Mertz

Incredibly engaging, masterfully crafted, full of some of the best-written and most complex wizards you will find in literature, A Wizard of Earthsea is the fantasy genre at its absolute finest.

Those of us who read a lot of fantasy have read too many "kid goes to wizard school" books. Many are badly written with flat characters and predictable plotlines. Ursula Le Guin dazzles in this book, which though originally published in 1968, reads as fresh and new and inspiring as all great art does. The old fantasy archetypes are brilliantly and creatively revisited, and adventure abounds.

Anyone who loves fantasy will love Earthsea, and those who don't may find this an ideal introduction. Kids, adults, you name it, Earthsea is short, well-paced, suspenseful, epic, and a delight to read. This audiobook version is excellent.

This piece is profoundly sad and deeply intelligent. At the time I was experiencing this audiobook I was also working on a Rachmaninoff piece, and I felt the darkness, spirituality, angst, and philosophy of these great Russian works.

I believe that Raskolnikov is one of the most deeply realized characters in literature. The hopeless, brilliant, desperate spiral of events in this novel show human nature at its most vile and most beautiful. This book, which is also read masterfully, is an absolute must for anyone reading the classics.

From spending a couple of months with it on my commute to work, I'll have to admit it put me in a pretty serious and heavy frame of mind. If you're the type who's deeply influenced by what you read, make sure to take care of yourself during this one. You might need some fresh air every now and then.

A beautiful masterpiece.

A thoughtful, deep, engaging exploration of the human condition. Even abridged, it feels long, launching into seemingly endless reverie about the role of the church or the reason evil exists in the world. But by the time I got to the end of this book, I was profoundly moved. This is a work of art. If you have the fortitude to make it through this whole piece, there is a lot of powerful insight here. Also, for a text that is mostly pretty ponderous and wordy, the last third of it has a fair amount of action and I found myself surprised at how excited I was getting. The court scene at the end is absolute literary genius. I'll be honest. I started this book thinking it would be too boring to get through. By the end, I was fighting back tears. An unforgettable story, brilliantly narrated. I need to buy the paper copy because there are some quotes I need to highlight and put up on my wall.

This is like one of those action flicks that's a little on the corny side so you're almost embarrassed that you like it so much, but can't stop watching anyway. Bring out the popcorn. No, we're not re-writing the scifi genre. Space navies and space marines pitted against impossible odds, being chased across the galaxy. Explosions. Concise, well-written action that keeps the story moving at an irresistible pace. I gave this book five stars because it knows its role and plays it near perfection. Straight-ahead military scifi. Fun, riveting, gets right to the point, and makes for a fun and entertaining read. This book isn't going to make you question the meaning and motivations of humanity. This isn't Asimov. But let me tell you, this is a really fun ride. Enjoy.

I couldn't possibly recommend this book highly enough. To anyone who reads sf/fantasy, especially someone getting a little weary of all the tired old archetypes, this book is a breath of fresh air and a good kick in the teeth. Lovable characters, a brilliantly-crafted magic system, a plot that starts simple and gets unexpectedly deep and intricate. And few things make me happier than a book that's the first in a series, yet has a completely satisfying ending. In a genre overcrowded with elves, dragons, and recently vampires, Final Empire stands out as one of the most imaginative and exciting books I've read in years. Brandon Sanderson has completely restored my faith in the fantasy genre. This book is too unique for a good comparison. Just check it out. Really. I had such a good time with this one I could hardly focus on real life. Treat yourself. Pick this one up. You won't regret it.

This book has great pacing, lots of action, and an engaging interplay between the hunters and the hunted. The magic is believable, the characters are likable, and Reading's narration is excellent.

One of the evil characters is impossibly, one-dimensionally evil, and most of the good guys are faultless. The only other downside is a somewhat drawn-out battle scene that gets a little unnecessarily violent at times. All in all this is pretty standard fantasy fare, but coherent, well-written, tight, highly engaging, and has a completely satisfying ending, especially for the first in a series.

People who like history textbooks will likely enjoy this audiobook. At first I found it very intriguing and fascinating, mostly well-written, and fond of Lars Brownworth "just your average history guy" kind of delivery in his reading.

As time went on I found my mind wandering and my interest flagging. I would fade out and come back thinking, "which one is king now? Which general is this?" Although it has good moments, as an audiobook this was not particularly entertaining. I don't at all regret the time spent on it, but I'll stick with books covering fewer centuries of history.

This book kicked off a much-beloved book series. Maybe the sequels are better.
An old, wise wizard, an impossibly beautiful girl (the last of her kind - go figure!) who falls madly in love with the main character, a grizzled warrior, a crazy witch woman in a hut in the woods, a red dragon, a child molester bad guy, an evil wizard who is inexplicably more powerful than every other wizard, and yes, several intolerable hours of sex and torture. Really?
A forced myself through this entire four-part audiobook because I had spent a credit on it and it was recommended by a friend. The old wizard cries, the woman who's "seen it all" cries, even the evil, impossibly powerful witch woman cries. Each character has early middle-school age emotional responses to every single thing that happens. This juvenile characterization is locked in horrible contrast with scenes of wanton sex and slaughter.

The narrator really 'performs' this one. Screams, cries, yells, growls, the whole bit. You'll find your hands reaching for the volume control when he suddenly gives you a far-too-realistic reenactment of a character's death scream. You'll wish there was a "characters act like reasoning adults" button on your computer or portable device.

I know Terry Goodkind is one of the prolific authors of fantasy today, and I regret that I'm not likely to ever read another of his books.

Swashbuckling, romantic, funny, and the very highest adventure. The mystery of seduction and subterfuge, the gallantry of swordplay, and the thick web of love and politics are brilliantly read and written. I was entranced. I found myself leaving early for gigs so that I could sneak an extra ten minutes listening to this in the car in the parking lot. I loved every second of it.

There is a reason why Isaac Asimov remains the king of science fiction and his stories hold up after all these decades. This science fiction masterpiece shows Asimov's incredible insight as he creates a bustling, overpopulated Earth of super-cities, barely sustained by endless hoardes of processed foods. Within the milieu of robots, Spacers, and earthmen, we find what is essentially a gripping psychological drama about a beat cop in New York City.

Trying desperately to stand up for humanity's right to exist in a world careening off the wrong side of sustainability, Elijah Bailey is also trying to solve an impossible murder mystery. Everything is at stake - his job, his family, and his belief in mankind. It even tastes a little bit like George Orwell sometimes.

Read this book if you like science fiction. Read this book if you like mystery novels. Read this book if you like a hero trying to navigate society's ills. Highly recommend. Five stars.