Michael Stringer

Hilarious romance with a rational approach

Revisado: 06-15-15

After 5 minutes listening and a moment of so much laughter that I had to stop the book, I knew that the Rosie Project is a winner. As a person diagnosed as borderline Asperger's Syndrome (actual BMI 23), I quickly empathised with the difficulties that Assoc. Prof. Don Tilman has had through his life.

As the story of a man whose brain works so differently to almost all others, and his long life journey to find his place in the world, including a romantic partner, the book works well. I liked the way the book gently stood up for people who do not conform to the neuro-typical, but did this within the context of a delightfully funny love story. Yes - aspys rule!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Story crept up and grabbed my interest

Revisado: 06-15-15

After an uninspired start, that story gradually engaged and caught my interest. At first the style felt like the clichéd private investigator story given the cheap facade of an ancient setting. However all the characters grew richer and more interesting as the story went by, and the historical aspects were handled deftly. I found myself compelled to listen every spare moment I had.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Engaging characters with a 'realistic' story

Revisado: 06-21-14

In this story we see Georgie show some insight, but not much foresight. She is engaged by a Duchess to help a far-flung heir to the duchy learn the ways of the aristocracy. As she says herself, she doesn't show much aptitude to this task.

Then of course there is a murder and Georgie has to help solve it. The pace of solving the murder is extremely uneven, but I suspect probably quite realistic. No real progress occurs for ½ the story, then Georgie has a lucky guess in the last 10 minutes so that everything falls into place.

Fans of whodunnit stories may find this book frustrating, but those looking for a story of pleasant characters in living in the dying days of English great houses will be rewarded.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Humbling history of a genius leader

Revisado: 04-15-14

The history of the Mongol Empire has been done a great disservice in the traditional Western education. This engaging, flowing book puts this right. It starts with the story of a young Genghis Khan that draws heavily on a semi-mythical history. However once it reaches the period of Genghis Khan's leadership of all Mongol people in the elected role of Great Khan, the narrative transitions into a less emotive style that still holds interest.

The book continues after the death of Genghis Khan to cover in detail the continued growth of the Mongol Empire until its zenith under Kublai Khan. The narrative closes with a summary of the decline of the empire, and how Western history has inaccurately and negatively portrayed the history of the Mongol people.

However what particularly interested me was all the detail on how the Mongol Empire functioned using a distinctly enlightened set of ideas. These included such concepts as religious tolerance, paper money, a cheap postal network, public education, a public service run on merit, and a frequent promotion of trade in preference to conquest. The Mongol Empire applied many ideas fundamental to modern Western civilisation many hundreds of years earlier than they appeared in Europe.

The book does play down the horror of Mongol conquest, and they did like conquest. After all the Mongol Empire didn't get so large without it. Once the Mongols had conquered an area though, it appears that the benefits of their good government flowed quickly.

I have a keen interest in the history of civilisations, and this book on the Mongol Empire is an excellent addition to that canon. I recommend it to anyone interested in the history of ideas.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Well-crafted, but a psychological fantasy

Revisado: 12-15-13

Ender's story builds on an English theme of children off at boarding school getting up to adventures and growing up before their time. Ender's battle school in space is harder than most, and the story of his challenges there as teaching focussed on simulated battles is engaging. There is always underlying doubt in the integrity of the teachers, and I waited the whole book for confirmation or refute. This thread of the narrative is well spun.

However ultimately the book fails because Ender doesn't really grow up. The stream of ideas that flow from Ender's mind from the time he is 6 until he is 13 doesn't change. He starts as 6 going on 16, and goes through what is the typical psychological journey of a young soldier. Yes we are told that Ender is a genetic extreme, but ultimately he is too grown up to be believable. I know that child prodigies exist, and Ender is clearly one, but prodigies still have some aspect of children's behaviour. Psychological evolution is not that fast.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Excitement builds

Revisado: 08-27-13

Jack Reacher stories are amphetamine in writing. A friend 'pushed' me into them last Christmas - the first 2 consumed every spare moment from my week's holiday, and a good many more moments than they should have. At the time I thought luckily there were no Audible versions.

Now there are! Initially I didn't like listening to this first one I experienced. Jeff Harding has the right voice for the genre, but his women's voices sound like little girls. It took me a long time to latch into the story.

However eventually I did, and I enjoyed it. Jack Reacher is the 21st-century Odysseus, and like all good myths, this one resonates on multiple levels. In addition 'Echo Burning' builds the tension slowly, and eventually it hits a point of pushing more adrenaline than ice climbing. It kept me coming back for more. I suspect that it will for all who like reading of an interesting hero sorting through interesting problems.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Decius the reluctant warrior

Revisado: 08-27-13

I have always enjoyed the SQPR stories more when Decius gets out of ROME, and this recounting of his adventures in Gaul particularly shines. A good part of the SPQR stories comprises the historical descriptions; taking the reader into the world and mindset of ancient Romans. With this story Mr Roberts gives us some experience of life in the Roman legions. That adds a lot more interest than another series of descriptions about the minutiae of life in Rome.

Decius's adventure with Caesar's legion unfolds at a satisfying pace. It is well dosed with humour and interesting characters. Decius is clearly a 'modern' man that we can identify with, and is also clearly a man out of his time. His contemporaries mostly think him mad, but I find him totally sane.

Anyone with an interest in historical novels will enjoy the delicate substance of this story intermingled with historical narrative. Anyone with an interest in the history of Ancient Rome would be foolish to miss this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

All diversions, not much story

Revisado: 08-09-13

Terry Pratchett appears to have got a little obsessed with his panoply of characters when he wrote Moving Pictures. The book brims to overflowing with lots of little stories, but the core story feels short changed and shallow. It was so shallow that I can't even remember seeing it.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Fun blend of erotica and romance

Revisado: 07-27-13

Ms Cunning (a more obvious pseudonym I couldn't imagine) has given me a treat. She manages to set a fun series of erotic encounters into an authentic context, and then add an engaging romance into the mix.

Myrna's adventures with Bryan give the reader plenty of excitement. However the budding relationship between them, hindered by the shadow of her past, keeps everything 'real' and uncertain. I had a good time listening to this story - thanks Ms Cunning.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

War well described

Revisado: 05-11-13

Stories of war frequently fall into simplistic clichés, with portrayals of faultless heroes fighting nameless evil. Sean Parnell though, has avoided all the clichés (well almost all) to write a lucid, engrossing depiction of war in the 21st century.

He provides a rich, complete picture of the infantryman's experience, both physical and psychological, when trying to enforce peace in the face of insurgency. Sean avoids the political issues of why US soldiers are in Afghanistan, but doesn't shy away from the realities that his soldiers face as a result.

The book's most important contributions comprise its examination of the motives of each soldier for going to war, and how the army's organisation, their training, and their battle experience builds the intense brotherhood between them. In this Sean has given a contemporary perspective on a profession as old as human civilisation, that of the warrior.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña