Audiobook Mini-Review Extravaganza 2018

Okay, everyone. November was so busy for me. Time spent reading with my eyes went out the window, but reading with my ears continued as strong as ever. So the reviews I needed to do piled up higher and higher.

In order to SMASH through a bunch of these, I present, THE AUDIOBOOK MIN-REVIEW EXTRAVAGANZA!

NEMESIS
by Brendan Reichs

G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
March 21, 2017

This book had a really slow start. Almost slow enough for a DNF. But I kept going and was rewarded with a really cool Lord of the Flies kind of feel with a severe science fiction edge to it. The story created a lot of questions, and each time I thought I was going to get some answers, I ended up with more questions, in a positive way. Each question created more interest and intrigue.

The end of the book only kicks that intrigue up several notches. We get some answers, and a bunch more questions. It’s also at this point that the characters, which had been a little two-dimensional throughout this first book, really take form.

BAG OF BONES
by Stephen King

Pocket Books
June 1999

Despite being a ‘King fan’ I had never ever heard about this book. The POPSUGAR Reading Challenge had me looking at books that were bestsellers in the year I graduated high school. I’m so glad I found it, because I loved this book. Imagine a really good ghost story, and a really good drama. And then give those both to Stephen King and watch him weave them together seamlessly into one fantastic book.

Incredible plot line. Characters that are so real they practically walked off of the page. Even the supporting cast was more authentic than a lot of other main characters.

THE WELL OF ASCENSION
by Brandon Sanderson

Tor Books
August 21, 2007

The second book of the Mistborn series. In some ways better than the original, and in other ways not quite as good. Either way, it was still amazing. There were many twists and turns. With a lot of them, I could tell something was coming, but no matter how sure I was about the upcoming twist, I was always wrong. Always surprised. I can’t wait to get into the third book of this series.

CITY OF GHOSTS
by Victoria Schwab

Scholastic
August 28, 2018

This is a kid’s book, but so was Harry Potter. I was hoping to find something as deep and fleshed out as that. I’m a firm believer that no matter what age group a book is intended for, it should appeal to just about anyone. No one should be ‘written down’ to. While Schwab has some amazing stuff out there, this seemed a little shallow.

MINORITY REPORT & OTHER STORIES
by Philip K. Dick

HarperAudio
December 26, 2003

This collection of short stories included Minority Report, We Can Remember it For You Wholesale, Paycheck, Second Variety, and The Eyes Have It. Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching and loving these movies for years, but this collection of short stories really didn’t do a lot for me. Most of the details and plot lines seemed so abrupt.

What I did find interesting though, was a common theme in the stories. A while ago I watched a documentary about Philip K Dick, and it talked a lot about how often he used drugs and had feeling of paranoia. The characters in his stories all seemed to have some form of paranoia as well. Everyone was out to get them and even their own wives were usually in on it. Though a part of me wishes I had read the stories before seeing the documentary.

Fun fact about this post: This post was fuelled by Cherry Pepsi, cheeseballs, and The Office on Netflix.