LV

A good YA story for those that liked Hunger Games

Revisado: 08-07-17

What made the experience of listening to Hunter the most enjoyable?

The Narrator is very good and does a better job with male voices than most male voice actors can do with female voices.

What did you like best about this story?

The world is well thought out with an interesting take on the Fae 'Others'.

Have you listened to any of Amy Landon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first time with Amy Landon and will prompt a rare 'search by narrator' from me.

Any additional comments?

Clearly a YA book it has a strong resemblance to the Hunger Games. That is not a bad thing, if you enjoyed those books, and this promises to yield additional stories in the future.

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A strong Heroine sets a terrible example

Revisado: 12-10-14

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book, especially to anyone already familiar with the series which is likely to is reading/listening to this already. M. Gavin does an outstanding job, as always.

If you’ve listened to books by Kim Harrison before, how does this one compare?

This book is very much a throw back to the first couple of books where the plot, story and character development appear to take a backseat to the harlequinesqe love story. I thought Kim had worked this out of her writing with Kisten's storyline ending, but clearly she had not and the teen angst returns in full force. Recent books had included love interests and romantic/sexual tension as a plot device, which generally added to the story, but this time it just distracts from it.

Which scene was your favorite?

Newt catching 'fire flies'.

Did The Undead Pool inspire you to do anything?

Discuss with my friends reading the same series why authors must write love scenes where 'no' secretly means 'yes. See below.

Any additional comments?

I'm sure Kim did not mean to undermine the positions of women everywhere who say no and expect a man to understand it means no, but she did. I was simply shocked and appalled at the scenes where Rachel would say 'no' to Trent's advances and then the mental dialog would make it clear that Rachel really wanted to say 'yes' and when Trent forced the issue, sometimes through physically overpowering her, it was OK. If this were my daughter who was saying 'NO' to someone who then pushed her back into a counter and grabbed her arms to force the issue I would hope she would knee this assailant in the private parts and call for the cops. Rachel is a strong enough character, and woman, for Kim Harrison to have put her in as an equal partner in the development/movement of this relationship onto a physical footing. The way it was done makes Rachel seem like a weak woman who really wants it even though she is saying 'no'. Male chauvinists everywhere can read this book and know that they can take what they want when they want it since 'no' clearly means 'yes' to this author. Very sad to see this from this author and I'm very disappointed.

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The best thing about this book is the narrator

Revisado: 08-11-14

Would you try another book from Brian Staveley and/or Simon Vance?

Simon Vance is an excellent narrator and brings more to this story than the author does. I will certainly listen to another Vance narration, but I don't believe I will give the author any more of my time.

Would you ever listen to anything by Brian Staveley again?

No, I don't think so. The author clearly can't write female characters, writing as if women have no value and are incapable of rational action. The women are generally incapable of making sound decisions or displaying any degree of self control. Lets see we have psychotic lesbians, prostitutes, death cultists or 'victims', generally of male dominance including male on female torture and/or rape. I think that pretty much sums major character traits of every single female character in the entire book. I would say the author hates women but the male characters are not that much better so perhaps its just terrible writing in general?

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

This book had potential but I don't think an editor actually read the book.

Any additional comments?

The author has several horrible habits which made listening to the book very tough. His descriptions are overdone. Instead of saying the mountains are tall and the peaks are jagged he says they are tall, like X, and like Y, and like Z, and they are jagged, like A, and B, and C. The author took way too long to take the reader from the start of the story to the end. Perhaps 70-75% of the book was one very long and very boring transition from the start of the story to the point where the characters are able to do something about it. Way too much of the story was given over to making the reader hate antagonists in the story, I did not need to be given 15 different reasons to dislike them when 5 would have done.

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I managed to finish the story, barely.

Revisado: 07-02-14

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I finished the book but this is clearly a series and I won't be getting book 2. I wish I had listened to one of the other books I had waiting.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The book is written from multiple viewpoints the view is omniscient. The authors have this horrible habit of rewriting the same scene from a second or even a third perspective repeatedly through the book, even after the reader knows what has happened. It is very frustrating and makes the story drag. The book could have been cut down 25-35% and told the story in 15 hours and just as well, but it felt as if there was a page count they were targeting.

Which character – as performed by Kirby Heyborne – was your favorite?

The narrator was generally good, and did well with translating the feelings into tone. This did detract from the book in places as, when the characters were frantic, it made listening to the story difficult.

Do you think Shadow Raiders needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, this one needs to be re-written and shortened. Only then would a 2nd book be worth listening to.

Any additional comments?

