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apumaru's reviews
1810 reviews
Theocracide by James Wymore
1.0
Disclaimer: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I listened to the audiobook version on Audible.
Performance: It was bad guys. Really, really bad. The production itself wasn't great: there were times where the narrator repeated a sentence multiple times, I could hear the breathing and swallowing of the narrator, at the beginning of each chapter there was a "news" bit where an anchorman basically gives the headline and during that there was this weird noise that made it hard to hear. The narrator was boring, had no differentiation between characters. Regardless of age or sex they all sounded the same.
Story: The story had aliens, immortal beings, government conspiracies, dystopian technology, clones, and I could go on and on. It was all just too much. The characters were boring, predictable, and lacked depth and development. There were logical inconsistencies throughout the book. And the plot fell flat. The climax was absolutely boring and it seemed as if the most fun parts were skipped over completely.
Overall: Bad, bad, bad. Zero out of five stars. Do not recommend at all. I am so surprised this book has over 4 star rating overall.
Performance: It was bad guys. Really, really bad. The production itself wasn't great: there were times where the narrator repeated a sentence multiple times, I could hear the breathing and swallowing of the narrator, at the beginning of each chapter there was a "news" bit where an anchorman basically gives the headline and during that there was this weird noise that made it hard to hear. The narrator was boring, had no differentiation between characters. Regardless of age or sex they all sounded the same.
Story: The story had aliens, immortal beings, government conspiracies, dystopian technology, clones, and I could go on and on. It was all just too much. The characters were boring, predictable, and lacked depth and development. There were logical inconsistencies throughout the book. And the plot fell flat. The climax was absolutely boring and it seemed as if the most fun parts were skipped over completely.
Overall: Bad, bad, bad. Zero out of five stars. Do not recommend at all. I am so surprised this book has over 4 star rating overall.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
4.0
I wasn't sure if historical fiction really was for me but wow I enjoyed this book a lot. We follow jane a half black zombie killer in the mid to late 1800s. Overall, it was fun, fast-paced, and had a perspective that I thought was great. My only gripe was that this book is purposely ended in a way to have a sequel. That being said, I plan on reading it! Four out of five stars, strongly recommend.
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard
5.0
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer sold his sold to the devil to learn the art of necromancy. As it turns out, he needs his soul to continue the research so he pops on down to hell and makes a bet with the devil to get his soul back. He will give Satan signatures for 100 souls in one years time and in return, he will get his soul back. If he doesn't, Satan will kill Cabal.
I've been thinking about what makes a story good to me, and I think I have broken it down to 4 main parts. For me, the four most important parts are characters, plot, universe, and dialogue. Ideally, a good book is one that has each of these elements, but I think we've all read stories where one of these four things stand out the most. Books in which we still remember the character long after we forget what actually happens, or books where the universe is so intricate and mesmerizing that it almost felt like we were there in it, or books in which the plot was so captivating and astounding that we were on the edge of our seats and unable to put the book down.
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer was so heavily dialogue-driven, and the dialogue was just so damn good, that it made up for any other shortcomings. This book is endlessly quotable, witty, sarcastic, and laugh-out-loud funny. Despite the seemingly dark subject matter, this book was insanely fun. I am definitely going to continue with the series and for those who are lovers of dry, witty comedy I recommend this book whole-heartedly.
I've been thinking about what makes a story good to me, and I think I have broken it down to 4 main parts. For me, the four most important parts are characters, plot, universe, and dialogue. Ideally, a good book is one that has each of these elements, but I think we've all read stories where one of these four things stand out the most. Books in which we still remember the character long after we forget what actually happens, or books where the universe is so intricate and mesmerizing that it almost felt like we were there in it, or books in which the plot was so captivating and astounding that we were on the edge of our seats and unable to put the book down.
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer was so heavily dialogue-driven, and the dialogue was just so damn good, that it made up for any other shortcomings. This book is endlessly quotable, witty, sarcastic, and laugh-out-loud funny. Despite the seemingly dark subject matter, this book was insanely fun. I am definitely going to continue with the series and for those who are lovers of dry, witty comedy I recommend this book whole-heartedly.
Johannes Cabal the Detective by Jonathan L. Howard
4.0
Johannes Cabal, a necromancer of little infamy, is awaiting execution as a result of a botched book theft. He's able to escape by stealing a government official's identity, but this proves to cause more trouble than he expected when he ends up getting caught up in a series of strange events on a luxury aeroship, the Princess Hortense.
Although Johannes is the same the type of story is completely different; it's basically a mystery book. The addition of a certain female character was welcome but at the same time the absence of another was felt. Overall, I thought this was a great addition, despite the fact that I'm not a huge fan of mysteries.
Although Johannes is the same the type of story is completely different; it's basically a mystery book. The addition of a certain female character was welcome but at the same time the absence of another was felt. Overall, I thought this was a great addition, despite the fact that I'm not a huge fan of mysteries.
The Fear Institute by Jonathan L. Howard
5.0
The first book of the Johannes Cabal series featured our protagonist trying to sign souls to the devil by running a demonic carnival in order to regain his own soul. The second book was a mystery in which Mr. Cabal was trying to figure out the murders on an aeroship while fleeing a country in which he was wanted dead. And now in this third installation, Johannes Cabal goes to the Dream World to find and destroy the embodiment of fear.
Honestly, if I had left the name out of the summaries I don't think anyone would be able to tell that these books were related. Yet the author does a wonderful job portraying the protagonist consistently and keeps the spirit of the books together.
