Sara R.

A flawed sequel still worth reading

Revisado: 01-22-24

I loved the first Emily Wilde book so much that I actually reread it immediately after finishing it. The world-building is so rich and compelling, and even minor characters felt well-rounded and compelling. It’s not without faults, but it’s so brilliantly executed that they scarcely distract.

The second book—Map of the Otherlands—is not as strong as the first. We encounter characters like Rose and Ariadne who seem to lack the spark that made side characters interesting in book 1, even when those characters fell into archetypal roles.

The plot also devolves into macguffin-chasing at times and is a bit less elegantly stitched together, particularly in the first 75% of the book.

The last quarter of the book, however, is worth the wait. With a return to Faerie in which Emily and company must again survive by wits alone, the book finally takes off. The description of this world is yet again equal parts fascinating and disturbing; I only wish we’d been able to spend more time there.

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Come for Rowling, stay for Ponce!

Revisado: 07-08-19

Again, the performance of Carlos Ponce is PHENOMENAL. He brings Rowling’s world to life with his varied and delightful renditions of each character. In particular, his performance of Snape, Dumbledore, and Ron Weasley are outstanding: I couldn’t imagine a better voice to give life to those characters.

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Amazing narration!

Revisado: 06-19-19

I’ve read the first book in the Harry Potter series probably at least 15 times. Looking to improve my Spanish, I eagerly downloaded this book to listen to a familiar story in a less familiar language. I was not disappointed! Carlos Ponce is an amazing narrator who brings the characters to life with his wonderful performance. It was an excellent listen!

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Probably not worth it

Revisado: 04-19-19

Oof. I wanted the conclusion of the series to stick its landing, but I can’t say it did. Often, I felt as though the things that had previously bothered me in the other books—long digressive journeys with little reward, unnecessary withholding of information, and carefully laid dots (e.g., the so-called false messengers) never really connecting—were exacerbated in the final book of the trilogy. I really enjoy Tad Williams’ world-building and characterization, but the plot didn’t pull all of those elements together in a way that satisfied me. Andrew Wincott remains an excellent narrator who enthralls me with his performances: I truly forget that there is only one person portraying all these diverse characters, and he distinguishes them quite well.

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Excellent narration!

Revisado: 02-02-19

Mr. Wincott brought this book to life for me. He is so skilled in portraying the different characters, and I appreciated that he was able to perform women’s roles without resorting to the whining high-pitched tone that male narrators sometimes seem to resort to. His performance was a entrancing that I often forgot I was listening to narration. I highly recommend his work!

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Delightful until the misogyny kicks in

Revisado: 04-29-18

This book was recommended to me about 10 years ago, and when I finally got a chance to listen to it, I was very excited. The first chapters in particular captured the excitement of learning and discovery in a way that I rarely hear in memoirs, which was charming. Feynman’s narration of his journey from childhood up through his professional career is fascinating, and certainly worth understanding. However, about 2/3 of the way through the book, Feynman takes a truly unnecessary detour through a chapter in his life when he learned how to pick up women at bars by harassing and dehumanizing them. I can’t fully understand what Feynman thinks this adds to his memoir; maybe that it’s amusing or informative? Unfortunately, it is only disturbing, especially to a modern reader. Sad to say, but I was prepared for a smattering of sexism along the way, and my expectations were met in previous chapters. But after listening to this chapter, where Feynman repeatedly refers to women as “bitches” and in one pivotal moment tells a woman that she is “no better than a whore,“ I find that I cannot continue. I finished the chapter in the hopes that he would come to some understanding that his behavior had been grossly inappropriate, but he never acknowledged such a realization.

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Thandie Newton is fully transporting

Revisado: 03-10-18

I come back to the story of Jane Eyre every few years as to a good friend. This is the first time, however, that I’ve experienced the book as a spoken performance. I cannot speak highly enough of Thandie Newton’s skill in rendering the complexity of Jane and her entourage. I was fully immersed in the world built by Brontë’s words and her Newton’s performance, which dovetailed perfectly.

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Just stick to Annihilation

Revisado: 02-02-17

Annihilation is mesmerizing and draws one in with vivid imagery and the haunting characterization of the nameless Biologist. Authority was difficult to enjoy in part due to the feeble characterization of the character it follows, John "Control" Rodriguez. The last book, Acceptance, is at least livened with perspectives outside of Control, but still seems to struggle to artfully wrap up the many mysteries sown by Vandermeer in the first novel.

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