Peter Bondy
- 15
- reviews
- 14
- helpful votes
- 26
- ratings
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Record of a Spaceborn Few
- Wayfarers, Book 3
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but while this has opened doors for many, those who have not yet left for alien cities fear that their carefully cultivated way of life is under threat. Tessa chose to stay home when her brother, Ashby, left for the stars but has to question that decision when her position in the Fleet is threatened. Kip, a reluctant young apprentice, itches for change but doesn't know where to find it.
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Unique
- By Peter Bondy on 29-10-2018
- Record of a Spaceborn Few
- Wayfarers, Book 3
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez
Unique
Reviewed: 29-10-2018
Becky Chambers; a singular voice in science fiction bringing a humanity to our future like no one else ever has. Absolutely beautifully written and a story of life affirming beauty.
Patricia Rodriguez; the perfect narrator sets this book alive with absolutely sublime reading.
Not full of space battles and laser beams but rather a more profound and intimate look at life in space amongst aliens and the stars.
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A Closed and Common Orbit
- Wayfarers, Book 2
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Lovelace was once merely a ship's artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body following a total system shutdown and reboot, she has to start over in a synthetic body, in a world where her kind are illegal. She's never felt so alone. But she's not alone, not really. Pepper, one of the engineers who risked life and limb to reinstall Lovelace, is determined to help her adjust to her new world. Because Pepper knows a thing or two about starting over.
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Sci Fi for the thinker
- By lavender on 05-10-2018
- A Closed and Common Orbit
- Wayfarers, Book 2
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez
SF doesn’t get better than this.
Reviewed: 26-09-2018
Well that’s true if you don’t mind a lack of laser guns and space battles. It’s a real breath of fresh air to have a SF novel that deals with the humanity of the future rather than potential conflicts or crises.
Beautifully paced and an intriguing story give this novel a really emotional core.
Patricia does an impeccable job as narrator and I have to say her work for s perfection and caps off a very entraining audiobook that I can’t recommend highly enough.
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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
- Wayfarers, Book 1
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Firefly meets Mass Effect in this thrilling self-published debut! When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that's seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past. But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer.
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Yawn
- By simon on 16-12-2017
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
- Wayfarers, Book 1
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez
This is what audiobooks are all about!
Reviewed: 12-08-2018
I don’t think any sci-fi fan would be disappointed with this book. Very good story with a terrific collection of characters. There is a philosophical bent here and there which I enjoy. This is science fiction at its best.
Then add to that perfect narration by Patricia and you have a wonderfully entertaining listen. Her interpretation of the different characters is absolutely sublime. Subtle and clever she truly brings the characters and their emotions to life. So much so I’m an going to find other books she has narrated just because of her work here.
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The Casual Vacancy
- By: J.K. Rowling
- Narrated by: Tom Hollander
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early 40s, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils.... Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen.
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Fantastic
- By Lindal Brown on 06-08-2016
- The Casual Vacancy
- By: J.K. Rowling
- Narrated by: Tom Hollander
Excellent
Reviewed: 20-03-2018
A truly wonderful and nuanced book full of personalities, complex relationships and insightful observations about men, women, children and personal politics.
Excellently narrated and perfectly paced.
Rowling has a keen eye for observing human behaviour and motivation and her writing conveys perfectly her characters humanity and complexity.
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The Secret Life of the Mind
- How Our Brain Thinks, Feels and Decides
- By: Mariano Sigman
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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A vast yet compact view of cognitive neuroscience, a groundbreaking, personal and comprehensive guide into understanding our thoughts. In the last 20 years, Mariano Sigman has journeyed to the core of the brain, an organ formed by nearly an infinity of neurons that manufacture how we perceive, reason, feel, dream and communicate. After more than two decades of research, he has zoomed out from a thorough excursion to the neurons to seeing the brain from afar, where thoughts begin to take shape.
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Fascinating, remarkable, insightful.
- By Peter Bondy on 12-06-2017
- The Secret Life of the Mind
- How Our Brain Thinks, Feels and Decides
- By: Mariano Sigman
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
Fascinating, remarkable, insightful.
Reviewed: 12-06-2017
What a fantastic listen this is. It is so crammed full of information and covers such a broad range of topics I will defiantly need to listen several times.
And beyond purely information, Sigman interprets clinical research, both his and others, to give a truly comprehensive insight into current understanding of how our brain works and why we behave the way we do.
And still further, there are philosophical issues contemplated like recreational drug use and the meaning of "normal".
Me only disappointment with the book, and why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars , is that it is too short. There was so much more detail I wanted to hear about and so many topics are cut a little short.
The narration is very good and instils a lot of meaning and is neat faultless.
I can't imagine anyone interested in how our minds work and why we behave and think the way we do not being truly entertained and fascinated by this book.
Highly recommended.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Seveneves
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Peter Brooke
- Length: 32 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The astounding new novel from the master of science fiction. What would happen if the world were ending? When a catastrophic event renders the Earth a ticking time bomb, it triggers a feverish race against the inevitable. An ambitious plan is devised to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere. But unforeseen dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain....
