Kyle

I thought this book was a masterpiece...but beware that this book is more akin to epic poetry than to modern epic fantasy. The book requires (and rewards) attention; this not one to listen to while driving. If you liked listening to Homer's Iliad (which I highly recommend), you will love the hypnotic, wide ranging, engrossing fantasy of this book.

I have heard that PKD didn't spend a lot of time editing his work. If he had, he would have removed the nonsensical ranting about nothing that makes up the first half of the book. The second half is interesting, and the narrator is decent, but your credit is better spent elsewhere.

This is probably the most entertaining way to learn what caused the Great Recession. The book tells the story of a few maverick hedge fund guys (characters all) who saw it coming. I've listened to this a dozen times and I'm still laughing.

Some authors are great narrators...this guy is just passable. His voice is gruff and nasal and does not hold attention.

A very good history of the financial meltdown, written like a mystery-thriller. The level of detail is just right. A great follow-up to her book on Enron. Not as entertaining as The Big Short, but worth it nonetheless if you want to understand why your mortgage is under water.

I am a huge fan of Niall Ferguson, but this is too much. Admittedly, I was looking for a history of World War I, not book on the economic questions related to WWI, but this is too weighed down with statistics for audio.

I seriously think you could skip the first 7 hours and not lose much. Very suspenseful after that.

The footnotes are read into the text in such a way as to destroy the continuity of the book. I would recommend the original edtion without so many inane footnotes.

I stopped reading the series after this book. The tragedy of this series is that the world, the back-history, and magic system are exquisitely developed, but the plot is repetetive and the characters are hollow. The pattern of the plot (no spoiler) is a less-than-brilliant move by (insert character), which leads to an emergency, which is resolved at the last second in a maddeningly convenient manner (usually either an unlooked-for rescue or a new manifestation of magic). The characters are fantasy stereotypes. However, the books are very suspenseful, and these are common issues in all but the best fantasy. All might be forgiven except for the sheer unnecessary length of the series. There are at least two major plot lines that a good editor would have axed altogether to bring focus to a badly meandering story arc and cut the size down a bit. I would recommend this series only to die-hard fantasy aficionados who will appreciate what was done well and forgive what was done poorly.

This book is an amalgamation of fantastic concepts from tolkien and others with nothing original at all. The story is tolerably suspenseful, but simple and trite and predictable. Not recomended for anyone over twelve.