Lizzie Askew
- 91
- reviews
- 375
- helpful votes
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You Like It Darker
- Stories
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Will Patton, Stephen King
- Length: 20 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to digest.
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Chilling and beautiful stories
- By MamaBear on 05-24-24
- You Like It Darker
- Stories
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Will Patton, Stephen King
i honestly don't know
Reviewed: 06-28-24
these stories are like garden paths but very slow burn at the same time. they are slowly burning garden paths that lead to a concrete wall. i don't like this book the way I've liked his others. not sure whose fault that even is, but there ya go.
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Limbus, Inc.
- By: Jonathan Maberry, Brett J. Talley, Joseph Nassise, and others
- Narrated by: Gregory Zarcone
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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LIMBUS, INC. is a shadowy employment agency that operates at the edge of the normal world. LIMBUS's employees are just as suspicious and ephemeral as the motives of the company, if indeed it could be called a company in the ordinary sense of the word. In this shared-world anthology, five heavy hitters from the dark worlds of horror, fantasy, and sci-fi pool their warped takes on the shadow organization that offers employment of the most unusual kind to those on the fringes of society.
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Love the book, needs a better narrator.
- By Smythe on 11-14-17
- Limbus, Inc.
- By: Jonathan Maberry, Brett J. Talley, Joseph Nassise, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, Anne C. Petty
- Narrated by: Gregory Zarcone
Creative
Reviewed: 07-13-21
Lots of these stories are kind of not my thing, and i think that must lead me to see their flaws more easily. And it's also easy to dislike a story when you can hear grammatical mistakes in the audio version. BUT, the final story in the anthology, by the author who is listed first in the blurb, was really fun. The audio narrator seemed to get on board with that one too, though his reading was not great throughout.
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Fool's Fate
- The Tawny Man Trilogy, Book 3
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 32 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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FitzChivalry Farseer has become firmly ensconced in the queen’s court. Along with his mentor, Chade, and the simpleminded yet strongly Skilled Thick, Fitz strives to aid Prince Dutiful on a quest that could secure peace with the Outislands - and win Dutiful the hand of the Narcheska Elliania. The Narcheska has set the prince an unfathomable task: to behead a dragon trapped in ice on the isle of Aslevjal. Yet not all the clans of the Outislands support their effort. Are there darker forces at work behind Elliana’s demand?
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The Boring Years Part 3
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 10-07-16
- Fool's Fate
- The Tawny Man Trilogy, Book 3
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: James Langton
Not usually my thing...
Reviewed: 07-11-21
But i listened to all of the Farseer books to this one and, man, this author is so consistent that i can't help but love these books.
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Ender's Game
- Special 20th Anniversary Edition
- By: Orson Scott Card
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison, Gabrielle de Cuir
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Why we think it’s a great listen: It’s easy to say that when it comes to sci-fi you either love it or you hate it. But with Ender’s Game, it seems to be you either love it or you love it.... The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Enter Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, the result of decades of genetic experimentation.
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6 titles in the series so far
- By Kapila Wimalaratne on 01-29-03
- Ender's Game
- Special 20th Anniversary Edition
- By: Orson Scott Card
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison, Gabrielle de Cuir
Not for me
Reviewed: 06-18-21
Everything that Ender does and thinks in this book is so utterly tactical. Same with the other characters. I found it dour and annoying.
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Strange Weather
- Four Short Novels
- By: Joe Hill
- Narrated by: Joe Hill, Wil Wheaton, Kate Mulgrew, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative number one New York Times best-selling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill.
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Can’t keep Politics out of it.
- By Tom N. on 06-19-18
- Strange Weather
- Four Short Novels
- By: Joe Hill
- Narrated by: Joe Hill, Wil Wheaton, Kate Mulgrew, Stephen Lang, Dennis Boutsikaris
Wow.
Reviewed: 01-06-21
This guy is good. The stories are the perfect length and each one of them is amazing.
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Yard Work
- By: David Koepp
- Narrated by: Kevin Bacon
- Length: 1 hr and 54 mins
- Original Recording
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This wasn’t the plan. Judge Herman Calvert, 88, never thought he’d outlive his beloved wife, Marie. Yet now he finds himself alone, a grieving widower, desperate for escape from the home they built together, where every turn brings a painful reminder of his late wife. So the judge retreats to his lake cabin in rural Wisconsin, a place where an old man can find peace and solitude. A place where nature can take its course. But something new has moved in.
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Depicting Grief's Worst Entaglements
- By Amazing on 09-03-20
- Yard Work
- By: David Koepp
- Narrated by: Kevin Bacon
Great prose and characters
Reviewed: 12-19-20
While this one has a couple moments of "body horror" that made my skin crawl, the writing is very solid and the characters are super relatable. Great horror short that may help you understand your older relatives a little better.
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Breaking Dawn
- The Twilight Saga, Book 4
- By: Stephenie Meyer
- Narrated by: Ilyana Kadushin, Matt Walters
- Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare, woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point.
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twighlight series
- By Craig on 06-07-09
- Breaking Dawn
- The Twilight Saga, Book 4
- By: Stephenie Meyer
- Narrated by: Ilyana Kadushin, Matt Walters
no.
Reviewed: 09-08-20
So soppy, with everyone just dying to jump in front of a bus for one another and lots of unconvincing talk about "the greatest love of all". So melodramatic and cheesy. So much divisive maneuvering to justify the plot. So much of the character constantly questioning herself out loud on the page to tell you what's going on. So much sterilely academic and repetitive language. And so much privilege heaped upon one family that it feels beyond excessive and silly.
I was able to get through the first book and still basically like it for what it was, but reading through the series was kind of tough. I almost quit a few times, and would have if I didn't have so much downtime lately and if that second book hadn't been dominated by Jacob, who was not nearly as condescending and humorless as Edward. The series and this book in particular left me with the word "Ew" in my mouth. Now I know. And now I want to go read Steinbeck or something to make myself feel less dumb for having invested this much time in Barbie vampires.
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Twilight
- The Twilight Saga, Book 1
- By: Stephenie Meyer
- Narrated by: Ilyana Kadushin
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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About three things I was certain. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him, and I didn't know how dominant that part might be, that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
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Not impressed with audio book
- By Candi on 09-07-17
- Twilight
- The Twilight Saga, Book 1
- By: Stephenie Meyer
- Narrated by: Ilyana Kadushin
I wanted to hate it, but...
Reviewed: 09-04-20
While the Twilight series isn't what I'd call 'perfect', it has some obvious strengths that make it worthwhile.
The plot is the main strength, imo. It's very coherent. The author never leaves you wondering about unanswered questions unless it serves a purpose for some question to remain unanswered, and she always ties things up for you by the end. She never leaves you wondering where or when her characters are or who is talking. She never leaves you wondering where she's going with this. She doesn't over-describe nonessential details. She stays on plot, and it's clear in all of the books in this series that she planned for each story to move toward a predetermined but surprising ending, each time. She pulls it off, for sure, and she always makes you Want something for her characters!
I don't think these stories are necessarily the kind of works you'd think of when you think of great literature. As far as I can tell, they weren't internally consistent in terms of theme, and I stumbled over a bit of awkward and repetitive wording here and there. I also felt like the narration made Edward feel more condescending than he maybe should have, which could have been a deal-breaker. Still, I appreciate how solidly plotted the Twilight books are as their plot is incredibly enticing.
As she was a new author when she wrote this, I think a reader could do FAR worse than to pick up a Stephenie Meyer. She has always had talent it seems, and I hope she branches out and writes some new stuff. I'd enjoy watching her grow.
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The Resurrectionists
- By: Kim Wilkins
- Narrated by: Casey Withoos
- Length: 18 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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On the wild Yorkshire coast, Maisie hopes to uncover the secret of the long-running feud between her mother and her recently deceased grandmother, Sybill. In one of Sybill’s old trunks Maisie finds a diary written by a young woman in the 18th century. Georgette eloped with her poet lover from London to Solgreve – and entered a Gothic world of grave robbing and diabolical science. Then Maisie starts seeing a figure that exudes unearthly evil outside her tiny cottage. Gradually she uncovers the terrifying secrets of Solgreve, secrets that contain an evil that threatens to claim her.
