Mer Barr

More good writing from the author, however this hero seems just too good to be true for me. I did like the creativity that the author gave the villain, and his personality was unnerving.

Not sure I'll continue this series.

Intriguing (but not new) theme of symbiotic body inhabitation. The publisher is clearly using font and paragraph inset to distinguish characters in the ebook format but it's not done in a consistent manner and causes me confusion. I probably would have found another way of presenting multiple interior and exterior characters in the same scene, easier to follow. How did they handle this for audio mediums?

And I am a fan of the cold-war era spy stories, especially the dark, gritty types of Le Càrre, which this seems to be like. I'm just not interested at the moment.

There was alot of good storyline and I was just starting to understand the new environment and main character when a new character was introduced. Then there was so much stalling of the storyline, introducing backstory (which didn't apply to anything told so far) that I dropped the book.

I see there's another book that just came out. The title is about a character I'd love to understand better and it seems to carry on from this book. Can't decide if I give it a try or call this series quits.

A deceptive and slow start with a boatload of world building and "see how tough a person has it before things change." I just about dropped the reading when I realized I was only about 10% in to the 16 hours; wondering "Is the rest of that 16 this slow and no real plot? And if so, what can the author have to say? But if you hang in there the pace slowly builds, and you get an education in politics, strategy, psychology, sociology, extreme makeovers, and more.

Well written and unexpected as a class in 'ologies'. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Holy cow Batman! I thought I could handle alot of lewd and foul language but this kicked my butt. Much more than "Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Unabridged." I couldn't finish the book.

Outside of that, the plot and the viewpoint were interesting and unique; probably because I've never read Shakespeare's "King Lear."

I saw the movie version of this story and it progressed slower than the majority of movies I usually see. I do love a spy story and hung in there for all the gaps in the story to close. It turns out the movie plot is pretty faithful to the book's. Closer to the realistic grit of John Le Carrè than Ian Fleming's James Bond. And more modern than either.

Sort of like book 2 of Ready Player One, not because they're in the same universe but in the homage to the music and video games of the 80s.

I was not a video game player but I definitely know the majority of movie, book, and music references which makes me feel I'm a part of a community of geeks.

The storyline is constantly moving and doesn't get bogged down with too much universe builting or technology explanations, the author doesn't sidetrack on to topics not related to the storyline, and the characters have depth to them. All this makes this a book I enjoyed but there's nothing really complex or surprisingly unique or mindbending to rate more stars from me.

I should've read the synopsis closer. I was thinking the title meant across a larger and older part of history but this is specifically the period between Henry VIII's son Edward dies and the reign of Elizabeth, about several women I was not really aware of among the movers and shakers of that time. I had been hoping for pre-Roman times.

Well written, relatively easy to follow along if you know some of the names and can place these women amongst the men and women you always hear about.

I was introduced to the Longmire universe by way of the t.v. series which seems to be well into the book series somewhere. This is a great book because it fills in details of things that are hinted at or referenced in the t.v. series.

Smooth storyline, lots of interactions that aren't connected until the end so the mystery is nicely drawn out. And George Guidall is always good to listen to.

Interesting and funny characters, Terry Pratchett humor, and a storyline that's NOT based in Ankh-Morpork for a nice change of pace. And so good to know there are several more books to this series.

The summary says the storyline starts out dark but then shifts after awhile. The beginning is just too dark for where I am right now and there are so many people wanting to read this next, that I returned it.

What I did read was well written, especially when trying to describe the technologies involved in the world. The main character's longing for her family is described in a way that is very clear and convincing.

For some reason I thought this might be humorous but it was more a study in a life extinction event. Not a bad thing but definitely not expected.

Great characters and more great storytelling on an unusual topic.

It's been a long time since I read my last Shannara book. All that sounded familiar in this new book is bits of the geography and the fact this world is post-apocalypse. But it was really nice to get back to the author's writings and the universe.

This book is not a continuation of the prior book's main character's story but does mention him in passing. It is in the same universe and does include one of the characters from the prior book but this books main character is new.

Still alot of interesting technology and ethics to contemplate, still good writing.

Well-written, thoughtful, full of insights. Not only how to see your medical practitioners as people but how medical practitioners can improve their lives by bringing more balance into them, as wells as the lives of their colleagues.

My favorite fiction books are those focused on unique, well-crafted, characters who interact in a small area. In this book there are plenty of characters to choose from and all the story is within an environment I would be so happy to have access to. A bookstore that has tea and wants their customers to get comfortable and stay awhile.

There are some moments where the story stalled a bit but then picked back up. It was nice to see people mature, grow, and improve over the several years of the storyline.<spoiler>Also glad the store owner's sadness at the very beginning of the story was spelled out at the very end, rather than upfront, as so many authors like to do.</spoiler>

This book seems to be well-rounded on Luther and his break with the Catholic Church. It has alot of details about different debates between Luther, the Emperor, the Pope, and the different interpretations of Catholic belief. The author refers to alot of source documents which I like to see when it comes to non-fiction, however I have no desire to confirm their accuracy or validity. The author did a good job of trying to tell Luther's story.

I wanted a high-level understanding of his why and how so this book had much more than I really needed.

Interesting concept, interesting people, well written, no sidetracking but the author lost me with the plot. At the halfway mark there doesn't seem to be any forward motion. It seems to be people living their lives, trying to deal with disconnects and unrequited desires, and interacting with others. And maybe a hint of mystery.

I do love good stories about unique characters and their interactions with each other but this story isn't about that.

It wasn't the murder mystery element that interested me but the dynamics of the cities. The beginning is great as you try to understand the rules, the middle is quite slow because it's mainly the murder, but the really interesting part of the story is towards the end; during the big reveal. The pace is, of course, quicker but trying to keep up with both the reveal and the dynamics is to fascinating part.

Lots of interesting factoids, history and unique individuals.

I'm so glad someone else went there, came back, and wrote a book about it so I could check it off the list of places I'm curious about. I hate the cold and don't deal well with many days of darkness.

More thought provoking subjects.

I grew up hearing about Jim Jones and his group when they were here in the US and then the shootings and deaths in Guyane. I still hear the phrase "drink the koolaid" now and again. So it was good to get some background on why the man was the way he was and it did explain to a certain degree why people chose to remain in the group despite the ever-growing darkness and conspiracy thinking, in the culture.

Holy crap! I'd forgotten how scary and creepy King could write in the 90s. Thank goodness I'm an adult and no longer jump from the doorway to the bed--after turning off the lights--to avoid something sinister under my bed.

This is a bit confusing due to the number of characters involved and all the jumping back and forth across the different storylines (both backstory and present). However, there is no wandering down non-relevant rabbit holes, stalling the forward motion with too much or non-relevant information, or alot of extraneous words; all things I don't like in a story.

Good for storytelling some dark night around the campfire with adult friends and family.

A strange read for me; it was good enough for me to get well past the 25% mark where I will drop a book that's just not grabbed my attention and yet I'm not sad that I'll be returning the book to the library before getting to the 50% mark.

It's a huge book! 13 hours, and I'm not even halfway in. Based on the storyline so far, alot of books would be at the back side of the highpoint and winding down to the finish by now. What the heck more does this author intend to present?

I will say the storytelling is really good, very creative environments and characters, but these characters aren't really drawing me in and this is the main reason I'm not sad about not completing this book.

You have to get the audio with the author narrating. Turn this on after you've crawled into bed and listen to Stephen Fry read you to sleep. For adults only; adult themes come up now and again.

The trials and tribulations of many of the demi-gods of Greece, with lots of facts and ties to our times today.