Sisyphas

Another Gem in My Favorite Among A. McCall Smith’s Series

Reviewed: 05-12-24

Thought I’d read them all, so I was delighted to find this one had apparently fallen thru the cracks. It’s always grand to make a literary visit back to Botswana and the #1 Ladies Detective Agency regulars, for when one’s life has gotten too complicated and a bit of decency and simple life lessons are in order.
The prevailing theme of this book concerns ‘miracles’. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has decided, against Mma Ramotswe’s advice, to go into deep debt with some ersatz doctors in the hope of enabling their wheelchair-bound foster daughter to walk again. In parallel, various mysteries and conflicts ensue with the other main characters. Ultimately, wise Precious Ramotswe brings all to satisfactory closure with a light parting homily on Miracles that just may inspire some “miracle counting” by the reader as well. —This is one of the best of McCall Smith’s “#1 Ladies Detective” books!

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Involving, Innovative Story

Reviewed: 04-10-24

A good story that keeps you coming back to see ‘what fresh hell’ next befalls the protagonist and the many other well-drawn characters that the reader comes to care about. Possibly drags a bit during prolonged fight scenes, but this is fairly ‘de rigueur’ in this literary genre in order to provide proper gravitas to the pivotal enemy battles.
Incidentally, I had no problem with the author’s frequent usage of the word “azure”, since it serves as an indicator of the presence of mana (magic) in the story.

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What Was He Thinking?

Reviewed: 09-11-23

Well.
That was certainly a bit of unpleasantness my day could have gone without. I realise this was just one chapter of the Tales, but it was a poor move for Scalzi to offer this ultra-short fragment as a stand-alone if he wanted to pique new readers’ interest in the entire work.

And why did he use a screenplay format for this chapter alone? It was difficult and annoying to hear the constant repetition of character names. Makes me think that he was cleaning out old files to flesh out a cohesive book and was too rushed or lazy to rewrite this so it “melded” with the other tales. I am still a Scalzi fan, but not everything he does is of equal calibre.

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Good Story; Narrator’s Voice Abrasive!

Reviewed: 07-02-23

I’m familiar with Stefan Rudnicki’s voice work, so I can only attribute his deeply irritating basso rasp in this book to bad sound engineering. Since I could only tolerate this “Flinx and Pip” offering in short spurts over a protracted time, I’m sure I wasn’t able to appreciate this volume of a so-far enjoyed series nearly as much as I would have liked. (If I weren’t visually impaired I would have just purchased and read the book!)
Regarding the story itself, it was a bit slow once Flinx is primarily relegated to the rôle of observer upon agreeing to join this strange expedition.
He finds he’s cast his lot in amongst three odd (and diversely-motivated) beings, all in search of a long-dead planet that purportedly contains a nebulous, possibly mythic item known as “the Krang”. Whether musical instrument, weapon or something totally Other, each of the three main expedition members want it, yet the reader feels foreshadowings that this, Flinx’s first offworld trip, will result in a pivotal point in his life-story that will have impact on who he becomes from this voyage onwards.
I plan on continuing with the series even though Mr Rudnicki narrates throughout, as I’ve checked the Samples of all remaining books in the “Flinx” series, and the narrator’s voice is happily “vanilla-neutral” in all others. (Perhaps a sound re-engineering is in order for this book?)
In any case, I look forward to hearing about the future adventures of this unlikely reptile-human duo, especially whether they have acquired some permanent transformation in powers as a result of their exposure to the ancient, mysterious Tar-Aiym Krang!

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Music Students as Magic Practitioners

Reviewed: 02-04-23

Good fun for dedicated mid-grade music students who love H.P.!
Although Camp Cacophony is chronologically the first in series, I do recommend listening to this after the first (Mystwick School) or even the 2nd book (Midnight Orchestra), as the concept of “musical magic” will be more comprehensible and enjoyable to the reader in this order.

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2 people found this helpful

One of the Best

Reviewed: 05-30-22

Abysmal reader.

