Dennis Bingham

amazing, hit exactly where I needed it.

Revisado: 03-17-22

Scalzi called this a "pop song" of a book, in comparison to a dark and brooding piece he set aside before writing it. This was definitely the time when I wanted something as fun, fast, and catchy as a pop song, and he delivered.

I laughed out loud; I commiserated on early 2020 woes; I finished the book and was immediately ready to go back and listen again. Strongly recommend two shots of this, and maybe a booster in 6 months.

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esto le resultó útil a 28 personas

Cyberpunk meets competence porn, but grating

Revisado: 08-09-18

If you are into spy-competence stories, and you were looking for one set in a technological dystopia, this is it.

The voice of the main character comes out a little grating, and I found it hard to get past the objectification of most of the female characters.

This doesn't start out nearly as grimdark as a lot of other cyberpunk worlds, but it got into torture and PTSD flashbacks pretty quickly.

I wanted to listen through this before checking out the Netflix series, and the core mystery was intriguing, but the ancillary elements of the story took it outside of my interests. I like the who dunnit, but I returned it for oversexed commentary.

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esto le resultó útil a 11 personas

another great entry in the series!

Revisado: 02-13-17

another amazing trip in Peter Grant's London. The story moves a lot in The Hanging Tree, and lays foundation for much more to come. first thing I did when I finished my first listen was push past and start again.

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enjoyable, but not Scott Meyer's best

Revisado: 06-04-16

an interesting world and good characters, nothing really wrong with it, but not my favorite. Scott Meyer is clever, and makes great use of language. His characters have feeling and motivations. just great writing.
this book is focused on a strictly diplomatic society dealing with intentionally awful people, particularly a captive adopted by a royal family.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

I wish it wasn't the end, but it closes well

Revisado: 06-04-16

loved this whole series. I keep listening over and over.
the characters left out of book two take center stage here, and we finally get the whole story of Todd. everything that ever irked you about a fantasy game or story gets spoofed and called out here.
the series ends by allowing the characters to continue about their business, but doesn't feel like a let down or a false lead to a sequel.

buy 1 and 2, then I won't have to convince you to get this one, you'll already be as excited as I am!

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love it! gets better every time!

Revisado: 06-04-16

the narrator is incredible, the voices and performance are amazing. the characters grow emotionally and open up from the first book, but are still clearly what you loved before. a pair of hecklers show up, and a couple new characters join the heroes, and everyone gains depth. the plot is serious enough and ridiculous enough to make almost perfect comedy. buy it!

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so enjoyable, I keep coming back

Revisado: 06-04-16

love this book. love this series. I keep redownloading and relistening. there's such a great sense of humor about the whole book. I laugh out loud every time. the performance and voices are amazing. the descriptions and visuals are clear and engaging. the intercut chapters with Martin's parents are well timed and balance the tension well.
buy this whole series. if you're checking the reviews, you're already interested enough to love it.

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translation trubs and a sexist Mary-Sue

Revisado: 06-04-16

this book is suffering from its translation into English, too many idioms and clichés that I'm sure work in the original just fail here. also, there must be a lot of implications or context clues that don't make it into English. Ideas come out of nowhere and sometimes contradict the preceding thought. I can read past those, but there's more.

a Mary-Sue hero isn't the death knell of a series, but when it seems to happen by accident, I really question the author. Max/Laithe floats through all of his "troubles" without really suffering. every time he makes a "sacrifice" he's immediately repaid twice over. he gets the girl, grabs the loot, and wins the tournament. everyone good is his friend, everyone who is against him is already a monster. another issue is that the only female character who even has a name immediately surrenders her agency and becomes an avenue to sexual wish-fulfillment for Max. her real conflict is trivialized as easily solved by men and her personality vanishes within the first few minutes she spends with Max. the male characters around her treat her like just another treasure Max won. I've seen the suggestion this is all an indictment of the way women in video games are treated, but there's really no hint that Tali even has more to her that we aren't seeing.

bought this as the daily deal, and I wouldn't say it was worth the price of a credit.

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just sooo good

Revisado: 05-25-16

excellent self-aware writing, packed with great references, read in an expert one man ensemble of voice acting.
I just want to see more of this world so bad. Larry's ability to transform ordinary work positions into badass warriors has been in the background of several series he's written, and it just gets better here.

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esto le resultó útil a 36 personas

not bad, but difficult narrator

Revisado: 05-02-16

I have enjoyed Dan Wells before, but he never hooked me really deeply, it felt the same here. the book had a decent premise and a fine plot, but it never really launched in my mind. this might still have been a great listen if the narrator had been good, but her depiction and voice really turned into a barrier. Roxanne Hernandez voiced several characters in a patronizing, falsely jovial tone. I thought it might be situational at first, but she carried that tone through every peril and victory. it probably wouldn't have kicked me out of the experience if the story had grabbed me, but with both feeling mediocre, I had to force myself to finish the book.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas