Michael Murphy
- 15
- opiniones
- 7
- votos útiles
- 20
- calificaciones
-
Backyard Goblins
- De: Virgil Knightley
- Narrado por: Jonathan Waters, Mandy McCullough
- Duración: 7 h y 31 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
When a trio of cute goblins emerged from a silver portal that appeared out of nowhere on my property...things got a bit more complicated all of a sudden. Also, I soon discovered they bite and scratch: mostly each other, but sometimes me.
-
-
Historically inaccurate!
- De Jay en 11-09-23
- Backyard Goblins
- De: Virgil Knightley
- Narrado por: Jonathan Waters, Mandy McCullough
Dialogue Hurt Me Physically
Revisado: 03-13-25
Never before has almost every conversation made me cringe as much as this did. I don't think I could handle dealing with anyone who talks like any of the humans in this book. At least the goblins make sense for how they talk.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Has calificado esta reseña.
Reportaste esta reseña
-
World-Tree Online
- World-Tree Trilogy
- De: EA Hooper
- Narrado por: Justin Thomas James, Jeff Hays, Laurie Catherine Winkel, y otros
- Duración: 14 h y 27 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
After experimenting with an exploit, Vincent begins to develop new spells that will take him higher in the game than he ever thought possible. Unfortunately, he crosses paths with the last moderator, a young man named Lucas that uses his mod abilities to torture and subjugate other players. Lucas is willing to abuse his power to conquer the World-Tree, but Vincent’s exploit might just be the key to stopping him.
-
-
Good book. One minor-ish gripe.
- De Trey en 06-05-19
- World-Tree Online
- World-Tree Trilogy
- De: EA Hooper
- Narrado por: Justin Thomas James, Jeff Hays, Laurie Catherine Winkel, Soundbooth Theater
Interesting Concepts, Poor Delivery
Revisado: 03-12-25
A few interesting concepts for the genre, especially given the story was written in 2018, and somewhat likeable characters. However, overall the main antagonist and non-sensical conversations/thoughts made it difficult to finish.
The author uses a lot of internal monologue for the antagonist to try and make it seem like there are logical reasons for him to behave the way he does, but in the end it still doesn't help to make him any more relatable or even understandable. He is just crazy, and that is about it. I have seen multiple people online talking about how great of a villain Lucas was, but honestly I could never find myself even caring to listen to the portions about him, as they always ended up being nothing but "the crazy person sinks further into delusion". I never once felted anything interesting or thought provoking about him.
As for non-sensical conversations and thoughts, the author uses both to try and expand on concepts of his world, but ends up having the characters constantly sound like weirdos who explain things to each other that everyone in the conversation already knows. If everyone involved in a conversation is knowledgeable on a topic, then no-one would waste time explaining the topic to the others as if they know nothing about what is going on. And people who are knowledgeable about something would not take the time to sit there and explain the thing to themselves in their thoughts. This ends up leaving a decent chunk of the exposition being delivered in a very awkward manner.
Another writing choice that came across as forced to me was how throughout the story, the author would make sure to refer to the main character Vincent as "the old man". We know that Vincent is in his 70s, we have been informed of that many times. But most of the time it felt the author was only refering to him as "the old man" to point it out to us that the old person is doing something not expected of an old person, instead of allowing the reader to simply realize that on their own.
This may be more of a personal nitpick, but the giant time skips (if I am recalling correctly it was around 25 years, then 10, then 30 or so) leave me not really feeling connected to the characters in any real way, as most of their development feels as if it is happening off screen. And even then, almost all of the development is only really stats/abilities and becoming closer as friends. Other than the healer becoming a bit more confident, it doesn't feel like any of the main 4 "heroes" we follow really have any changes in personality.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Has calificado esta reseña.
Reportaste esta reseña
-
Nameless Sovereign
- A Cultivation Progression Fantasy
- De: Nameless Author
- Narrado por: Griffin Puatu
- Duración: 21 h y 26 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
The guards say there are no children in the Moonstone Mines, a place walked only by men condemned to slavery and death. An unyielding curse ensures none can depart its dark depths. And yet, a child named Red awakens in the mines with no memory. Haunted by enigmatic dreams, he melds with the slaves, enthralled by tales of the world above. He learns how to cultivate and hunt the deadly monsters that infest the mines, but escape remains an impossibility. Until escape is the only option left.
-
-
Utterly boring. Save your money.
- De Derek A Yau en 09-14-24
- Nameless Sovereign
- A Cultivation Progression Fantasy
- De: Nameless Author
- Narrado por: Griffin Puatu
Drags on, Excessive Unnecessary Dialogue/Thoughts
Revisado: 02-14-25
DNF. Got through around 40% of book.
Book drags on, with nothing of real value ever happening. Yes, it is showing how the MC is surviving in bug infested underground caverns... And that is it. Wastes what feels like is half the story trying to use introspective thoughts to explain his actions, but ends up just saying the same thing over and over to explain the same things that have already been mentioned, or don't need to be explained because the thoughts are obvious/self-explanatory. Constantly makes us listen to the MC explain their thought processes that make no sense for an apparent 10 year old with amnesia and no experience outside of a slave camp that is underground, just to try and force through just how smart they are.
And a quarter of the dialogue between multiple people feels put in only to pad the run time, still adding nothing, and not even really fleshing out the characters while doing so.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Has calificado esta reseña.
Reportaste esta reseña
-
The Broken Night
- Keiran: The Eternal Mage, Book 4
- De: D.E. Sherman
- Narrado por: John Joseph Rogers, Rylee Kuberra
- Duración: 16 h y 29 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
With the awakening of the lich lord Ammun Nescect, Keiran must contend with his greatest challenge yet. His former apprentice, an archmage in his own right, stands between Keiran and his goals of tearing down the tower rooted in the world core itself.
-
-
Another great listen.
- De Dustin en 01-17-25
- The Broken Night
- Keiran: The Eternal Mage, Book 4
- De: D.E. Sherman
- Narrado por: John Joseph Rogers, Rylee Kuberra
Annoyed he Didn't Talk to his Sister
Revisado: 02-05-25
Story sets up a much needed character interaction between Kieran and his sister, after she yells about her insecurities. He tells his parents he will be back in a day or two to talk with her, setting up a nice bit of character development. Proceeds to completely ignore the entire thing, does other stuff, and we never actually get the interaction.
Also, there is a chapter where it sounds like an airplane is flying around in the narrator's background.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Has calificado esta reseña.
Reportaste esta reseña
-
The Faded Land
- A Progression Fantasy Epic (Keiran: The Eternal Mage Book 1)
- De: D.E. Sherman
- Narrado por: John Joseph Rogers, Rylee Kuberra
- Duración: 16 h y 20 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Keiran of the Night Vale has staved off death for two thousand years. His mind and his magic remain as sharp as ever, but his body is old, worn out, and failing. What he needs is to reincarnate into a new, young body, and he bends his prodigious talents towards doing exactly that.
-
-
Great Story Buried in Fluff...
- De AmalgaMat1on en 04-18-24
- The Faded Land
- A Progression Fantasy Epic (Keiran: The Eternal Mage Book 1)
- De: D.E. Sherman
- Narrado por: John Joseph Rogers, Rylee Kuberra
Decent Start
Revisado: 01-21-25
A decent start with an interesting MC and world building. It does drag on at times, a bit repetitive, and a least one small story inconsistency that I noticed, but nothing egregious.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Has calificado esta reseña.
Reportaste esta reseña
-
The Blade's Own Truth
- Son of the Wilderlands, Book 1
- De: Zachary Dugas, Daniel Jones
- Narrado por: Connor Brannigan
- Duración: 13 h y 1 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
The Wilderlands are said to contain many dangers. On most maps the area remains blank and only the bravest of travelers will venture beneath its canopy. For monsters roam these woods, which made it the perfect place for a legendary swordmaster to disappear from the world for a time and raise a child. For seventeen years Holviti of Yuutan raised Duren in those woods, training him in the sword, hunting the creatures that called it home, but as is the case with all young men, there comes a day when one must leave his fathers home and make their own mark on the world.
-
-
Fantastic Story. Unnecessary Narrator Change!
- De SSG Clifford Wilson en 06-29-24
- The Blade's Own Truth
- Son of the Wilderlands, Book 1
- De: Zachary Dugas, Daniel Jones
- Narrado por: Connor Brannigan
Mediocre, Needs a Lot of Work
Revisado: 01-11-25
There are multiple things that are explained many times, despite adding nothing new to the concept or idea. For example, there are 4 or 5 times where it is talked about, as a description of a plot point outside of dialogue, that people who receive magical healing suffer from ghost pains due to the body thinking it should still be hurt. After the first time, each proceeding explanation adds nothing new to the idea, just wastes space by re-phrasing something that has already been explained, as if the listener/reader is too stupid to remember something that has been mentioned in the book before. Another case is the multiple times the MC thinks about how stupid it is for people to cross their arms to try and be intimidating, since it blocks them from easily drawing their weapon.
The MC also seems to have 1/2 their personality be nothing but repeating phrases his adoptive father said to him while growing up. The amount of times the phrase "The old man always said..." or something similar, is repeated almost makes you wonder if the MC is his own person or just a receptacle to vomit out wise sounding phrases from someone else.
A bit more of a potentially biased sore point is that there is a character in the later part of the book, who is a clear reference/insert of Shad M. Brooks, also known on YouTube as Shadiversity, a person known for making content related to weaponry, armor, etc. Unfortunately, they are also someone who has been quite vocal in recent years about supporting the use of AI to create art/images, stealing the hard work of other creative professions to generate something with a few words typed in to an AI. As far as I can tell, the book was originally released before this really became a topic in current issues, but it still makes the entire end of the book hard for me to stomach.
Final fight involved the MC sneaking up on the monster, pommel smashing it in the head, it falling over some battlements and snapping its back, and dying. Entire last quarter or so of the book led up to this as if it would be some intense battle, just to have it be immediately over and something that could have been done by literally anyone. Then the pursuing part about a the entire horde of anger frenzied monsters is also completely skipped. One of the worst endings I have seen in a book.
Overall, bland characters, poor ending, and over use of the "MC is an idiot who doesn't understand basic human interaction" in order to forcefully push the plot forward, even when it makes no logical sense. And such poor editing it can be noticed even in the audio version.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Has calificado esta reseña.
Reportaste esta reseña
-
Rise of the Weakest Summoner: Volume I
- De: J. R. Saileri
- Narrado por: Jonathan Waters, Ellory Lane
- Duración: 8 h y 33 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Follow Asterios as his life of perpetual failure suddenly takes an unexpected turn, after just seconds short of his death, a powerful summon answers his call and saves his life. Wait...doesn't it look like...a girl? Are those beast ears and a tail?
-
-
5 stars
- De Joshua Airington en 04-29-23
- Rise of the Weakest Summoner: Volume I
- De: J. R. Saileri
- Narrado por: Jonathan Waters, Ellory Lane
Incredibly Repetitive and Weak Dialogue
Revisado: 01-02-25
At times it felt like half of all the dialogue was nothing but the Male MC telling the his Cat Girl Summon/Girlfriend/Mate to stop saying sorry and being embarrassed, but don't feel bad about it because her being embarrassed is cute. And the other half of the dialogue is very difficult to handle.
The MC and his Cat Girl get together as an official couple, and the MC's very first comment is asking if she is cool with polygamy. Now, for a clear harem set up, polygamy is to be expected. But before this point, it was NEVER mentioned as anything that is common in the world or something the MC is interested in. In fact it is made clear multiple times that he is known for never even having dated, or seeming to care to. And his only real reason for asking is that another girl who he barely knows, likes him. So apparently he is just assuming he has to date her too, despite never having shown any actual attraction to her.
