Great Content with unsatisfactory narration

After hearing an interview with Gail Carriger about her book, The Heroine's Journey, I was very excited to purchase and listen to the audio version during my work commute. However, I was deeply disappointed by the slow, text-to-speech app sound of the narrator. Even when I set the speed to play the book at a faster speed, I found the voice performance unbearable. Ms. Carriger's book is excellent, and I suggest you buy a print version. I returned the book.

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5 people found this helpful

You're Amazing Gail!! ❤️

I don't leave enough reviews, but your books are always amazing. This nonfiction book has taught me so much about why I like certain shows, movies, and books. It also explained why some movies, characters...etc make me cringe or honestly seem to hurt my soul. I especially loved your explanations of how storytellers shape culture. I am so excited to be armed with all this knowledge literally no one has EVER explained to me before! I had never heard of the Heroines journey before this 💔 Finally, although the intention may not have been to inspire readers to live the life of a Heroine, I am none the less inspired to do so ❤️. Thank you!!

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5 people found this helpful

The title put me off, but having read the book I now like not only the book, but the title as well.

When I first heard about this book I was automatically opposed to/offended by it, as I didn’t like what I interpreted as the implication that a female person would by necessity have a separate and distinct journey from that of a male hero. Having now read the book, I am delighted to say that I could not possibly have been more wrong!
It’s not about the sex or gender of the protagonist as we are used to thinking about it. It is instead about the lore, history, and writing and acknowledgment of my favorite kind of story.
A story chassis that can be gloriously Applied to a character of any gender, to create the sort of warm, good feelings stories that are the majority, although not the sum total. of the books that I want to read and enjoy, over and over again, on an ongoing basis in my life.

Thank you Gail Carriger. For not only writing many of my favorite fictional stories and characters, but also giving me one of the best lessons on how to write that I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing!

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4 people found this helpful

Excellent and informative

This book brilliantly explains the Heroine’s Journey, in both mythology and modern stories like the Harry Potter and Twilight series, with a focus on how writers can use the Heroine’s Journey’s narrative structure in their own fiction. It also contrasts the Heroine’s Journey with the Hero’s Journey, and explains the latter so well that I finished the book understanding it better than when I read books dedicated to the topic.

If you’re looking for books on alternate story structures to the typical Hollywood action movie about a lone hero who triumphs through one-on-one violence, I highly recommend this book. It will be especially helpful to writers of romance and comedy, books featuring found families and strength through community and close character relationships, and books meant to bring happiness and comfort to their readers. I wish there were more books like this one on alternate story structures to the Hero’s Journey, which is so lauded in the western world but not the end all and be all.

I shared what I was learning in this book with friends yesterday and both were fascinated and excited to learn more. I played Carriger’s early summary of the Heroine’s Journey for a friend last night, and she enjoyed it so much she bought a hard copy this morning.

A warning: She bought a hard copy specifically because the narrator is difficult to listen to. She reads very slowly, and her enunciation is so perfect it sounds unnatural. In my opinion, this book is worth listening to anyway. That said, I bought a kindle copy with the audiobook and plan to get a hard copy as well. This book is brilliant and I want to be able to mark pages and write notes I can refer back to.

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1 person found this helpful

Very informative and useful

Gail illuminates a whole new perspective on storytelling, the suppressed yet extremely popular and secretly ancient Heroine's Journey. As a reader and author both, I found the book interesting and extremely useful, and will listen to it again for certain.

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1 person found this helpful

this book actually changed my life.

this book has given me the words, to put into actuality the vague thoughts and feelings that I have been chewing on for *years*

my life is changed. and I am going to stop feeling ashamed for preferring "trashy" romance novels.

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1 person found this helpful

Unbearably bad narration

The content is very useful, but the narrator sounds like a computer program, fully pronouncing every word and pausing after each word. It's a chore to get through. Buy the physical book instead.

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Finally found the Journey I’ve actually been writing without knowing.

I’ve been writing a Heroine’s Journey for years without realizing it. It’s so nice to realize I’m not alone in loving this journey and understanding more of the intricacies of the Heroine’s Journey. I know it’ll help me more as I outline and work on my own novels in the future. Thank you!

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Interesting content; well-written.

Very interesting! I enjoyed the learning experience but did not enjoy the narrator. Her voice was pleasant enough but her rhythm and cadence were often choppy and mechanical-sounding, which could be distracting. (Mini-pauses where there couldn’t have been a comma.). The fact that I powered through to the end is wholly due to how interesting the content is (and how well-written).

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Really helpful

I didn’t know I was writing the heroine’s journal until I read this book. Very cool and now I know what I need to do to accentuate the story. Thanks!

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