Ryan

Extremely Good

Revisado: 07-23-24

I cannot recommend this enough to anyone who finds social experiments interesting. I'm not an EVE Online gamer but this and the previous volume were extremely riveting.

Don't feel you have to start with Volume I -- this one will summarize the first volume well enough for you and you can circle back to the first one after this if you want more details on the early EVE history.

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Laughably Juvenile Pulp Sci-Fi Trash

Revisado: 04-26-24

Pros:
- It's reminiscent of 50's / 60's pulp science fiction where it's set in the future but everything inexplicably mimics the culture and sensibilities of the current day. If you want Sci-Fi that won't challenge you or present any new ideas then you'll probably enjoy this.

Cons:
- The author is devoid of any imagination. The aliens are dogs (but not dogs, aliens that look like dogs), cats (but not cats, aliens that look like cats), and chimpanzees (but not chimpanzees, aliens that look like chimpanzees). A character takes chemicals to enhance her physical stamina and strength but the author regularly refers to them as simply "science drugs". There are also wizards and magic, but they don't do anything unique apart from being a Deus Ex Machina whenever the author can't think of a way to tie two plot points together. Magic both exists within this Sci-Fi universe but also doesn't really exist since it has no useful place within the world the author built. Further on that same idea, there's essentially zero world building; the characters go on episodic adventures where, like a TV sitcom, things more or less return to their prior baseline after each adventure so that the characters remain unchallenged and unchanged (except someone occasionally gaining blue hair or replacement teeth).
- The author simply cannot write meaningful characters, worst of all for the women. Female characters are either frigid and cruel or they are born-yesterday sexpots. The first new crew they add is a 24 year old with a skinny waist, huge tits, and literally built like a Barbie doll, plastic features and all. The main character has all the markings of an undersexed author at work, where he's both a committed patriarch and also a horny man-child.
- The writing style itself is bland when good and cringe beyond belief when bad. There's a scene where the sexual tension begins between a man and woman arguing and the author literally writes, "it was a sticky situation, and it was about to get a whole lot stickier". Why would anyone subject their audience to this level of trash? Do they hate their audience? I want to meet the author some day just to get answers to my questions, like "How dare you?"

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Lots of incorrect small details

Revisado: 03-02-22

It's not a huge deal, but there are a significant amount of small details that are simply wrong and may speak to a lack of due diligence by the writer on broader topics that cannot be easily verified. From things like calling the game "Mario's Party" or claiming that Mario is in the "audience" of Punch-Out when he's the foreground as the referee, the small details add up and reduce the credulity I can lend to the author's actual knowledge of the topic at hand.

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Wow, huge disappointment

Revisado: 07-21-21

I unapologetically loved the first book, despite the accusations that it relied heavily on references for its hooks and story. The sequel, however, takes everything I liked about the first one (organic use of topical references, coming of age discovery, openness to new experiences, and a resolution that discarded the banal online life of the protagonist) and completely ruins them for a cheap reiteration of self-referential drivel. I'd advise you to pass on this one if you want to keep enjoying the original book. This will only tarnish your memories of it.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Good Book, Poor Reading

Revisado: 06-18-19

The book is timeless and wonderful, however the narrator in this version wavers from "Lord of the Rings" epic style voices to questionably racist Asian accents and speech impediments. It turns a meaningful novel into a slightly cringey experience.

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Junk Food for Your Soul

Revisado: 06-08-19

From the person who brought into the spotlight the charlatans Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, this is an extension of vapid and feckless faux-solutions to all problems and ailments.

There are snippets of truth and self-healing here, similar to what one could find in a book of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or group discussion sessions. Unfortunately this product waters those methods down and packages in a form that serves the capitalist interests of Oprah's brand rather than for the benefit of her admirers. It is a shame that someone who legitimately achieved greatness from a place of poverty and social difficulty has created a product line that serves those who need it least, and blames the victims for being in similar circumstances that she was so *lucky* to have escaped.

-- Should you trust your instincts above all else? Not everyone has good instincts, otherwise we wouldn't need the scientific method.

-- Is the only obstacle in life your own hesitation and self-doubt? For those with real world issues, this is folly. Those with terminal illness, those held in the social bondage of their familial or fiscal situations, and for those with circumstances contrary to the social norm and are held back by institutionalized racism, sexism, ageism, or bigotry, the idea that you are holding yourself back is nothing more than blaming the victim of poor fortune.

This is a book that could benefit a bored member of the idle rich, toiling away their life in gossip magazines and white wine. These kinds of people need this type of spiritual awakening to help them find purpose and motivation. For everyone else, whose purpose involves the struggle of real problems and distant solutions, this is a short jaunt through masochistic self-loathing and a path to lugubrious futility.

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esto le resultó útil a 15 personas

Short but Enjoyable LGBT Comedy

Revisado: 06-06-19

This is a short collection of stories by men and women in the LGBT community. It is worth listening to for the comedy elements alone, but it might even leave a lasting impression on you by the descriptions of these unique experiences. I would definitely like to see more of this content in the future.

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esto le resultó útil a 17 personas

Hindu No-Sleep

Revisado: 06-06-19

This kind of book is definitely not within my wheelhouse and I went into this knowing nothing, so keep that in mind with this review.

Essentially this is a no-sleep short horror story. It is short enough to be a single podcast episode, which makes it hard to recommend as a buy even if you like the genre.

To enjoy this, I would recommend that you like (or tolerate at the very least) both astrology and reincarnation. If you cannot take those topics seriously then this book will be one giant eyeroll with a side dish of cringe.

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Great Material, Poor Execution

Revisado: 05-29-19

I wanted to love this book. I really did.

As a lifelong nerd and feminist I found the concept of this book fascinating, and the story around it is still captivating. The execution here, however, leaves a lot to be desired.

The book itself feels disjointed, following a winding thread through time and tangentially hitting the mark from time to time. It seems more like a rough draft, in serious need of an editor to clean up the progression. Chapters do not feel cohesive, rather they seem like they were written as self-contained articles that the author slapped together as an afterthought. This may make listening to this book easier if you do it slowly, but listening to it in long stints makes it seem very chaotic. The narrator makes it all the more difficult.

The narration is somehow good and bad at the same time. It is read in an old-timey fashion, with the quality sounding somewhat tinny and the voice reading with dispassionate alacrity. It makes it feel like it's being read to you on an old radio show from the 1950's. It certainly fits with the subject of the book, but it is not pleasant to the ear.

Overall I cannot recommend this book, even if I do recommend that everyone make themselves aware of the subject matter, because that remains the best part. However it is probably best if you seek the information elsewhere. The experience here is not great.

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Great Story With Minor Audio Issues

Revisado: 05-21-19

Amazing story with visceral descriptions of harrowing and horrifying action. The audio is a bit on the low quality side, but you probably wont notice unless you listen at high volume. There's an audio hitch in Chapter 70 and I'm not sure how much of the story is missing, but from the context it seems like it isn't missing much. Overall I could easily recommend this to others, as long as you have the stomach for it.

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