Clara R. Arechiga

Intelligent, daring, gruesome

Revisado: 03-24-22

This was a great read. some people will, no doubt in these days of ultra violence in real life and ultra finger pointing in the internet, acuse Simmons of racism, because of the portrayal of Calcutta as a horrible place, but in my opinion he is not xenophobic. The American character is sometimes very dense, and acknowledges it.
It think it's a novel about abysmal evil and choices, for the ones who can choose. It is gory, yes and disturbing, but not too much, and incredibly prescient. It makes you think and scares you at the same time.
Simmons questions the obligation, if you are able to decide about your life, to do it wisely and not bend to evil.

Mark Boyett is great too.

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Really? An epic fantasy based on a war crime?

Revisado: 02-11-22

Would you read an epic fantasy based on concentration camps in Nazi Germany? Of torture of migrants in Libya? Machete killings in Rwanda? Turn gods into action figures? All told in Game of Thrones infused style, of terrible violence lovingly described?
No. No, no.
The experiments described in this book did occur when the Japanese invaded China before WWII and did heinous "investigation" on maybe half a million people in a facility called UNIT 731 (check it on the internet).
Tread carefully on these things. Write about them, by all means, but do not turn them into books read for fun. Please.
I expected better of a Chinese American writer.
too bad.
The narrator is outstanding, though.

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Sooo good

Revisado: 11-21-21

I was drawn to the book by the reviews, and here I'lll add my bit. This is one of the best horror stories i have heard in a long time. The characters are so human, flawed and trying so hard to be brave in the face of evil, you just have to care for them.
And Smitherd does a very good job if reading. Incredible and likeable narrator.

I strongly recommend this book.

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It really scared me, wow. And a lovely reading.

Revisado: 02-05-21

What can I say? I read "Defensive Baking" and I thought this would be funny. And it was, sometimes, funny. But mostly it was very scary and I loved every minute of it. And I usually do not read, or hear, a lot of terror.
And the characters are very likable, Foxy is lovely.
Give it a try when you have chores to do. Hillary Huber reads like a queen, she performs beautifully. I would stop doing the dishes and stand there, with a sponge dripping water all over my shoes, scared and completely into the North Carolina of Kingfisher's imagination. I would clean the whole house and cook for two without noticing.

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Lucid, beautiful, scary and surprisingly funny.

Revisado: 01-07-21

This is one of the best books of History divulgation I have ever read and heard. On par with Barbara Tuchmann's "A Distant Mirror" this work brings Vikings back to life without the operatic helmets with horns. The prose is clear, the ideas complex and clever. Neil Price also has a wonderful sense of humor. Just wait for his description of the discovery of a perfectly preserved latrine that included the tufts of moss Vikings used as toilet paper.

Samuel Roukin performance is so wonderful I do not know if to start all over again or what.
This book is for people who would like to embark on a more serious study of Viking themes or for fans of series and movies (but be prepared for some very urgent debunking).
I could not have loved it more.

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Please, Spike, stop slurping and sighing

Revisado: 08-11-20

Tried to love it, to have a fantasy series to go back to, the way you do when there is a hero you like, maybe like the Ben Aaronovitch series Rivers of London.
I liked the first one, Storm Front. Not very much but I thought, hey, most series are like that. You get to know the characters and to like them. And I do really, really need one urban fantasy series in these corona days. But Harry Dresden is very difficult to like, the book is very repetitive and James Marsters seems to have forgotten what the hell he is reading. I know he was Spike in the Buffy show, but he seems uninterested in the reading. Weird pauses in strange places, inexplicable sighs, heavy breathing, odd slurping —really— and a lot of very flat deliverance. Terrible. Sorry.

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So preposterous it is actually lots of fun.

Revisado: 03-29-20

The plots in this series are, always, preposterous, but incredible fun. The narrator, Rene Auberjonois did an outstanding job in this title: his tongue in cheek rendering of a hungry crazy zombie is worth the book.

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Good fun but never expect any logic

Revisado: 10-23-19

I like the Pendergast books, they are a guilty pleasure. They have no logic, Pendergast is like Dumbledore, MacGyver, James Bond and Batman rolled into one. Each books gets more extravagant, and lots of things happen out of the blue. But they are fun and even this one, with is gore is not scary, because it is so flamboyant, so outrageous. Excellent book for a vacation at the beach.

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Salander the indestructible.

Revisado: 08-30-19

Simon Vance is a very good narrator. But Salander, this time, was just too powerful, the story too convoluted, the evil guys just too bad.
too many subplots. And really, does Salander has to have those superpowers that never, ever fail?
Plague, her hacker friend is even more of a trouble shooter than Dumbledore.

All this results in a childish version of the Larsson originals.

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The reader is outstanding

Revisado: 08-01-19

The novel is a fun ride; most characters are lovable and clever. But the reader gave the story a warmth that I really enjoyed.
Made me want to hear Chinese all day (I do not know a single word).

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