great listen!! Great story. great characters. highly recommend!! nice long story!
my favorite was Saul.

This was a great book that had me cheering on the good guys (and girl)

Yet another brilliant book from Dan Simmons. Complex storyline which has lots of twists and a final ending that surprises

I have never been able to work my way through Simmons’ popular Hyperion so was hesitant to purchase another of his works. Wow! I’m so glad I did—this book is fantastic on so many levels: intriguing characters, a compelling story, fantastic writing and talented narration. My only negative criticism—and it is minor—was male narrator’s characterization of the black characters dialects: it was a bit too over-the-top.

Overall though, I was thoroughly pleased.

The repeated use of the word “n*gger,” negress,” pickaninny,” “black b*tch” or referring or comparing black people to unintelligent animals or suggesting they are sub-human made this novel a most unenjoyable read.

I understand that the use of these negative terms and ideas was to highlight 1) the time period; and 2) how certain characters felt about black people. And I can even understand that the feelings/views of the characters do not necessarily reflect the views of the author. I just found myself wanting everyone to die a bloody death. I was completely unable to connect with any of the characters and did not enjoy the story.

The storyline was creative (although some scenes were not new — an episode of Star Trek came to mind with the chess pieces), but for me (a black woman) the story was hard to read.

I think the story was very interesting and kept my attention. However the dialect and accents of the black American characters was insulting and absurd. It gave the story a cheapened tasteless side that I had to deal with to get to the end

If only they featured chess like that in Harry Potter! Really enjoyed this, worth it

An interesting premise, memorable characters, and a thrilling plot all contribute to this novel's success.

Dan Simmons is one of my favorite authors and this is one of his finest. An expansive tale from the death camps of the Nazis to modern televangelists and the uber rich, with a secret cabel behind all of them

Yes its 39 hours but it keeps your interest for the entire time. VERY good vocal performance and audio quality. Good story line.