Appendices?

Great book but the appendices are not included with the audiobook. Would have been 5 stars of this included a pdf of diagrams as well as the omitted appendices.

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you had one job, carroll...

Would you try another book written by Sean Carroll or narrated by Jonathan Hogan?

I doubt it. Although I can't fault Hogan for a workmanlike job of narration, the flaw lies with Carroll, who manages to take one of the most exciting breakthroughs in modern physics, the biggest, most complex experiment ever conducted, plus the exploration of the deepest most fundamental nature of the universe and cock it up. True, it's a difficult, esoteric subject, but he's supposed to be a science communicator, and the audience for this kind of book (I would imagine) wouldn't come to it without a small measure of knowledge about the subject. A confused, muddled book, too full of vignettes about quirky scientists and personal imposition.
I'm not sure how he managed it, but, he made the whole fascinating tale boring hard work.
Boo.

What other book might you compare The Particle at the End of the Universe to, and why?

I would compare it unfavourably to anything by Richard Dawkins, such as The Blind Watchmaker or Unweaving The Rainbow, or Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, but only to show that these books are how it should be done.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jonathan Hogan?

Sure, the narration is fine, lively and engaging. Plenty of variation of pace and pitch and all the things that stop a voice being tedious to listen to.

Did The Particle at the End of the Universe inspire you to do anything?

Read a better book on the subject.

Any additional comments?

You had one job, Carroll.

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4 people found this helpful

Disappointing

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Firstly the narration in my opinion is awful and makes the book painful to listen to. Also very full of annoying Americanisms.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The book doesn't 'end' as such, it just peters out feebly.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He makes the book hard to listen to with drawl of his voice and monotony of his timbre.

What character would you cut from The Particle at the End of the Universe?

Not applicable

Any additional comments?

I was really looking forward to listening to this book but was left wishing I hadn't bothered.

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2 people found this helpful