OYENTE

E. Smakman

  • 55
  • opiniones
  • 18
  • votos útiles
  • 228
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In the right direction

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

Revisado: 09-17-24

Some context first: I loved the first three books for its originality, its humor and all the nerdy stuff happening. Also, with all the various Bobs the story was still coherent and moving at a good pace. Not so for Heaven’s river which took a very long time with not much happening. More and more factions and not many very interesting made it a slog at times

This book chooses and intermediate path. It was still too long but the individual lines had momentum and the new threats are both credible and interesting. Just as the new technologies. So the book overall was more readable while not being as exciting as the trilogy.

My hope is that Dennis Taylor will write one more book in the series where many arcs come together, maybe by using a longer timescale of centuries instead of decades. And then it is done. Would be worth the wait.

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Lessons on how not to prepare for a pandemic and warnings for the future

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

Revisado: 12-01-22

Michael Lewis is a natural storyteller and once again he manages to make the systematic failure of the US government to Covid as much a story about courageous individuals who try to do their best.
The book illustrates how politics and societal trends over the decades have eroded the ability of public health services to adequately prepare and respond to the threat of the pandemic. Culminating in a way in the incompetent or maybe even malevolent administration of Trump who made matters worse but was certainly not its main cause.

It’s a nice book if you want to know more about the state of the system! The reader could have been better though.

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Cryo-heart-burn

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

Revisado: 11-02-22

The story about death, revival and renewal. And about cheating death, cheating others and cheating yourself. A very mature Miles story and perhaps a fitting end to the saga of Lord Vorkosigan. Although it is my deepest regret that it might be the end as Miles has so much more to give despite his diminutive stance.

Long story short, Miles tries to fix a broken world in the best way he can. Finding excellent friends, driving them crazy and forward, and leaving confusion and destruction in his wake. Renewal follows and new chances for life for all around. No spoilers.

Enjoy it but be aware of the more staid and mature content of this episode compared to younger Miles.

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More a novella than a book

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

Revisado: 10-18-20

Although the book is long enough, the content is actually pretty limited. Especially compared to the Bob-trilogy. It is more of the same but with some new twists that can be interesting if explored more deeply. Taylor sets up the story for a followup as there are plenty of loose ends that require tying up in a future book.

I will not spoil the content with spoilers. Suffice to say that the most beloved characters are back in force, primarily Bob and Bill. Technological development is moderate and so is personal growth. The book references the Skippies so at least know about Expeditionary Force before reading this book. Overall the book is decent but too limited in scope. The trilogy I listened to multiple times already but this one I will not listen again. Petty.
The reading by Ray Porter is excellent as usual.

Final word is that I hope Dennis Taylor puts more time in story development next time and not crank out another one like this. Quality over quantity.

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Comprehensive and personal: how genes work

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

Revisado: 01-24-20

I have been listening to this book in the car for the past two weeks and that makes it sometimes hard to follow. Also the book invites you to make notes just to get a better grip on the topic. And what a meaningful topic it is! Genetics at its current state might have a very big influence on future man, but at the same time Mukherjee describes its long list of limitations.

For me personally, some key take-aways from this book are a bit broader then just this topic:
- scientific progress and insights have a big impact on politics, and can and will be used idealogically (see also atomic bomb). Therefore, all scientists should be aware of their impact on politics and social discourse
- scientific knowledge can be taught so much more interesting and insightful if the history of scientific discoveries is used as a scaffold instead of teaching the complicated structure of current knowledge.
- life is more complicated than it seems, even though it seems based on such simple structures as base pairs. If life is preserved through endless variation and mutation, shouldn't society also embrace this instead of striving for homogeneity?

I learned a lot, the book made me think, the structure is excellent, and the narrator is very good. Overall, one of the best non-fiction books I read in a long time. I am sure to pick up his other works.

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Setting up for an epic climax

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

Revisado: 11-17-19

I loved the first trilogy and thought it one of the best series I ever read or listened to. Then came Iron Gold which left me quite disappointed: dark and not really a clear path where it was heading. And I disliked the other voices, although using multiple PoV's was an interesting twist. So I started this listen with quite some apprehension.

Luckily, I was not disappointed one bit. I liked the new voices even though Lysander is still not good enough. What you want in a narrator is to get a sense of the emotional state of the person. TGR is perfect for moody Darrow, and the narrator for Efram is very good for his gritty personality. Lysander is harder to pin down, as I am struggling to know if he is a decent guy or not. The voice leaves no clue.

The strength of the story is that it is more integrated than Iron Gold. Even though events take place on multiple planets, it is part of a larger tapestry of deceit and power plays on the level of our complete solar system. I expect the final installment to take us once again to the rim and perhaps beyond. And I hope it will provide a satisfying end.

As the second book, Dark Age leaves many questions unanswered and many threads hanging loose. But Pierce Brown does a good job pushing the entire story forward in another rollercoaster of forward momentum, despair, defeat, escape and glory. And after four books he still manages to surprise in the nature of the action, violence and warfare. Thoroughly enjoyable even if still quite dark and grim.

