Normally, it’s pretty easy for me to figure out which threads of an unfamiliar story to grab hold to as I start something new. This one? Not so much.
I listened, hoping that the next chapter would tie things together, clarify who people were, why I should care, what the plotline was in whatever form it took, and do on. Never happened.
This was an Anthology of sorts, which I knew going in, but I had thought that – like many anthologies – the format would involve a certain amount of character/universe introduction and/or set up. I was hoping that to be the case, as I’ve been watching for sci fi/fantasy series to start since my existing series are winding down now. I like quirky and off the wall, twists and turns with good humor and bad puns. I got all that here, but no story.
The closest I came to identifying a story was (very mild spoiler) the segment regarding the pregnant passenger and post-delivery problems. But I still couldn’t connect that to the rest of the book, nor to anything else. And the last story was just plain odd. Amusing and cognitively challenging in a way, but odd. Came pretty much out of nowhere.
As I recall, this was one of the Audible Original selections. I could be wrong. But if it was, and if somehow despite my usual precautions I managed to pick up a mid-series book instead of one at the beginning, then perhaps this would make more sense to me. I may go back to check.
Be that as it may, this was one of the few books I have considered not finishing. The primary reason I DID finish it was that the other books I am listening to are pretty deep historical non-fiction dives into some heavy subject matter, and this was light enough to clear my head while not overly concerning myself with trying to remember much about it since it already made no sense. (Though I do actually like the small scene in the saloon right before the big reveal – vague enough for you? It WAS an odd choice. But I agree it was a great song.)
Mixed feelings on this one. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. Couldn’t keep track of nor identify with/care about the characters with no plotline to anchor them to, so it was not listened to with the attention I would normally devote to a book, and that does, I’m sure, affect my view of it.
HOWEVER.
The absolute BEST part, for me, was the inclusion of audio outtakes at the end. I have always really enjoyed a good blooper reel, and given that for a time I was an audiobook technical editor, hearing this portion of the recording brought back a lot of memories as well as a big, genuine smile to my face. Love those last few minutes, I really do. I think more authors who do humorous work should consider permitting such things in their finished audio production, whether they read the book themselves or have a professional voice actor or narrator read it.