John

I have mixed feelings about this book. Some of it was good while other parts not so much.

I liked the sections of the book where Penn talks religion and atheism. Humor is a great means of communication and he uses it to effectively examine the many hypocrisies and fallacies of religious belief. He is not afraid to lay it all out there in his unique irreverent way. Those who are very religious will likely be offended by these passages but then they are unlikely to be reading this in the first place.

I also enjoyed some of the insight into his performances but there should have been more of this with some secrets revealed. I know he can't give away his whole act but a few juicy tidbits of revealed magic would have been nice.

Now the bad. To much rambling steam of consciousness stuff about uninteresting events. Why is it parents who have kids late in life feel the need to wax on and on about them? Nobody cares. It may be fascinating to you but it is boring to everybody else.

Too much about what music Penn is into. Again, interesting to him but nobody else. We want to know more about what makes Penn unique, not his love of Bob Dylan and NRBQ.

He is a little too into his own genitalia. Everybody has those parts. Again, not interesting.

I could have easily fast forwarded half of this book and it would have been a lot better.

I only paid $5 for it. Would not have been worth more.

Sorry Penn. Still like you though.

I like David Sedaris. I have read or listened to many of his prior books. Some, such as Me Talk Pretty One Day, are among the funniest books I have ever read. This one, not so much. A lot of it felt kind of sad with an edge of bitterness. Some of the essays were just boring. I found my mind just drifting off focus while the words seemed to just drone in the background. Never a good sign.

There is humor, but it is not the laugh out loud type of previous works but more the mild amusement type.

He talks a lot about his father. Usually his family stories are some of the funniest but these seemed more resentful and angry. He portrays him as both physically and mentally abusive which is somewhat unsettling and not at all humorous. I read Sedaris to smile and laugh, but I found myself feeling saddened and sorry for him for much of the book. Not enough humor to balance the scales.

Another excellent installment to the series. Lots of juicy revelations about recurring characters. One quibble. It can get a little ridiculous how he manages to keep surviving the most impossible of situations and how when his options are exhausted someone comes along in the nick of time. This happens several times each book. I think the stories would be all the better if this device wasn't so overused, but then it is a fantasy novel.

Despite such flaws I still love these stories. The characters get more interesting with each installment and an intriguing meta plot is beginning to emerge. I want to keep reading to see where it all goes.

If you have made it to book 7 you are a fan. You will not be disapointed in this installment. These books get more and more enjoyable as we learn more about each of the recurring characters. Great story and as always with Marsters great narration. Usually I'll listen to a differentbook or 2 or 3 in between Dresden installments but not this time. I started in immediately with book 8. I can't wait to see where the story goes.

One small quible. It seems rather incredulous that every major happening in the supernatural world is centered in Chicago. I'm willing to put that aside for such solid entertainment.

I purchased this because it was on sale and the high review rating. I was tremendously disappointed. Made it through about 9 hours and gave up in exasperation.

This is one of those authors who feels the need to describe every tiny mundane thing which happens in excruciating mind numbing boring detail. Meanwhile the main plot moves along at a snails pace. The narrator adds to this in a slow drawn out elderly style which reminded me of Wilfred Brimley. Wilfred Brimley takes a shower. Wilfred Brimley goes on a date. Wilfred Brimley eats breakfast. All in excruciating detail.

All the female characters have the same clipped odd voice by the narrator. He's a male and I get that but they were really bad.

The writing style was very confusing at times. It was frequently hard to tell who was talking to who and what they were referring to as it was only made clear in later text. I was frequently rewinding to piece it together which led to my annoyance.

Once it got into some supernatural mysticism which didn't seem to fit the previous story I threw in the towel.

I don't even care who did it I just want to get away.

No. Not sure it is good enough to recommend.

Probably not. I have tried 2 and didn't love either.

This is the second book I have heard from him (the other Ready Player One). He is super entertaining to listen to. I loved his take on Joshua the alien. Very funny.

The first half of the book was quite good, the premise interesting and clever, and the dialoge and insider hollywood stuff was snappy. It falls apart in the second half where everything feels very contrived and artificial. The pieces all fall in place waaaay to perfectly and unbelievable. Even in sci-fi/comedy like this I like a sense of plausibility which was present in the first half but destroyed in the second half.Will Wheaton is one of my favorite narrators. He is great and saves this book from being a "did not finish". Nails the fast talking agent banter and alien voices/personas.

Good story. We learn a lot about Harry and other character's past and connections. Interesting stuff which I won't reveal here. I can't wait to see where it all goes. I like all these books. This one is no exception.

Very entertaining. I judge an audiobook by how hard it is to turn it off when I am forced to do something else. Lets just say I haven't been very productive the last few days.
This one is even better than the first, "Hard Magic", which I enjoyed immensely. Many twists and turns. Fast paced. Great characters.

Pinchot is again incredible as a narrator. The best I have encountered so far.

I just wish there were more.

Love the characters. Love the dialog. Love the story. Very funny and clever in an english dry wit sort of way. The jokes and funny bits fly by so fast that sometimes they are easy to miss. I would frequently rewind to catch a subtle funny part. Reminds me of dialog in a Quentin Tarantino movie or Monty Python.

None of this would work well with the wrong sort of narrator. No worries, Briggs is as good as it gets. His spectrum of accents and voices are off the charts. The Audible versions are better than reading because of this.

Just fun light entertainment. Many of the recurring characters are becoming more interesting and likable. The series seems to get a little better with each installment. If you made it this far into the series you are already a fan so not much more needs to be said.