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THE SPLENDID AND EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF BEAUTIMUS POTAMUS
12 hrs 47 mins
The mystical green planet of Rendaz is home to devout goddess worshiper and university professor, middle-aged Beautimus Potamus—who also happens to be a hippo plagued by hot flashes and poor self-esteem. Beautimus forms an alliance with Samuel S. Goodwings, a younger womanizing, atheist praying mantis. When these two are together, life morphs from the mundane into the fantastic. Our unlikely duo solve mysteries, bring a murderer to justice, and even help end a war, while experiencing their own trials, triumphs, and tragedies. Often with humor, their situations and adventures parody Earth culture.
During their exploits, the two interact with a host of characters, including a pair of New Age flamingos, an A.D.H.D. afflicted trout, an orangutan detective, and a 310-year-old blue crane High Priestess. All of these creatures are more “human” in surprising ways than the citizens of the blue planet, Earth, we discover was once a Rendazian Colony.
Beautimus Potamus’ tongue-in-cheek story is a magical fable-stew made with the ingredients of satire, drama, social commentary, and comedy, with jests, puns and wordplay sprinkled throughout. For good measure, a generous pinch of romantic flavoring is thrown into the pot.
- GenresScience FictionFantasy
Audiobook
Published October 25, 2017
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 15, 2018
🏆🎧 ABR Reviewer's Choice Award Winner
My original The Splendid and Extraordinary Life of Beautimus Potamus audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
Petty Wheeler identifies herself as an author of fantastical fiction and she most definitely is! I listened to The Splendid and Extraordinary Life of Beautimus Potamus and was captivated right away. It is a story about a 300-year-old hippo who lives on the planet Rendaz and moves through life teaching earth history and interacting with others such as her good friend Sam, the praying mantis, her mentor and high priestess who is a blue crane, a gorilla named Rufus who tells bad fart jokes and a host of other fantastical creatures who live and interact as humans. In one history class, she shares how the Egyptians and other cultures came to worship animal gods – yes, coincidentally, animals who visited earth from Rendaz!
Beautimus is lacking in the self-confidence area but when she finds love – watch out! In her gaining confidence, she manages to unintentionally set off a revenge-fueled hatred that will leave the listener on the edge of their chair.
Wheeler creates a world, much like earth where her characters mirror humans in actions and beliefs. I found the audiobook interesting and couldn’t stop listening. Between the wordplay, satire, social situations that are political and religious peppered with puns and other jests and the excellently developed plot and characters, this book is awesome. When I began listening to the book I thought, “OMG really? A hippo as the main character???” But then Wheeler sucked me in and I fell in love with Beautimus, Sam, Lucas and all the other delightful characters.
Kelley Hazen deserves an A+++ for her narration. She did a fantastic job of keeping up with the voices and tempo of the book. She was just amazing! I would love to hear more of her. I cannot imagine anyone else doing as magnificent a job as she did.
There were no issues with the audio or production of this book.
Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
My original The Splendid and Extraordinary Life of Beautimus Potamus audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
Petty Wheeler identifies herself as an author of fantastical fiction and she most definitely is! I listened to The Splendid and Extraordinary Life of Beautimus Potamus and was captivated right away. It is a story about a 300-year-old hippo who lives on the planet Rendaz and moves through life teaching earth history and interacting with others such as her good friend Sam, the praying mantis, her mentor and high priestess who is a blue crane, a gorilla named Rufus who tells bad fart jokes and a host of other fantastical creatures who live and interact as humans. In one history class, she shares how the Egyptians and other cultures came to worship animal gods – yes, coincidentally, animals who visited earth from Rendaz!
Beautimus is lacking in the self-confidence area but when she finds love – watch out! In her gaining confidence, she manages to unintentionally set off a revenge-fueled hatred that will leave the listener on the edge of their chair.
Wheeler creates a world, much like earth where her characters mirror humans in actions and beliefs. I found the audiobook interesting and couldn’t stop listening. Between the wordplay, satire, social situations that are political and religious peppered with puns and other jests and the excellently developed plot and characters, this book is awesome. When I began listening to the book I thought, “OMG really? A hippo as the main character???” But then Wheeler sucked me in and I fell in love with Beautimus, Sam, Lucas and all the other delightful characters.
Kelley Hazen deserves an A+++ for her narration. She did a fantastic job of keeping up with the voices and tempo of the book. She was just amazing! I would love to hear more of her. I cannot imagine anyone else doing as magnificent a job as she did.
There were no issues with the audio or production of this book.
Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
December 4, 2017
What a wonderful, wonderful story! Aside from being one of the nicest authors I have ever had the pleasure to work with, Peggy A. Wheeler is also one who is truly concerned for our world and interested in making it a better place with her writing. And she does just that with THE SPLENDID AND EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF BEAUTIMUS POTAMUS. Who says a menopausal hippopotamus can't be a five star heroine?! The entire story is told through the eyes of the animal kingdom of the planet Rendaz. The allegorical approach to their plight is both heart wrenching and uplifting as well as down right funny. So clever is this story, its characters and its allusions. I had the opportunity to give voice to several hippos, a trout, two squirrels, a fox, a hip hop gorilla, a blue crane, a tree or two, and a praying mantis, his brother and his fiance. It's a must listen for any age group. And I think it would be an outstanding audiobook club choice sparking much conversation on many, many levels and ideas. Also a big 'thank you' to Gwen Gades of DragonMoon Press for her support throughout the recording process.
September 5, 2018
What a wonderful tale....full of characters with tails!
The animals of Rendaz live peacefully yet there are a few malcontents or troublemakers among them. Many have been banished to the wild and they start to parallel the humans. Rendazian civilization is threatened.
We see all this through Beautimus the hippopotamus, a teacher of earth studies and believer of the goddess. We follow her and her companions through times wrought with complications and danger, heart-warming moments and moments of self awareness.
Kelley Haven brings to life, the rich personality of each animal. The banter is witty, the parallels to humans funny and at times scary. Anyone who only reads this book is missing out! Each character's voice is unique and appropriate. She has such an amazing range. My favorites were the squirrel and trout. Kelley's narrative gift is right up there with Katherine Kellgren, Roy Dotrice, Rob Inglis and Jim Dale.
I would love to listen to another book by this author. I would listen to this book again and again. I'm sure I missed stuff.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Story 5/5
Narration 6/5
The animals of Rendaz live peacefully yet there are a few malcontents or troublemakers among them. Many have been banished to the wild and they start to parallel the humans. Rendazian civilization is threatened.
We see all this through Beautimus the hippopotamus, a teacher of earth studies and believer of the goddess. We follow her and her companions through times wrought with complications and danger, heart-warming moments and moments of self awareness.
Kelley Haven brings to life, the rich personality of each animal. The banter is witty, the parallels to humans funny and at times scary. Anyone who only reads this book is missing out! Each character's voice is unique and appropriate. She has such an amazing range. My favorites were the squirrel and trout. Kelley's narrative gift is right up there with Katherine Kellgren, Roy Dotrice, Rob Inglis and Jim Dale.
I would love to listen to another book by this author. I would listen to this book again and again. I'm sure I missed stuff.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Story 5/5
Narration 6/5
November 13, 2017
You’re never to old for a great fairy tale and this was one heck of a ride. Peggy A Wheeler has created a fun and entertaining world that was the perfect break from reality. Kelley Hazen did an amazing performance bringing Beautimus and her quirky sidekicks to life.
November 14, 2017
The main character is a middle aged underachiever, at least in her own opinion, who struggles through her life to change the lives of those around her. Sometimes you laugh, and other times you cry, as you listen to this suspenseful tale.
September 4, 2017
Truly a splendid and extraordinary story. Fun, heartfelt, adventurous, poignant, thought provoking and a bit of snarky
March 1, 2018
This is a difficult book to categorise, being sometimes a whodunnit, a romance and an adventure novel. Set on a near utopian world it is fantastical in that all its creatures great and small live more or less in harmony. It is both an allegory, with Earth history held up as a cautionary tale, and a tale of personal growth as the main character, Beautimus Potter, struggles with personal doubts. Above all else though it is tale of loss...lost love, lost family and lost Eden, and a tale of reunification as Beautimus finds family and love again. Partly comic, partly tragic...don’t come to this novel with preconceptions, but be prepared for surprises, joy and beauty.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2017
This is my review of the audiobook as posted on Audible:
It's one of those books that are really difficult for me to review. On the one hand, I liked many of the books' characters - funny, intriguing, complex, with messed-up pasts; on the other hand, there was so much put in the book that it felt overflowed with themes sometimes: murder, gangs, teenage pregnancies, even war... Also, the pace of the story seemed to me uneven - there were some really fast parts with events almost overlapping and some parts I felt I'd gladly skip....
Having said all that, I have to admit that I really liked the world created by Ms Wheeler - the green planet of Rendaz, whose inhabitants remind human beings to such an extent that you quickly forget they are animals; their behaviour mirrors ours with all our faults and all our good qualities. To tell you the truth, I had to remind myself several times they are not human at all:) Also, as the title suggests, it is a story of the main character's life - no wonder, then, that there aro so many different issues touched upon in the book.
And yes, as the blurb says, there is a lot of humour in the book, but there is also romance, there's heartache and hope... there is drama and there is comedy, all in the right proportions.
But, even though the book in general was good, as there were moments I felt a little bored and moments of confusion, I give the story itself 3.5 stars (which means I liked it but found faults in it or I liked it but it wasn't a book I felt I had to read cover to cover without taking any breaks).
Ms Hazen's interpretation was very good, as usual. She had an extremely tough job this time, both in terms of the sheer numbers of the characters she had to read as well as in terms of their personalities:) But she managed to give each and every one of them a distinctive voice, so it's even 6 stars for her with this book:)
So to sum it up, it's 3.5 for the story, 5 for the performance - and that makes it 4.5 for the book overall:)
DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
It's one of those books that are really difficult for me to review. On the one hand, I liked many of the books' characters - funny, intriguing, complex, with messed-up pasts; on the other hand, there was so much put in the book that it felt overflowed with themes sometimes: murder, gangs, teenage pregnancies, even war... Also, the pace of the story seemed to me uneven - there were some really fast parts with events almost overlapping and some parts I felt I'd gladly skip....
Having said all that, I have to admit that I really liked the world created by Ms Wheeler - the green planet of Rendaz, whose inhabitants remind human beings to such an extent that you quickly forget they are animals; their behaviour mirrors ours with all our faults and all our good qualities. To tell you the truth, I had to remind myself several times they are not human at all:) Also, as the title suggests, it is a story of the main character's life - no wonder, then, that there aro so many different issues touched upon in the book.
And yes, as the blurb says, there is a lot of humour in the book, but there is also romance, there's heartache and hope... there is drama and there is comedy, all in the right proportions.
But, even though the book in general was good, as there were moments I felt a little bored and moments of confusion, I give the story itself 3.5 stars (which means I liked it but found faults in it or I liked it but it wasn't a book I felt I had to read cover to cover without taking any breaks).
Ms Hazen's interpretation was very good, as usual. She had an extremely tough job this time, both in terms of the sheer numbers of the characters she had to read as well as in terms of their personalities:) But she managed to give each and every one of them a distinctive voice, so it's even 6 stars for her with this book:)
So to sum it up, it's 3.5 for the story, 5 for the performance - and that makes it 4.5 for the book overall:)
DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
November 7, 2018
What would you do if you were going through your day...minding your own business...when, without warning or preamble, "...a grainy image of a full-sized female purple-eyed hippopotamus..." suddenly filled the wall of your living room? And...not only that, it talked to you - IN ENGLISH - and called you by your first name? Well, being a writer your first instinct would most probably be to write down and document the whole experience. With that, the story of Beautimus Potamus and her adventures through space and time, begin.
In much the same way as John Carter of Mars reached out to Edgar Rice Burroughs to chronicle his amazing life and adventures on far away Barsoom, B.P. (as I will call her),Uses the human author that she has recruited to tell the tale of a strange and exciting planet where animals talk and hippopotamus type beings study the history of a strange blue planet, 3rd from its sun. And chief among those tales she wants to share are the use of, and the universal meanings and impact of ANAM GLYPHS and how they will change the lives of everyone that embrace them.
What are the ANAM GLYPHS you ask? Well...you'll have to buy this darling little book to find discover and immerse yourself in each GLYPH and its specific are of influence and impact.
Peggy Wheeler, when not meeting with strange beings from another planet is the author of several other wonderful books of "fantastical fiction" as she refers to it including the post-apocalyptic CHACO and a murder mystery with a teaming a native American criminologist and backwoods county sheriff in THE RAVEN'S DAUGHTER.
In much the same way as John Carter of Mars reached out to Edgar Rice Burroughs to chronicle his amazing life and adventures on far away Barsoom, B.P. (as I will call her),Uses the human author that she has recruited to tell the tale of a strange and exciting planet where animals talk and hippopotamus type beings study the history of a strange blue planet, 3rd from its sun. And chief among those tales she wants to share are the use of, and the universal meanings and impact of ANAM GLYPHS and how they will change the lives of everyone that embrace them.
What are the ANAM GLYPHS you ask? Well...you'll have to buy this darling little book to find discover and immerse yourself in each GLYPH and its specific are of influence and impact.
Peggy Wheeler, when not meeting with strange beings from another planet is the author of several other wonderful books of "fantastical fiction" as she refers to it including the post-apocalyptic CHACO and a murder mystery with a teaming a native American criminologist and backwoods county sheriff in THE RAVEN'S DAUGHTER.
February 27, 2018
Review originally published at: http://www.lomeraniel.com/audiobookre...
I so wanted to love this book, but I couldn’t. I really liked The Raven’s Daughter from Wheeler too, and I thought that the same writing style with some fantasy and whimsical details thrown into it would just be my cup of tea. It was original, it was funny, but after too long it got old. I also think that it touched too many subjects, and it felt kind of chaotic at times.
The characters were quite charming and lovable, and I think I would have appreciated this book much more when I was at a younger age. It’s one of those ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ cases.
Kelley Hazen did an extraordinaire job narrating this book. They were many characters and she managed to make them all sound different and with a unique personality. The only setback for me is that it really sounded like a book for children, overacting at times, which I found a bit tiresome.
I am really sorry that this book wasn’t for me, especially after reading all the rave reviews it received.
I received a copy of this book in audio format from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I so wanted to love this book, but I couldn’t. I really liked The Raven’s Daughter from Wheeler too, and I thought that the same writing style with some fantasy and whimsical details thrown into it would just be my cup of tea. It was original, it was funny, but after too long it got old. I also think that it touched too many subjects, and it felt kind of chaotic at times.
The characters were quite charming and lovable, and I think I would have appreciated this book much more when I was at a younger age. It’s one of those ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ cases.
Kelley Hazen did an extraordinaire job narrating this book. They were many characters and she managed to make them all sound different and with a unique personality. The only setback for me is that it really sounded like a book for children, overacting at times, which I found a bit tiresome.
I am really sorry that this book wasn’t for me, especially after reading all the rave reviews it received.
I received a copy of this book in audio format from the author in exchange for an honest review.
February 14, 2018
This is one of those stories that made me think of all the great "animals as people" tales ranging from Jungle Book to Animal Farm to Charlotte's Web. Yes, a broad range indeed, but this story has that going on for it. There is such a beautiful poetry to it that you find yourself lost. There are actual "laugh out loud" moments (not to be confused with the overused LOL. I mean you will actually chuckle. This is fantasy with a twist and I think you are missing out if you don't give this beautimus story a shot.
As for the audio version...the narration was, for me, the weak point. There was just something about Ms. Hazen's voice that did not work for me. That said, narrators are like singers, one person loves Sinatra, the next Bon Scott, so take that criticism with a grain of salt. I will say she has a vast array of voices and the production is top notch.
As for the audio version...the narration was, for me, the weak point. There was just something about Ms. Hazen's voice that did not work for me. That said, narrators are like singers, one person loves Sinatra, the next Bon Scott, so take that criticism with a grain of salt. I will say she has a vast array of voices and the production is top notch.
December 24, 2018
This was such a uniquely, fabulous story about a middle aged hippo, Beautimus Potamus, who lives on a faraway planet with all sorts of anthropomorphic animals who are just living their best lives. She has a career, friends, a budding love life and is about to hit a big birthday. However, not everyone is about peace, love and celebrating the goddess because before she knows it Beautimus gets sucked up in a murder mystery. My favorite characters in the story were totally Beautimus’s house squirrels. They were hysterical. How can you not love that a hippo has house squirrels to help her out?!?
The world building and character descriptions are amazing, the plot is solid and there couldn’t be a better narrator to bring it all together. It was such a fun book to listen to. I wish that it wasn’t just a stand alone and there was a series. I could totally get into that.
Oh wait I almost forgot! I do have one teensy little gripe. My only little gripe is that in the book when Samuel S. Goodwings and his wife have babies it says they they hatch 4 nymphs. I’m not trying to be a crazy person here or anything but Samuel and his wife are Praying Mantises! There is no way they only had 4 babies!!! They had to have had more like 100 to 200 babies. It’s just how it is. For survival reasons it has to be. The babies are so tiny. For even a few to survive an exponentially higher amount need to start off in the world or none would live. Science baby! It’s science! Aside from that, I thought this book was super awesome!
I would like to thank the author/narrator/publisher for generously providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The world building and character descriptions are amazing, the plot is solid and there couldn’t be a better narrator to bring it all together. It was such a fun book to listen to. I wish that it wasn’t just a stand alone and there was a series. I could totally get into that.
Oh wait I almost forgot! I do have one teensy little gripe. My only little gripe is that in the book when Samuel S. Goodwings and his wife have babies it says they they hatch 4 nymphs. I’m not trying to be a crazy person here or anything but Samuel and his wife are Praying Mantises! There is no way they only had 4 babies!!! They had to have had more like 100 to 200 babies. It’s just how it is. For survival reasons it has to be. The babies are so tiny. For even a few to survive an exponentially higher amount need to start off in the world or none would live. Science baby! It’s science! Aside from that, I thought this book was super awesome!
