Sammy

Cozy, fun, and low stress as advertised

Revisado: 04-26-25

A sweet story with a sweeter protagonist. World building is a little shallow and all the details aren’t necessarily consistent, but if you’re looking for a pleasant read full of friendship and the triumph of kindness over a plethora of obstacles then this series is for you. I enjoyed it immensely.

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Great premise. Good stories. Series really needed more continuity editing.

Revisado: 01-29-25

Being post 40 myself, I love a heroine who lives on Advil and worries about her bladder while she kicks ass and brings all the boys to the yard. The premise, characters, and writing are great. Unfortunately, reading these back to back has made me acutely aware that there was no story bible to keep the smaller details straight. That or the continuity editing was super rushed. So try to enjoy the sassy dialogue don’t worry too much about the minutiae.

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More Please!

Revisado: 02-06-23

I hate that there are only two of these. It’s such a great concept, and there is clearly more to tell. I know the author’s slate is already past capacity, but I really hope she comes back to these stories one day.

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Nifty angle on fairytales

Revisado: 02-04-23

Love this twist on the classic fairytales. A fun way to explore the concepts of fate va self determination nature vs nurture. Love the diversity this author brings into her stories. Wish there were more than two books. Content warning for mentions of harm to children and suicide.

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Somehow better than the original

Revisado: 11-09-21

This series was made for the Graphic Audio format. I own both versions, and while the first was good, full cast with music and effects really makes this story glow. The heart of a his series is the characters, and this audio style spotlights that. If you like superheroes, multilayered characters with heart, and young adults coming into their own m, this story is absolutely for you. I look forward to buying the rest of these books again in full cast. Hands down one of my favorite comfort reads.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Every bit as awesome as the first!

Revisado: 05-07-19

If you liked the first one, you’ll love the sequel! Action! Adventure! Character development! Romance! Some new faces to intrigue you! Infiltration and deep cover and space battles galore. White tells a fabulous story with intricate detail and flawless internal consistency. His characters are vivid, his dialogue snappy and varied, his descriptions gorgeous without being heavy. Anyone who likes space opera should like this book. Anyone who likes plucky heroes running against the odds and doing it in a way not QUITE above board will love this book. Anyone who loves sparkly magic will like this book. I am telling you, this story and its predecessor merge all these things into a satisfying and brilliant narrative that kept me wanting more. I deeply hope there is another on its way!

The only criticism I have is that performance wasn’t quite as polished this go-around. Nothing I couldn’t listen past, but it’s a shame it’s not as polished as the story itself.

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Creative, fun, breathless. Seamless meld of sci-fi and magic.

Revisado: 12-19-18

That was delightful! High adventure spanning the galaxy, set in a reality where magic and tech flow onto one another. The landscape is vivid, the cast complex and snarky, and the stakes high. The narration is great, too! This is my kind of book. Can’t wait for the next one!

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esto le resultó útil a 23 personas

"Enough of your feminsit trash!" actual hero quote

Revisado: 04-19-18

What did you like best about The Clan? What did you like least?

Great premise for people who like MMORPGs. And, I guess, cigarettes. Fun AI as God stuff. The misogyny is getting exhausting. The book ends in another cliffhanger, because it isn't really a series so much as a single book broken into pieces.

What was most disappointing about D. Rus’s story?

The protagonist actually says "Enough of your feminist trash!" to an all female mercenary group he wants to hire. And they took it, and then became friendly. Because apparently women just need a firm male hand to settle them down. Please imagine smoke coming out of my ears.

Also, literally the only person who does not seem to like cigarettes is Tali. I assume this is so that she can act indignantly domestic for comedic effect. Author seems to have no problems with playing into lazy and toxic stereotypes, much to the detriment of his writing. This series could have been really good. It has potential. Too bad the writer seems to have all the emotional and mental depth of a 12 year old boy raised by a hyper-conservative patriarch with a fetish for military fascism.

Any additional comments?

I went on to book 3 because of the cliff hanger at the end. Don't bother. It's not worth it. The sexism just gets worse, and it's joined by a heavy dose of racism. The author throws in ableism from time to time as well. The gaming world becoming real premise is still cool, but...well, I suppose if you've gotten this far without tripping over the super problematic parts of this series then you'll enjoy the next bit, too. For my part, I can't support this author by giving him any more money. I find the worldview he presents toxic and his messaging vile. This is where the gaming nostalgia runs out for me.

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That's it, I'm done. Bulls**t level too high.

Revisado: 04-19-18

What did you like best about The Duty? What did you like least?

