Posts tagged: reviews

"You Want Me to Blow Up the Afterlife?" Dave Reviews City of Blades

Posted on 2016-11-03 at 05:34 by Dave

City of Blades (The Divine Cities, Book 2)
by Robert Jackson Bennett, Narrated by Alma Cuervo
Length: 20 hours, 27 minutes

The gods have been destroyed. This isn't myth or ancient history -- it happened less than a lifetime ago. They were oppressive and made slaves of much of humanity until the eventual uprising came. But if the gods are all dead, then what happened to the afterlives they created, and those left in them?

But really, I'm only scratching the surface. Straight up: City of Blades is the best

Posted in reviews | Tagged alma cuervo, divine cities, reviews, robert jackson bennett

It All Goes Around -- Dave Reviews Ancillary Mercy!

Posted on 2015-12-29 at 15:36 by Dave

Ancillary Mercy (Imperial Radch, Book 3) [Downpour | Audible] by Ann Leckie, Read by Adjoa Andoh Length: 10 hours, 54 minutes

"There is always more after the ending. Always the next morning, and the next. Always changes, losses and gains. Always one step after the other. Until the one true ending that none of us can escape. But even that ending is only a small one, large as it looms for us. There is still the next morning for everyone else. For the vast majority of the rest of the universe that ending

Posted in reviews | Tagged adjoa andoh, ann leckie, Imperial Radch, pretty fucking bad ass, reviews, space opera

There is No Redemption in the Sea -- Dave Revisits THE SCAR!

Posted on 2015-10-08 at 04:38 by Dave

The Scar by China Mieville, read by Gildart Jackson Length: 26 hours, 58 minutes

Some books just leave a mark on you. In China Mieville's The Scar, a character is told "Scars are not injuries...a scar is a healing. After injury, a scar is what makes you whole." I don't know whether or not that's true -- or if in the context of the book, Mieville is actually suggesting it's true. Probably he's saying it's a possible truth. Because in this book, every character has their share of scars -- be they physical

Posted in reviews | Tagged bas lag, china mieville, fantasy, pirates, reviews, sea monsters, the-scar

With a Little Help From My Fae Friends - REVIEW: Silverblind

Posted on 2015-02-27 at 06:52 by Dave

Silverblind by Tina Connolly, read by Rosalyn Landor for Audible Length: 10 hours, 3 minutes

It’s still very much a man’s world, but the times are slowly a changing. Women are allowed to pursue academic profession, but are still prejudiced against when applying for field jobs. So Dorie Rochart does what anyone who is half-fey would – she makes herself look like a man (Dorian – a nice touch!), and gets the gig. From there on, she reunites with her childhood friend and adopted cousin Tam (who doesn’t

Posted in reviews | Tagged adventure, ironskin, reviews, romance, rosalyn landor, silverblind, tina connolly

Pretty Fucking Badass: Dave Reviews Ancillary Sword

Posted on 2015-02-09 at 15:46 by Dave

Ancillary Sword By Ann Leckie, performed by Adjoh Andoh Length: 11 hours, 44 minutes

There's a scene somewhere toward the middle of Ancillary Sword that I can't get out of my head, despite having listened to the audiobook a couple months ago. Visiting a space station, newly appointed fleet commander Breq comes across a station guard with a civilian in an illegal choke hold, rebukes the guard, and orders him to stand down or face immediate consequences. It turns out that this is standard procedure for the

Posted in reviews | Tagged Adjoh Andoh, ann leckie, hachette audio, Imperial Radch, reviews

Review: The Fall of the Kings

Posted on 2013-09-27 at 19:58 by Dave

The Fall of the Kings (Riverside, Book 3) By Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman Narrated by Ellen Kushner, Nick Sullivan, Simon Jones, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Richard Ferrone, Tim Jerome, and Neil Gaiman Length: 18 hours, 40 minutes

Often fantasy fiction relies on escapism through the fantastic, so it's refreshing when you come across a book like The Fall of the Kings that kind of skewers that the fantastic necessarily equates escape. The Fall of the Kings is very much a left turn from Swordspoint.

Posted in reviews | Tagged deliah sherman, ellen kushner, neil gaiman presents, reviews, riverside

Review: The Privilege of the Sword

Posted on 2013-09-24 at 06:19 by Dave

The Privilege of the Sword (Riverside, Book 2) By Ellen Kushner, Narrated by Ellen Kushner, Barbara Rosenblat, Felicia Day, Nick Sullivan, Katherine Kellgren, Joe Hurley and Neil Gaiman Length: 15 hours, 40 minutes

I have a serious complaint about Ellen Kushner's The Privilege of the Sword: it ended. I could’ve happily listened to 100 more hours of Katherine’s Tom Joad-esque mythology as a swordswoman for the disenfranchised and disempowered. But look, I'm getting ahead of myself. But look again, this book

Posted in reviews | Tagged ellen kushner, felicia day, joe hurley, neil gaiman, reviews, riverside, the privilege of the sword

Dave Reviews: The Company Man

Posted on 2012-12-05 at 07:25 by Dave

The Company Man, by Robert Jackson Bennett Read by Richard Poe, for Recorded Books Length: 16 hours, 4 minutes

There’s an argument these days that the “punk” in steampunk is really superfluous – that generally, the genre isn’t punk at all. It's not attempting to rebel against anything. Instead, we get comfortable (often fun) stories dressed up in Victorian clothes. As Cherie Priest succinctly put it, “Steampunk is fun with hats.”

For those of us looking for steampunk with a little more edge and cynicism

Posted in reviews | Tagged dave thompson, reviews, robert jackson bennett

Dave Reviews: Dodger, by Terry Pratchett

Posted on 2012-11-30 at 17:11 by Dave

Dodger, by Terry Pratchett. Narrated by Stephen Briggs for Harper Audio Length: 10 hours, 30 minutes

Reviewed by Dave Thompson:

It starts with a brawl in the rain. When a young woman attempts to escape her captors, teenage Dodger pops up through a manhole and lays into them with a set of brass knuckles. Dodger finds the girl sanctuary with the help of journalist Charlie Dickens, then the two quickly begin an investigation to find out who the girl is, and what she’s trying to escape from. A rollicking

Posted in reviews | Tagged dave thompson, dodger, harper-audio, reviews, terry pratchett

All Hallow's Listen Part 3: Dave reviews George R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream

Posted on 2012-10-25 at 05:00 by Dave

Fevre Dream, by George R.R. Martin Narrated by Ron Donachie Length: 13 hours, 37 minutes

There’s a lot of talk these days about vampire fatigue, and whether or not vampires should hole up in their coffins for a few years until they figure out how to be scary or interesting again.

George R.R. Martin’s Fevre Dream probably isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about the state of vampires in literature, and since the book was written in 1982, that’s really only fair. It is, however, solid proof that vampire

Posted in All Hallow's Listen, reviews, Uncategorized | Tagged audiobooks, Fevre Dream Ron Donachie, George R.R. Martin, reviews, southern lit, vampires