A review by simply_sam
Earthrise by M.C.A. Hogarth

3.0

Alright, here it goes. A semi-crappy review bulked up with some pretty crappy pics but honestly, it's all I have the brain cells for anymore.

I purchased and listened to the audio for this one, and I'll be honest, I don't think he was a great choice for this book.





Big shocker there, right?


His voice was way too raspy, whispery, and gravelly for the role. He sounds like he should be voicing an old-time, down and out cowboy like this,



not a 30 year old woman like this,



I listened to bits in the car and my daughter even cringed listening. She said he just sounded like Batman reading different lines. So I guess he could even look like this:



Oops! Wrong Batman. But you get my drift.

I don't mean to be disparaging to the narrator. I can totally see his voice being perfect for other roles....just not this one.

It took me several starts and stops before I decided to push through it and acclimate. Unfortunately that never really happened. I feel like the narration kept me disconnected from the characters and pulled me right out of the story.



If I had time to actually sit down and read, I think I would have enjoyed this one much more than I did. I know that there is a good story here. I loved the cast (aside from Reese, who is just prickly, irrational, and rude---and who I hope ends up growing as a character.) Who wouldn't love overly amorous cat people (think Khajiit), phoenixes, and space elves?



I mean come on, that's a winning combination. Add mysterious benefactors, slave trades, harems, romance novels, inter-planetary travel, and extreme matriarchal societies and you have yourself a fun space opera. However, that last like 50% of the book just felt like it dragged on, and on, and on.



When the last line was read, my only thought was, "Finally." That can't be good, right? Again, I really think it was due to the poor narrator choice and not the content of the story. I'm even going to give book 2 a shot.



I'm giving it a solid 3 stars. I thought about going 3.5 stars but in the end it just felt too long and Reese got on my nerves for the majority of the book.

Initial Review:
Wow, I feel like I've been listening to this book for-ehhhhh-verrrrrrr. I think it's in part because I didn't like the narrator and truly felt he was not a good choice for the part (maybe another part, maybe another book, just not this one), but also because the last 40% or so of the book seemed to drag on. It's bad when the audio comes to an end and the only thing I can think to say is, "Finally."

RTC. Maybe. Hopefully. But we all know how that goes...