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David

Fall Branch, TN, United States | Member Since 2011

HELPFUL VOTES

7 reviews
50 ratings
159 titles in library
11 purchased in 2013

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The Star Fraction: The Fall Revolution 1

UNABRIDGED
- by Ken Macleod
- Narrated by Stephen Crossley
The Star Fraction: The Fall Revolution 1

UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 29 mins)

By Ken Macleod

Narrated By Stephen Crossley

Overall
(18)
Performance
(17)
Story
(17)

Moh Kohn is a security mercenary, his smart gun and killer reflexes for hire. Janis Taine is a scientist working on memory-enhancing drugs, fleeing the US/UN's technology cops. Jordan Brown is a teenager in the Christian enclave of Beulah City, dealing in theologically-correct software for the world's fundamentalists - and wants out.
David says: "Too Painful to Finish...."
"Too Painful to Finish...."

Overall
Performance
Story

If you haven't read MacLeod's books before, be warned that he has strong political views that permeate most of his storylines (somewhere between Trotskyist and anarcho-capitalist). I don't normally mind this (and have thoroughly enjoyed some of the author's other books), but the Star Fraction takes this to an extreme and was simply unbearable. The book amounted to 10+ hrs of dialogue about every twisted/extremist political view imaginable. Some of this was humorous, but most was just plain boring. Ultimately... I gave up about 6 hours into the book. It is a shame as the basic plot had alot of potential.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Shards of Honor

UNABRIDGED
- by Lois McMaster Bujold
- Narrated by Grover Gardner
Shards of Honor

UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 46 mins)

By Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated By Grover Gardner

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(976)
Performance
(496)
Story
(503)

I>Shards of Honor is the novel in which Lois McMaster Bujold introduced the science-fiction world to Barrayar and Aral Vorkosigan, Beta Colony and Cordelia Naismith. From this beginning the author has created a multigenerational saga spanning time as well as space. Bujold is generally recognized as the current exemplar of the character-based science-fiction adventure story.
Outer Assignment says: "First story in the Miles Vorkosigan series"
"Avoid this book if you prefer hard sci-fi....."

Overall
Performance
Story

If you are a fan of traditional hard science fiction and space opera by the likes of Peter Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds and Iain Banks, then you probably won't like this book. It is basically a love story that happens to be set in a futuristic setting. Not a bad story (if you like this genre), but few if any new ideas were presented and this book could have just as easily be set in modern times.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Blue Remembered Earth

UNABRIDGED
- by Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Blue Remembered Earth

UNABRIDGED (21 hrs and 49 mins)

By Alastair Reynolds

Narrated By Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(97)
Performance
(91)
Story
(90)

Critically acclaimed author Alastair Reynolds holds a well-deserved place “among the leaders of the hard-science space opera renaissance." (Publishers Weekly). In Blue Remembered Earth, Geoffrey Akinya wants nothing more than to study the elephants of the Amboseli basin. But when his space-explorer grandmother dies, secrets come to light and Geoffrey is dispatched to the Moon to protect the family name - and prevent an impending catastrophe.
Michael G. Kurilla says: "A surprising and staisfying departure for Reynolds"
"Reynold's Weakest Novel but Still a Good Read..."

Overall
Performance
Story

I have read all of AR's work and he is, without a doubt, my favorite author. But this book was a bit disappointing relative to his other novels. It is still a good story (and worth a listen), but just not up to the standard that I have come to expect from Reynolds.

My biggest complaint.....the book starts off very slowly and I was almost tempted to pull the plug. Fortunately it got better and ended up being a decent story overall.

Reynolds has also left the story open for a sequel and it still has the potential to be a great series, even if it got off to a shaky start. And yes....despite my negative comments, I am still looking forward to reading the sequel.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful
Reamde

UNABRIDGED
- by Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner
Reamde

UNABRIDGED (38 hrs and 34 mins)

By Neal Stephenson

Narrated By Malcolm Hillgartner

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(2624)
Performance
(2290)
Story
(2316)

Richard Forthrast created T’Rain, a multibillion-dollar, massively multiplayer online role-playing game. But T’Rain’s success has also made it a target. Hackers have struck gold by unleashing REAMDE, a virus that encrypts all of a player’s electronic files and holds them for ransom. They have also unwittingly triggered a deadly war beyond the boundaries of the game’s virtual universe - and Richard is at ground zero.
ShySusan says: "Not perfect, but worth a listen."
"Is this Science Fiction?????"

Overall
Performance
Story

I decided to listen to Reamde after being blown away by Snow Crash. Boy was that a mistake! I only got about 10 hrs into the book before having to abandon it all together. The book is too long for the subject matter, moves way too slowly, and really does not constitute "science fiction" (at least based on what I struggled through ).

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not normally a fan of cyberpunk novels and tend to prefer hard sci-fi. Snow Crash was amazing because it crossed both genres and did an excellent job with each. Not true with Reamde. I probably won't listen to any more NS novels after this experience....

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
The Lost Fleet: Dauntless

UNABRIDGED
- by Jack Campbell
- Narrated by Christian Rummel , Jack Campbell
The Lost Fleet: Dauntless

UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 59 mins)

By Jack Campbell

Narrated By Christian Rummel, Jack Campbell

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(3005)
Performance
(1655)
Story
(1686)

Captain John "Black Jack" Geary's legendary exploits are known to every schoolchild. Revered for his heroic "last stand" in the early days of the war, he was presumed dead. But a century later, Geary miraculously returns from survival hibernation and reluctantly takes command of the Alliance fleet as it faces annihilation by the Syndics.
Appalled by the hero-worship around him, Geary is nevertheless a man who will do his duty. And he knows that bringing the stolen Syndic hypernet key safely home is the Alliance's one chance to win the war. But to do that, Geary will have to live up to the impossibly heroic "Black Jack" legend.
Chance says: "Ranks up there with Star Wars!"
"Great Story with a Great Narrator..."

Overall
Performance
Story

I normally am not that interested in military scifi, but this book is an exception. Of the 20 or so scifi books that I have listened to from Audible so far, this has been the most entertaining (the second book in the series "Fearless", was also at the top of the list). It combines hard science fiction, with military strategy and characters that are very intriguing. I was amazed at just how much naval battle strategy changes when accounting for relativistic speeds. Probably the best narrated book I have listened to so far.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities

UNABRIDGED
- by John Cassidy
- Narrated by Ralph Cosham
How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities

UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 15 mins)

By John Cassidy

Narrated By Ralph Cosham

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(294)
Performance
(131)
Story
(131)

Behind the alarming headlines about job losses, bank bailouts, and corporate greed, there is a little-known story of bad ideas. For 50 years or more, economists have been busy developing elegant theories of how markets work - how they facilitate innovation, wealth creation, and an efficient allocation of society's resources. But what about when markets don't work?
Ben says: "Way more than I expected"
"Astrology is More of a Science than Economics...."

Overall
Performance
Story

This is an excellent and entertaining book. The author gives a reasonably unbiased review of the various economic theories, as well as the underlying politics that drives these theories. It was a great review and I found myself constantly wanting to listen to more.

That said, it was also very disappointing (frightening even) to learn just how poorly developed and "academically inbred" the field of economics really is (particularly given our current economic crisis). To be fair, there were some economists who made real and significant contributions. There are also some concepts and thought experiments that are quite useful. But I was surprised at just how little most of the "big names" in economics had actually contributed.

I don't know that I learned any new revelations about the current dismal global economy that common sense didn't already dictate. But the book was a gold mine in terms of understanding the relationship between various political movements and their corresponding economic schools of thought.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful
City of Ruins: Diving Universe, Book 2

UNABRIDGED
- by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- Narrated by Jennifer Van Dyck
City of Ruins: Diving Universe, Book 2

UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 33 mins)

By Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Narrated By Jennifer Van Dyck

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(138)
Performance
(103)
Story
(103)

Boss, a loner, loved to dive derelict spacecraft adrift in the blackness of space...But one day, she found a ship that would change everything - an ancient Dignity Vessel - and aboard the ship, the mysterious and dangerous Stealth Tech. Now, years after discovering that first ship, Boss has put together a large company that finds Dignity Vessels and finds "loose" stealth technology. Following a hunch, Boss and her team come to investigate the city of Vaycehn, where 14 archeologists have died exploring the endless caves below the city.
Rodolphe says: "good sci-fi"
"Disappointing...."

Overall
Performance
Story

I've listened to 20+ scifi books on Audible and this is only the second that I could not finish. I'm a big fan of Rusch's other works (particularly the Retrieval Artist series), but this book has been a disappointment . The main character is VERY irritating which is only made worse by the fact that most of the story is written in first person. The narrator actually does a good job of portraying the quirky antisocial characteristics of the protagonist (which in some ways is unfortunate).

I do like the premise of "archaeology in space" and there is considerable potential for this to be a great series (assuming the protagonist is replaced). If you like this genre, check out Jack McDevitt's books as the concept is similar but the characters are more relatable.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful