Isaac

This book is a great example of how to take an excellent idea, throw in hints and tidbits that tantalized the reader into thinking that its going to be great... only to ruin the whole damn thing by making it more of a bad porn than an excellent fantasy book.
I thought the first book was intriguing enough to over look the odd porn vibe. But this book had me fast forwarding past scenes after scene dripping with bad porn vibes. Maybe an errotica fan will disagree with assessment. But, after listening through hours of of irrational sex scenes to catch only glimpses of the angels, vampires, and world that Singh created, I'm done with this series. Its sad, as there is HUGE potential in her world and characters. I find the emotional scares on each of her characters to add depth, and her world is real(if not fully fleshed out). The problem lies in her emphasis on sex and all the little details, rather than writing a good book. Each one of her sex scenes is longer than all of the important battle scenes put together. It really makes the story BLAH.

I've enjoyed a love-hate relationship with this series so far. The first two were good, but the violent sex stuff is not my thing. Well, this book takes it to a whole new level, and I found myself questioning if am otherwise good story is worth the damage to my psyche. In the end, I decided that the damage had already been done before I knew to stop... I may be overreacting, but it was bad enough that I spent a couple days debating whether or not I should finish the book. Luckily I had already gotten past the worst of it, and the rest of the boom was pleasurable.
I still think the story is great, but I wish there were sensors versions of these books that gloss over the horrific details, and just give me the story.

Yes, it was annoying that Audible messed up the release. But, I think people should rate this book according to its merits, and not a technical glitch that had nothing to do with the book.

That said, I love this book. I've enjoyed all Joe Abercrombie's books, but the first three were my favorites. The next two changed narrators and the feel of the books weren't the same either. I like Michael Page, but Steven Pacey is so much better in these books. Listening to 'Red Country' read by Steven Pacey is like running into an old friend and catching up with what's changed in their life since the last time you saw each other. It has really been a great couple days with this book to guide me on my daily drive.

I really enjoyed "Urban Shaman". Thunderbird Falls fell short. Change in narrators is always risky, and while Gabra Zackman did a fair job, she set a different tone than Christine Carroll did. Added to the stale story, Gabra Zackman's dry narration increased my frustration with this book.

But the real problem of this book is all C.E. Murphy's fault. Our grease monkey shaman accomplished NOTHING since we left her last. Actually, she accomplished reverting back to a only semi-believing in her powers... WTF? How can anyone believe that is what would happen after book one? Book one convinced her and us that she had real powers and that she was going to be a good little shaman and work on them... then book two starts the whole process over and she has to be convinced again that her powers are real and she needs to learn to use them.... ugh!! Book three can wait, I don't know if I can risk book three being another book about her denying her powers.

C.E. Murphy has a wonderful story in this series, there is a LOT of potential. But, so far it looks like she's afraid to write it. It shouldn't take two books to convince her main character that magic is real, and she should learn how to use her powers better.

I loved the first three books. The narration in this latest book was the fist thing that I found less than desirable. While not horrible, it was distracting from the story.
Then the story... Ugh! The first three books were clean and fast. This book was almost like the author went out of her way to make the book bloated and filled with indulgence.
I normally love longer books, as I see it as more bang for the buck. More world building, better characters normally make a better story.
Not in this book. I found myself checking to see how many more hours I was going to have to wait until I find out what happens.
It wasn't horrible, but as a followup to a wonderful trilogy, it fell short. Maybe if I hadn't enjoyed the other books so much I would have thought better of this book. Oh well, maybe the prequel will be better... When I can actually bring myself to try it.

But I can't listen to it read by this narrator. There are narrators out there that I don't like, but can still listen to the book. But this book is a complete waste of a purchase for me. I gave it a good 30 minutes, and I determined that its a lost hope.