I would like to thank the author/narrator/publisher for generously providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 3, 2019
I found this quite weird to start with but the animal characters were quite charming and that made me want to continue. It took a while for the story to really get started but then it was almost like a series, with Beautimus Potamus having many adventures, which were eventually all tied in together.
The inhabitants of Rendaz are just like us in many ways, except that they are animals. They are actually where our animals originally descend from, ours have just forgotten how to talk. Rendazians love Earth culture, watching our TV shows and naming their children after Earth celebrities.
Everyone sounds so sweet and lovely it could be almost be a children's book. But is does get surprisingly violent with quite a lot of swearing a bit later in the book.
The narration is good with many different sounding voices so you can always tell which character is speaking.
The second book in the collection is all about how Bea created the Anam Glyphs which she uses in the first book. There's an explanation of the glyphs, how to make them and how to use them. If you're interested in fortune telling then you'll find this intetesting. Otherwise it doesn't really add anything to the story.
There is also a note from the author describing how Beautimus Potamus came to her.
The inhabitants of Rendaz are just like us in many ways, except that they are animals. They are actually where our animals originally descend from, ours have just forgotten how to talk. Rendazians love Earth culture, watching our TV shows and naming their children after Earth celebrities.
Everyone sounds so sweet and lovely it could be almost be a children's book. But is does get surprisingly violent with quite a lot of swearing a bit later in the book.
The narration is good with many different sounding voices so you can always tell which character is speaking.
The second book in the collection is all about how Bea created the Anam Glyphs which she uses in the first book. There's an explanation of the glyphs, how to make them and how to use them. If you're interested in fortune telling then you'll find this intetesting. Otherwise it doesn't really add anything to the story.
There is also a note from the author describing how Beautimus Potamus came to her.
November 11, 2019
Beautimus Potamus is a middle aged hippopotimus going through memopause and suffering from low self esteem. A professor of Earth history on the planet Rendaz, she brings with her a cast of zany characters from fish to squirrels to a praying mantis and, of course, Rufus, a hip hop gorilla eho tells fart jokes.
Peggy Wheeler's writing style is somewhere between Phillip Jose Farmer and Tom Robbins. Strange, outragous, and very very funny. The Splendid and Extraordinary Life of Beautimus Potamus is a novel you will want to save and re-read over and over again.
I understand there is a follow-up book, The Anam Glyphs, that I can't wait to dive into. These characters have lasting appeal. They both pay respect to, and make fun of New Age culture in just the right balance. Five stars plus.
Peggy Wheeler's writing style is somewhere between Phillip Jose Farmer and Tom Robbins. Strange, outragous, and very very funny. The Splendid and Extraordinary Life of Beautimus Potamus is a novel you will want to save and re-read over and over again.
I understand there is a follow-up book, The Anam Glyphs, that I can't wait to dive into. These characters have lasting appeal. They both pay respect to, and make fun of New Age culture in just the right balance. Five stars plus.
July 31, 2021
Peggy A. Wheeler has created a fantastic world where animals live in harmony (for the most part).
We follow the life and experiences of Beautimus Potamus, a middle aged hippo, and her wonderfully diverse group of friends. Many of their experiences mimic common issue that humans also deal with.
I am in awe of Kelley Hazen’s performance. So many different voices and characterizations. Absolutely amazing!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.
We follow the life and experiences of Beautimus Potamus, a middle aged hippo, and her wonderfully diverse group of friends. Many of their experiences mimic common issue that humans also deal with.
I am in awe of Kelley Hazen’s performance. So many different voices and characterizations. Absolutely amazing!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and I have voluntarily left this review.
December 30, 2021
The Splendid And Extraordinary Life Of Beautimus Potamus was a great read by Peggy A. Wheeler. Rendaz is the mystical green planet that is home to goddess worshiper and university professor, Beautimus Potamus. She happens to be a hippo that is plagued by hot flashes and low self esteem. She forms an alliance with Samuel S. Goodwings, an atheist praying mantis. When they are together their life is fantastic. They solve mysteries, bring a murderer to justice, and help end a war. I really enjoyed reading Beautimus Potamus' story and loved Kelley Hazen's narrations.
July 20, 2020
This book is full of imagination, it takes you to a world of magic and wonder and you become invested in the characters, it is a perfect read for preteens and Teens.
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