not good at reviews.

Would you listen to Insurrection again? Why?

of course I would. war of the spider queen is a great series. I read the books and now listened to them on audio. I have learned I did pronounce some names correctly but I also mispronounced some names.

What other book might you compare Insurrection to and why?

the rest of war of the spider queen, because it is in a series.

Have you listened to any of Rosalyn Landor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

yes I have. this is in the same series.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes it is. I would actually like to sit down and listen to the whole series non-stop but there just is not enough hours in the day.

Any additional comments?

I LOVE WAR OF THE SPIDER QUEEN!

8 people found this helpful

review for entire series:

Any additional comments?

i was a little leery about how a female narrator would accomplish such a wide variety of character voices, when so many of them are supposed to be hulking, gruff monsters. wow, did she pull that off. i was never once distracted by a character voice seeming out of place. obviously, i don't expect ANY narrator to adapt a "death metal singer's" rasp, especially if they are voicing a 5-book series. but everything she does is appropriate. i wish Salvatore would have hired her instead of a couple of the incompetent bumblers that have read a few of his other works.
the story overall is quite enjoyable, and resolves appropriately. there are some great characters, and web woven is entertainingly complex & twisted.

4 people found this helpful

Second book even better then first

If you could sum up Insurrection in three words, what would they be?

Ruthless, funny, combat

Have you listened to any of Rosalyn Landor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Previous book in series still a great reader will look for books that she has read

Any additional comments?

Looking forward to listening to the third book this second book really was written well and the reader also made ths a really enjoyable book to listen to

4 people found this helpful

As good as the companions of the hall.. better?

I was concerned about straying from the companions of the hall and the events of the overworld.. but this is just as epic. I would have been missing out on an exotic adventure if I hadn't given The War of The Spider Queen a try.

2 people found this helpful

Amazing work

Loved the narrative and narrator. She remembers the certain voices she used for each character and proves to have a Voice Range capable of handling main and NPC and one shot characters.
I've read this collection twice and hearing it read just adds to the excitement of hearing it read.

1 person found this helpful

The British have invaded

Insurrection is the second book in the War of the spider queen series that I have finished. When choosing an audible version, you always run the risk of “the voice” not matching the environment. But I must say, one of the main characters, Pharaun Mizzrym is served well with a voice of a British Aristocrat. The Lolth priestesses are served well by this voice too. Rosalyn Landor does a fine job as the narrator.

Low point of the series

First of all, the narration is fine. There are a small number of character voices and pronunciations I struggle with but overall I thought that Ms. Landor did excellent work.

Having now read and heard this book once each, I am sure that it is the weakest of the six "War of the Spider Queen" books, even though it has a number of things going for it. I think its biggest failing comes from the fact that what feels like 3/4 of the story is prolonged, boring combat/action sequences. I do not think I have read another fantasy book with as much combat (with a revolving door of redshirt opponents), and should have been cut down by half at least. The issue is compounded by the fact that Mr. Reid does not excel at writing combat in an engaging, visual way like some authors (e.g., R. A. Salvatore). However, not even the greatest action writer in the world could keep me engaged for as long as Mr. Reid chose to write about combat in Insurrection.

Another shortcoming is the way that Mr. Reid will choose to tell instead of show, or perhaps worst of all both show and tell. What I mean is, they will have a character say or do something and then explain what the character is thinking. A little of this is fine, especially for some complex motivation the reader needs to understand, but for it to be happening the majority of the time characters do or say something is inexcusable. For some reason, a lot of modern fantasy writers have this problem.

Finally, there is the persistent characterization issue throughout the series wherein some of the characters are a little hard to pin down or get their motivations, so that the recognizable parts become caricatures. The duergar are more props than anything, with their motivations unclear besides "money". This is probably a product of the large roster of authors. Ironically though, it is the very consistent Quenthel who is the most frustrating, because it's so hard to understand how someone like that could consistently cling to power in a society that is fundamentally a murder-driven, quasi-theocratic meritocracy. Somehow, as in all the books, Pharaun seems to shine brightest in Mr. Reid's hands. Elements of Aliisza's character might be seen as problematic by some, but I would say she was clearly the other "star", and when she was interacting with Pharaun the book was at its best. I found myself liking Valas mostly because he was reliable, competent, and demanded little. In other words, the exact opposite of Quenthel.

Some of the dialogues begin to render the characters in more fully (though not when Quenthel is around, being cartoonishly bossy and basically having no value other than providing a voice of dissent). The main setting, Ched Nasad, is a fascinating locale made of glowing, calcified stone webs in a vertical chasm, with buildings like nodules along the webs, that was supposedly made with the assistance of gargantuan spiders. The Araumycos is another very fascinating location that really should have gotten more attention than it did. I wish that Reid had been pushed by Salvatore and others on the project to focus more on this city and refining its intrigues than on the never-ending combat sequences. There is one - literally one - scene where all the drow intrigue finally pays off in an interesting way (involving a new character and an old one who will die), but it doesn't make up for the fact that most of those ruling council/shadowy room scenes are pretty uninteresting.

This book is utterly essential to the plot of the series so it's hard to say you should skip it. It also has some really interesting material scattered amongst the noise. However, it's not one to visit repeatedly.

fun action packed

I wasn't sure about this series.Book 1 was pretty good,book 2 poured on the action.Keeps you wanting more.

Worst narration ever

This woman's narration is horrible she makes every drive female sound like a whiny six-year-old

loved it!!

narrator is perfect. love her voice and voice acting. definitely will listen to the rest of the series