A few interesting moments as far as world building and magic system goes, but that is about it. The only real story hook (the Male MC being expelled from school for saving his rabbit summon from being killed by another student during a school test) makes it hard to believe anyone in the story will ever be expected to react to anything with any semblance of non-idiocy.
And while it may be poor reading on the Narrators' parts, I am assuming the many grammatical errors, wrong pronouns, and mistakes with tenses are actually from the author's poor editing.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Has calificado esta reseña.
Reportaste esta reseña
-
Mythos University, Book 1
- De: Alan Moria
- Narrado por: Raya Kane, Richard Brock
- Duración: 11 h y 33 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
The Revelation: A name given to an event that, five years ago, changed the world forever. In a single day, humanity discovered that not only were they not alone, but they were not exactly at the top of the food chain. Living in the shadows for millennia, supernaturals now had no choice but to finally come into the light. Because of the fury of a mad god, humans and supernaturals now had to learn to coexist side by side for the first time in living memory. With the revelation that magic was not only real but far more common than fairy tales led them to believe, a new society had to be born.
-
-
Good but...
- De CC en 05-03-24
- Mythos University, Book 1
- De: Alan Moria
- Narrado por: Raya Kane, Richard Brock
Pathetically Written
Revisado: 12-14-24
The writing style and character dialogue are very disappointing and repetive. Full of either excessive descriptions that are entirely unnecessary, as well as lines such as "smiled with a knowing smile." Dropped after the first 6 chapters. Just because the story is smut, doesn't mean it has to be so poorly written.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Has calificado esta reseña.
Reportaste esta reseña
-
Brambles and Thorns
- The Infinite World, Book 4
- De: J.T. Wright
- Narrado por: Tim Campbell
- Duración: 19 h y 31 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Life was simpler when someone was around to tell him what to do. With a band of Adventurers looking to him for direction, whether he likes it or not, Trent Embra needed to figure out how to lead them.
-
-
we're is the action and adventure
- De Anonymous User en 04-13-22
- Brambles and Thorns
- The Infinite World, Book 4
- De: J.T. Wright
- Narrado por: Tim Campbell
Story Continues to Disappoint
Revisado: 07-29-23
The series has some interesting concepts and a few decent characters. But Jesus does the pacing ruin everything. Far too much time spent covering unimportant matters or stretching things on for far too long. The first half of the book (6 or 7 hours) only covers a single day for the main character. Most of the POVs outside Trent are entirely unneeded and don't add anything of substance to the story, and this book even made it to so some of Trent's POVs for certain sections stretch on for so long that it made me want to skip entire chapters just hoping the story would actually progress.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Has calificado esta reseña.
Reportaste esta reseña
-
A Bond Broken
- The Infinite World, Book 2
- De: J.T. Wright
- Narrado por: Tim Campbell
- Duración: 10 h y 46 m
- Versión completa
-
General
-
Narración:
-
Historia
Having experienced his first survival type Trial, Trent Embra is eager to explore what else the world has to offer. There is only one problem. Not everyone comes away from a month of constant fighting untouched. Trent's friend Tersa is unhinged by her time in the Land of the Undying Lord, and Sergeant Cullen means to see her fixed. Enlisted to help, Trent is dragged toward another Trial, mostly willingly. Only time will tell if Tersa still has a place in the Guard and what the Infinite World has in store for Trent.
-
-
Felt incomplete
- De Mr. Thomas en 12-02-20
- A Bond Broken
- The Infinite World, Book 2
- De: J.T. Wright
- Narrado por: Tim Campbell
Excessive Fluff
Revisado: 07-23-23
This felt like the author wanted a small book to act as a transition and introduce some new ideas before actually advancing the story. Then realized it was TOO short, so they added a bunch of excess material that added absolutely nothing to the story and was only there to make the book longer.
Also, Jesus Christ have they made Tersa one of the most unlikable and unbearable characters I have read in recent memory.
The entire subplot created with Trent being forgotten by basically everyone is also incredibly annoying and not at all enjoyable.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Has calificado esta reseña.
Reportaste esta reseña