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Really?
- By TLP on 04-06-20
- The Resurrectionists
- By: Kim Wilkins
- Narrated by: Casey Withoos
Very Well-Written Historic Mystery, Oddball Ending
Reviewed: 08-22-20
The positive things I have to say about this book are many, but I'll just name a few highlights here. Kim Wilkins' style is incredibly competent. She has this great way with pacing, and her characters always feel so realistic that all the paranormal and complicated situations they find themselves in feel much more believable than they might from another author. And the story -- it's really something. The way it moves back and forth between the reading of an ancient diary and the main character's path of finding out who she is and what happened to her grandmother...just very mysterious, interesting, exciting, and enthralling.
But after the story was over, I had to ask myself what the overall point of it was. But that's because it didn't end in the usual way of fantasy or romance novels. The main character didn't get what she wanted in the end, which I think will leave a lot of readers feeling dissatisfied. Thing is though, it seems like we're supposed to understand that she got what she *needed* instead, which really isn't unusual at all. It's just that what she needed was to get absolutely nothing that she wanted in the beginning other than a very short break from her real life, where she had little independence and no idea what path she wanted to take into adulthood.
It felt like, because the main character was this affluent person with all the privilege she could want, she was supposed to learn that she should just be satisfied with what she has because she could lose it. Besides, she's youthfully naive and makes poor decisions anyway and is a bit too noncommittal in general. SO she should accept having her family and husband make her decisions for her. And hey, in the end, she gets the 'freedom' to decide what kind of career she wants for herself, so...happy ending!?
What IS the theme here? What's the author's point?
Am I to understand that she isn't going to be satisfied with anything no matter what she ends up doing because she's 'spoiled'? Or is it a cautionary tale about how leaving a life of privilege behind to chase down your passions can end horribly and in destitution? Not sure. Be happy with what you've got? The grass is always greener? Things could be worse? A boring life with lots of money is better than an exciting life with just enough money? Making poor decisions in your youth can destroy your future? Who knows, though none of these themes renders the ending terribly enlightening or elating, especially for a character who has just experienced the supernatural.
I can't help but wonder if the author was punishing the main character for 'having it all'.
This is an enthralling story well-told by a very smart author, but the ending left me deflated and I'm not sure what the thematic point was supposed to be. And also, all the unanswered questions left by the theme detracted from the supernatural action scenes toward the end, making them feel somehow unimportant. The main character didn't really change, either. Not emotionally, at least. She didn't really mature. She didn't become less shallow. None of that. She just learned to accept the very life she wanted to escape after losing the option to have a more exciting one.
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The Year of Ancient Ghosts
- By: Kim Wilkins
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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A mother and her daughter come to the remote Orkneys to grieve and find themselves instead dealing with a ghostly Viking legend. A Dark Ages king doesn’t realise his wife carries another man’s child and she is desperate for him not to find out. A young woman, who has spent her whole life hiding her supernatural strength, discovers on the eve of her wedding that she is Odin’s daughter. Sir Percival’s sister finds herself trapped in a castle of bloodletting sorcerers with only her sexuality as a weapon.
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Omgees
- By Lizzie Askew on 08-14-20
- The Year of Ancient Ghosts
- By: Kim Wilkins
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
Omgees
Reviewed: 08-14-20
Every one of these stories is a heavy dose of mythological fantasy in a fully realized and believable setting. I feel unequal to the task of writing a proper review for such a bumper crop of Awesome stories, but I'll have to try.
This collection of novellas contains stories of what I think must be the perfect length. They aren't long enough for things to get overly drawn-out or boring or whatever, but they are long enough to really get into the characters' perspectives, get into their heads and their strange, long-buried lives. After reading this, I feel like I have a more intimate understanding of pre-American, western history, and I definitely feel like I've found a new favorite author.
The skill of this author is apparent in how she can keep a story always moving forward, but without ever making the reader feel like they're missing anything important about her setting, her characters, or anything else. She has this cadence that is like an in-person storyteller, which lends itself well to audio.
If you've been looking for something solid and professional in the myth and fantasy genres, grab this one, for sure.
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