James ODonnell

Not very good

Revisado: 02-24-23

This was the first Patterson book I’ve ever read and likely the last. The dialogue was some of the worst I’ve heard from a published book, the action was nonexistent, and the only mystery was how this guy is a household name. Performance was the best part by far.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Disappointing

Revisado: 01-31-23

The only reason this wasn’t a DNF for me is because I love all of Taylor’s other books, so I kept hoping this would get better. It did not. There was no real end, or beginning, or middle. There was basically no unifying plot, but instead a bunch of mini plots, some of which had small arcs, some of which had partial resolutions, some of which had neither. This book felt like Audible called Taylor and asked him to write a book, then he forgot about it, and a week before the deadline, he got a reminder and said uh oh. Then he used about half of the week he had left to draft and edit, and the rest of the week trying to think of snarky things for the characters to say and deciding when a character should glare or snort, then spent another couple minutes editing and sent this in.

Avoid if you like his other stuff, this will only make you question buying anything else from him.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Excellent

Revisado: 01-10-21

I’ve listened to all three in the series and Mammay continues to write excellent sci-fi. The mystery elements set this apart from most sci-fi books, while still holding all the sci-fi mainstays you’d expect. If this is the end of Colonel Butler’s adventures, I can’t wait to see what comes from Mammay next.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Amusing

Revisado: 02-24-20

It was entertaining. The dialogue (of which, it entirely was) was of the type no one ever actually says in unscripted conversation, but other than that (you know, the thing that made up the whole book), it was really good.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Not good

Revisado: 02-23-20

The only reason I finished this was because it was so short, by the time I realized how bad it was, it was already half over. The reading sounded more like someone saying a thousand separate sentences than someone telling story. As for the story it was rather boring. James Taylor is not a sympathetic character and his life is nothing I could see as remarkable. Yes, I understand he is a famous musician, my comment stands.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

True

Revisado: 01-06-20

I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. I bought it because I’ve always wanted to write a memoir, but didn’t know where to start. I figured picking up a recent best selling memoir would give me an idea of where to start. After reading it, I don’t think I’ll be writing one anytime soon. Not because the task is too daunting. Often, with fiction, I’ll read something and think I could never possibly write as beautifully as so-and-so. The writing in this wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t Shakespeare, nor was it supposed to be, nor should it have been. It was the perfect voice for the story. The reason I don’t see me writing one any time soon is because Mr. Vance already said most of what I would have. His story, and way of telling it, was so relatable I often thought he was talking about me. He and I certainly have some similarities in our lives, but no one would look at the two lives and call them the same. Yet his method of story-telling made his life relatable. He just did a good job. Must be that Yale education.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Great

Revisado: 12-14-19

This single book is as good, if not better, than the entire first trilogy. As with the original, narration is just as superb as the writing

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

I didn’t dislike it

Revisado: 11-11-19

I am a very big Stephen King fan. This was one of the few books I didn’t listen to or read because I saw the movie and didn’t care for it. However, I know that for some reason, King books don’t translate well to film. So I figured I’d give it a shot. Like the title says, I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t really like it much either. If all the King books I’ve consumed, this was the (subjectively) worst. My problems with the text were two-fold, it was very jumbled. I like books that seem jumbled at first because they reference points that will be made later on in the text tying together aspects that seemed obscure at first. King does this a lot and he is usually very good at it. In the Dark Tower series he does this over the course of books rather than a single manuscript, and he does so masterfully. In this book, however, he just kind of rewrites the weird parts later on, correcting them rather than tying them in. It is as though he had an elaborate plan for them then got bored with the book (or was told it was too long) and decided it would be better just to pretend they weren’t there. The second part I didn’t like was the explanation for the dream catcher and the aliens. This felt a lot like my first complaint, like there might have been some wider plan but it was discarded in favor of this one. At the end of the book King references the term deus ex machina, and I wonder if that was on purpose because that’s what the dream catcher felt like.

As for the narration, it was okay.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Some parts don’t age well

Revisado: 11-05-19

Books should be ageless, this one is not. I am certain this would have been (and indeed was) a bestselling book when it was written. All of the hallmarks of great writing are there, particularly the characterizations and the suspense. And I don’t mean, necessarily, the scary/intense suspense that Mr. Koontz is known for, but also the more mundane type that might not put you at the edge of your seat, but still keeps you turning the page or actively listening. The problem I had with the book wasn’t with the lack of foresight into technology, nor the references to pop culture since gone, it was with the dialogue. The dialogue sounded like it was old, but not in a way that would show adherence to a time piece. Whenever the characters talked, I felt like I was listening to a lifetime movie recorded in the 80s. Other than that, the book was good. This was the first I listened to that was narrated by Mr. Ballerini, and I will look for his name on titles in the future.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

My review is inadequate

Revisado: 10-15-19

Anything I say about this book is inadequate. It is better than the 5 stars I gave. The first book in the series was good at best, but this one... this is fantasy at its best. Read it. Listen to it. Buy it in print and frame each and every page then hang the framed pages around your house so that you can read it again as you cook dinner, rest on the couch, do your business in the bathroom. It is that good

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña