Narrated by Patrick Lawlor
Presented by Brilliance Audio

DNF @ 67%

This one was straight up infuriating.

The plot revolves around a "strange magician" (scientist) being stranded amongst a primitive culture, where he must teach them his "strange magic" (science) so that he can build a craft to get him back to his homeland, 'up there in the sky beyond the dust cloud'.

The 'jokes' end up all being the same, where essentially some basic scientific principle of our world is described from the perspective of simple folk (morons) who believe magic is the source of all. And funny old Shoogar the Magician taking everything literally and getting offended about everything.

So as if that's not enough stupidity, this is such a primitive culture that, not only are women treated like slaves, they're constantly referred to as useless, stupid, pointless and only good for what they do for men. I get that the misogyny is supposed to be a 'funny' reflection of society but, jeez, give it a freaking REST now and then. I found zero humour in any of this 'ho ho ho, what a primitive sort these folks are.'

So I made it over halfway but then switched to 2.5x speed to try and get through the rest and it STILL wasn't enough. I think this is the first time I've ever DNF'd an audiobook because they're always so easy to just kinda half-listen to if they get dull, but I found this one was just too insulting to put up with. Life's too short. Sorry, NetGalley.

The narrator did a decent job with what he had but the screeching voices just made this story all the more unbearable. Not his fault, though, so I'd easily give this narrator another go.

I guess this is for the dudes who enjoy low-brow humour and generally hate women but it was very much not for me.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

Rating: 2.5/5 stars (rounding up to 3 for sites that don’t allow half points)

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for allowing me a copy of this audio book in return for an honest review.

Originally released in the 1970’s, this comedic science fiction novel is set on a distant world inhabited by people who are living during a neolithic type era of societal evolution. When a new “sorcerer”, Purple, arrives in Lant’s village the current sorcerer, Shoogar, is put out by his rivals' differences and lack of respect for the many gods that provide magic.

Patrick Lawlor did a great job of narrating this story and I did laugh out loud a couple of times, unfortunately he did such a good job with Shoogar’s character that I could hardly stand to listen to his annoying whine.

What I liked: The concept and choice of narration being one of the villagers rather than the xeno-anthropologist. The world building and quick advancement through technology.

What didn’t work for me: I understand it was written in the 1970’s but the sexism, even from the more socially advanced Purple, was just awful. The jokes were often cringe, and Shoogar just left me feeling angry every time he spoke, he was such a frustrating character. Towards the end (this is an overly long book) I sped the dialogue up to 2x speed just to finish it quicker.

Final Thoughts: A 50 year old story that has its moments but isn’t as good as other similar books of this generation.

Who would enjoy this: Fans of older comedic sci-fi stories.

While entertaining to listen to with the clashes between Shoogar and Lant against Purple in a "magic" versus science and tech showdown, you can definitely tell that this story is dated. This book would have made an excellent novella but after awhile it drags a bit, mostly because I kept getting annoyed at the way women are portrayed in this book (very demeaning and pretty much equaling them to brainless slaves only good for breeding).

So, to break it down. I enjoyed the clashing between Purple and Shoogar, the very quick evolution of currency, mass production, and electricity to the society because Purple needed a way to get back to his mother ship (even if it brought downsides like theft). There are plenty of entertaining bits with that. I rate that part 4 stars.

The parts with the women and their constant being degraded and not even having names, while still "loving" their husbands who beat them and hobble them was awful. Even with the uprising to get names and the astonishment that the women can do the same jobs (proving they have the brains) was not fun. I rate that a 1 star

However, the narrator did a great job and he is not to blame for the story material. He was fun to listen to. So he gets 5 stars.

That brings my total to about 3 and 1/2 stars for the book. It could have been excellent, except for the parts with the women.

I hate to DNF books, and I hate to give them bad reviews, but I have to do both for my conscience and my sanity.

This book might have once been amusing trash, but that was decades ago and now it's just painful to read. Horribly paced, dull as molasses jokes that never stop trying, non stop puns and reference so old and dated you could call your grandparents to ask about em in your 40's, diatribes that go on forever, and oh the laughs you're sure to have at the primative's women just being hobbled baby makers, amirite?

Here's the thing, even with it's age and issues aside, there's a bit of a "lol so camp and bad it's funny" idea here. Problem is, it's a novel that should've been a short story! The audiobook stretches for 12 hrs, I couldn't take anymore at 6 hrs, and to be honest, I was really ready for it to wrap at 2.

Unless you're deep into old school sci-fi schlock of the "the more terrible the more I liked it" kind, I can't recommend this to anyone.

ARC provided by NetGalley & Brilliance Publishing

I didn't realize how old this book was when I requested it on Netgalley. However, I am always excited to dive into sci-fi fantasy books which are quirky and don't take themselves too seriously. This is certainly a book that allows itself to be silly in a lot of different ways.

The reader is transported to a world where there are multiple suns and a race of beings which seem to have quite a bit more fur than humans. However, their world is thrown into chaos when a strange new enemy arrives and their local sorcerer takes it upon himself to face off against the new arrival. Shoogar, the local wizard believes in the local gods and in the power of spells, however, the new "wizard" doesn't seem too interested in challenging Shoogar to be the head wizard of the area but rather learning about their culture.

At first, I thought this book was a recent sci-fi release or upcoming release, but I was surprised to learn it's a classic from about 1971. I think that made it even more fun to read as it is one I haven't run across in the past and I thought it was a fun read with relevance even today. There are lots of puns, jokes, and subtle references throughout the work and the satire is well done. I am certainly gad I got the opportunity to listen to this audiobook and enjoy this forgotten or possibly overlooked gem of a read.

an older story that clearly shows its age.. a bit too dated for my taste and likely for many modern readers.