Cloudy Cake

Best horror I’ve found in a while

Revisado: 03-23-25

Christopher Buehlman is probably one of my favourite authors right now. While I definitely enjoyed Black Tongue Thief, this book really drove home what a talented horror writer he is. My only real complaint about this book is that it was over too soon, although I couldn’t tell you what else I might have wanted him to spend more time on. Perhaps a bit more backstory with his old war buddies that don’t appear until near the end? That’s a minor quibble. It moves along quickly and I think it’s to the benefit of the story that it doesn’t spend a lot of time building suspense. It is, after all, pretty clear where things are heading so dragging out the “reveal” wouldn’t have accomplished much. That might sound like criticism but it really isn’t. Good horror is always less about the reveal and more about the way things are executed.

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Hard to classify

Revisado: 02-18-25

This was an interesting listen. Gothic? Folk horror? Ghost story? Something else? Does it matter?

A unique story in a unique, western setting where magic is more or less accepted as a part of life. The characters tend to be less developed than the world they inhabit, but I was easily able to forgive this. Don’t get me wrong, there are interesting characters, but their motivations are not what drive the story. Highly recommend if you want something different.

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Hilarious Shenanigans

Revisado: 01-26-25

I thought a story about the world’s only wizard being pursued by shadowy organizations with ambiguous motives would be really interesting. Unfortunately, that story takes a back seat to the one about Hilarious Shenanigans With A Talking Dog and Ancient Knights.

It was entertaining enough, but the author leans into that schtick and just keeps leaning to the detriment of what might have been a great urban fantasy.

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Less than the sum of its parts

Revisado: 12-29-24

I was thrilled to find a new series, in a genre I enjoy, read by one of my favourite narrators. But I found this to be a slog to get through.

Bronson Pinchot is in my top 3 favourite narrators, but his reading of this was oddly… low energy? It seemed like he was trying to keep his voice down so as to not disturb the people in the next room or something. It didn’t help that the story would often have a perspective change occur without a chapter divider to demarcate it. I would frequently lose track of what was happening as a result, and this was probably made worse by Pinchot’s reading not holding my attention.

I suspect the root issue for me here was I just didn’t find the story all that compelling, despite the interesting premise and ideas.

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Good to be back

Revisado: 11-19-24

I was thrilled to see a new BobiVerse instalment had been released- so much so I re-listened to the prior 4 books back to back beforehand so the story would be fresh in my mind.

Not the strongest of the series, but maybe that perspective was an artifact of my having binged the entire series before listening. Regardless- if you are a fan of the series you will find plenty of things to enjoy in this latest instalment. It ends with plenty of unresolved threads which provides hope for more to come.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Great backstory

Revisado: 08-31-24

I really enjoyed Black Tongued Thief so have been anticipating this for a while. Definitely a very different tone, but i suppose that’s to be expected since this story is told through Galva’s eyes, and she is a very different character than the titular thief of the first story - and of course the backdrop of the war effects this as well. This isn’t a criticism, just an observation. Overall i was just as drawn into this book as the first , and I will read/listen to the next story if there is to be one.

The narrator took me a bit to warm up to. She’s an excellent Galva to be sure, but unlike the author’s narration of the first book (which had more variation in delivery ), you really just get Galva the entire time in this one. Once I adopted the perspective that this was Galva telling her own story in her own words i stopped noticing.

The singing interludes were less in this book. I didn’t hate them in book 1, but i found myself skipping ahead in the handful (maybe only 2) songs in the one.

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Amazing short-form King

Revisado: 07-24-24

Wow, loved this collection. Definitely a more contemplative perspective on horror, maybe reflecting the mindset of a writer who knows there is less road left ahead than there is behind? Will Patton is an excellent narrator, I will probably listen to Outsider next just to get more of the same.

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enjoyable enough

Revisado: 06-14-24

Really nothing too original happening in this story. As sci-fi goes, this is pretty well tread territory. Ray Porter is a top tier narrator but even he wasn’t able to breathe much life into this.

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A cozy story from a distant level of the Tower.

Revisado: 04-21-24

I slept on this one for a while. I really didn’t know what to expect but i was very pleasantly surprised. Not a Dark Tower story - there are no Gunslingers in Delaine - but there are enough familiar references that you feel like you’re on some further removed level of the Tower.

I kind of expected a fantasy epic, but the story takes place on a fairly small stage. There is fantasy, but its of a more grounded variety. That’s not a complaint.

Bronson Pinchot is amazing and hilarious as always.

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A fair enough ending all things considered

Revisado: 04-11-24

I didn’t love the final two books in this series back when they were first published, but my feelings about them, and this final book in particular, have softened somewhat since then. Any series spanning multiple decades is going to struggle to maintain continuity and tone from start to finish. All things considered (not withstanding a few personal sticking points I have about the nature of the beams , the role of Randall Flagg, and the incorporation of Sai King himself into the narrative) , I see this as a satisfying end to the series.

A word about the narrator - George is a great narrator. Not as versatile as Frank was in terms of character performance, but he still carries the story through nicely and brings the perfect tone to the story itself.

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