Stuff and Nonsense

By: Andrew Seiple

Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

Nominated, 2019 Audie Awards - Best Male Narrator  

Meet Threadbare. He is 12 inches tall, full of fluff, and really, really bad at being a hero. 

Magically animated and discarded by his maker as a failed experiment, he is saved by a little girl. But she's got problems of her own, and he might not be able to help her.

Fortunately for the little golem, he's quick to find allies, learn skills, gain levels, and survive horrible predicaments. Which is good, because his creator has a whole lot of enemies …

Warning: Contains profanity and violence.

©2017 Andrew Seiple (P)2018 Podium Publishing

An amazing tale you can't help but love

I’m sure that most of you have seen this book, after getting such high praise from Whoopi Goldberg. That is NOT what brought me to this novel, I had my sights on it when I first heard it was coming out. Honestly, I thought it was going to be similar to another book series called Teddy Bears in Monsterland: An Urban Fantasy Novel: Teddy Defenders, by Justin Sloan. But it wasn’t. This is a fairly powerful stand on its own story, in which the main character, a golem who happens to be a Teddy Bear, goes from sentience to sapience. This is book one of the series, and it was incredible, but I could have done without the Epilogue. Had it ended on the preceding chapter the book would have been near perfection.
The setting is strange, and it has the distinct feel of having been a world based off of a tabletop rpg, that somehow transitioned into a computer game. There are little hints here and there as the characters all discuss how things suddenly changed overnight for no particular reasons they could fathom. Threadbare, the main character, is just as adorable and cuddly as you would expect, right up until he pops his claws and starts slashing foes. For the majority of the book he runs on instinct, and it is a fascinating look into the mind of a creature that slowly becomes self-aware.
One thing that threw me was that this really plays out like a book a kid could read, and then suddenly the cursing and killing begins, and it throws you. Granted, in a book that deals with bloody kills, some cursing shouldn’t stand out, but it does. Once you get into the book it kinda of becomes background noise and it doesn’t bother you, but it takes a little while for that to happen. Otherwise the story is intense, and while it does vacillate between Threadbare and his human girl in POV, the story never slows down. It is a crunchy LITRPG book, too. You get stats, notices, etc. The book hits every box needed to make a fun and exciting story.
One thing that really sealed the deal for me was the narration by Tim Gerard Reynolds. At first he comes across like Sebastian Cabot reading Winnie the Pooh. He has a very distinct, Mr. French way of speaking, and I half expected Threadbare to start thinking, Tut Tut, it looks like rain, but then he morphs his voice once other characters are introduced and he does a spectrum of male to female and human to inhuman that is distinct in each case, and is believable. At no point did it feel like this was a guy doing voices. He was living the parts, and that only added to the fun. I think he played the cat better than anyone else, and everyone knows that cats are notoriously hard to play.
Like I say, the book is nearly flawless, but could have done without the Epilogue. The writing, characterization, plot, drama, and willingness to kill characters coupled with the incredible narration make me give this book a final score of 5 out of 5 stars. I really hope that Seiple can maintain the momentum that this book has got going for it. Give this book a big listen and enjoy a teddy bear picnic. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. Getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

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As seen on the LITRPG AUDIOBOOK PODCAST, please check it out on Youtube.com

And he hugged the kitty to death!

To be fair, if you spend your life trying to be as serious as possible, you may not enjoy this book. But everyone else will love it.

Imagine one of the most epic fantasy adventures you can imagine, with monsters, demons, undead, and dragons; all from the perspective of a cute little teddy bear as he waddles, hugs, and has tea parties from one blunder to the next!

But don’t let that stop you, because this little teddy has more depth than Don Draper from “Mad Men” as he contemplates his existence as a creature that may or may not be considered living, and disregards all fears regarding himself to simply care for His little girl.

Another great LitRPG, and more humorous than most.

