Overwhelmingly wonderful
938102
Highly engaging and spiritually uplifting. I have a renewed interest in the world. David blends history, science and religion to explain some of the great mysteries of our existence and the coming age of enlightenment and human progress. He is as engaging as he is intelligent and sometimes creates highly scientific reasons for his explanations, but if you stick with him and think about his conclusions you very soon will see the human light. Synchronicity is the key to our existence and to the betterment of mankind as a whole. You'll be forever changed when you read this book.
4473826
Absolutely, fantabulous, a must read for all ages!!!
3794535
More than 5 stars worth.  Beyond delightful.  Creative, imaginative.  Great voices, wonderful selections to hear and see.  The kids are impressive in their grasp and ability to talk about poetry - the depth of understanding and the ability to articulate both the understanding and how poems make them feel...so good that I had to stop the dvd a few times to take it in.  The adult voices - actors and the poets themselves - and the voices of the kids mesh perfectly.  Am ordering a copy for a birthday gift for a 6 year old and would not object if someone gave me a copy for my birthday.  A half hour of pure delight.
3655774
Let me provide a little context. I am an old guy, in my early 60s. I grew up with rock and have never lost my passion for it. For decades my favorite band was Yes. A number of years ago they were deposed by Mike Scott and the Waterboys. The Flower Kings had some time in the spotlight and there were probably others, like Brian Wilson and eels that hovered at or near the top. Earlier this year however I became completely besotted by Matt Bellamy and Muse. Their live CDs were incredible. I thought there would be some stability at the top of my list, but it was not to be.

I have been a big fan of Airborne since their first CD came out. I happen to regard Sometime Around Midnight as one of the top five or so songs ever put together.

Then along came this DVD. The first thing that jumps out at me about it is that the title song, All I Ever Wanted, is fully the equal of Midnight, something I never considered possible. It is poetic, gargantuan, fragile and has perhaps the greatest buildup of grandeur and passion from start to finish that I have ever heard in my life.

This DVD left me crying. It is so extraordinary, not just for the wonderful music played absolutely perfectly, but for the insight into the folks in the band. The more I learn about Mikell Jollett, the more I regard him as one of the most brilliant folks on earth. Have you ever read any of his writing? He's a magnificent writer who kind of reminds me of David Foster Wallace. He was well along writing his first novel, aided by a healthy advance from a major publishing house, when his personal life just collapsed and he decided to switch to music. In a way, their first CD can be viewed as a soundtrack for a novel, which would be a first. Mikell is very new to music, which is hard to believe. He brings a brilliant melodic sense, a great gift for lyrics, a magnificent and powerful voice, an incredibly emotional presentation and one of the greatest smiles on earth. Check out the moment when the grade school choir gets their first ovation from the audience and Mikell turns back to look at them with this amazing smile. They all seem like marvelous people and their musicianship is breathtaking, especially if you consider the Calder Quartet to be a real part of the group, which I do.

To my ears and eyes this is the most powerful and wonderful music DVD I have ever seen. It would serve as a perfect introduction to the band, which is now, I must admit, my favorite in all the world. I beg everyone reading this to check this out. YouTube has a clip up from the DVD of the band doing All I Ever Wanted. If you can resist that overwhelming piece of music, you should watch it again.

I will stop now. Enjoy.
2075448
Absolutely beautiful, inspiring, glorious.  Need I say more?
496642
Each word, almost each and every separate word is like a natural, richly colored landscape  painting.  The music of Michel Legrand and Jessye Norman's voice : a wonderful combination of quality and craftmanship. I admire those two musicians in their own field, but now together, stunning !
It's pure gold. This collaboration embodies a wonderful honesty, authenticity, subtlety, and incandescence...qualities that are very rare nowadays. It's a must have for anyone who appreciates the subtle, sublime and the unpretentious. This album simply could not be better.
I'd like to give this CD countless stars for splendid recording.
1039190
This is a hauntingly beautiful tale, masterfully narrated.

When James Joyce invites us to this intimate gathering (based on visits to his aunts in his childhood), he also lets us into his heart. And Dubliner Tadhg Hynes enlivens each character with tenderness and wit.

In fact, the story hardly seems narrated at all. It's as if an old friend is confiding a treasured memory in Joyce's own cadences. Each character is illuminated. Every droll comment shines. Most important, the warmth of the reading awakens profound empathy and a sense of wonder.

Just listen to the sample of the narration, available on Audible.com.  Or listen to Hynes' delightful narration of Episode 12 of Ulysses on YouTube -

I believe that you, too, will feel the magic!
3601062
I went into this book tentatively and I was completely blown away. It is well crafted, well balanced, fantastical and grounded; the characters become your old friends, and the circus itself comes alive. I cannot find the words to adequately describe my love for this book, so I shall stop myself short and just say, read it.
3350161
ABOVE WORLD is so original, so fantastic, and most of all, just so much FUN. It's science fiction adventure told with all the mythic feel of epic fantasy, so readers get mermaids, centaurs, and flying people, but with a scientific explanation underneath - and such a powerful sense of wonder filling every single scene.

As Aluna and her best friend Hoku leave the safety of their underwater home to travel across a dazzling, mythic landscape, facing danger from every side, they take part in incredible action scenes, but also heart-breaking emotions and so many moments that made me suck in my breath in sheer awe. Jenn Reese is so, so good at conjuring up incredible visuals in her writing - this book gives readers the kind of breath-taking vistas and heart-pounding action of the best fantasy films imaginable, but with rock-solid plotting and incredible characterization to anchor it all.

I could go on for ages about everything I love about this book, from Aluna's strength and warrior mindset to Hoku's wonderful geekiness and how well the two of them complement each other as friends (and how much I love the celebration of true friendship in this novel, as opposed to romance - but also how much I love the romances that develop for both Aluna and Hoku along the way!) - but to sum it up, here's the review I wrote on Goodreads over a year ago, having been lucky enough to read early drafts of the novel pre-publication:

"Super-fun science-fiction adventure for kids, with genetically-engineered mermaids and girls with wings AND incredible fighting skills. Deep, important friendships and sweet first romance. This book has everything, and I love it so much."
3386419
I wished for such a long time to get this book, and I was thrilled when my wish came thru, I was given this book as a gift. I had high expectations, and hopes which is natural for something you looked forward to. Still this book managed to trump everything I had hoped for. Its simply magically wonderfull.
The characters you meet, both human and other are vivid, complex, and has the imperfections that makes them viable, likable and easy to relate to. The story is magnificent, magical, and exciting, twists and unforseen things makes things highly alluring and intriguing.
It is one of those books that won't be going out of fashion when popularity directs trends in books, It has the allure that only can be found in books that is creating the very core of this eras classical books. As well as bygone eras have their classical masterpieces, this era has as well, and this is without a doubt one of them.
A Deep courtesy and appreciation to this author for writing this magical book.
4689212
Phenomenal. Simply phenomenal. How was I unaware of this book for so long?
3647025
(Dear reader, please note: this is a review for the audiobook, not the printed version :))

I bought this audiobook yesterday, motivated by my unadulterated admiration for the inimitable Michael Emerson, who narrates the story.  The reviews for the book itself were a mixed bag but I figured "12 straight hours of Emerson's voice? Yes, please!" and went ahead and bought it.

As it was late in the evening when I got around to starting it, I initially intended to listen to it an hour or two before going to sleep.  Six hours later I was still wide awake, unable to tear myself away from the intoxicating world I had walked into.

Passionate though I am about the past, the history of the United States was never a topic that interested me much, and thus 'The Amalgamation Polka' is not the sort of book I would normally go for; but from the beginning I found myself genuinely absorbed by the author's ability to create such a thoroughly believable and interesting world of yesteryear's Haves and Have Nots; characters so realistic, so un-contrived, that one instantly forgets they are fictional.

The brilliant narrator's extensive range of accents-- perfectly breathing life into each and every one, from the aging slave to the Cockney pirate to the posh English rose-- contributed enormously to the experience and had me thoroughly hooked throughout.  The heavy scenes are read with solemn gravity, making you feel like an invisible witness to the goings on.  But there is plenty of humour to be found throughout, and if you're as tickled by cantankerous curmudgeons drawling old-timey expressions as I am, you will no doubt find yourself laughing out loud in parts.

The attention to detail, both on the part of the author and the narrator, are what make this audiobook such a gem.  The use of language and the dialogues are just delicious and make this work so effortlessly captivating to the listener.  This is without a doubt a fascinating slice of the past I will be enjoying again and again.
37196
I've read the Lord of the Rings at least two dozen times or more, and it is far and away my favorite book of all time.  Although each time I've re-read it I have gotten yet more and more out of it, listening to this unabridged reading has made me appreciate the work even more, if possible.  Listening to it without the printed page before your eyes renders everything so much more vividly it is truly astonishing.  It also modulates the pacing of the experience, since it takes longer to read aloud than to read silently in your head.  And you can appreciate the nuances of Tolkien's elegant and stately prose style so much more this way, too.
Rob Inglis's reading is wonderful.  His vocal characterizations are excellent, particularly for Gollum, Treebeard, Gimli and Gandalf.  His emotional range is a bit narrow, unfortunately, and some of his intonations can be a bit repetitive or occasionally off, but this does not really detract from the whole.  An especially nice thing is that he actually sings each of the songs that are interspersed throughout the story.  I don't know where the melodies came from, but they are very fitting, with a sort of English folk-music style that fits in perfectly with the ambience of the whole.
Listening to these CD's has been absolutely delightful in every way.  I am going to be so, so sad when I get to the end, I must just turn right around and start them over again!
469177
I'd offer a plot summary or a commentary on the magnificent language or the incredibly compelling story, but I'm the 423rd person to review this book and plenty of others have said what I would say. Instead, I say only this: If you only read one book this year, this would not be a bad choice at all. I picked it up on a whim and hardly ever put it down again; every day I would come to work and tell my coworkers how incredibly good this book was and when I finished I wanted everyone in my life to read it, too. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be mesmerized. Enjoy.
724031
There's so much in this slim volume that I'm not sure where to start.  Here's the TLDR version:  it's an utter delight, and you should buy it immediately.

Our hero is a graphic designer with some meager programming skills who is left jobless by the recession.  He finds new work as a bookstore clerk, and soon discovers that the store is much more than it seems.  His quest to uncover its secrets leads only to mysteries, eventually sending him not only across the country but (figuratively) back in time to when the technology to make books widely accessible first became available.

The "I love the smell of glue" crowd is represented, as are the "print is already dead" folks.  Neither are wrong, because the book as object *and* the book as text are important in different ways.  The vast power of the Internet is harnessed, often to great effect, but human handcraft is also vital.

That would be plenty, but there's so much more.  For instance, consider the idea -- so casually tossed off -- that the world is simply filled with secret societies, the only hitch being that most of them don't realize that they're secret.  Or ponder how the standard adventuring party from role-playing games, when the roles are translated into modern terms, actually is a fine combination of human resources for accomplishing a goal quickly.  Or think on how movable-type presses were, in their day, the equivalent of a young Internet -- a new technology with limitless and thrilling potential to open vistas theretofore undreamed-of.

It's missing a few things, most notably combat and sex.  I didn't miss them.  I didn't even really notice their lack until I sat down to write this review.  There's no need for faux excitement when there's so much genuine excitement.  The book is so full of *story,* not to mention ideas, that the pages very nearly turn of their own accord.

Buy it.  Read it.  Rethink parts of your world.
450661
Absolutely magnificent. Wow. This has everything that makes reading worthwhile and then some. There were a few times during the reading of this that I might have had a bad day and words from the characters actually felt real enough that it made ME feel better. That is a gift and this book has it. I can't wait for the next book, I'm looking for it as soon as finish this review. I don't buy books with so much on the internet being free...but this is a series that I WILL be buying.
638776
Unexpectedly brilliant, one of my top 20 all time favs!