Rocketboy1313

Excellent Continuation

Reviewed: 09-10-24

This is the fastest I have gone thru an audio book in months. Just big idea after big idea thrown out with the humor and thought behind them I have come to expect from the author.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

It is a PKD Book

Reviewed: 01-13-24

This follows the typical arc of all the PKD books I have read, excellent prose paint an out of focus but still intriguing sci-fi world. Bizarre to the point of disturbing chaos takes place as various motivated individuals try to work the rules of the setting to their advantage. A weird break in the narrative happens around the middle where the location takes a dramatic shift and the full stakes of what is happening get into gear.

This is when the increasingly unhinged sci-fi Christianity starts to take hold and a really interesting idea of some alien taking over via drugs starts to mobilize and it draws comparisons to the eucharist... But then it goes bonkers and I must assume (like all the other books by him I have read) whatever he was on (likely speed) started to fade and he decided to just wrap up the story with an ending that just putters out.

If you like his stuff (I generally do) then this is one of them, but it is not his best stuff by any means and for all the interesting concepts and strong prose the structure is just awful and really hinders this thing from being everything it could be.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Loved it

Reviewed: 11-24-23

This is my favorite of the series. I think it takes all the creativity and madness that the other books have but manages to structure the story so well that the pacing never lets off or goes in a weird direction. It has everything that made the last book work and is even tighter narratively.

I can't think of anything to criticize. If you like horror-comedy I can't imagine not liking this.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

I have Some Notes

Reviewed: 11-24-23

First off, all the acting is great, there is plenty of good music and sound effects and aside from the random issue of none of the chapters cutting off correctly there is nothing too bad here.

The narrative has a lot going for it. I like that they have many B-Team characters taking the lime light, the use of the multiverse to bring back dead characters is also pretty novel for the franchise. I like the new plucky sidekick, I like the overall plot, the big issue comes with 3 things.

One, Spike is almost the narrator, the story starts off with him bringing the audience up to speed, many chapters start with him giving a recap up to that point, and he is basically the main character. The problem there is a big chunk of the story's tension is supposed to be "did Spike get lured back to being evil by the alternate timeline Drusilla". But all that tension is dashed when the framing of the narrative has him as the guy relaying the story to the audience. Get a narrator to recap things and convey action which brings me to my next point.

Two, the dialogue is strong along with the acting, but boy howdy are the fight scenes awful. Just have a narrator drop in to describe the fights. Having everyone grunt at each other and exclaim, "Stop grabbing me" or "Ow, my face" does not work. Have Ray Porter or other audible regular come to the booth and give a blow by blow of the action as it transpires. It is okay to do that.

Three, I have to imagine this was intended to be released one episode a week because holy cow is there so much time spent recapping what happened in previous episodes and explaining and re-explaining the core concept which is just not that complicated. Here is the whole bad guy plot, "A ghost of an evil Watcher from centuries past has possessed Tara and is going to cast a spell that makes vampires immune to sunlight". But it seems like this concept is retold to the audience 3-5 times, which would only make sense if those explanations were intended to be 1-3 weeks apart.

If you fixed those three things the overall story would be more tense, more action packed, and tighter narratively. If there are more to be made, and please do this is fun, make these changes please.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Highest of Praise

Reviewed: 09-21-23

There are few sci-fi stories that truly push into exploring an alien mind, a way of thinking based on different primary senses, different communication methods, and wildly different understandings of physical environment. This is the rare story that nails that.

Hyper intelligent meter long spiders forma society based on a biochemical technology that is so different that I can't really describe it without paragraphs of text and it makes sense in the narrative because it is given the time and narrative weight for you to find it interesting.

Beyond that the generational space ship, the insane AI, the remnants of a lost interstellar empire, bizarre monstrous threats it has all of these other great sci fi concepts that could be novels unto themselves and they are just the parallels to the spider story.

I am not exaggerating when I say to put it alongside "2001" or "Ringworld" or other canon entries in the genre. It is a must read for fans of science fiction.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Pretty Good

Reviewed: 09-21-23

This is a concept centric bit of science fiction. The vast-vast majority of the material is the mechanics of the sci-fi technology, operating it safely, navigating the apocalyptic world and the savage worlds, and dealing with people's BS seems like a distant second.

Seeing other reviews talk about politics... Guys that is the plot. It is a post apocalyptic, crime is an issue and they have to try and create a society. If you don't like politics in sci-fi you probably don't like 99% of science fiction that is worth a dime. And if you don't like the particular politics of the book, "Authoritarian reactionaries who dislike that younger generations prefer egalitarian democracy... and that makes them villains" I don't know what to tell you other than you should probably just go look for some other series. I have read a lot of Taylor's stuff at this point and he does not like reactionary politics or reactionaries.

Otherwise if you enjoy the sort of, "let's breakdown these problems into steps and then go thru each of the steps" approach to high concept science fiction I can't imagine this failing to scratch that itch.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

A real lot of fun

Reviewed: 07-27-23

I think the book has a slow start, the first two chapters did not click with me, but much like when the character Philip shows up in "Off to be the Wizard", when the aliens show up the book picks up speed and it was terrific. I like the idea of aliens thinking so differently that humanity can annihilate them with such basic lines of conflict.

Rather than humanity being the mad scientist or beacon of luck which often shows up in science fiction, in this we are just the absolute best at murder. This is not the first story to take that position, but this is certainly the best comedy I know of.

In the very last part of the book it has one of my favorite types of science fiction where DIY last ditch attempts to save the day start coming to the forefront. Just everything could go wrong and humanity still overcomes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Post Covid This Reads Different

Reviewed: 06-14-23

A major factor in the evolution of the setting is the Black Plague coming to England. The Plague destabilizes the power of the church, kills so many workers that the economy is turned on its head, and ultimately the advancement of scientific thinking is key to combating the Plague over the long term.

In a world that has recently been hit by the Covid Pandemic this evolution of the culture and how it is used as a fulcrum for political and commercial gain is spooky? Resonant? It just feels relatable and interesting in ways it could not have been during the initial printing.

All of that aside I will say that this is not as good as the first book, "Pillars of the Earth". It is still a 5/5 for me as it is still an epic of historical fiction about one of the most important events in European history with themes, character arcs, intrigue, and just so much meat on this book that I have to recommend it even if you have not read "Pillars of the Earth".

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Fantastic Production Values

Reviewed: 05-31-23

This is the point where the Sandman series started to really lag in the comics. While I appreciate the interpersonal issues and drama between the various D-ities the core narrative gets real thin on the ground and is ultimately revealed to be a misunderstanding of sorts.

As always, there are memorable highlights and images that stick in my brain even decades after I read the comic... and this production level is unquestionably fantastic, I love the voice actors, the music, the sound design. It is as good as one could possibly expect.

Neil Gaiman is my favorite author that works in so many mediums but I feel that this book and the next, in hindsight, would have benefited more than the previous two books, by being mashed together. Just more density of material would be appreciated at this point even if that would mean sacrificing some of the lived-in/take-it-all-in feel which I think of as languid.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Bit of a Step Down

Reviewed: 05-31-23

I feel that this book has plenty of good ideas but by introducing teleportation that can transport anti-matter bombs you are asking for every clown in the readership to ask, "why don't they just..."

Overall the narrative is disjointed as I don't feel that each part (while fine on its own) does not build on the previous part. Just a lot of stuff happening. There is, as always, plenty of harrowing, exciting, and fun action in this, I wish I could write action scenes with the impact that Larson does.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!