Steven DiBerardino

A fun ride all around

Revisado: 07-10-24

After four Rogue Squadron novels, this was an excellent change of pace. Allston sets a tone which is simultaneously more serious, but with a lot more chaos and fun. The cast of characters is a ton of fun, and a lot more entertaining and relatable than the Rogue Squadron characters. There's also 95% less weird sexual tension and awkward fantasies, compared Stackpole's novels.

This is by far my favorite of the X-Wing novels to date, and I can't wait to start Iron Fist.

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A great production of a classic novel l

Revisado: 01-11-24

Timothy Zahn and Marc Thomson are always a fantastic combination. This book is no exception. The story is pulpy and fun like all of Zahn's works, and serves as an awesome prequel to all of Zahn's other stories in both Canon and Legends. The extra short story is also very fun, especially to anyone who has read 2017's "Thrawn."

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Honestly kind of a snooze fest

Revisado: 12-27-22

I really couldn't get into this one. In this series, I found book 1 to be an absolute treat, book 2 to be a stupid, nonsensical disaster, and book 3 to be surprisingly enjoyable.

This book has been extremely boring. I'm about 2/3 through and I just don't find the conflict compelling. the villain is incompetent (but the author makes damn sure we don't forget that she's hot. Seriously, please stop telling us, we get it!), the supporting characters don't really contribute much, and nobody really gets any development of any kind.

There are a few enjoyable battle scenes. One space battle in particular was genuinely exciting. Flirry Vorru is a great character (he's the only villain who isn't an idiot), as are the smugglers. I also got a good chuckle from some of the jokes.

Marc Thomson, as always, carries the book on his shoulders. Stellar performance, if you've read the previous books, you'll know what you're getting. Side note though, he gave Winter a different accent then before, which was a little odd.

All in all, this book just isn't good. The stakes feel low, the characters are flat, and the writing is as mediocre and weirdly-sexualized as Stackpole's previous novels.

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"Amaze!"

Revisado: 10-18-21

This book has it all. It's got hard science fiction, lovable characters, comedy, tension, character development, and intrigue.

The universe Weir sets up here is truly awesome. Almost all of the science, while definitely out there, is believable. The journey is thrilling and mysteries, but at the same time, the book never takes itself too seriously.

This book seriously never stops being enjoyable. For 16 hours straight, I was having constant fun. The narrator is fantastic, having a voice that I never got tired of (despite hearing him speak in first person for 16 hours), with enough range to cover a variety of characters with different accents. The audio affects are rare but very well done.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves hard science fiction. Andy Weir did not disappoint. I've never read his other books, but it looks like I should.

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Slow to start, but fantastic by the end

Revisado: 10-01-21

I knew Rogue Squadron is a very well-loved book, but I was not expecting it to be as great as it was. this book was fun, uplifting, and exciting, with a fantastic performance as always from Marc Thompson.

It's Top Gun in space, with loveable characters and exciting conflicts. It's a fantastic throwback to the simpler time of Star Wars in the 90's, where there was no baggage of existing Canon to have to deal with.

This book is great fun for new and old star Wars readers alike. Whether you're a Legends fan, or have only seen the movies, I would highly recommend this book.

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Not that exciting overall

Revisado: 07-19-21

I found this book to be a little bit dull. it had some high points, but there wasn't a lot of interesting conflict, and the conflicts that did occur weren't resolved in particularly interesting ways.

I found the ending to be particularly disappointing. I don't know what I expected, but it ended pretty abruptly There weren't any unresolved plot threads, but that's only because there were very few developed conflicts to begin with.

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Awesome rendition of a chilling book

Revisado: 06-24-21

This book is awesome. Its really dark, and probably not for children, but it's awesome to see Windu get some time in the spotlight. he really goes through some stuff here.

The book is a great performance. Sullivan Jones was the perfect choice for a narrator, and did a great job throughout. The music and sound effects were great as always.

I'm so glad this book was brought back unabridged. I'm looking forward to the future unabridged Legends collection. I can't wait for September's unabridged Rogue Squadron production, and I'm hoping for more of the older Zahn books to get unabridged versions too. Huge thanks to the team at Del Rey for giving Legends some love.

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Origins of some of the biggest names in robotics

Revisado: 03-29-21

A fantastic, superhero origin story of some of the biggest names in robotics: Urmson, Levandowski, Salesky, Thrun, the list goes on.

The story is both fascinating and thrilling, detailing the events of the Darpa Challenges, Academic research, the early years of Google's Autonomy research, and the sudden rise of dozens of startups.

This is a must-read for anyone who works in transportation, robotics, or the automotive industry. It simultaneously captures the excitement of the races, the interpersonal drama between key figure, and some of the technical features that go into an autonomous vehicle.

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It was probably a good book

Revisado: 02-11-21

It was probably a good book, but I really couldn't tell. the abridgement was so bad I had to focus on figuring out what was going on, rather than on enjoying the story.

Kevin please, give us unabridged recordings of these old legends books. Outbound Flight, Choices of One, Survivor's Quest, Dark Nest, X-wing, NJO... I'd buy them all.

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Desperately Needs a Re Release

Revisado: 09-13-19

This is a great book that got completely ruined by the abridgement. There are so many parts that are missing that it becomes hard to follow, and the fate of some characters is even left ambiguous. I feel cheated by this audiobook, because I'm missing so much great content that is in the physical novel.

Given how much this book is referenced in the Ascendancy trilogy, I think it only makes sense to have an Essential Legends Re-release of this book. Marc Thomson could give a performance that matches his portrayal of the Ascendancy Trilogy, and audiobook listeners would be more able to enjoy the connection ls between this book and the new trilogy.

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