Samyann's Blog, page 19

The Camel Club by David Baldacci

These comments reference the entire series of The Camel Club, at this writing consisting of five novels. Audiobooks, unabridged, all released by Hachette Audio from 2005 through 2017, lengths from ten to sixteen hours. All novels are narrated by Ron McLarty with the exception of Book 1, narrated by LJ Ganser. Typical Baldacci audiobooks, lots of music, sound effects, solid productions. Although there are no audio issues of note, the McLarty renditions are a cut above.  Hell’s Corner narration includes Orlagh Cassidy reading the female voices – a nice touch. No trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who in any book.

Oliver Stone is a great character, a bit quirky, but a stand-up fellow who takes patriotism seriously. Oliver and his small band of close friends find themselves in defense of our country, themselves, and the right side of justice … you’ll enjoy rooting for the gang.

No gratuitous sex scenes, no objectionable language – clean reads.

Super adventures. Enjoy!

  

 

Game Changer by Douglas E. Richards

You’ll find a better  synopsis elsewhere, but briefly: A secret service agent attempts to assassinate POTUS believing the president is a psychopath who murdered his wife. The agent has been ‘mind controlled’ with some form of false memories and has never married. Also, some bad guys are planning to destroy the United States by burning the country to cinders. I must assume these two disparate issues meld into a plot … somewhere.

It is acceptable to expect the reader to stretch the imagination when absorbing fiction. But, Game Changer is expecting too much stretching. I tried, I really did. I actually listened to at least 8 hours of this book before I quit. The idea of memory modification as the basis for a fictional story is a good one, believable. But, the premise presented in this story is just plain silly. In addition, the book is clichè ridden with sappy comedic lines at inappropriate moments. I gave up eye rolling.

Narration by Joe Hempel is okay, no issues.

15 hours of listening in unabridged audio, released by Audible Studios in 2016.

Not my cup ‘o tea.

Replay by Ken Grimwood

The audiobook version of Replay is just over eleven hours of listening, narrated by William Dufris, released in 2008 by Tantor Audio – originally published in the late 1980s.

Replay opens with a middle-aged guy dying at his desk of a heart attack and immediately ‘coming to’ at the age of 18 in his dorm room. He gets a chance at another life, taking full advantage of what he knows of the future making him a wealthy man. But, he dies of a heart attack again … and again … and again … each time given the same opportunities, foibles to overcome, remembering his previous lives completely. In the last couple of “replays” he has come across another person, a woman, who is also replaying her life, over and over again. And these life-spans are getting shorter, and shorter, and ….

Why does this happen … or does something similar happen to all of us and we just don’t know it? Mmmmm. Food for thought that may have you thinking about this book long after you finish reading.

Nicely narrated by William Dufris. No issues with audio production.

As an aside … Grimwood authored other books under the name Alan Cochran, but the most interesting fact is that he died of a heart attack. Ironic.

A decent listen.

The Time It Never Rained by Elmer Kelton

Charlie Flag is a Texas rancher living through a devastating drought, helpless in the depletion of his livestock and the devastation of his once healthy land. Although a years-long drought is a catalyst to the story, The Time It Never Rained is also a familial tale, a story of the relationship between Mexican immigrants and the Texas rancher, and an insightful representation of ranching life. The book is eye-opening picture of federal government influence/interference in ranching – be it livestock or crops, the feds think they know better than the farmer/rancher. Sad commentary and a depressing picture.

No explicit sex, no unacceptable language, a clean read … albeit very realistic in farm animal treatment (no abuse). The Time It Never Rained is over thirteen hours of listening, and released to Audible in 2008 by Recorded Books.

Narration by George Guidall is terrific, as usual.

A worthy listen, recommended.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline – Audiobook

Orphan Train is narrated by Jessica Almasy and Suzanne Toren. The audiobook is about 8.5 hours of listening in unabridged format. Released in April 2013 by Audible Studios.

