What are we listening to? (audiobooks) - Page 132

Catlady · 05-07-2017, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sun surfer

It was very chick-lit-y with Important Themes. The mystery was very slight in my opinion. It concerns a murder at a school trivia night but keeps us guessing the entire book as to who was even murdered, let alone who did the murdering, but that's not really done to make the mystery more intense; instead it's done to let the book wallow in other mom problems for the duration and just keep this slight edge of suspense on the side. It is funny at times but honestly wasn't my cup of tea. But, it's got very high ratings on Goodreads so I guess I'm in the minority there, and I will say the Australian narrator was very, very good- one of the best.

Thanks--it sounds marginal at best, as I like the suspense to be at the forefront and the angsting to be secondary.

Catlady · 05-07-2017, 11:41 AM

What a disappointment! Paula Hawkins's Girl on the Train was so good and twisty that I had great expectations for Into the Water, but it is a major letdown.

The narrative is extremely choppy; chapters alternate among a large variety of point-of-view characters (sometimes first person, sometimes third person), not to mention there are a handful of extracts from a book one of the characters is supposed to have written, which adds even more people and relationships to the mix. The audiobook featured a cast of five narrators (even with so many, they still had to voice multiple POV characters), which certainly helped, but even so, when various characters were mentioned I kept having to stop and try to remember Who's that? How's he connected to the current POV character and the events? It was a lot of effort, for very little reward, as none of the characters was especially relatable.

The main character--I guess--was the estranged sister of a woman who jumped/fell/was pushed from a cliff into the water. But then the focus would shift to the woman's teenage daughter, and then to a policewoman, and then to the weird neighborhood psychic, and then to the grieving mother of a suicide, and then to a schoolteacher, and then to a policeman, and then to the policeman's father, and then to the brother of a suicide, and on and on. There were hints of witchcraft, ghosts, lingering evil. But they simply didn't go anywhere in this meandering, confusing story.

I stopped caring about suicide vs. homicide, separating lies from truth, who killed whom and why. Now that I've finished the book, I realize I'm still not sure about one character's fate, but I don't much care.

Bah.

orlok · 05-07-2017, 06:55 PM

Eeeek! I enjoyed Girl on the Train and was contemplating this one, but I'll pass.

Catlady · 05-07-2017, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orlok

Eeeek! I enjoyed Girl on the Train and was contemplating this one, but I'll pass.

I looked at the Amazon reviews afterward, and even the reviewers that rave about the book point out the unwieldy number of POV characters. I don't know what the author was thinking--just that more is better?

orlok · 05-08-2017, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

I looked at the Amazon reviews afterward, and even the reviewers that rave about the book point out the unwieldy number of POV characters. I don't know what the author was thinking--just that more is better?

Particularly when you read it as an audiobook, as I did with Girl on the Train. Very difficult to keep track multiple POVs. As I said, I'll pass and thanks for the heads-up.

taosaur · 05-09-2017, 10:00 PM

I'm giving the first Vorkosigan book a try, but so far it's pretty cheesy, and Grover Gardner's old-timey radio show narration isn't helping. It's hard to imagine what I've heard so far developing into much more than a bodice-ripper with periodic comic book action scenes, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt a while longer.

badgoodDeb · 05-10-2017, 01:56 PM

I don't know about the audio version, but I love the series!! You might try the print (erm, ebook) book instead. And it's no bodice-ripper, though the first book (if you mean Cordelia's Honor) *is* where the later-hero's parents meet. So there's a little bit of intelligent love story -- but nothing physical till the end of the two-book (two part?) book where they marry.

taosaur · 05-10-2017, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I don't know about the audio version, but I love the series!! You might try the print (erm, ebook) book instead. And it's no bodice-ripper, though the first book (if you mean Cordelia's Honor) *is* where the later-hero's parents meet. So there's a little bit of intelligent love story -- but nothing physical till the end of the two-book (two part?) book where they marry.

I would complain about spoilers, but all of the above is pretty obvious already. The development of the relationship so far seems loaded with romance tropes - indeed, Vorkosigan himself isn't much but a sack of tropes on legs so far. The political side of things has my interest a bit though, and apparently I'm a sucker for competence porn - the infallible protagonist mitigating the actions of fools all around her.

Overall it has a lot of the feel of old '50s "Astounding Tales" type comics, right down to the ray guns. It's a 30 year old novel that reads like it's 30 years older still. I haven't decided yet whether that style is a pro or a con

ETA: Also, her bodice has literally been ripped (well, cut) once already.

CRussel · 05-10-2017, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I don't know about the audio version, but I love the series!! You might try the print (erm, ebook) book instead. And it's no bodice-ripper, though the first book (if you mean Cordelia's Honor) *is* where the later-hero's parents meet. So there's a little bit of intelligent love story -- but nothing physical till the end of the two-book (two part?) book where they marry.

I started this series with the first real "Miles" book, The Warrior's Apprentice. A wonderful lark, and it got me hooked completely. I then went back and started from the beginning chronologically and have quite grown to love the little twit and the whole Vorkosiverse.

ApK · 05-10-2017, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

I started this series with the first real "Miles" book, The Warrior's Apprentice. A wonderful lark, and it got me hooked completely. I then went back and started from the beginning chronologically and have quite grown to love the little twit and the whole Vorkosiverse.

Same here. If I had started with the Cordelia and Aral books, or with one of the more romance-y ones, I may not have stuck with it, but by the time I got to those, I was so in love with the series, I'd have happily read Miles' laundry list.

badgoodDeb · 05-10-2017, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

Same here. If I had started with the Cordelia and Aral books, or with one of the more romance-y ones, I may not have stuck with it, by the time I got to those, I was so in love with the series, I'd have happily read Miles' laundry list.

I started with the short story Borders of Infinity (prison camp) and was immediately hooked. So I started back at the series-chronological order. And I've read through the series twice. So far. It's just so NICE to have character driven future fiction!

CRussel · 05-10-2017, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

Same here. If I had started with the Cordelia and Aral books, or with one of the more romance-y ones, I may not have stuck with it, but by the time I got to those, I was so in love with the series, I'd have happily read Miles' laundry list.

LOL! Yup, me too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I started with the short story Borders of Infinity (prison camp) and was immediately hooked. So I started back at the series-chronological order. And I've read through the series twice. So far. It's just so NICE to have character driven future fiction!

Agree completely. Which is, of course, why I read the Liaden Universe books. Also a good reason to read Nathan Lowell.

meeera · 05-11-2017, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taosaur

I would complain about spoilers, but all of the above is pretty obvious already. The development of the relationship so far seems loaded with romance tropes - indeed, Vorkosigan himself isn't much but a sack of tropes on legs so far.

Bujold plays very deliberately with all sorts of genres throughout the Vorkosigan series. A Civil Campaign and Gentleman Jole are other example of her romance stories. Komarr is a mystery. Cetaganda is a political intrigue; there is also MilSF, and so on.

taosaur · 05-11-2017, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

Same here. If I had started with the Cordelia and Aral books, or with one of the more romance-y ones, I may not have stuck with it, but by the time I got to those, I was so in love with the series, I'd have happily read Miles' laundry list.

I'll take it under advisement. I think I'll be looking for a fantasy series when I wrap up Shards of Honor, though. I'm reading space opera with my eyeballs, too (Ancillary Sword) and just picked up the Humble Nebula Awards bundle, so there's probably more in my future. Generally I try to keep the listens and the reads a little more distinct.

sun surfer · 05-14-2017, 11:44 AM

I finished up the Wayward Pines trilogy and now am onto A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen-Leigh and narrater by Simon Prebble.

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05-07-2017, 11:41 AM	#1967
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,345 Karma: 52398889 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	What a disappointment! Paula Hawkins's Girl on the Train was so good and twisty that I had great expectations for Into the Water, but it is a major letdown. The narrative is extremely choppy; chapters alternate among a large variety of point-of-view characters (sometimes first person, sometimes third person), not to mention there are a handful of extracts from a book one of the characters is supposed to have written, which adds even more people and relationships to the mix. The audiobook featured a cast of five narrators (even with so many, they still had to voice multiple POV characters), which certainly helped, but even so, when various characters were mentioned I kept having to stop and try to remember Who's that? How's he connected to the current POV character and the events? It was a lot of effort, for very little reward, as none of the characters was especially relatable. The main character--I guess--was the estranged sister of a woman who jumped/fell/was pushed from a cliff into the water. But then the focus would shift to the woman's teenage daughter, and then to a policewoman, and then to the weird neighborhood psychic, and then to the grieving mother of a suicide, and then to a schoolteacher, and then to a policeman, and then to the policeman's father, and then to the brother of a suicide, and on and on. There were hints of witchcraft, ghosts, lingering evil. But they simply didn't go anywhere in this meandering, confusing story. I stopped caring about suicide vs. homicide, separating lies from truth, who killed whom and why. Now that I've finished the book, I realize I'm still not sure about one character's fate, but I don't much care. Bah.

05-07-2017, 06:55 PM	#1968
orlok Close to the Edit! Posts: 9,797 Karma: 267994408 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Amazon Fire 8", Kindle 6"	Eeeek! I enjoyed Girl on the Train and was contemplating this one, but I'll pass.

05-09-2017, 10:00 PM	#1971
taosaur intelligent posterior Posts: 1,562 Karma: 21295618 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ohiopolis Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Samsung S8, Lenovo Tab 3 Pro	I'm giving the first Vorkosigan book a try, but so far it's pretty cheesy, and Grover Gardner's old-timey radio show narration isn't helping. It's hard to imagine what I've heard so far developing into much more than a bodice-ripper with periodic comic book action scenes, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt a while longer.

05-10-2017, 01:56 PM	#1972
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,501 Karma: 64095689 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	I don't know about the audio version, but I love the series!! You might try the print (erm, ebook) book instead. And it's no bodice-ripper, though the first book (if you mean Cordelia's Honor) is where the later-hero's parents meet. So there's a little bit of intelligent love story -- but nothing physical till the end of the two-book (two part?) book where they marry.

05-14-2017, 11:44 AM	#1980
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44637926 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	I finished up the Wayward Pines trilogy and now am onto A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen-Leigh and narrater by Simon Prebble.

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