Gaming premise is still fun, and the idea that AlterWorld has developed its own reality enough that it's not only playing by its own rules but starting to affect the real world is pretty neat. The game mechanics stuff is still nostalgic and wonderful, and I wish we could give terminally ill kids the chance to live forever in a fantasy world. I'm all for that idea. But the writing has not improved even a little, and the misogyny has reached new levels of ick, joined by heightened levels of racism. Our protagonist beats an adolescent girl with a stick out of ire. Apparently the Chinese are evil. Clearly the best way to run thing is as a fascist dictator. And SPOILER ALERT:

After finally getting her revenge, Tali gets stuffed firmly in the refrigerator. Apparently for dramatic effect. Except that it has little to no impact on the protagonist beyond the moment. It just serves as another way to lend him the gravitas the author seems to think he needs. After all, what is a hero without at least one lost love, right? Except that the protagonist feels little to nothing after the moment. Basically I think the author kept realizing the initial girlfriend had been set up to be "jealous" so he couldn't comfortably give the protagonist a harem until she was out of the way. Or maybe the author didn't like his protagonist being too domestically tied down. I can't tell you the end result because I've only heard the preview of book 4. I can't support this author anymore than I already have.

What was most disappointing about D. Rus’s story?

I don't even know where to begin. Racism is a major driving force. Women who aren't under male control are malevolent. it just keeps getting worse and I can't fight through the thickening layers of social sludge to find the gaming goodness anymore.

Was The Duty worth the listening time?

No. The first one was, if you didn't have too much else to do or needed some mental candy. The second one made me feel like I'd about broken even. This book isn't really worth listening to unless you're one of those people who HAS to keep going with a series.

Any additional comments?

Many of the attitudes expressed in here are toxic. The addition of Lloth, however much I might like her as a D&D villain and goddess, felt SUPER lazy and juvenile. The women-as-plot-devices thing has gotten VERY old. The protagonist is steadily moving towards being the thing he's been complaining about, except of course since it's HIM everything is right and proper. He's condescending, bigoted, selfish, and generally a jerk, but because he occasionally does nice things everyone assumes that this is right and proper. The author's inclusion of himself as an AI writer would be a cute little Easter Egg if his arrogance were not so cloying. Oh yeah, and all glory to military everything.

I have had enough. I am done. The writing is not improving, the story arch is ridiculous wish fulfillment, and the character growth is nonexistent except where it's absurd. The only reason I didn't give this a lower rating is that I still like the world premise and the narrator isn't terrible.

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Fun premise, but the nice-guy misogyny galls

Revisado: 04-19-18

What did you like best about AlterWorld? What did you like least?

My vision has deteriorated to the point where I can no longer play the MMORPGs that I used to love. So the whole premise behind this book, that someone like me might be able to leave behind certain limitations and really live in a fantasy world like I used to play in was pure nostalgia gold. It kept me going through some really ugly nice-guy misogyny. The protagonist is put forward as a good guy who often does nice things for other people even when it's not immediately good for him, too. Which is great! But he also can't help making "Women!" type comments. I don't normally attribute the attitudes of a single character to the author, but ALL of the characters mirror this behavior, female and male both.

What was most disappointing about D. Rus’s story?

The general "Nice Guy" + Gamer Bro mentality threading the book poisons an otherwise interesting premise. Also, there's a cliff hanger at the end. Also, apparently nothing really bad can happen to the protagonist. It looks like it might...and then he gets super lucky, or makes a friend, or something. It's basically young adult geek male wish fulfillment all the way down. Also, there are hints of racism in addition to the misogyny, and the protagonist utterly lacks any ability to self-reflect. For instance, he gets ticked off at other people for being greedy, but he lovingly refers to his own selfishness as his "Inner Greedy Pig". While he doesn't always let that instinct win, he doesn't seem to have any problem with the fact that he often does exactly the same things he criticizes other people for. I woudln't mind so much if there was any acknowledgement at all that this was hypocritical, but there isn't.

Of the first three books, this one is the best and easiest to read.

What about Michael Goldstrom’s performance did you like?

This narrator has done everything he possibly can with the material he's been given. His vocal range doesn't seem to be super broad, but that might be due to what he's reading. He's a good fit, tone wise, to the narrative.

Could you see AlterWorld being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I'd love to see this premise brought to film. That would be cool and rather meta. I think this is one of the times that I'd prefer an adaptation though, rather than an attempt to stay close to the original story. I have no idea about actors--I'm not good with names and faces.

Any additional comments?

If you love fantasy MMORPGs, you'll probably enjoy the premise of this series. It hits all the nostalgia buttons for me. The writing itself, from word choice to plot and character development, is mediocre at best. If you're triggered by pervasive, low-grade, unconscious misogyny, then you probably do not want to read this book or this series. Also, the protagonist steadily moves from the position of every-man equality with libertarian spice to the idea that a dictatorship is actually a good idea...as long as he's the one running it. Basically, the more power he gets and the more people who join him, the more he feels like he should be the one in charge and everyone else should be taking orders. There's a lot of mental hypocrisy in here, too, and there's a fair amount of shaming directed at more socialist ideals. Also some ableism.

Basically, if you think I'm whining about nothing and fantasy games are cool, read this book. If the stuff I've described makes you cringe or feel murderous, I advise you to take a pass. Watch some Westworld instead. There the women forced into stereotypes actually get a chance to grow and self-actualize.

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