If only Cosham could have narrated the entire series! A redo of the entire ‘Roma Sub Rosa’ series by a single, talented reader would certainly boost listenership, as presently so many give up on the series due to individual books being “unlistenable”.

As to story, it builds on two fronts whilst giving us a glimpse of a strange minor religion as well. The surprise revelation at the end makes it one of Saylor’s best. Also, Bethesda and Diana’s characters are finally allowed a welcome bit of dimensionality! Great story, although pacing varies throughout.

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Still Great After All These Years

Reviewed: 08-07-18

I delighted in revisiting this first of Dr. Sack's books from the days of its first edition-hood, when I was a college freshman, yearning to someday practice medicine, so many years ago.
Sacks' Old World narrative style of describing devastated people (rather than "cases"), complete with self-doubts and the odd philosophical meandering, has all but disappeared in any medical setting today due to the current assembly-line medical model. It's a treat to harken back to those halcyon days when a physician had time to address a whole person, rather than just a "Chief Complaint".
The book originally, much to Sacks' and his publisher's utter bafflement, was a great sensation when first published. It remains gently perceptive, excellent listening now, but with the caveat that a lot of years have passed, and many of the Neurological theories and experts have long since fallen in favor of better ones. Plus we now have the benefit of CT, MRI, etc. – which Sacks freely used as they developed, but were mere pipedreams as of the writing of this first book.
I believe the obsolete aspects are irrelevant. This book is still worth your credit for the privilege of meeting the people that Sacks cared so much about, as well as to enfold oneself into his deceptively simple yet gorgeously literate prose. You needn't become a neurologist (as I did) but he can't help but make you more of a humanist!

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Author Commits Cardinal Sin!

Reviewed: 06-29-16

I admittedly chose to start Plakcy's "Dog" series as relief from the heavier book(s) I listen to concurrently. However, I don't equate "light" with poorly written. The pacing in this second book was awful. The majority of the book could be entitled "More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About How Academic Institutions Secure Large Donations". The actual mysteries (2 murders and an illegal steroid ring on campus) are quickly resolved in the last chapter, as if the author just ran out steam and wanted to wrap it up quickly. He also commits a mystery writer's cardinal sin of having the murders committed by a character that isn't even part of the story until the climax! Bad form, Mr Plakcy– very bad form.

A lesser criticism I have - more of an annoyance, really – is the author's use of awful puns for his lesser characters. José Canusi? Lu Cigusi? Juan Tanimera? (Actual spellings unknown from audiobk…) Seriously?? Some listeners may find this quirk clever, but I find it immature and annoying as hell - all the more because this sort of limp wordplay is most amenable to the creation of Hispanic or other ethnic-sounding names.

Being the forgiving soul I am, and knowing that first-time series authors sometimes need to settle into the characters and world they've created, I'll probably spring for Book 3. But if I find that he fails to introduce the true "bad guy" character until the climax ever again, he will have proven himself to be a dishonest mystery writer, unworthy of my time OR yours!

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Heartwarming, Not Too Sappy XMas Story For Fans

Reviewed: 08-07-15

I think this little story, obviously a gift to fans, lends itself perfectly to Audiobook format - perhaps something for dog lovers to play on the way to XMas at Grandma's house??
A little light on plot perhaps, but more than makes up for short length by possibly becoming an annual Holiday staple along with "It's a Wonderful Life", "XMas Story" and the like. Great to wrap presents to!

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1 person found this helpful

BEST ONE YET

Reviewed: 01-16-15

Could not put this one down! As a whodunnit I was kept guessing longer than usual, and the "what/where/why" all came together nicely, with plenty of suspense, over the final few chapters. Neill's increasingly deft writing style & plot devices, plus her typically sympathetic handling of recurring characters, together made "Biting Bad" my favorite ibook n the series (so far).

As for narrator Sophie Eastlake, her frequent - and repeated - mispronunciations of certain words often made me wonder whether she or the line producer owned a dictionary between them! Happily, this seemed to be less of a problem in this volume, and I find her a competent narrator in all other respects. Here's hoping I'll find she's done her homework before recording in all her future titles.

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