil War. It must have really opened the eyes of many that were either unwittingly or intentionally blind to the conditions of the slaves. Even now, knowing to some degree already through history, but it's still atrocious and I know it barely scratches the surface of reality.
I'm sure I read this in school at some point but would have barely paid any attention to some boring old book, so I'm glad to have read this again much more consciously....more
Loading...
