Yl'luria

SO GOOD!

Revisado: 06-13-24

This was one of my favorites. Such illustrative writing, and what a terrifying voice for the villain!! 💖

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Abshellutely Merrific! 💙

Revisado: 03-13-24

Yessssss!!! That was awesome!! I've been silently crossing my fins that you'd make a mermaid ep, so I pretty much platzed when I saw this episode's title. XD

Overall I loved everything about it. And having been to Cancun on vacation not too long ago, I could totally picture each scene in this faboo story. 🥰 The only element that took me out of your wonderfully immersive creation was the mermaid's singing. The resounding, operatic quality came off as kinda goofy, rather than enticing or melodic... (Buuut I also know that you sprinkle each episode with a delightful dose of irreverent humor, so this might've been a nod to that. ;))

Should there ever be a do-over or a part 2, maybe think more echoey, haunting & sultry? Even slightly alien, sla the mermaid song on the TV show "Siren..?" 🩵 (Surely there's many interpretations of siren song.. and doubtless some folks might adore that deeper timbre. :) Or perhaps this interpretation was a wink to the classical Greek origins of the siren legend..? What do I know? I'm just a silly modern-day wannabe fishbutt. ;D)

Regardless, I'm gonna share this with all the RL merfolk I know. ^_^ They're gonna LOVE this! 💕🥰💕 Thanks for the merrific ep as always, Rodney! 💕 I freaking love your voice, your storytelling, your witty, wry style, & all the flavor you put into these- both in the story & all the atmospheric mixing! The accompanying audio to your rich vocals makes each and every ep a beautifully crafted, fun (& sometimes legit stomach-turning ;)) adventure for the ears. XD I hope you never stop making these, 'cause theyre a total blast! 🩵🩵 ^_^

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A Story We've Needed for a Long, Long Time

Revisado: 03-05-18

While I may not always like the protagonist 100 (though constantly being in searing pain can do that to you), I freaking LOVED this story. It's about singers and mermaids and seal-folk and magic and outside of Clive Barker's "Imagica," is the first book I've read in a long, loooong time that had an LGBTQ love interest. (Let alone *gasp* a lesbian one!!) ♥♥♥ This was BEAUTIFULLY & powerfully written, and the retelling/continuation of a beloved classic was deeply wonderful. The writing style where magical elements were directly experienced, expressed n' encountered were particularly beautifully crafted, with poignant, shining, illustrative moments that I just wanted to go on and on and on. The love story was artfully and beautifully told, the characters wonderful and tangible, and overall, I positively freaking LOVED this book. (Getting an especial giggle that by the end of the story the lead voice actor was having trouble NOT speaking in an Irish accent. ;)) I want to hear MORE about the magical folk in this author's underwater realm.. to hear MORE about Kathleen, the witches n' the selchies' adventures under the sea! ^_^ Every time the author wrote about these elements the writing style was just.. perfection. Like pure poetry, disguised as "regular" prose. ♥♥♥ And I'm still rooting for her and Harry. ♥♥

The only thing I'd change about this novel would be putting the HCA story/postscript about Fand at the -beginning- of the book, rather than the end. It'd make the rest of the story make a lot more sense, feel more real, & offer a firmer, more linear history that would take us more relatably from the past to the present. In other words, it'd give the reader a better foundation for the reader to grok the main, present-day portion of the story IMO,while lending a more tangible, relatable insight into Kathleen's world- in all senses of the word. :) Plus, it'd give Kathleen's ending a nice finishing touch to the book, that the reader could savor and ruminate on cherishingly, once the story was over. :)

But that's just me. :) And no matter its structure, I still LOVED this book. The magical flavor, the creativity in exploring the underwater denizens & mythos, the nod/s to chronic illness, the capturing of the singing/theatrical world, the queer main cast.. I just.. loved it. Thank you, to the author, the marvelous narrators, and everyone who helped make this new take on an old story come alive. ♥♥♥

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Great Story, Not Fond of the Narrator

Revisado: 07-11-14

I keep coming back to these books because frankly I love modern fantasy, and I really dig Seanan McGuire's work. But to be honest, I'm really, really not a fan of the narrator who's been tasked to narrate this series. I keep coming back despite it, and I -will- keep coming back despite it, but her performances are so painful to listen to, it seems like she doesn't really get going until the book's almost over. (At which point you've either gritted your teeth through or missed most of the first 3/4, due to losing track or disinterest..)

And unfortunately MRK was particularly rough in this book, teetering back & forth between underacting & overacting, far too many bad (and frequently inconsistent) accents, bouts of choppy reading, mispronunciations (of everything but the Gaelic words herein, which baffles me), and generally poor character interpretation. (Her women being particularly grating to me, as they often come across as nasal, whiny or sound so air-headed I doubt they could survive Ms. McGuire's complex yet dangerous fae world.) To be fair, some of her depictions I do like have been her Duke and Duchess. (I just wish the Duke's accent had remained consistent in this volume, and that we heard more of the Duchess.) On the other hand, while I enjoyed her characterization of "Danny" in previous volumes, her rendition of that lovable character this time was so overdone and rock-mouthed I couldn't stand to hear him talk. (While often having serious problems w/understanding what he was saying...)

In short, I have no problem w/Ms. McGuire's writing. For me, the issue is entirely w/the narrator, and I just deeply wish she/the publisher would have chosen (and might still choose) someone else to take up the gauntlet of narrating this magical series. (Katherine Kellgren, perhaps..?) As a life-long listener of audio books (I'm visually impaired, and so have been listening to Talking Books from an early age) I've learned that some of the best books can be made absolutely ruined by bad narrators, while a good narrator can take even a blah book and make it positively epic. (That is, to the ear of the "reader.")
But.. that's the magic (and the danger) of audiobooks.

And that's just my 6 cents. :)

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GREAT Fodder for Fans of Enchantment- YA and Above

Revisado: 07-07-14

This was recommended repeatedly in forums I found while trying to find good, new, adult mermaid-centric fiction, and now I TOTALLY get why. This is not only a great story (rated YA I believe, but perfectly suitable for adults as well), but the narrator is absolutely MARVELOUS. Katherine Kellgren is on point from beginning to end, and since so often the narrator can make or break a story (even the best ones), this was s double delight. (And I am PICKY about my narrators. ;))

The writing was thoughtful, the plot interesting and unraveled at a good pace, the characters were interesting, palpable & believable, and overall the whole book was both smart AND heartfelt, which doesn't always happen together in fantasy stories. I think my only criticism would be that I can't remember if/where the main character (Hester) was described, but.. that may be my crappy memory, or something deliberately left out by the author. Either way, I loved the thought-provoking, truly immersive way this book was written, and now just can't wait to read more by Ms. Fama, as well as hear more by Ms. Kellgren. -Thanks to "Monstrous Beauty," you may henceforth officially consider me a devoted fan of both. :) ♥

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Great Story, Ehh Narration

Revisado: 12-11-13

This is my second October Daye book, and frankly, upon finishing the first, I was hoping that the second and following books would have a different narrator. Unfortunately, where other books have okay text and a under-expressive narration, this one has great text, and a hugely overacting narrator. It'd be great if she pulled it back by about... oh.. 25-50%. I love the stories, but it's hard to concentrate on the text itself when -every- -single- word is so overly emphasized. Thankfully, it doesn't ruin the whole experience of the book per sé, but it is off enough that (to me at least), it takes away from the actual writing a good bit.