At 30 hours+, this is a long book and some parts in the story seem only tangentially related to the main arc. But I withhold my judgement for the next book as they might lead somewhere after all...

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Trust beyond the anecdote

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

Revisado: 11-17-19

This is a book I found fascinating the read, but I have read many reviews on Audible that are quite negative about the book. Some of the negativity I can understand, particularly where it concerns the graphic description of sexual abuse and of torture. However, some other reactions focus on the anecdotes themselves as if Gladwell is pushing a personal agenda. He might, but I did not read it that way. Here is my take.

I expected, like others, to be able to better understand strangers after reading this book. This is not that book. It is actually about the fabric of society, which is trust. Trust that the 'other people' are basically good and decent people. This is what holds society together. But trust can sometimes be betrayed, and all the anecdotes in the book show how we all can be deceived by the few rotten apples in the barrel. Not because they are so smart, but because we need to trust all people to make our society work. And our lives happier.

Gladwell advocates for more understanding and forgiveness for the people who were deceived. It is not that they were negligent, but they were simply human. Strangers are just as complex as ourselves, and we should be modest in our appraisals and humble in our judgement.

Gladwell makes a convincing case in my opinion even though some anecdotes might be a bit skewed to make his point. But this is how he tells a story.

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Good enough but too much repetition

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

Revisado: 06-20-18

And here is the second book in the ever expanding series "Expeditionary Force". I thoroughly enjoyed book 1 and the development of Joe Bishop from a grunt into a true colonel of the involuntary human space force. This book continues on the trajectory of the previous book, with more interactions between Colonel Joe and Skippy the Magnificent AI. More interaction, but unfortunately, more of the same. And since I have been taking a look at reviews of book 3, 4 and 5, this will continue for the next books. This is a disappointment, as the entire context is very interesting with alien races and the disappeared Elders in conjunction with a somewhat mentally disabled AI supporting the lowest sentient race in the universe. But questions about what happened to the Elders are not even close to being answered and it seems the story itself is going nowhere.

Overall, nice story for this book, but my journey with the Flying Dutchman ends here. I have seen and heard enough.

One final note, the reading of RC Bray is marvellous. His 'military tone' (does that even exist) fits perfect to characters and story. His reading alone kept me enticed despite the story itself becoming repetitive.

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Good story, but not as great as the first.

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

Revisado: 01-23-18

I am currently about 4 hours into the book, having been spellbound by the first trilogy and thinking about them weeks after I finished. So couldn't wait for Iron Gold....

The book itself does not disappoint, but neither does it (as yet) completely please. Main drawback is that taking the stories through multiple eyes robs the story of depth. It gets more context, contrast and nuance in return in a world destroyed by 10 years of continuous war.

My current biggest frustration is the narration. Tim Gerard Reynolds is good as ever, although sounding a bit tired. And I can stomach the voices of Efram and Lyria as they give some other color. But the voice of Lysander is horrible. After a few minutes of utterly horrible speech - he reads the book like a phone book, not like a story - I have decided to skip the Lysander chapters and read them in the book myself later.

My feeling is that the success of the first trilogy led to this book and particularly audiobook was a bit of a rush job. A waste! Better one month later with the audiobook but then with QUALITY!

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One of the best SciFi I have ever read

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

Revisado: 11-16-17

This review is of the first book of a trilogy, after I read all three books. Only then I could give recommendations, as I would not want to recommend this first book if the others were not so brilliant. But they are and thus I bring you this review while my heart is still beating fast from the final episode of this fabulous story.

This is SciFi at its best! Darrow, a decent boy from an underclass in chains in a hierarchical society set 1000 years in the future is aided to become a member of the class at the top: the Gold. From there, he needs to gain importance in order to destroy this corrupt society from within. In this first book he manages to gain prominence in the initiation 'school' for young adults, and he learns that the situation is not as straightforward as it first seemed.

Why is this a brilliant book and series? The action is riveting, fast-paced as Darrow goes from drama to triumph to disaster and then rises again. There is some romance, but it adds more to the drama than that it detracts. But best of all - imo - is the nuance. Yes, there is absolute evil, but no absolute good. And within each stratum of society there is both good and bad. The overthrow of a corrupt government is not a solution, if you don't know what should come in its place. This society is not just in the backdrop, but is defining how the action plays out and whether it matters at all.

Fans of YA might like the book, but it is way more violent and brutal than Hunger Games. I would cast the series definitely as adult fiction. But fiction with a heart, as you grow fond of the main characters that fight for each other and for love, kinship and deep friendship. And with tears, as that friendship gets tested through betrayal, pride and misunderstanding. And good people die...

So this is for you if you like Sci Fi, action, purpose and deeper questions about the nature of society. And battles both medieval and in space.

Tim Gerard Reynolds does a marvellous job narrating the story, and his voice fits the brooding nature of Darrow like a glove. The voices of the other characters are easily recognizable and he gives the story even more feeling than paper pages alone would have.

So now, after almost 60 hours of listening to the entire series, I can finally get a good nights sleep once again. Until the second series that is....

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