Listening to this audiobook helped get me through the part of post-surgical recovery during which I was no longer in pain but complications left me to...moreListening to this audiobook helped get me through the part of post-surgical recovery during which I was no longer in pain but complications left me too weak and dizzy to get out of bed for a couple of weeks. Bronson Pinchot (yes, Balki from that show in the 80's!) did a wonderful job of the narration. I was too bored and miserable to focus on the kind of stuff I usually like, but this fast-paced, ultraviolent story set in an alternate 1930's in which some humans have magic was able to cut through my brain fog.
The writer, Larry Correia is a gun collector and dealer who sometimes works as a firearms expert for film and TV and it shows in the lovingly detailed descriptions of vintage weapons, both real and imagined. That isn't my thing, and if I'd been reading instead of listening, I would have just skipped those passages.
Entertaining, but I don't have plans to get the next one in this series. It was just what I needed at the time I listened to it, but I'm not particularly interested in reading on. (less)
Enjoyable, because I like the main character so much, but I didn't love the plot. I'm glad Lord John from the Outlander series got his own series, and...moreEnjoyable, because I like the main character so much, but I didn't love the plot. I'm glad Lord John from the Outlander series got his own series, and I have a feeling I'll like other books in this series more than this one.(less)
I highly recommend listening to the audiobook rather than, or in addition to reading it. Edoardo Ballerini's narration was so great I can't separate i...moreI highly recommend listening to the audiobook rather than, or in addition to reading it. Edoardo Ballerini's narration was so great I can't separate it from the book itself, but I also found the story and characters compelling. I'm so glad the audiobook producers cast a talented actor who is bilingual and could do justice to the book's Italian, American, and British characters. (less)
(Edited to add: This is a review of the entire Poor Relation series, not just this book.)
I love this series' mixture of comedy of manners, social his...more(Edited to add: This is a review of the entire Poor Relation series, not just this book.)
I love this series' mixture of comedy of manners, social history, and a little romance. The books contain many well-researched descriptions of unpleasant aspects of life among the upper classes during the Regency period. The books delineate the bleak options for members of the ton (particularly women and elderly) who lose their money, and the horrible conditions for the serving class and the very poor. Throughout it Ms. Chesney, via her characters, contrasts upper-class Regency sentimentality with their brutal disregard for the lives of poor people (high-born ladies and gentlemen prided themselves on their deep sensitivity and ability to weep publicly over the smallest sadness, while being completely undisturbed by the rotting corpses of minor criminals hung from gibbets all over London). This sounds heavy, but the books are well-leavened with humor and with effervescent little asides about the fads and fashions of the time, so they never become depressing.
Over the course of the series, you get to know all the co-owners of The Poor Relation hotel, from the steely elderly Lady Fortescue whose actions set the series in motion, to Miss Tonks the initially timid then increasingly feisty spinster, to Sir Philip, the unrepentant old reprobate whose scheming repeatedly saves the others from disaster (that is, when one of his plots isn't bringing even bigger disasters down on all their heads). All of them, particularly the older characters, are more complex than they appear to be in the first book. Each book does have a romance, but the romantic liaison is usually just one of several plots, and we always see how it affects the ensemble, not just the couple involved. (less)
Listened to this as an audiobook, and it was well-narrated and entertaining. The main character Atticus O'Sullivan is a 2,100-year-old Druid passing a...moreListened to this as an audiobook, and it was well-narrated and entertaining. The main character Atticus O'Sullivan is a 2,100-year-old Druid passing as a young bookstore owner in modern-day Arizona. He mostly just wants to live his life, hang out with his dog, and be left alone by the other paranormals (supernormals?) in the area. That, of course, doesn't work out for him, and mayhem ensues. I'm generally not fond of the whole talking dog thing, but his Irish Wolfhound, Oberon, is one of the best characters in the book, especially as voiced by Luke Daniels. I hear Atticus becomes a more complex character as the series goes on, which is good because he's almost too good to be true in this book. Then again, I guess a person who has been alive for more than 2,000 years and who was able to choose his appearance ought to be superhumanly awesome in every way, otherwise, what would be the point of all that ageless longevity and magic power?(less)
I'm making a point of saying that I listened to this as an audiobook, because I don't think I would have enjoyed this book as much if I were reading i...moreI'm making a point of saying that I listened to this as an audiobook, because I don't think I would have enjoyed this book as much if I were reading it on the page. In particular, the second-person omniscient narrator of some of the chapters might have annoyed me if I were reading it, but listening to someone read those chapters worked because it gave me a sense of what the main character was hearing in his head. The book is structured so that most of the chapters are first-person narratives from the perspective of a different person, and they're each interesting in their own right. The audiobook had a different narrator for each perspective, and all the narrators were excellent. I liked that the format helped to clarify whose perspective the chapter was currently taking. Recommended, but only the audio version. (less)
I'm listening to this audiobook right now and loving it. Funny, well-written, and very well narrated. I'm only a few hours in, and already I hate to t...moreI'm listening to this audiobook right now and loving it. Funny, well-written, and very well narrated. I'm only a few hours in, and already I hate to turn this one off when it's time to do something else. This will go on my not-yet-created "Audiobook even better than print version" shelf next to Bossypants and Anansi Boys. (less)
Christine E.
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