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Good book, terrible performance
- By K. Gough on 13-10-2015
- Seveneves
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Peter Brooke
Disappointing
Reviewed: 08-03-2017
An interesting premise but a somewhat tedious and lack lustre result in my opinion. The story also felt unbalanced and in need of a good edit.
Add to that no particularly likeable characters and I would say this is an average listening experience.
If you know the author and like his work I'm sure you will enjoy this. If you don't, like me, you may be disappointed.
Narration is competent.
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Under a Pole Star
- By: Stef Penney
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron, Thomas Judd
- Length: 20 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Follow the path to the freezing north. Follow your ambition. Follow your heart. Flora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of 12. Years later, in 1892, determination and chance lead her back to northern Greenland as a scientist at the head of a British expedition, defying the expectations of those who believe a woman has no place in that harsh world. Geologist Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan. Yearning for wider horizons, he joins a rival expedition.
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Wonderful performances.
- By Jennifer R. on 02-12-2016
- Under a Pole Star
- By: Stef Penney
- Narrated by: Cathleen McCarron, Thomas Judd
Excellent storytelling, disappointing narration.
Reviewed: 13-12-2016
An excellent book for those who love the days of great explorers and historical novels. Or love stories, iconoclasts and powerful women.
Cathleen's narration is excellent and I relished the chapters she reads. They are full of heart and energy and to me wonderfully interpreted.
Though definitely not a deal breaker, for me I sadly found Thomas's narration frustrating and distracting. His cadence and rhythm felt wrong. He would finish a phrase with the same pause and downward tone he finished a sentence.
Even with this complaint I still enjoyed the listen and would happily recommend it with that one caveat.
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Why Does E=MC2 and Why Should We Care
- By: Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw
- Narrated by: Jeff Forshaw
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In one of the most exciting and accessible explanations of The Theory of Relativity in recent years, Professors Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw go on a journey to the frontier of 21st century science to consider the real meaning behind the iconic sequence of symbols that make up Einstein's most famous equation, exploring the principles of physics through everyday life.
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A terrific explanation of E=MC2
- By Peter Bondy on 01-06-2016
- Why Does E=MC2 and Why Should We Care
- By: Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw
- Narrated by: Jeff Forshaw
A terrific explanation of E=MC2
Reviewed: 01-06-2016
This book gives a deep and complete explanation of Einstein's brilliant insight and equation in language that is fairly easy to follow and with a minimum of maths.
That said I've still listened to it 3 times to keep some of the concepts clear in my mind and I'm sure I'll be listening again. That's because space time is a difficult thing for us to grasp. However this book does an excellent job of giving clever thought experiments and understandable explanations of the various aspects of the theory.
There are also many insights I'd never been aware of before like why the speed of light is a universal speed limit.
The maths involved is not overly complex though I found it helpful to write down the maths involved so I could follow it more easily.
There are many aspects to understanding the subject and the book devotes a chapter to each. This provides a clear framework from which to glean a deeper insight into Einstein's work.
Overall I have not come across a better or more complete explanation of this famous and important equation. Even if you are familiar with the concepts (like I thought I was) I feel it describes and connects the various concepts in a clever, insightful and satisfying way that has given me a more complete understanding.
I now feel I could explain E=MC2 to an interested party with confidence!
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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No Shortcuts to the Top
- Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
- By: Ed Viesturs, David Roberts
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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For 18 years, Ed Viesturs pursued climbing's holy grail: to stand atop the world's 14 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go.
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Addictive!
- By Anonymous User on 07-12-2018
- No Shortcuts to the Top
- Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
- By: Ed Viesturs, David Roberts
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
Disappointing
Reviewed: 11-04-2016
Unfortunately this book does not live up to its potential. Some heavy editing and rewriting was required before publication.
Far too much time is spent discussing sponsorship, love life, and generally fluffing around between climbs with virtually no climbing descriptions and anecdotes except pretty much in passing. Just when you think you are in for some climbing stories he moves on to post climb waffle.
I have no interest in him buying a house, getting more sponsors or hooking up with some looker. It seems to me he doesn't even enjoy climbing. There is no reason to suspect he does other than that he keeps doing it.
I suppose if you enjoy learning what a climbers general life is like you will enjoy the book. If you are interested in sharing in the thrill that climbing must be, you will be disappointed I suggest.
The readers performance is adequate though uninspired. I can't blame him given the material he had to read.
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SPQR
- A History of Ancient Rome
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Ancient Rome matters. Its history of empire, conquest, cruelty and excess is something against which we still judge ourselves. Its myths and stories - from Romulus and Remus to the rape of Lucretia - still strike a chord with us. And its debates about citizenship, security and the rights of the individual still influence our own debates on civil liberty today. SPQR is a new look at Roman history from one of the world's foremost classicists.
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This excellent history of Ancient Rome
- By David on 07-12-2015
- SPQR
- A History of Ancient Rome
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
Poor sound ruins any potential
Reviewed: 31-03-2016
I found the sound quality unacceptable. The readers performance was lacklustre and uninspired though still acceptable. The recording quality on the other hand was unprofessional and ultimately unlistenable for me. Muffled and at times unintelligible.
Given all that I found it impossible to really get lost in the actual book or appreciate the quality of the writing or research. I would say it would have been enjoyable and satisfying with proper sound.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful