B.V. Larson - Star Force 1 - Swarm

Audiobook Review.

I'm not entirely sure what attracts people in these books. Like the previous B.V. Larson books, there is something off about them, almost something stupid. It isn't that the man can't write. He can, perhaps with a little false pathos, but the writing itself isn't that bad. By itself...

But there's so much wrong with this, I'm not even sure where to start...

If not the writing, then what?

I hate to say it, but the stories themselves are bad. And still this 'Star Force' series made it to twelve installments!

Not the concept, not the idea behind, and sometimes not even the scenes or the consequences. It's just that it all seems so shallow, superficial. Once you start thinking about the stuff he writes it all lacks sense. There are technical impossibilities, gigantic loopholes, plot holes, and the main character is more often than not the 'farmboy who becomes general and gets the ten year younger girl' or something similar.

If you visit his website he appears to have been a college professor, so I would assume he does think his stories through. One would assume so. Quoting his own website: "B. V. Larson is the author of more than fifty books with over three million copies sold."

Maybe I have been unlucky, and got some of his earlier work? Or is it the readers who don't care about consistency, quality, and realism?

I don't know. But in one way I'm jealous: he's a full time writer. Then again, according to his own website he writes seven days a week... Duh!

Narration

I've heard this narrator working on multiple titles, and none of those were great. Hearing this voice has me immediately worried about the quality of what I am about to hear, even before the end of the first paragraph.

This expectation makes it hard to properly evaluate the narration. Trying to be as objective as possible I find it acceptable though a little annoying.

The Verdict

Nope, another no-go. I managed to do a book-and-a-half and then gave up.

I will give him one more chance with one of his more recent books, and if that still isn't an improvement I will give up on his works...

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• B.V. Larson

Dapper / TellTales #116