Astonishingly good!

The story was brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable and all the characters were so interesting. I thought the sci-fi technology aspects were very cleverly and thoughtfully done and the cultural elements were really rich as well. The author created a fascinating world and described it so poetically. I can't wait for the next installment! It was read very well so that the characters were easy to distinguish and the emotion came through very powerfully. It is good to see sci-fi with such a strong cast of believable female characters leading the story. It had plenty of intrigue, politics, action, suspense and surprises!

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9 people found this helpful

Excessively descriptive.

I don’t mind slow drama, but the story unfolds too slowly for me and the naming conventions for people and places is a distraction.

Description feels like it gets in the way of feeling empathy for the main characters.

The narrator doesn’t feel invested in the story, though oration style is a personal thing.

Either way, after 5 hours, or a third of the book - I’ve had to return the audiobook.

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A brilliant, original story

This took no time at all for me to finish, I could barely put it down. The world, the characters, the plot, all great - complex, but not too much to get bogged down, and fast-paced without feeling rushed.

I had no issue with the narration as some reviews have mentioned. I felt the tone fit the sci-fi theme of the text and also the emotionless culture of Texcalaan. This also allowed characters to speak notably in a foreign or emotional way in comparison, so it really worked for thr story in my opinion.

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Is this read by text-to-speech software?

I can't honestly believe how terrible terrible terrible the narrator is. It's like having a book read by a text-to-speech software.
I had to find a physical copy the book in order to finish it and it is a good book but the narration is appalling beyond words. How can this person get work as a narrator it's a huge mystery! A real shame, as I suffer from severe migraines which affect my vision and I rely on audiobooks for 'reading'

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Exceptional start to this space opera series

Really superb and on par with recent greats like ancillary justice, the expanse series.

Features palace intrigue and politics, contains several surprises and a small bit of romance.

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poor narration

what seems like a good story is difficult to follow due to the poor narration.

as said by other reviers; sounds too much like siri with weird inflections and keeps. missing the end of. her sentences.

too little variation in different characters' voices makes it hard to tell who's talking.

Really have to concentrate to try to follow the story which is not what I want from an audiobook.

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Engaging and well narrated

A number of reviews I read criticised the narration of this book. I was concerned about that so listened to sample first and heard no issues. Having listened to the whole book I’m puzzled about different perceptions of what we hear. What was to me a coolly narrated story, but still expressive with each character having their own voice, was to others quite mechanical. I can only suggest that if you are concerned you too listen to a sample.

As far as the story itself was concerned; after the initial impression of information overload I was drawn in and definitely would want to read any sequels, which I’m sure will be forthcoming, there being a number of threads left loose to be picked up later without damaging the plot of this book. Two societies are shown ,but the space station society is only seen in its role as a contrast to the planet base empire. Will we see more of it next time, or learn more of the city’s algorithm?

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A rare gem

How do you measure how much love a book? Is it by how much you can't bear to put it down, and you take every opportunity to listen to a few more words or read a few more sentences, or by how much you miss the characters when the book ends, or because you fancy one of them just a bit.

I felt with this book that I lived the characters lives for a time, that I strode the pavements and corridors of the city with them.

The world the author created had depth, complexity and a great verisimilitude. I could not have lived this story more and the boundary between the imagined and the actual became permeable, and I was briefly unsure which was more subjectively ‘real’. I gasped aloud at one point, and laughed at others, causing my family to look askance more than once.

I felt early on it may become predictable, and I would tick off the necessary plot points as they occurred, but actually it surprised me, right up to the denouement, sometimes in ways that were unwelcome as I didn’t wish those events of my friends. And at the end I wept, in relief, in sorrow and in a single dashed hope.

I split my reading between the Kindle edition and the Audio Book, the clipped tones and flawless delivery of Amy Landon very well suited to this novel, and when it came to the last pages, I wanted them to be in her voice.

This is a rare gem of a book. Read it, savour it, love it and look forward very much to the sequel, and future works from this author.

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Simply fabulous

Strongly recommend to fans of space opera. One of the finest of have every read. The performance is also just perfect.

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Engaging political intrigue

i really enjoyed the political intrigue and the discussions around wanted to be accepted by the oppressor. The world building is reach and interesting and the writing phenomenal.

I was put off by the very monotone narration.

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