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3 out of 5 stars
By
Colin Croft
on
08-26-14
Tries to be all things
The problem with this book for me was that it tried to be too many things and didn't really succeed at any of them very well.
As a detective story it was far too simplistic and I knew who the villain was long before the end. As hard SF it was clear that while the author was trying to come up with some kind of scientific justification for time travel and... well let's just say that the 'baffle them with bulls***' tag applies far more than the 'dazzle them with brilliance'. Her lengthy explanations were not self consistent or convincing enough for me to suspend belief (lasers? Really??) and took up time that would have been far better spent on developing her characters more.
The reader was quite good; her reading is entertaining and evocative, although she does not differentiate her voices for different characters quite as much as some others do.
Disappointing overall and not one that makes me want to read others by the author.
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful
4 out of 5 stars
By
Alex Levine
on
04-28-13
Academic Mystery with a Time Travel Twist
This book is a genre-bender, albeit in a very conservative way. The basic plot is that of an academic murder mystery ("The Professor did it!" No, "The secretary did it!" No, "The Dean did it!," etc.). The twist is that the University in question operates the world's first time travel lab. Otherwise, it's set in the eigenpresent, at a fictitious Minnesota university, even if much of the action takes place about two millennia ago.
I read Maslakovic's first book, "Regarding Ducks and Universes," and enjoyed it. This book offers similarly well-mannered prose, with equally well-mannered characters. For the most part, it all works. As a career academic (20+ years on the tenure track), I am doubtless more sensitive to lapses in verisimilitude (there aren't that many) than most readers or listeners.
Ms. Kowal's narrative range is limited, and this book unfortunately does not especially suit her limitations. There are probably more female narrators who can manage male voices credibly than there are males who can manage female voices; unfortunately, based on this one sample, Ms. Kowal does not appear to be one of them.
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5 of 6 people found this review helpful
Customer Reviews
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2 out of 5 stars
By
Mr. J. Forsyth
on
09-05-16
Sometimes you get what you pay for - this was free
Poor review but I just couldn't get into this.
Right from the start I could tell and the posh lisping voice for the intern was beyond annoying.
Didnt get very far so judge it on that if anything - not the content I missed.
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2 out of 5 stars
By
Beccy
on
10-19-14
Not sure what the story is.
This was a free book on kindle unlimited and not sure now why i chose it! I must confess i stopped listening about half way through but the story didn't grip me and didn't seem to be going anywhere. It may have got much better but i'll leave that to others to find out, performance was good though i know a good performance can't improve a stagnant story.
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Customer Reviews
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5 out of 5 stars
By
Katie
on
02-16-15
Good storyline
This is a great book. I look forward to buying the others in this series.
Great storyline, with really interesting characters. Pulls you into the story, and you want to solve the problem just as much as the characters do
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