I enjoyed The Fear Institute immensely because it honestly ead like a fever dream. It was fantastical and ridiculous, but also serious in some parts and uniquely witty in others. I can't wait to finish the series!
Honestly, if I had left the name out of the summaries I don't think anyone would be able to tell that these books were related. Yet the author does a wonderful job portraying the protagonist consistently and keeps the spirit of the books together.
I enjoyed The Fear Institute immensely because it honestly ead like a fever dream. It was fantastical and ridiculous, but also serious in some parts and uniquely witty in others. I can't wait to finish the series!
The Brothers Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard
5.0
Horst Cabal is alive once again! ...Actually he is undead once again. He has been resurrected by some secret organization that want to create a world which is run by monsters and they want Horst, for some reason, to be a general. Horst goes to his brother for help to save the world.
Another great addition to the Johannes Cabal series! I really enjoyed how the story was laid out with the first half or so Horst telling Johannes what had been happening and the second half in the present with Johannes and Horst (and more) working together. I feel like we're getting closer and closer to Johannes' ultimate goal but I can't help but have a huge sense of dread. I can't wait to finish the series.
Another great addition to the Johannes Cabal series! I really enjoyed how the story was laid out with the first half or so Horst telling Johannes what had been happening and the second half in the present with Johannes and Horst (and more) working together. I feel like we're getting closer and closer to Johannes' ultimate goal but I can't help but have a huge sense of dread. I can't wait to finish the series.
The Fall of the House of Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard
5.0
The Fall of the House of Cabal is a great conclusion to the Johannes Cabal series. We see all the characters we love, hate, and fear and it's an incredible journey.
Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box by The Arbinger Institute
4.0
This was my first (of many, hopefully) leadership books so I went in not knowing what to expect. Overall, I learned new things and was able to question, if not change, my perspective. That was my goal so I was happy with this book. I will say, however, that the way it is written is very childish and almost seems like I'm being talked down to. It seems like there's a lot of unnecessary things and some conversations don't need to be there at all and this book could've been shortened a lot. But I tried to take advantage of all the examples given and really put my mind to finding counterparts in my own life. If you can get over the way it was written, and see to the core of what this book is trying to say, I think you'll come out of it with a net gain.
IQ by Joe Ide
4.0
I have said before that mystery is not my favorite genre but this book was recommended to me so many times by so many people I had to check it out. I was very pleasantly surprised. Although it was slightly confusing at times, I enjoyed how Ide weaved IQ's past together with the present. It gave IQ a depth that really made me care for him. Otherwise, it would have just seemed like another "I'm-the-smartest-guy-here-and-that's-it" kind of feel. Also another unique aspect to the mystery genre was that this takes place in South LA in a low socioeconomic status neighborhood where majority of the characters were minorities, either black or Hispanic, but predominately black. Overall, I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would and I plan on continuing the series!
Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven
4.0
Months after a huge hurricane devastates Florida, we follow a series of interviews about the events that occurred inside an ocean-side amusement park: FantasticLand. It turns out that the college-aged employees stuck in the park for about a month committed some truly horrific acts despite having plenty of food and water to go around. Acts such as forming gangs, murdering, arson, and more gruesome acts.
Right off the bat, I want to address the issue that I feel people might get stuck up on: the motivation. Why would a group of twenty somethings devolve into a bunch of savages and resort to stealing and killing, rather than work together to survive? The author mentions it several times from several points of views giving various reasons from boredom, to fear, to hormones, and so on and so forth. I think it's all bullshit, and I find it very hard to believe. BUT! Who cares? It honestly doesn't matter. If that's the only thing that's got you held up, get over it! Because if you do, and if you don't think about the motivation too much (that might be a big ask for some people) FantasticLand is a fun and scary read.
Another thing I want to talk about is the POV in which this book is written. A reporter takes interviews of multiple people both inside and outside the park at the time of the hurricane and flooding. I thought it was a unique way to tell the story, and one thing I liked about it was that we got to see many angles of the story and we were able to make up our own mind in the end about certain events that transpired. I did think, however, that it might have been scarier in general if it just followed one person or even multiple people, as the events transpired. I feel like because they were set up in interviews, the audience assumed that everything was done and taken care of already. If we were in the story as it was happening, it would have added another level of fear to the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to horror lovers.
Right off the bat, I want to address the issue that I feel people might get stuck up on: the motivation. Why would a group of twenty somethings devolve into a bunch of savages and resort to stealing and killing, rather than work together to survive? The author mentions it several times from several points of views giving various reasons from boredom, to fear, to hormones, and so on and so forth. I think it's all bullshit, and I find it very hard to believe. BUT! Who cares? It honestly doesn't matter. If that's the only thing that's got you held up, get over it! Because if you do, and if you don't think about the motivation too much (that might be a big ask for some people) FantasticLand is a fun and scary read.
Another thing I want to talk about is the POV in which this book is written. A reporter takes interviews of multiple people both inside and outside the park at the time of the hurricane and flooding. I thought it was a unique way to tell the story, and one thing I liked about it was that we got to see many angles of the story and we were able to make up our own mind in the end about certain events that transpired. I did think, however, that it might have been scarier in general if it just followed one person or even multiple people, as the events transpired. I feel like because they were set up in interviews, the audience assumed that everything was done and taken care of already. If we were in the story as it was happening, it would have added another level of fear to the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to horror lovers.