This book was great! It allows you to discover a fun new world alongside the protagonist, and really gets you to identify with him. It's full of silliness and ridiculousness that still feels natural together, and mocks RPGs just the right amount to get you laughing out loud. It has charming relationships, and some good twists, and what looks like it will be a promising series-long story arc. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and if you have enjoyed any LitRPGs before, then you'll definitely enjoy this one.

The little toaster

This isn't really a kids book because of some of the adult themes. It has a great story with good narration. I'd recommend it for anyone going on a long trip and wants something not too distracting.

Terry Pratchett meets LittleBigWorld

Forget the typical tween wish fulfillment story you get with a lot of LitRPGs. This is Adorable (LVL 10) with a sprinkling of dry wit in a well-portrayed, medieval-with-fantasy setting. Very refreshing for the genre. Lots of good feels all around.

Beware the Neco-mancer

The mechanics are fun. The plot is fun. But the puns, you will just have to grit your teeth and bear them.

incredible.

Full of charm, mystery and adorable-ness. Every child should have a Threadbare.

I was hesitant at first about a Teddy protagonist, I needn't have worried.

Delightfully innocent and engaging

So very surprised by this book. It’s at the same time adorable and gritty - a difficult feat and executed flawlessly. Give it a chance and be absolutely obsessed by the first chapter. Plus there are two more books in the series on audible, so you can binge! 10/10 already bought the other two.

I didn't know what to expect, but I love it!

This is my first LitRPG novel, and boy did I pick a good one! The game mechanics, which I feared would grow boring, were refreshing and exciting! The characters were well thought-out and very three dimensional. I had to start the sequel right away!

My ONLY complaint is that the narrator mixed up the "Skill up" and "Stat up" voices a couple of times. But all-in-all, it was a fantastic journey that got me hooked right away!

I wish I could give this book a 6th star

This book was fantastic, not just as litRPG, but as a story. The characters are great. The story is fantastic and the performance is quite good. 5/5 will read again.

Magnificent.

THIS is how a story should be written (and told)! The story takes a couple of chapters to get into, but after that... woo boy was I hooked. Full of charm and wonder, it could have been the next Harry Potter if Seiple hadn't included swear words or the occasional darker element. As it stands, it's a story for adults regardless of the teddy bear protagonist.

For those who enjoy litrpg / gamelit who are wondering if this is for them... yes, it is. This is a different take on the genre for sure, but that's not a bad thing and it's done better than most. I've given other books 5 stars in the past, but this is one of those rare instances where I wish I had a higher score again, because this is on another level. World building was excellent, characterisation was excellent, dialogue was excellent. This is crunchy litrpg, which usually means lots of boring stat tables, but here it was handled really well.

Narration by Tim Gerard Reynolds was spot on. I think actually gets better as an audiobook than written word. Every single voice (and there's lots) was distinct and immediately recognisable, and the read was masterfully paced.

One gripe, because hey, I want to be honest - there's a section with a whole lot of puns thrown one after the other. It kinda removes you from the story a little, and while most worked the occasional one fell flat. Other than that, if you're still reading... possibly considering... go for it.

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Delightful

A delightful story. Tim Gerard Reynolds is a super narrator. I've already reccommend this book to a friend. Ideal listening for gentle humour and sheer cuteness.

Not bad

I was having issues getting attached to anyone else but Threadbare and Pulsivar, but otherwise it was a good entertainment for the coronapocalipse

Jusy love it

This is the second time i hear it. Its a nice pov from a rapidly growing childs/golems perpectiv.
And he will keep growing.
The world is also nice in its build of skills jobs etc

Very disappointed in the book

Very disappointed in the book

I have listened to the first 2 1/2 hours of the book and I have no empathy with either threadbare the cat Celia or her father, even during the first large fight scene I am not sure if it is the author or the narrator I just can’t get into the book which is very disappointing considering I’ve been waiting for this book for quite awhile and audio

All I can say is this book is just not for me even though I like the genre I like the idea