Anónimo

Remarkable

Revisado: 05-29-24

Martyr! is remarkable. Powerful writing that captures that particular existential moment of late youth, when the first whiffs of mortality render everything in life so...consequential. Kaveh Akbar's novel is ambitious and painstakingly crafted. Its dizzying poetic language is used intentionally and precisely to great effect. Philosophy and reverie dominate. His erudite voice is saved from pretentiousness only by its authenticity. And the narration! Arian Moayed's performance is emotional and lush. His voice is luxury cashmere, soft, light, warm, with an earthy goat-iness that climbs through. I can't imagine experiencing this book except through his voice. I fell in love a little. Okay, a lot. Completely surrendered. It was sublime. This one will haunt my heart and mind for a long time. Excellent!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

A sci-fi send-up of Hamlet

Revisado: 05-29-24

The Death I Gave Him by Em X Liu is an inventive, sci-fi send-up of Hamlet centered on Ophelia's (Felicia's) point of view and giving Horatio (the lab's AI) a more prominent role. The epistolary architecture of the book is updated to include audio-visual records, magazine interviews, and mind streams. The author offers postmodern meditations on the themes of death, family, legacy, and meaning found in the original. Narrator Catherine Ho does the hard work of bringing the narrative to life through all its voices and formats. An imaginative journey for sure...

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Inventive and Twisty

Revisado: 05-29-24

It's not always easy to find readable gay sci-fi, so I was excited to come across 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑈𝑠 by Eliot Schrefer. The tale is inventive and twisty and has the freshest take on several classic sci-fi tropes I've seen in a while. James Fouhey does a handsome job of narrating, holding the whole thing together. He also has the amazing talent to make one of the main characters--a privileged nepo-baby--engaging and sympathetic as the book goes on. I liked it much more than I thought I would halfway through. Check it out and you'll see why.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

White Trash Warlock is my comfort lit

Revisado: 05-29-24

White Trash Warlock is my comfort lit--gay, esoteric, contemporary fantasy with grit. David R Slayton delivers engaging characters and a roller-coaster plot. Michael David Axtell's narration is friendly and inviting. I feel like I'm listening to a cool kid from my youth who loves secretly geeking out as much as I do. Book 1 of the Adam Binder Trilogy from Blackstone Publishing

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A Hardcore Fantasy Home Run

Revisado: 03-23-24

Jonathan French's The Grey Bastards is the most engaging, rip-roaring fantasy book I've read in ages. A masterfully conceived world. Compelling characters. Perfect pacing. And a flare for twisting the plot so the reader is excitedly waiting to see what happens next. Bringing all of that to life expertly is narrator Will Damron. He weaves his voice around all the novel's intricacies without ever getting in the way of the storytelling. His emotional connection to the characters and his deeply embodied sense of place draw the listener in. Despite clocking in at over 17 hours, I found myself not wanting the experience to end. Kudos!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

All-Star Cast Captures Saunders' Magic

Revisado: 01-28-24

Liberation Day is a masterful collection of short stories by one of my favorite authors. Each story is a weird gem, a seductive puzzle, a captured moment of humanity. The audiobook adds even more goodness to the mix. The narrators of Liberation Day are an all-star cast: Tina Fey, Michael McKean, Edi Patterson, Jenny Slate, Jack McBrayer, Melora Hardin, and Stephen Root. From Penguin Random House Audio. Treat yourself to a fantastic literary and auditory experience

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Fantasy a la King

Revisado: 01-28-24

I've always been ambivalent toward Stephen King. Some of his stuff I really enjoy. Some of it leaves me cold. Fairy Tale grabbed me. It's a slow burn--more fantasy than anything else--and King builds a rich and believable world. Seth Numrich manages the 24+ hour narration like a boss. He brings the world and characters to life while finding the story's emotional dynamics. My only complaint is the main character is supposedly a contemporary high school jock teen. His character, however, comes across as a high school jock from the Carrie-era 70s. King employs some tortured contrivances to justify the 'teen's' anachronistic movie and literary references, but I never did buy it, and it bugged me throughout. It would have worked better simply set in the 70s or 80s instead of modern day. If you're a King fan or a fantasy aficionado, it's a worthy listen. It is a time commitment, though, so be warned.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A Fresh Voice and 2 Amazing Narrators

Revisado: 01-28-24

Clay McLeod Chapman's What Kind of Mother is a horror tour de force. It has the psychological cadence of Joyce Carol Oates, the earthy characters of Stephen King, and a deep Lovecraftian understanding of terror of things in the water. Megan Tusing and Joe Hempel gave authentic and nuanced performances that kept the whole thing grounded in verisimilitude. Super impressed with this offering from Blackstone Publishing (the audio production was flawless!) What Kind of Mother has been getting lots of buzz on the social sites, and for good reason. If you're a fan of creepy, under-the-skin, in-the-brain horror, definitely give this a listen!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Cassandra Campbell delivers!

Revisado: 01-28-24

Huge props to Cassandra Campbell for her narration of Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates. Campbell deftly wound her way through 17+ hours of Oates dreamy, disorienting, narcotic storytelling, and kept me engaged with a character whom I frankly found exasperating. A buzzing WASP-y white woman in the wealthy suburbs of 70s Detroit, dallying with the dark side to stir some drama in her life. A perpetual victim, yet not self-pitying (nor self-aware), just constantly confused. Oates plays with themes of memory, perception, passion, and violence. The book is masterfully constructed if you can make it through, but it's a slow, slow burn. Campbell's subtle, elegant voicework portrays a range of characters articulately without losing the amnesiac atmosphere of the main character's point of view. The producers chose two male narrators to voice the last moments of victims of the titular serial killer. The serial killer, however, is more a story device than anything, and these separate narrations felt needlessly ornamental to me. Campbell could have easily handled the job. Not Oates' most accessible work, but if you're a fan (as I am) it's worth the journey for the literary architecture, if nothing else.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Slithers under your skin

Revisado: 12-08-23

Bath Haus by P J Vernon is unnerving, satisfying, transgressive, and sexy. One of the most compelling and well-executed psychological thrillers I've come across in a long, long time. Vernon creates relentless tension and ratchets up the creep factor until you're squirming.

Michael Crouch and Daniel Henning give strong performances, although I do question the creative choice to split this title between two narrators. I found it a bit jarring, and Daniel Henning seemed to get the short shrift in terms of "screen time" (hear him shine in The House in the Cerulean Sea--a VERY different kind of house...) Nevertheless, absolutely excellent. A must listen.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña