future

Audiobook Reviews: 4/5 Babble by Orrin Jason Bradford

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, dystopia, scifi , , , , ,

Narrated by Meg Price

Summary:

A mix of a fantasy and a low-speed chase story. Angela Cagle tries to keep her son safe by running away with him.

Additional Comments:

  • Don’t read the book blurb! It actually explains way too much.
  • New cover is intriguing but makes it look like fantasy not scifi. Having heard the story, it definitely clashes with the vibe of the cover.
  • 90% of the story’s about Bobbie and his mother being chased by Homeland security agents and the kid’s distraught, not-entirely-pleasant father. About 10% concerns what’s written on the book blurb. But it’s more fun if it unfolds organically.
  • Characters 4/5: Lifelike and sympathetic. You love who you’re supposed to love and hate whom you’re supposed to hate. A few fall in a gray area. There were also a couple of characters whose involvement was so slim and rarely mentioned that it was hard to picture their relevance. (The mysterious man pulling strings for one.)
  • Plot 3.5/5: The chase follows some logic. Only a few places of mystical intervention happen to get the players where they’re supposed to be. The Homeland Security agent’s involvement is a huge stretch, but at least it’s addressed a few times.
  • Content Warnings: Contains a few curse words and at least one scene I’d consider too adult to label it a “clean” book. Also contains a scene or two of torture.
  • Pacing 3/5: It could have unfolded much quicker. The scenes from Bobbie’s point of view, especially those in other lands will charm most people, but I found them distracting and pointless. Perhaps it’s just the fact that I don’t particularly have an affinity for any of the worlds he visited.
  • Ending 5/5: Love the wrapup. It leaves room for more but gives one a sense of closure.
  • The narration’s great.

Conclusion:

Enjoyable if you can deal with the stuff in the content warnings.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.

Want more real world scifi? Check out Ashlynn’s Dreams. (A genetically altered kid learns how to shape dreams.)


OR

Audiobook Reviews: Earth-Sim: Escapades in Planetary Management By Jade Kerrion

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Kindle books, Reader Resource, scifi , , ,

Introduction:

This is a very unique look at Earth’s history wrapped in a short story about a girl with a secret.

Summary:

Jem Moran and Kir Davos participate in the world simulation program which sets clueless college and grad students in charge of planets. (It’s like risk on the galactic scale.)

 

What is Earth-Sim?

– Overall, I enjoyed the book. It’s got an interesting premise: Every major disaster/event to touch Earth has an explanation in the incompetence and/or the moral decisions made by neophyte planetary managers or mishaps caused by letting a 5 year old boy near the planet.

– It’s almost like two stories though. Earth-sim is 80% philosophical discussion between Jem and Kir and 20% other plot that I can’t talk about too much without giving spoilers.

– The philosophical discussion piece could have been a hilarious short story. Not being a particular fan of philosophy though, the length of those discussions was on the long side to me.

– Content warnings: There are a few curse words scattered about.

  • I also love the ebook cover. The audiobook cover’s okay but not as pretty as the ebook one.

Bothersome Wiki quotes…

– The frequent Wikipedia quotes bothered me. Here you have a book about an advanced civilization and the inspirational and informational quotes at the beginning chapters come from arguably the weakest online source.

What I enjoyed

  • I was torn on the inclusion of the 20% other plot. Everything ties together nicely in the end, but I’m not sure it’s necessary. There are enough openings to set up a sequel but I’m not sure how that would tie back to the Earth-sim project. Jem’s secret is a quite significant. It adds a totally different dimension to the story.
  • There are enough references to history and geek stuff to keep it funny: origin of Superman, Atlantis, loch ness monster, tower of babel, the flood, etc. It’s like watching a movie for the Easter eggs.
  • The narration was handled well.

 

Conclusion:

A quirky look at planetary history wrapped in a scifi short story about a girl with a secret to protect.

Special Treat:

If you want to get the book on audiobook for free, please join Audiobook Readers’ Edge.

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Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Julie C. Gilbert

For a limited time, I’m offering a fantasy book to anybody who supports Audiobook Edge.