Gene

Mind ... BLOWN

Revisado: 12-05-24

After the first few pages, I went on Amazon and bought a hardback copy. This is the first book I ever felt I simply had to OWN. I want my grandchildren to read it someday.

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This story started out so well …

Revisado: 06-28-23

But the further along it goes, the more tedious and annoying it becomes. I am officially putting this series down, midway through book three. I should have quit after book one.

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I’ve read books 1 through 3

Revisado: 11-30-22

I’m gonna stop now though. It’s a so-so story with mediocre narration, and book 4 has a new narrator who sounds even less like a Reaper than the first guy. On to bigger and better things.

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Great system, terrible production.

Revisado: 06-20-22

Let me begin by saying that if, like me, you need an audio-only Spanish learning system, Pimsleur is for you. The late Dr. Pimsleur was a genius, plain and simple. He was onto something truly revolutionary, perhaps the greatest language-learning system in the history of mankind.

Thank God, he died not knowing how these people were going to butcher his life's work.

The main, English-speaking actor does a perfectly acceptable job. He has a good voice, and delivers his lines well. Sadly, the Spanish speakers are on the ragged edge of abysmal. They CANNOT be professionals. No way, no how. These are somebody's girlfriend, gym buddy, janitor, or maybe a homeless guy they found sleeping behind some dumpster in El Paso and bribed him out with cigarettes and cheap tequila. They start out okay, for the first few lessons ... but then it sounds like they get tired of the job, and just want to finish up quickly and go home.

The female actor reverts to speaking in whatever accent they use in her hometown, in whatever country she's from. She completely drops the "s" sound from many of her words. For instance, the word "mas" becomes "mah". Instead of "con" she says "cong". And on, and on. She mispronounces words in ways that a beginner like me should NOT be able to pick up on. It's like trying to learn English from some illiterate farmer's wife in deep-south Georgia.

The male actor definitely starts drinking on the job. He mumbles, he slurs, he drops the last syllable in many words ("mucho", for instance, becomes "mooch"). He sounds like a bad ventriloquist, trying to speak without moving his lips. "Enunciation" is not a word he is familiar with.

And don't get me started on the second, and maybe third? - "instructor" who, without warning or introduction, gets added into the class like some sort of deranged teacher's aide. He interrupts the flow by saying things (in Spanish) like "say!" or "ask!" or "answer!" and so forth. He always pipes up right when it's your turn to answer, shattering your concentration, and sending your train of thought right off the rails, over the cliff, and into a blazing fireball of death and carnage in the valley below. He speaks in a creepy hoarse half-whisper, like some pervert who calls you at 3AM and tells you to take off your panties.

Today, I finished lesson 30, and began Spanish level 2, hoping things were going to change. They did not. Or rather, they DID change ... for the worse. Creepy pervert-guy is back with a VENGEANCE. They've turned his mic up, and apparently he now smokes five packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day because his voice is even worse than it was. Or maybe that guy died of throat cancer and this is a different guy. Some other bum, from behind some other dumpster, in some other border town.

Look, I could go on ... but I think I've made my point. I'm not telling you not to buy into the Pimsleur system. It DOES work, and works very well, hence the two stars I gave it. But it's going to frustrate you beyond words now and then. Pimsleur desperately, desperately needs to rip up this course and start over. FIRE THE PRODUCER. Hire actual voice actors, instead of random strangers who claim to speak Spanish. Get rid of the creepy, hoarse-voiced pervert guy, and eliminate the annoying and disruptive "second instructor" altogether. Put just a little effort into it this time, and the results could be absolutely spectacular.

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This series is SO much fun!

Revisado: 08-18-21

I'm almost finished with this book and already I can't wait for book three! Joe is the quintessential "everyman" hero, a humble and regular guy, so easily relatable. Enjoy!

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Exciting and hilarious

Revisado: 08-18-21

I enjoyed this book more than anything else I have listened to in quite a while. Yes, the second and third chapters do slow down a bit, but just bear with it. You'll be glad you did. It's a fun book to read, and RC Bray is superlative as always. Enjoy!

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A timeless post-apocalyptic story

Revisado: 05-09-21

Full disclosure: this story takes place very near where I live, so it has a little more meaning for me than it might for some. But I enjoyed it thoroughly.

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It's okay, but the 4.7 stars are a bit much.

Revisado: 05-09-21

Long, LONG battle scenes, lots of shoot 'em up. A little short on plot and character development though. I did like the "Brody" character, he's my kind of robot. Not Anspach's best work.

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What a waste.

Revisado: 05-09-21

This book is over 36 hours long. Twenty hours of it is wasted time. It's like Jordan was getting paid by the page.

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Why am I still buying these books?

Revisado: 05-09-21

I never knew any author who was better at using a thousand words, when a hundred would have been plenty.

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