Third Eye

A somewhat shameful (on my part) DNF. The story was fine, but a little uninvolving, probably because this is a basically a radio play rather than a book. Given this constraint, a lot of the scene-setting was left to the foley work and music, which, while ok, didn't really make up for the lack of show-don't-tell. I made it to around 60%, but then started to get distracted by other, better things in my TBR list.

This story odd worth listening to for the production value alone. Very well done. 

Laurel is a chosen one who fails to win the battle of the evil lord and now lives with the shame of failure when someone who believes in her comes along. 

I really like the way this story turns the chosen one trope on its head. It also challenges us to look at the expectations we have for ourselves in our lives and whether they are realistic. 

Overall, great production, fun humor, and good food for thought. 

Fun Cast of Voices

I stumbled upon this book as part of our tradition of reading 12 books a year with my partner, who chose this month's selection. Little did I know that Felicia Day, known for her roles in “Supernatural” and her work on “Dollhouse,” was also a writer! While the audiobook and the diverse cast of characters added flair to the journey, I found myself unable to rate it higher than three stars.

The plot follows the familiar trajectory of a “Chosen One” narrative, with protagonist Laurel raised in San Francisco with the knowledge of her destiny to confront and vanquish the formidable evil, Tybus. However, despite her efforts, Laurel fails, resulting in the loss of magic for everyone except those who join the oppressive regime. Now an outcast, Laurel leads a solitary existence, with only two companions: vampire Frank and fairy Sybil.

Enter Kate, a seemingly ordinary girl who defies expectations by possessing knowledge and abilities beyond the norm. As events unfold, questions arise: is this a chance for redemption? Was Laurel truly destined for heroism? What secrets lie beneath the surface?

While the fantasy storyline may adhere to familiar tropes, it's Felicia Day's playful subversion of these conventions that injects the narrative with charm and wit. Her unabashed embrace of nerd culture adds an extra layer of enjoyment to the reading experience. Though personally, I didn't find myself as deeply connected to the story as I had hoped, I still believe it's a worthwhile read, particularly for those who appreciate Day's brand of humor and storytelling.

Despite my reservations, I'm intrigued to explore more of Day's writing, particularly her memoir, which I plan to pick up before the year's end. Keep an eye out for further reviews to come!

So this isn't exactly a book. More like an audio program I guess. Each “chapter” is an episode. There is sound effects and music. Each character is played by a different actor.

As a format, I think this is great, and would consume more stories this way. In my early days of getting into audiobooks I borrowed some BBC Sherlock Holmes stuff that worked the same way, and I'm surprised there haven't been more like this. If I was rating just the audio portion, it would be an easy 5 stars.

One improvement I'd love to see is some kind of full cast list posted somewhere (ideally in text, not audio, but I'd take an audio update over nothing). There are so many characters and I recognize some of the voices but not all. I was only able to find some partial lists on various sites, but nothing on audible or Felicia's website. I'm not sure if this warrants an IMDB page, but I love how IMDB has pages for TV Episodes because I often use them to look up someone and try to jog my memory as to what else I've seen them in before.

With regards to the actual story, I had mixed feelings. Some of the humor was great, but a lot of it didn't work for me. That's always going to be subjective though.

I also didn't find any of the characters very likeable though, which is my bigger issue. I thought they were interesting characters, but I like to have something to “root” for. I guess I was rooting for Laurel, but often I was just frustrated with her.

My favorite character was probably Robicus (not sure I'm spelling that right). It may be that I'm partial to Wil Wheaton, or maybe it's just you're not supposed to like him, so I thought that was well done.

Overall, I thought this was enjoyable but not amazing. I do love that it was a self contained story. That's so rare these days. Everything is a series. If you like fantasy, and nerdy humor and/or are a fan of The Guild this one is probably worth a listen. Probably closer to 3.5 stars than 3, but not quite 4 for me.