Review: Colliders

Colliders by Steve Foley
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Narrated by Hank M Stewart
Presented by BooksGoSocial Audio

Could not get past the awful narration.

Maybe the story was okay, but the narrator absolutely destroyed it.

The plot is basically about how some crazy scientists opened a rip into another dimension using the Large Hadron Collider. So a bunch of monsters escape and there's some secret spy stuff and honestly I can't say I paid much more attention than that.

I think it might have been an interesting story, but it seemed very basic and the narrator just had zero time for it. He spoke in a monotone, and even at 1.75x speed he was slow and pausing too much. But then he'd jump immediately into a separate storyline without a breath and I'd get whiplash trying to work out what character we were now following.

So unfortunately this was an ultimately painful experience, and I'll be going out of my way to avoid this narrator in the future. He honestly sounded like he was just there for a paycheck - no feeling or emotion to the story, all the characters sounded the same, and he mispronounced some very basic words. UGH.

Aside from the narration, it's kind of a meh story, with a bunch of different scientists talking about the same science and then monsters. I honestly stopped really paying attention because it was all so dull.

I think if you have the opportunity to read rather than listen, then don't take my word for it. My experience was absolutely coloured by the narration so on paper this may be a better story. But if you're after a fun sci-fi romp this is probably not the one you want.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: When the Moon Hits Your Eye

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For a book about something as ridiculous as the moon turning to cheese, this was FANTASTIC.

I don't think many authors could pull it off, but writing the absurd and making it a great read seems to be a strength of Scalzi. He manages to present a ridiculous concept, then fills the story with immediately likeable (or loathe-able) characters that bring such immense heart that you can't help but be swept up by it all.

Almost every chapter is told by a different character, so we get a wide variety of experiences. This is probably the part that I loved the most and happens to work incredibly well for this story. Seeing the small picture - on the individual level - helps us relate to what's happening in such a pure way, that it becomes less about the absurd and more about the experience of being human.

Add to that the perfect amount of humour and a gouda-mount of cheese puns (see what I did there) and you've got yourself a special kind of silly book.

Obviously, if you're picking this one up for scientific accuracy then you're in for a rude shock, but if you're after something a little more quirky with a lot of heart, this is absolutely one to pick up.

With thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for an ARC

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Review: By Chance or Providence

By Chance or Providence by Becky Cloonan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was so good I read it in one sitting. Not that it's particularly long!

Three short stories connected by the themes of love and tragedy. I loved each for their own reasons and each one affected me differently.

These each have a medieval setting, which is very much my jam. The art style is also very much my jam, so this was perfect for me. The length of each story was perfect, and each was told so elegantly with no superfluous detail. Absolutely nailed the writing on this one.

And the art! Oh my, what gorgeous creatures live in these pages. The concept sketches at the back are simply DIVINE.

My only complaint is that three stories just wasn't enough - I wanted more!

This is definitely a fave, and fans of darker, medieval fantasy should enjoy this like I did.

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Review: Watersnakes

Watersnakes by Tony Sandoval
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was decent, but I feel like there was a lot of symbolism that was just lost on me.

It's a whimsical tale about two girls forming a friendship, one of whom has a bit of a teeth fetish? There's water and skeleton dogs and ethereal characters coming up from the depths.

The artwork is eerie but sweet, giving the characters elfin features, unrealistically thin figures and moist eyes. There's a dark, creepy quality to it which layers over the whimsy of the story quite well.

The story itself was interesting enough; short and sweet. I wish I hadn't read the blurb as I feel part of the story would have landed harder without foreknowledge of it.

All in all, this was a decent read to spend an hour or so with. Strange, but entertaining.

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Review: We Don't Talk About Emma

We Don't Talk About Emma by J.D. Barker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Narrated by Piper Goodeve
Presented by RB Media

Can't say this one really did much for me.

A cop goes out to kill a man who got away with rape, only to discover he's already been bumped off. The main suspect is the girl he got away with raping, and she's fled into the belly of New Orleans.

The story gets pretty messy from here, and for some reason Nikki has zero concerns about the fact that she was at the crime scene. Instead, everyone just assumes Emma is the killer and ignores any kind of actual crime solving while they commence the manhunt. So the biggest pull this story had is immediately swept under the rug.

I'm gonna be honest - I didn't really like any of these characters. There's a lot between Nikki and Keith that makes it seem like this is a sequel, yet it's supposed to be a standalone. Not sure what's up with that. The romance between the two felt clunky and awkward and mostly pointless.

There's also a confusing cast of villains with similar personalities and the audio had most of the voices sounding the same so I found it difficult to keep straight who everyone was. I was getting names mixed up a lot and not sure where other characters were relevant.

Aside from that, there's just really not a lot to this story. It's mostly just cops chasing Emma, and a couple of creative deaths here and there to try and stay interesting.

The narration was okay, with enough inflection to keep the story clear, but as mentioned the voices all sounded the same to me so it was hard to tell people apart. I'd give this narrator another go, though, as I think it's more a fault of generic characters.

All in all, okay for a freebie but I wouldn't go out and buy it, and crime fans won't find anything special here.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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Review: Batman vs. Robin

Batman vs. Robin by Mark Waid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a fun read, but it serves ultimately as a prequel to DC's Lazarus Planet event.

As a consequence, the first four issues are fantastic, but the fifth jumps to the AFTER, so it's place as the final piece of the story is clunky. If you'd like the whole story, make sure you get the Lazarus Planet story alongside this one, so you can read that between issues 4 and 5.

I loved the way this plays with Batman's history with each Robin. Ultimately, it's about Bruce and Damian, but there are some great moments featuring the other Robins as well.

I do enjoy the magic side of things, though I've found it hit and miss within DC's different stories. Here, I enjoyed it, and I liked how the villains came together. It seemed logical enough for me so I was happy to be along for the ride.

The final issue makes things a bit messy and changes the tone completely, but up until that point it's a great story.

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Review: TILL THE LAST PIECE: THE PERFECT RECIPE FOR MURDER

TILL THE LAST PIECE: THE PERFECT RECIPE FOR MURDER by Kenneth Cruz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Narrated by Dena Kouremetis
Presented by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op

Macabre Minutes #1.

This was fine I guess for a 30min free listen.

It's quick to the point, and the story is decent enough, though it's definitely easy to suss from a mile away. I feel like it's the kind of plot you read and then swear you've read before elsewhere. So it was okay, but nothing outstanding.

My biggest issue was the narrator - she was fine, but she sounded more like a lil old grandma reading a bedtime story than a vengeful young wife. I just never got into the true horror headspace of the story because I was waiting for some kind of grandma/little old lady twist.

There's not enough here to really recommend, but if you're after a short listen and you have NetGalley it's an easy way to kill 30min.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

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