Ken

A very enjoyable book of short science fiction stories. Well worth a read, but I am not sure how they got into the list of the greatest of the 20th century. That said, I would be very happy to recommend this book if you are a lover of Sci-Fi.

This story once underway is amazing, edge of your seat, can't stop listening stuff. What makes it so riveting is that it is a true story that could be a horror movie in the Hostel series but set in the 1600's.

Peter FitzSimons has filled the gaps in the historical accounts of the Batavia shipwreck in a way that is seamless to the reader / listener and that shows respect to the people who suffered in this tragedy. As he says in the forward he completed a 1000 piece jigsaw with only 500 pieces available to him and made the picture look real.

I am a lover of fiction usually. My dad encouraged me to read this and fortunatly it was in the Audible book store. I am very glad I listened to dad (and the book) on this occasion. It is a part of Australian history that I was ignorant to, even though I have seen the replica of the ship. Presented the way it has been in this story, the history and the horror has been brought to life in a way that is interesting and dare I say, given the nature of the tale, enjoyable. Though if you read this, joy is not an emotion that you will feel, rather horror to read what desperate men can stoop to in the absence of law.

The build up and character backgrounds make it start a little slow, but you do need this, so hang in there and discover the history of the Dutch East India company, the spice trade and the Batavia.

This is so different to the Michael Connelly I am used to. It is a short story and I don't want to spoil it so all I will say is that if you love Michael's books, you will love this. It is just different.

I had mixed feelings about getting into this book based on the reviews. But I am enjoying the John Scalzi books so much I had to listen to it. So glad I did. While the plot and a few aspects of the story are a little wierd, as with all John's books I have read, there is a great plot, action, a hero and aliens. The twists in the plot and the characters really get you in. You may need to read some of his other books first to get his style. But you will find this book most enjoyable as an absurd political thriller.

Maybe because I remember playing on the Atari and TRS-80 and the arcade games that featured so heavily in this story. Lets face it Ernest Cline has done his homework on 70's pop cultue and given us a fantastic run down memory lane. Thank goodness for Spotify so I could listen to Rush and so many other artists that where woven into the tale.

A fun read if young or young at heart.

I really enjoyed Dune. Even though I had read some negative comments about Dune Messiah, I ignored them because I wanted to see where it went. It was slow, political and really dragged on in my opinion. I can see how it was used to bridge from the end of Dune to Children of Dune and how it was necessary. Just very dry. The trouble is it would be hard to skip it and go straight into Children of Dune.

So if you are going to continue the tale then you really need to read this episode.

Enjoy and try to stay awake :-)

I loved this story. Funny, quirky and written in real world language. I am glad that I listened to Fuzzy Nation first as advised by another reviewer. It was a good one to get used to style of John Scalzi.

Wil Wheaton's narration suited the style of the book, the characters and the themes so well. It sounded like he was really enjoying the roles as much as I was enjoying listening to him. I am now searching on other books Wil has narrated.

I am hanging out for my next John Scalzi book. I have enjoyed Red Shirts and Fuzzy nation immensely.

I can't believe I left this book for so long. Being born in 1962 and being a PC hobbyist from my early years, so much of what Steve J and Steve W where influenced by and created was also a huge influence on my life. I remember following the evolution of the Altair, Tandy's TRS 80, the Commodore computers and then the first Apple's which where amazing and had me enthralled even though I couldn't afford one.

Steve's Jobs biography not only tells the story of a man with a very focused mission and the highest standards. It also tells the story of the evolution of the personal computer from an apple perspective.

The narrator was fantastic. It felt like he was part of the central core of people around Jobs and relayed the passion and frustration so well.

I am going to get this book in print so I can read it again and see the photos. Which are the things I miss with the audio book.

Highly recommend it.

Better than the movie

Tom Hollander's use of the language of the book and accents was brilliant and really brought the story to life.

It is hard to feel sorry for Alex the little crim, I felt for sorry for his helpless old victims and was looking forward to his comeupence per the movie. Even better described in the book.

Having only seen the movie, the book with the last chapter included (left out of the movie) helped round the story out so much better.

I had no idea what this book was about when I ordered it. The combination of the author and an Audible sale I just grabbed it. Very glad I did.

The preface explains the mix of fact and fiction, which I am glad it did or you could think it was a true historical account. The story (though a little predictable where it would end up) was good as expected with an interesting web of characters.

The narration with the German accents was very good for the male characters. Lucky there where not too many female characters and they didn't have much to say :-)

If you like a chase with some deviousness. Give this book a listen, well worth it.