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ReclusiveGeek

@reclusivegeek.bsky.social
2 followers 1 following 17 posts

For me, the primary factor for whether I'll enjoy an audiobook is how engaging I find the content. Other factors are important too, but if it loses my attention, there's almost no getting it back.

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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
To emphasize my point about larger casts for audiobooks not always being better: Nigel Planer did such a good job with the earlier Discworld books that the newer versions on Audible don't compare will, IMO. There's nothing particularly wrong with them, but I like the older ones better.
This is the cover art for the audiobooks of Mort, by Terry Pratchett.
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
I love the Dresden Files, but let's be honest, for someone with ADHD, the first three audiobooks are hard to pay attention to. It doesn't really get great till halfway through book 3. This dramatized version of Storm Front, however, held my attention all the way through. I strongly recommend it!
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
If you have ADHD, and you found it hard to pay attention to the audiobooks for the Murderbot Diaries, I strongly Recommend you give the GraphicAudio versions a shot. I don't usually prefer the dramatized adaptation over the normal audiobook, but in this case I really do.
This is the cover for the GraphicAudio versions of All Systems Red by Martha Wells
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
I don't know why I'm on such a time loop kick right now, but I'm enjoying it. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North deals with life long looping, rather than the more common shorter loops. It's also less family friendly, but extremely engaging regardless. I Recommend it.
This is the cover of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August.
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
I just finished yet another relisten to Mother of Learning books 1-4 by Domagoj Kurmaic. Yes, there's a little Harry Potter and Groundhogs Day here, but it's very much its own thing. This is the stereotype of progression fantasy refined to perfection. It's truly Exceptional!
This is the cover at for the audiobook of Mother of Learning arc 2
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Bad guys lie. Villains lie well.
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
If you've finished Wind and Truth, I strongly Recommend going back and relistening to The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson. I think it probably represents what the next Cosmere books are going to be like. I might also recommend The Sunlit Man, but that narrator doesn't hold my attention, so no.
This is the cover art for The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
It's too reductive to refer to Time-Marked Warlock by Shami Stovali as a Groundhogs Day version of Dresden Files. But that will give you the overall shape of the story here. It's good, and if you like Dresden Files, I Recommend this too.
This is the cover image of Time-Marked Warlock by Shami Stovall
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson doesn't have the same emotional gut punch as Rhythm of War. However, it does integrate more Cosmere plot threads than any other book. And the Kaladin v Nale conflict is the greatest example of a slow burn Chekhov's gun I've ever seen. Genuinely Exceptional.
This is the cover art for Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson absolutely wrecked me the first time I listened to it. Now that book 5 of The Stormlight Archive is coming out Friday, I had to go back and relisten to book 4. It's still Exceptional, and I appreciated a lot more of the details this time around too.
This is the cover art for Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson.
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
I'm currently listening to book 14 of The Wandering Inn by Pirateaba. Given my ADHD, that says something. Sometimes the series is too angsty, or too dark, but I always come back to it when I'm looking for something new and engaging. It's Recommendable, if you're looking for something Good and Long.
This is the cover art for The Wandering Inn by Pirateaba
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
I enjoyed listening to Only Villains Do That books 1 & 2 by D. D. Webb and then completely forgot about them after listening to All The Dust That Falls by Zaifyr. I had to listen to the intro again just to remember what they were about. Given that, they're somewhere between Recommendable and Meh.
This is the cover art for Only Villains Do That by D. D. Webb
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
The first book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman was engaging enough to pull me through to the next book, but the second book lost me. I'm ADHD, and once you lose my attention, it's damn hard to get it back. That doesn't make it bad; just not for me. DNF
This is the cover art for Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinnaman.
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Between by L. L. Starling gave me some serious Molly Harper vibes. Vibes that Molly Harper herself hasn't given me since the end of the Jane Jameson story arc a long time ago. In fact, Between might be better. If you're looking for a fun romantic(ish) Urban Fantasy, Between is Exceptional.
This is the cover art for Between by L. L. Starling
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Reborn as a Demonic Tree by Xkarnation has an interesting premise, and a compelling enough world to make the first book entertaining. The second book didn't hold my interest, though. The first book is Recommendable, but the second is DNF, so far.
This is the cover art for Reborn as a Demonic Tree book 2 by Xkarnation
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Not Till We Are Lost by Dennis E. Taylor is the fifth book in the Bobiverse series. If you want good escapist fun scifi, you can't go wrong with the Bobiverse. Like most books in the series, it's Exceptional.
This is the cover art for Not Till We are Lost by Dennis E. Taylor
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ReclusiveGeek @reclusivegeek.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
All the Dust that Falls by Zaifyr is one of those light and fun books that really helped divert my attention from unpleasantness recently. I rate it, and the two following audiobooks in the series as Very Recommendable!
This is the cover art for All the Dust that Falls by Zaifyr
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