OYENTE

S A Smith

  • 47
  • opiniones
  • 9
  • votos útiles
  • 48
  • calificaciones

An epic tale in one volume

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-28-25

This is an amazing story full of intriguing elements. Magic is at the heart of it all. There is steam punk providing an awesome back drop. Love, classism, the deaf and aliens who can inhabit human bodies. What more needs to be said?

it is a fun story that tells the tale so smoothly I hardly noticed the chapters whizzing by. When it got closer to the end I thought surely it cannot be resolved by the last word. It has the feel of an epic tale. At least a trilogy.

Surprise, surprise, the story is complete. With an absolutely perfect ending.

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An emotional journey

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-25-25

A wonderful short story that goes from despair to giddy delight. It covers an interesting story of a young woman still mourning the death of her father 10 years later. Various peripheral characters are there to help her and to carry the story along. It goes quickly, but is nonetheless a complete story. In the end, I felt as though I had read a full length novel. I love it when authors pull that off!

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"Light" thriller

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-25-25

It's obvious from the first moment of crisis that something isn't what it seems to be, but uncovering what that might be takes a twisting lane through history, countries and people. I often thought I had a glimmer of what might be going on and sometimes I came close. This book kept me interested and guessing. What I really liked about it was that although it involved intrigue and dangerous investigating, it wasn't all that violent. People get shot, but there are no gruesome details to slog through. The family storyline was pretty clean and wholesome. I found it refreshing to be able to enjoy the thrill of the chase with the accompanying ugliness.

I enjoyed listening to this narrator. He has a pleasant and easy to listen to kind of voice. He narrated the book effortlessly and flawlessly, enabling me to stay in the bubble of story he was telling.

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Fascinating stories

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-21-25

I have to start off with my praise of James Francis Markert as narrator. I find the deep tone of his voice soothing and easy to listen to. He also does an excellent job storytelling and using inflection in all the right places.

As to the collection: As with Greek and Roman mythology, the same story is repeated by different authors. At first, I thought it would be boring, but I discovered that there are slight differences between versions and that I heard different things each time the story was told. Perhaps because different authors put an emphasis on different areas? I'm not sure, but I did enjoy the collection and highly recommend it.

One of the things I most appreciate about these collections is the Historical Background that is given at the beginning of the book. I have learned so much about history that is not taught in school and it has given me an enhanced view of human growth and migration. Fascinating stuff. I just sit and absorb!

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Just didn't see it coming

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-04-25

This is a wonderful short story that has so much texture in the descriptions of people and places that I felt I was actually seeing them. It is amazing how the suspense was built in a short period of time without a lot of elaborate explanation and foundation. When the end comes, it is such a surprise. Not at all what I was expecting!

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Out of the mouth of babes

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-03-25

Hearing the author read this memoir is a special privilege. As he presents his story of migrating north on his own, his 9 year old voice is clearly heard. What would be a harrowing journey for many of us is a series of observations and wondering for young Javier. Or is it?

While he doesn't address the impact of his journey directly in the story, the Afterwords reveals it wasn't as emotionless as the story makes it seem.

Grown Javier, the author, has done a beautiful job describing his travels and the people he encountered. I truly felt as though I was seeing through his eyes. For me, with my vivid imagination, the nights in the desert came alive and I was so drawn into every step he took that it was hard to remember this was a dangerous migration and he was at the mercy of strangers.

Knowing what I know about childhood trauma and imagining the tremendous emotion he must have gone through to write this book, I am amazed that he was so able to keep it pure of the suffering he realized when he grew older. In this telling, he is so thoroughly 9 years old, I have a hard time believing it was written by an adult.

Maybe it wasn't. Perhaps it was written by the 9 year old through his adult body.

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Letting go

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-11-24

Letting go of the unexplained disappearance of a special sister is just too big an ask for the protagonist in this story. While big sis is dealing with real life, we make little trips back to the past to give us the backdrop for the story in the present.

Our protagonist is very relatable, if a bit typical (cop with relational issues, survivor guilt), yet I found her return to her hometown and old friends is told with a freshness to it. In a sense, there is a newness in her going home, as opposed to the old feelings dragging her down and not letting her ever breathe. It isn't so much that she is open to what might be there. Quite the opposite. I think it is more a matter of her transformation arc comes more organically than what we are used to reading. The tussle is there, but it isn't a knock down drag out as it is in most books. She allows the changes past her guard in such small bits that she doesn't realize she is changing, until she has. I really appreciated that about this book.

The other characters and the plot of the book are very well done. In some ways, Mr. Dugoni's writing seems too simple and easy to read to be of any depth or merit, but by the end, we can look back and see just how far he's brought us and it is as surprising as the plot twists. So, even though the book may appear formulaic at first glance, don't be fooled. There is tale worth reading between these pages.

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Great stories, but weird combination

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-22-24

Usually the mythology collections have a single unifying theme, usually collected by culture. This collection, however, combines mythology surrounded dragons, the moon and unicorns. The themes are presented differently, with the dragon lore being in the form of stories and the rest having a traditional non-fiction, or research-based, presentation. It's like getting three unrelated books in one.

That is not to say that they are not each fantastic in their own way! The stories about the dragons are a lot of fun and our narrator has such a perfect storytelling manner for this section. When we move into hearing about the moon, however, it is a real mind tilt. I suggest the reading taking a break between listening to these two sections.

The moon mythology is comprehensive and comparative, which is very interesting. It takes a look at the moon from many aspects I never heard or thought of. The man in the moon, the woman in the moon, the frog in the moon, the rabbit in the moon, etc. Plus, the author compares each aspect from culture to culture, pointing out the many times similarities are seen between the mythology of peoples at opposite ends of the earth. The question of how these disparate peoples could have the same mythology is aptly posed. No answer, of course, is forthcoming.

Then come the unicorns. Ah, the unicorns. I never gave them much thought, but herein you will find much thought given to this mythical beast, comparing varieties of description in body parts, colors, etc. In some instances, explanations of how another creature could have been mis-seen instead are given. As with the moon, it is all so very interesting and comprehensive. With all the information given, I'm sure even the most educated listener will learn something new!

Now to our illustrious narrator, Mr. Markert. I do love his voice. As I said, he has an excellent story-telling style. When we move into the more detail-oriented books of the moon and unicorn, he is able to switch styles and narrate this information in a way that makes it engaging and easy to understand. I am also quite impressed with his ability to properly pronounce foreign words from a variety of languages. I was impressed long ago when hearing him pronounce Hawaiin and Asian language words, but now hearing him pronounce Germanic words with just as much ease shows his immense talent.

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Outstanding performance!

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-16-24

This narrator is just perfect for this type of mythology. He is a wonderful storyteller and does an excellent job with pronunciation of names and places. The mythology itself is very interesting, of course, especially since it is a culture that is so different than my own. In some ways, it reminds me of the Hawaiin mythology, in that there is a lot of violence within families and against other villages. There doesn't seem to be much collaboration, except as an immediate means to an end. Not like peaceful negotiations and trade amongst some of the Native American tribes. Magic also seems to be a large part of the stories, but without a moral to the story. They are tales for the sake of sharing what happened to someone.

This is also interesting for me to listen to because I spent a week in the Northwest Territories, in Yellowknife. That was far enough north for the Inuit culture to be noticed and I appreciate this book making the distinction between the Native Americans, or First Nations peoples, and the Inuit. They are not at all alike and that was quite obvious to me in just a short visit.

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Comprehensive Collection: Entertaining Informative

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 06-11-24

This is an amazing mythology collection! I had never read or even heard anything about mythology from some of the cultures represented here. Of course, there are the standard Greek and Roman, but when it starts getting into some of the other cultures it is amazing to learn of the similarities and differences. I have really enjoyed getting a view into the ancient lives of the many peoples represented here. This is a high quality audiobook and Mr. Johnston has a wonderful narrative voice. Well worth listening to.

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