Geekomancy

By: Michael R. Underwood

Narrated by: Julia Farhat

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Clerks meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this original urban fantasy book about Geekomancers - humans that derive supernatural powers from pop culture.

Ree Reyes’s life was easier when all she had to worry about was scraping together tips from her gig as a barista and comic shop slave to pursue her ambitions as a screenwriter.

When a scruffy-looking guy storms into the shop looking for a comic like his life depends on it, Ree writes it off as just another day in the land of the geeks. Until a gigantic “BOOM!” echoes from the alley a minute later, and Ree follows the rabbit hole down into her town’s magical flip-side. Here, astral cowboy hackers fight trolls, rubber-suited werewolves, and elegant Gothic Lolita witches while wielding nostalgia-powered props.

Ree joins Eastwood (aka Scruffy Guy), investigating a mysterious string of teen suicides as she tries to recover from her own drag-your-heart-through-jagged-glass breakup. But as she digs deeper, Ree discovers Eastwood may not be the knight-in-cardboard armor she thought. Will Ree be able to stop the suicides, save Eastwood from himself, and somehow keep her job?

©2012 Michael R. Underwood (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Soldiered through to the end, despite the narrator

Any additional comments?

This story is somewhat of a hybrid of Ready Player One and Midnight Riot, both of which I listened to recently and enjoyed immensely. The geeky in-jokes were fun and I got a lot of them; the numerous Firefly references warmed my heart.

However, I had to grit my teeth to finish this book because the narration was so awful. Perhaps it is this narrator's first attempt; still, it boggles my mind that a producer would let this out into the wild. The narration was monotone, the tempo and phrasing atrocious. Her attempt at different characters' voices, especially Eastwood's, was simply annoying. As other reviewers have noted, the sound balance wasn't very good and was painful to listen to at times. In addition, when a new character was introduced partway through the book, it sounded for all the world like someone else's voice had been looped in—someone who actually knows how to read; however, those looped passages had a hissy background.

It pains me to be so critical of someone who is perhaps just embarking on their career as a narrator. While I would consider reading or listening to more titles by this author, unless this narrator improves a lot, I'm not going to suffer through another of her productions.

Low quality

Awesome plot line though mildly predictable in some places. The voice actress sounds like she’s reading the book for the first time while recording it on her cell phone in a bathroom stall. Please redo this one so that people can actually enjoy listening to it.

Terrible recording!

The story is off to a good start - I've only listened to the first few lines - but the recording is terrible! It fades in and out and is such a distraction I don't know if I'll be able to finish listening.

Did anyone actually listen to this befor releasing

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Using a narrator that was capable of producing sounds less like fingernails on a chalk board, for a start.

Would you ever listen to anything by Michael R. Underwood again?

I'd definitely pre-listen, first

Would you be willing to try another one of Julia Farhat’s performances?

NEVER

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Geekomancy?

All references to the Gamers skill / power rankings. --- very tedious

Any additional comments?

Warning to all: please preview / listen before purchasing

Second read through

The first time I listened to this, I came away conflicted, so I thought I'd try again.
I'm still conflicted.
Julia Farhat and I didn't get along during this narration. I found fault with her delivery, and she blithely ignored my grumblings.

Entertaining and creative, but incongruous style

The concept was amazing. The writing was pretty good. I almost wanted to share this with others... but the swearing seemed incongruous with the intended audience.
My primary complaint was the use of the F-word. The beginning seemed to confirm the YA feel with little swearing and creative expletives. I don’t mind a well used swear word. But by the end, the F-bomb was over-used to the point that I was pulled out of the narrative.

Fun and Light

Would you listen to Geekomancy again? Why?

Yes, but not for a while. It was fun to listen to, and I would remember it too well right now.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, not really. It was a little bit like work by Felicia Day, and borrowed a bit from other works that are based on gaming concepts. It was light, it was funny, and rested gently on my mind.

Great story destroyed by robotic performance

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Reading this book -- you know, with glasses and lights on and everything -- would be fantastic fun. Listening to it was agonizing. I would've preferred Steven Hawking's "voice" to Julia Farhat's. And I just hate to say harsh things about people who have worked so hard.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The protagonist was vividly drawn and had a hilariously fresh, alluringly feminine style. Underwood did a great job telling the story from a feminine perspective -- I didn't check to see that he was a dude until the book was over. Then I about fell in a heap from shock.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was obsessed with uttering each sound for every word, as though she were an advanced yet non-natvie English speaker working diligently to cultivate a precise, academic California accent. It was much more a cue-card reading than a bring-it-to-life performance. She also sounded congested for much of the book. I'm sure she has much stronger performances ahead of her.

Could you see Geekomancy being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

My pick for the star would be the amazingly attractive model who posed for the cover art. Zowie!! Heck, let's hope that's Julia Farhat.

Great story, poor narration.

What would have made Geekomancy better?

A different voice reading the audiobook to me.

What other book might you compare Geekomancy to and why?

This is like the Dresden Files series, but Ree is a lot less jaded at this point than Harry is, and there are a lot more nerd references.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

She sounded monotonous. I could always tell she was reading. Her voice also had a quality that irked me personally, which is my fault, not hers.

What character would you cut from Geekomancy?

One of the Rhyming ladies. There are three of them all filling the fairly small and simple role of the best friend that is not a part of Ree's new world.

Any additional comments?

This is a fun book, not only because of the enjoyable premise and likeable characters, but also because it becomes a sort of game to attempt to catch and place all the references.

Solid story ruined by bad narration

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would not recommend this audiobook to a friend, but the e-book is still worth getting.

What other book might you compare Geekomancy to and why?

This book reminds me of Diana Wynne Jones' Deep Secrets, for its cheery blend of urban fantasy and geek culture.

What didn’t you like about Julia Farhat’s performance?

Where to even begin! The story and main character have potential, if a tad heavy handed with the pop culture, but the narration is truly abysmal. Julia Farhat reads mechanically with hints of false cheer accentuating the ends of random words, transforming a character that should be likable and believable into an insincere Valley girl. She rarely displays any emotion that's consistent with what's taking place in the story, and on the occasions she does, it comes across forced and uninspired.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

So long as they got someone else for the main character.

Any additional comments?

The story has potential, so I'm going to finish this book up via e-book, and buy the second one, Celebromancy, on audiobook since they got a new narrator who I am already familiar with.