DWD's Reviews

Published by Random House Audio in November of 2017. Read by the author, Denis Leary. Duration: 6 hours, 36 minutes. Unabridged. This sequel to his 2008 book, Why We Suck: A Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid, is an up and down work and not quite as good as his earlier effort. Why We Don't Suck starts out very strong, with Denis Leary lashing out at both of the main candidates in the 2016 Presidential Election and their uncritical supporters. The book slows down as Leary tells the story of 11 Americans that inspire him.  After that, the book nearly grinds to a halt as Leary sort of meanders about being critical of a number of things. He settles on religion for a while, gets into a convoluted discussion of cursing and also launches into an extended bit that starts as a riff off of President Trump's featuring Twitter feeds but devolves into "What if...?" Twitter feeds of past Presidents and, sadly, expands to include other world leaders, including ...

Lackluster characters hurt a very interesting premise Read by David Colacci Published by Tantor Media, November 2010. Duration: 9 hours, 56 minutes, Unabridged. Ultra-prolific author Alan Dean Foster introduces yet another series with The Human Blend , the first installment of a trilogy set in a relatively near-future Savannah, Georgia. In this interesting new world the direst predictions about global warming have come true. America’s southern states have become near-tropical. Flooding ocean waters have buried coastal cities, forced them to move onto stilts or have caused cities to move inland. Much of Florida is underwater, the Everglades have swallowed the rest. Political changes have swept the world as well. The United States is now part of a larger country called Namerica. Several countries in Asia are equal to, if not more important than Namerica. The moon, Mars and Jupiter’s moon Titan have been colonized as well. Alan Dean Foster But, the most important changes ar...

  I liked Glory Lane , with the single glaring exception of... Alan Dean Foster ...all three human characters. They do not grow. They remain petty, impudent little pests and I found myself wondering why the other races tolerated the human species if this was all the better that they were going to meet! Seriously, the actual sci-fi was top-notch. There were a multitude of worlds and species that were well-done. But, it was marred by the inclusion of a punk rocker, a geek and a ditzy blond who continued to bicker, and sometimes actually fistfight with one another, no matter the situation. I wish he'd haven given that aspect of the story a rest. I rate this book 3 stars out of 5. Reviewed on May 15, 2005.