Benjamin

No, I wouldn't, because it gives no sense of resolution. This is the second of the series and like the first the book begins in the middle and ends in the middle. I picked it up because the world the author is painting is an interesting one, so I figured I'd give the series a second chance. However as a story the book doesn't hold up well. The language is imaginative, descriptive and enjoyable to read/listen to. You feel immersed as you're traveling along with the character, Severian, through his journey. In fact it picks up right where the last one left off. Quite exactly so and because the last book had no ending, this is more like a continuation of the first than a second book. Unfortunately, like the first, it can not stand on its own. With no ending, there's no emotional payoff. For me, I need that piece of closure. This book essentially just runs out of pages, as if there's more to be read, but someone has stolen those chapters (or opted to sell them to you in guise of another novel). To me, that "style" is disingenuous and feels like a cheat. So no matter the raves this series has gotten, I think I'm going to take a pass on the rest of it.

Opt for a more conventional story form with a hook, middle, ending. Trite I know, restrictive I know, but the forms exist because they supply a need. I don't mind some ambiguity and I understand the need to keep a series going. However, to get me to follow along and need an occasional piece of cake and not just a trail of crumbs.

The entire story is basically told from the point of view of Severian. Some small characterizations are done, but they are thin, basically Serverian's characterizations of them, not Jonathan Davis's. Evoking Severian, Davis does an adequate job of and he's a good narrator. I just think the story limits him.

No. On it's own, this book does not stand. The series, taken as a whole may, but a book needs to stand on its own merits for it to be worth my time. This one does not.

I'm really torn on this series. I get the stylistic choices that have been made here and I respect that, but I have to be honest. I simply didn't enjoy it.

Suarez did a great job of mixing realty and his fictive sci-fi extensions. His Daemon isn't HAL. It's not a thinking computer. It's fiction firmly grounded in what is possible now and extended from there in a plausible fashion. It made for a very believable and thought provoking narrative that I thoroughly enjoyed.

First thing that pops to mind is the Killer Robot Humvee... that's all I care to spoil for the readers though.

I'd have to say the Daemon's minions Grag/Loki and Mr. Taylor(the convict) would have to be my favorites. They had the most opportunity to interact directly with the demon and their narratives were where we really got a feel for being in a world where the Daemon exists. Plus, I'm a black hat as a rule, so I gravitated to the conventional antagonists.

Yes. I generally listen on my way to and from work. It's about and hour and half each day and I found that I wanted to carry Daemon into the house and listen while I was doing housework and cooking dinner as well. It was a thoroughly engaging text.

If you're looking for a thriller that hits you with big ideas as well as suspense and action, look no further. I'm recommending Suarez to all my friends. Home the second book holds up as well as the first.

That phrase I've cited in my headline shows up entirely too much in such a long book. It seems everything that is interesting, Phedra (the protagonist and narrator) doesn't care to elaborate on. Oh she will drone on and on about the beauty of her people or the mythology of their creation, but get to something with some pathos and it's fade to black. The book already limits the readers vision by giving us everything from its protagonist's point of view exclusively. To have her censor for us as well leaves us feeling second step removed from the entire tale. Hint, if something is not important enough to be spoken of in your account or if its too delicate a matter to confide to your reader, DON'T MENTION IT.

By the ending, my give a damn was just about busted. Every time the author would pull me in, get me caring about something or someone, she'd shuffle the moment off screen. There was one liaison between Phedra and Hyacinth, two of the main characters, that had been building the entire book. When she finally got there though, it was two sentences and fade to black. The author wasted hilarious amounts of time on banal details of setting, but come a moment of true feeling (or even just carnality) and she'd shy away.

The narrator was fine. She had a good voice, acted well, carried multiple roles. Nothing wrong with that at all.

I'm am giving Kushiel's Dart a hard time. The book had an elaborate detailed and intricate plot. It's what kept me going through all the frustrations with the method and style of its telling. I wanted to know what happened. That's why story wise I rated it higher than the overall rating. She developed a rich world. It was a terrible pity that she decided only to let us peek through a knothole to have a look at it.

This has the feel of an older style of writing. It is very classy and demure. For a barbarian like me, it was a bit too cultured maybe. If you like material like the Bronte's, I think you would enjoy this text. Don't come looking to be shocked though, because Ms. Carey won't let you see anything too terribly shocking. Her protagonist is too much of a lady to talk about such things.

Readers looking for a supernatural romance novel mixed with a bit of mystery that have a good deal of patience will enjoy this book.

Unlikely. I don't care for the writing style. Don't get me wrong, I like wordy long prose. I don't like the switching of forms from first person as her protagonist to third when dealing with her other characters.

I also don't care for the special snowflake nature of her protagonist. For once, I'd like to see a lead in one of these type of books be less than the forces that surround her as opposed to more than everyone knows. Hell, placing Diana on even footing would have been good enough. Unfortunately though, Diana is bubbling up with "potential" power, even in the first few chapters. It's trope and tired.

Also, could I have a couple of bland vampires please? I'd like a vampire the Steve Buscemi could get cast as, not these over glossed shiny and beautiful people with their layer upon layer of angst over their immortality. How about a vampire who enjoys what they are? Too much to ask?

Yes, narration was fine. Jennifer has a decent voice and though she's not the talented voice actress, summoning up diverse characterizations, she had a decent flow and she's pleasant enough to listen to.

Ugh. Two I think, Aunt Sarah and her girlfriend Em'. From what I can tell, these two are there simply to spout exposition about the world and to restate what has already been explained in the narration of Diana (the protagonist's) thoughts. The phone conversations with them are tedious and could easily have been trimmed.

I haven't decided whether to return this item or not. I tend to suffer through when it comes to a hard text, so I may try to give this one a second chance and carry it through to the end. That said though, a book that hasn't hooked me well enough to make me WANT to continue has failed, IMO.

Flash back blitzkrieg style choice really killed this for me. The book bounces back and forth between the protagonists as kids and adults over and over. The segmentation breaks up the narrative and flattens the characterization of the adult versions in favor of the child versions. What that means in a nutshell is that they never really establish any personality beyond who they are at age 12, in the flash backs. It could be argued that this is a story about children and that's the point. I don't accept that though. These characters never seem to grow up in anything but the details of their described lives. They don't change significantly otherwise.

Coupled with its length and the amorphous nature of the story's antagonist, you get a book for adults that they really can't relate to or be afraid of. In addition the scope of the power of the antagonist dwarfs the kids to the point where accepting that they could defeat this ancient evil stretches credibility to the breaking point. King tries to elevate their power with his even more amorphous counter force (see echoes of the Dark Tower) and his tales of the Turtle, but it just never rings true. He's reaching for something Lovecraftian in It but falling short because he's unwilling to pull the plug and let his heroes fail. There's a few token casualties as are required in a King book, but in the end the kids triumph and the ancient evil is destroyed.

Finally, one plot choice at the end of the book struck me as being tacked on and unnecessary. I don't care to spoil the plot point. I will just say that it in itself was more disturbing to me that the whole story of It et all. That little section of the book left me feeling sick to my stomach, not out of fear or horror but out of revulsion. What had been a story about innocence vs. the unknown got twisted by that choice into something mildly perverse.

Nah, I'm a horror reader for years. I don't mind being disturbed. I just don't like to feel like I've wasted my time. This book could have been cut in half and hit the notes it did. It just wasn't worth the time invested.

The narrator was fine. His characterizations were clear and easily understood. This voice range wasn't as diverse as some, but he told the story well.

Beverly. She's at the core of the warped plot choice I mentioned and the dynamic of her character plays to a powerless and abused trope that just gets played too often to be entertaining or acceptable. King needs to try for a strong and whole female character for once as opposed to the broken little girls he pulls up again and again.

I love King's writing as a rule. He's one of the best storytellers of our century. That said, not every piece he puts out is golden. Some are simply good, a few, like It and the later Dark Tower books, fall flat.

The production quality on all the SW-TOR supporting audio book fiction has been top notch. Sound effects, musical score, a narrator with a variety of voices at his command, all superb.Unfortunately though, this title just came off as weak. I think the central problem is they're dealing with characters who are so large and mythic in scope that as readers we don't feel much connection with them. This book returns to characters from the original Knights of the Old Republic Franchise and its portrayal of them is just kind of flat. There's really no surprises or significant character development. Who they are at the start of the book is who they are at the end. Overall it just left me wanting.

I would not go out of my way to, to be sure. I'll give an author a second chance, of course, but I don't really feel there was much meat to this story. That maybe because it's a corporate product and the author is under constraints.

Superb. March Thompson did an excellent job, provided impressive variety of characterizations. He was a treat to listen to.

On a matinee, perhaps.