Overall, love the characters, love the quality of the writing, love the atmosphere, everything. And if she could just pull it back a bit, I'd love the narrator too. But as it is, I'd love somebody different. The ever-brilliant John Glover, perhaps..? :D
♥

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A WONDERFUL Companion to "Kingdom Hospital"

Revisado: 04-23-13

This was a -fantastic- discovery for a fan of the miniseries, "Kingdom Hospital." The narrator was SUPERB, her pronunciation, intonation, timing and acting -dead on,- and the story was just wonderful. I loved every little atmospheric, enchantingly creepy bit, and it's in no small part to the narrator's performance. Story-wise, I freaking adored how Mrs. Druse had people wrapped around her marvelously intelligent, insightful finger, and enjoyed the detail, flow and descriptiveness of the narrative. It was paced well, detailed well but didn't drag, moved along nicely, and was just a -beautifully- told story. I think my -only- complaint about this piece is that there wasn't enough! I wanted to hear more more more, and just wish that they'd gone all the way through the KH story. :)

Now I need to find the rest of Kingdom Hospital tale, written by this same author and narrated by this same voice actress! ^_^ HUGE kudos for this!!

♥

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Narrated by Neil Gaiman? Yes Please!

Revisado: 03-18-13

While the story can sound a little juvenile at times (a product of the writing or the manner in which it's read, I'm not sure- but either way it's still only minor), it is a WONDERFUL, DELIGHTFUL thing; to hear it in the author's own voice. I LOVE hearing all the ways that the author himself imagines the characters, their intonations, their inflections, their voices.. instead of having it interpreted through a third party. His reading is MAGIC, and with all of the colour he puts behind his narration, you feel as if you're sitting in a circle at his feet, listening to a marvelously grand, modern fairy story, read by a very careful, introspective, & bewondered author. ^_^ Neil does all the voices and puts great acting behind every word, and I positively loved it. ^_^

This is the first full novel I've heard/read by Mr. Gaiman, and I can't wait to hear more. I found the DVD of the BBC interpretation of "Neverwhere" just before I found the novel here, so I can still see and hear all the characters from those episodes in Neil's reading. I don't know whether he's reading w/acknowledgement of those performances, or if they just followed his vision SUPER closely (like to the letter), but either way, this book was a grand read/listen. I highly recommend it!

♥

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Far to Self-Involved and Dragging for My Taste

Revisado: 11-17-11

The narrator's voice is clear and lovely, but the writing is a way too intellectually elitest and self-indulgent for my taste, and the accents here are.. sadly, pretty awful. Don't get me wrong, it's not that one needn't a massive amount of brainpower to eke out the specifics and required details to understand the book, but the story, the plot line, the characters' treatment of the main character.., it's all just way too- (please pardon the expression here) masturbatory for me... (All written by a very brainy, creative woman- which I adore.. but still...)

To me, this reads like a meandering, self-involved fantasy the author has plotted out to the last detail, during a lifetime of wishing, praying & hoping to live in some strange, alternate universe. Don't get me wrong, she has a wonderful talent for description, and I love a bunch of good detail in my stories. I also love me some alt. universes- and know that of course, many authors do the whole "wishful thinking" thing (at least in one way or another).

But the inaaaanely slow story line due to the coverage of every, single, self-satisfied little detail and illustrations of characteristics already explore thoroughly at previous intervals over and over and over again just makes the story WAY too long, WAY too boring, and and frankly, far too good an offering for putting one (not kidding here) to sleep. (Seriously. I listen to this often as part of my nightly ritual to help me drift off to dreamland now. The author's voice is nice, and the story is just that cumbersome & overinvolved.)

I like the theories the author presents at the core of her work concerning her own version of the "Origin of the Species," the new take she puts on her supernatural denizens, and the rich feeling of texture and atmosphere she tries to paint here. But given the above, I'd rate it overall at about a C.

Pity, as if she picked up the pace a bit and learned how to edit, this could have been a really engaging story. I enjoyed the character concepts, the setting (though again, she goes a little much into her obsession w/the Bodlian library) and the quirky color she lends to many who appear within the cast. But frankly this story dragged like Igor's bum foot encased in a 2 ton block of lead. (Which is a real bummer, 'cause given the preview, I had a lot of hope for this story.) Guess I'll just have to hope they make a movie version of this someday. ..Might help to speed things up.

And speaking of talking waaay too much, I'm going to stop here. ;)

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