The author writes to get from point A to point B in the story, in preparation for book 2. In a couple of instances things happened which are clearly impossible based on the timeline set by the authors themselves. No spoiler alerts here but, right at the end, it is clear the authors want to leave the main characters in a very specific place and position and something is manufactured to make that occur. When the reader gets to this point there are comments about the actions of from 1 faction which imply communications had to have occurred which clearly fall outside of the timeline. You can't send a message about person A to person B weeks before you even know you are going to meet up with person A to begin with. This is a book, so the author controls everything, but this feels obviously manufactured considering the setting and when I as a reader see that it is very frustrating and distracts from the story.

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Very basic coming of age fantasy

Revisado: 07-02-14

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The characters were all flat and no one, not even the main character, seemed to develop in any way.

What was most disappointing about Brian D. Anderson’s story?

The fact that I purchased it.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was good generally.

Any additional comments?

The book is written like many of the new Serial books you see on amazon, or which have 2 hour 'installments' for sale on Audible. It is formulaic and lacks any depth.

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Worth the read, but clearly a transition book

Revisado: 07-02-14

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend to a friend

Any additional comments?

Butcher's Dresden is always worth reading, lets get that out there first. This book, however, really feels as if it was designed entirely to set the stage for the next books in the series. Its as if the story was merely a vehicle to get Harry from point A to point B in his relationship with the other characters and powers in the Dresden universe.

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Its all that... and more

Revisado: 12-28-10

This is my first listen to Paolo Bacigalupi ever and I was shocked at how good the book actually was. The prior review mention words like 'outstanding' and 'engrossing' and this was all of that and more. The author takes a huge right turn along the scifi highway to post apocalyptic future tales and ends up in one of the most unique takes on our possible future that I have read or listened to. Easily one of the top 10 and, in my opinion, it tops the recent efforts of other writers, such as Stirling, who are dominating the genre right now.

That said... this story is definitely NOT for younger readers as the language and several of the scenes would be beyond X rated if the book were made into a movie.

For adult readers, prepared for harsh language and a harsh reality in a harsh future, and interested in dystopia novels and novels of a post apocalyptic future, this truly a gem.

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Outstanding Effort

Revisado: 12-11-10

I was not looking for much when I bought this AB but it has turned out to be one of the best I've listened to all year. The characters are rough and real, the action is gritty and the interaction between the characters is realistic. I agree with the reviewer that said the language and action is definitely mature, but worth it as it adds a very realistic flavor to the interactions. I was very happily surprised and am moving on now to the next book in the series and wondering how it could possibly top this.

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Very enjoyable

Revisado: 11-22-10

I had this referred to me and, to my pleasant surprise, I found it very enjoyable and well worth the credit. I generally don't appreciate much of the dark urban fantasy that is out there other than the Rachel Morgan series, and even some of that has too much of the Harlequin feel to it. I do try most of it hoping against hope for the best. This was a good and fresh look at a human/fey world and was well done, especially for a first book in a new series.

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Its a necessary step...

Revisado: 11-22-10

I'm a long time WOT fan but for me, like many, the series really bogged down as Jordan overwrote every book since the 5th one. RJ pursued so many story lines it made it almost impossible to follow one character or story arc effectively as a reader, and the mess he left for Brandon Sanderson to clean up is truly atrocious. How RJ expected to finish all of this off in 1 last mammoth book is beyond me. Clearly BS has a made an effort to retain the Jordan pattern of giving every single minor character anyone runs across a back story. Unfortunately that tendency was one of the things I liked least about how RJ wrote his books. Like many here I'm terribly tired of P Aybarra's constant introspection, just get over yourself already. Further I believe that Kramer's voice for him, along with the dialog, makes him seem like a petulant child and I've found myself skipping parts of his section that clearly repeat what has been said too many times before. I generally like Mat's character and it feels to me like BS has brought some new life to that story line, and some of the plot lines finally resolve themselves to clean that up. Rand's story arc and character are HUGE upgrades over RJ's last efforts and I finally find, again, that the story seems to be advancing along well with his character. Egwene's character is still far too much for me to stomach and she seems to be becoming a pivotal female character who is influencing the other female characters in the story line, such as Elayne and Nyneave who are stronger characters and much more likable in my opinion. I find myself wishing Egwene is killed off in a tragic moment to show that even the main characters can be touched by the Dark... but if that happened there would be WAY to much work to be done on the White Tower story line so I guess she has to be kept around. Avienda, one of my favorite early characters is virtually non-existant, as are most of the Aiel characters. This is clearly a necessary step, just finish already.

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