David Masters
- 17
- reviews
- 4
- helpful votes
- 35
- ratings
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Consider Phlebas
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender. Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it....
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Visionary but half-cooked intro to Culture 'verse
- By Ryan on 07-20-13
- Consider Phlebas
- By: Iain M. Banks
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
A Good Book I'm Certain, But...
Reviewed: 01-23-24
My comments are strictly regarding the audio book. I use hearing aids and stream books via my iPhone, and this book is the absolute worse recorded book I have ever attempted to listen to. The audio sound is like the reader was two rooms divided from the microphone during recording—every sound is muffled or compressed to the point that it becomes unintelligible for me. I have attempted four times in the past month and can't get past chapter four before I am completely lost.
I really wanted to listen to this Iain Banks series, but it's a total failure. Maybe someday the audio can be redone and I can try it again.
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This Is How You Lose the Time War
- By: Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?
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Flowery poetic word salad
- By Austin on 02-11-20
- This Is How You Lose the Time War
- By: Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller
Kind of hard to follow
Reviewed: 11-02-23
Not for everyone but an ok read. If nothing else the love letters are nice.
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Speer
- Hitler's Architect
- By: Martin Kitchen
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 19 hrs
- Unabridged
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In his best-selling autobiography, Albert Speer, Minister of Armaments and chief architect of Nazi Germany, repeatedly insisted he knew nothing of the genocidal crimes of Hitler's Third Reich. In this revealing new biography, author Martin Kitchen disputes Speer's lifelong assertions of ignorance and innocence, portraying a far darker figure who was deeply implicated in the appalling crimes committed by the regime he served so well. Kitchen reconstructs Speer's life with what we now know, including information from valuable new sources that have come to light only in recent years.
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Interesting, but extremely biased
- By Rodney on 10-28-18
- Speer
- Hitler's Architect
- By: Martin Kitchen
- Narrated by: Michael Page
Rich in detail
Reviewed: 09-08-23
Technocratic monster is about all I can say about Speer. He knew what he was doing yet embraced it. Is it possible to be more dangerous than Hitler? I think so…
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Avengers of the Moon
- A Captain Future Novel
- By: Allen Steele
- Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Curt Newton has spent most of his life hidden from the rest of humankind, being raised by a robot, an android, and the disembodied brain of a renowned scientist. This unlikely trio of guardians has kept his existence a closely guarded secret after the murder of Curt's parents.
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Vintage Allen Steele
- By David Masters on 07-22-23
- Avengers of the Moon
- A Captain Future Novel
- By: Allen Steele
- Narrated by: Greg Tremblay
Vintage Allen Steele
Reviewed: 07-22-23
Allen Steele is a hold over from days gone by in an era where sci fi writers were all over. A Blue Collar writer that cranks out good books with good stories. Great entertainment.
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The Republic of Texas
- Texas' Last Stand for Faith and Freedom
- By: Gary Bray
- Narrated by: Linda Gordon, Mike Gordon
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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After the collapse of America, Texas declares its sovereignty to become a separate country. They become the most powerful country in the world, making them a target for the United Nations. They then become the last stand for freedom. The Republic of Texas is a picture of what a Christian country would look like. It is an explanation of capitalism wrapped in a futuristic fantasy with a love story mixed into an exciting world war. The story is an affirmation of the Christian lifestyle as well as how capitalism is the most free form of self-determination.
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Excellent!
- By SDT on 10-12-22
- The Republic of Texas
- Texas' Last Stand for Faith and Freedom
- By: Gary Bray
- Narrated by: Linda Gordon, Mike Gordon
Poorly written and performed
Reviewed: 06-23-23
Awful. Just awful from beginning to end. Don’t bother with this mess. Please don’t bother.
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Douglas MacArthur
- American Warrior
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
- Length: 39 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Douglas MacArthur was arguably the last American public figure to be worshipped unreservedly as a national hero, the last military figure to conjure up the romantic stirrings once evoked by George Armstrong Custer and Robert E. Lee. But he was also one of America's most divisive figures, a man whose entire career was steeped in controversy. Was he an avatar or an anachronism, a brilliant strategist or a vainglorious mountebank?
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Claims to be balanced... glosses over flaws
- By Us 5 Camp on 07-03-18
- Douglas MacArthur
- American Warrior
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: Henry Strozier
A new appreciation
Reviewed: 05-21-23
Well worth the long listen. My farther served with General MacArthur in WWII and relayed his admiration for him on many occasions. Amazing how we see his forward thinking playing out in the world today. A truly inspired man.
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I, Claudius
- By: Robert Graves
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is one of the best historical novels ever written. Lame, stammering Claudius, once a major embarrassment to the imperial family and now emperor of Rome, writes an eyewitness account of the reign of the first four Caesars: the noble Augustus and his cunning wife, Livia; the reptilian Tiberius; the monstrous Caligula; and finally old Claudius himself. Filled with poisonings, betrayal, and shocking excesses, I Claudius is history that rivals the most exciting contemporary fiction.
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Unsurpassed, addictive brilliance
- By Chris on 06-09-09
- I, Claudius
- By: Robert Graves
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
This story seems dated
Reviewed: 04-01-23
I enjoyed the story and narration, but the story seems dated.
Overall, it’s worth a listen, but don’t expect too much.
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The Gulag Archipelago, Volume 1
- An Experiment in Literary Investigation
- By: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 25 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Volume 1 of the gripping epic masterpiece, Solzhenitsyn's chilling report of his arrest and interrogation, which exposed to the world the vast bureaucracy of secret police that haunted Soviet society. Features a new foreword by Anne Applebaum.
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Should be required reading in US schools
- By Richard on 01-01-21
- The Gulag Archipelago, Volume 1
- An Experiment in Literary Investigation
- By: Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
Excellent and Spooky at the same time
Reviewed: 03-24-22
So much of what was written in these volumes are once again ahead of us. Dwell in the past, lose one eye. Forget the past, lose both eyes. This should be required reading for all kids. Excellent performance too.
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Beyond the Black Stump
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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When Stanton Laird, American geologist, goes prospecting for the Topeka Exploration Company in the savage Australian outback, he finds something a good deal more precious than oil.
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Davina Porter is a wonderful narrator
- By Brian PDX on 07-26-14
- Beyond the Black Stump
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
A good and entertaining story
Reviewed: 02-18-22
The story is good, but without much of a point—just a story.
The only issue I had was while listening to the audio book it seemed I could hear talking or other background noise. Like a tv was playing faintly in the background of the recording. At times for me it was very annoying.
Otherwise if you are looking for an entertaining story I highly recommend this book.
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Trustee from the Toolroom
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Keith Stewart, a retiring and ingenious engineer, could not have been happier in his little house in the shabby London suburb of Ealing. There he invented the mini-motor, the six-volt generator, and the tiny Congreve clock. Then a chain of events sweeps him into deep waters and leads him to his happiest discovery yet.
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Hologram of a Decent Man
- By Jim In Texas! on 05-28-12
- Trustee from the Toolroom
- By: Nevil Shute
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
Good Story.
Reviewed: 01-15-22
A very entertaining listen/read. You will enjoy the story and performance. I rarely listen to this type of fiction but it was enjoyable.
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