This is a captivating story encompassing the lives of two orphans. One, a woman in her nineties, the other a rebellious teenaged girl. A good deal of the story involves flashbacks. The older woman reminisces through boxes of memorabilia in her attic, things the younger woman is helping to clean out. The memories include her journey as an orphan … beginning on a train in New York to the midwest, through her youth and marriage.

What I liked. Orphan Train is very educational for anyone unfamiliar with the orphan trains of the 1930s. Illness or tragedy resulted in many immigrant orphans, those children whose parents did not survive the rigors of an Atlantic crossing or New York poverty. The kids, including infants, were transported via train to whistle stops throughout the midwest in hopes of eventual adoption. The abuse and servitude of these kids is appalling.

What I didn’t like. Whatever you do, listen to the audio sample. You’ll hear a cartoon chipmunk. The voice just doesn’t work for me and the saving factor is the story itself. The diction and presentation are fine … but the narration is juvenile and suited to children’s audio … not a good voice for Orphan Train.

No explicit sex, no offensive language. A decent listen with the codicil above.

Swan Song – Audiobook by Robert McCammon

A long audiobook in an unabridged format, close to 35 hours of listening. Released by Audible Studios in November of 2011, but originally published in the 1980s.

Swan Song opens with a bang – an airplane containing top government officials, including the U. S. President, crashes. WWIII begins and ends in hours. Bombs fall everywhere. Cities are gone, a nuclear winter begins.

Central to the story is a woman named ‘Sister’. A New York City street person, Sister is outside a jewelry-row area of shops shortly after the bombs fall. She finds a fused piece of glass containing emeralds, diamonds, sapphires, etc., that, before the bombs fell, would have been worth millions – now it’s just a pretty piece of glass. But … is it? It glows, and within it, Sister sees visions that take her across the country in search of Swan.

Swan is a little girl who can feel ‘life’ in the earth and plants … and she can make things grow.

Liked: The author’s perception of life after an apocalypse.  The human spirit prevails through devastation beyond measure. It takes a while to get there, but we eventually find uplifting hope for mankind, even though there is considerable creative license taken with grizzly evil-doers. Lots of quirky characters that have their own little story.

Didn’t like: Would have been just as good a story without the ‘magical’ element, especially ‘evil’ magic, but hey … it’s fiction. So, stretch the imagination. Second gripe is with regard to some pretty fundamental issues. How do you feed an army of thousands of men for years when the earth is virtually dead? I mean, these guys gotta eat, right? The author intimates they’ve pilfered pantries, etc., but that would have been over within the first couple of years. So…what did they eat? Third, it’s been 7-8 years since the bombs fell and we can still scrounge for gasoline to run vehicles? Really? I sort of doubt it.

Narration by Tom Stechschulte is great. Lots of characters with unique voices, male and female alike. You’ll have no trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who. Good audio production. No sex or offensive language beyond what is appropriate for the character or scene. Some graphic description of man’s inhumanity to man.

Overall, a very long, epic, mystical, apocalyptic journey – a worthy read.

The General’s Daughter Audiobook by Nelson DeMille

Narrated by Scott Brick, close to 18 hours of listening, released by Audible in 2009 by Hachette Audio.

The General’s Daughter is a young woman found dead on a military shooting range. Sleuthing begins.

Didn’t like: First, the lead protagonist, Paul Brenner, is ordered by his superior to recreate the murder scene with his female partner, a rape specialist, in an effort to determine if a woman could escape the bonds. The victim was found naked, arms and legs spread akimbo and she is tied to stakes. The two characters have a prior sexual relationship. A bit contrived? Brenner even says, “I’m looking forward to it.” Secondly, the female investigator is a rape specialist – but auto-asficiation/erotica and necrophilia behavior needs explained by Paul Brenner. Repeat: she’s a rape specialist and they are investigating a sexual assault. Gimme a break, if the lead female character has a Masters in Criminology specializing in rape, as indicated by DeMille, she knows what auto-asfixiation and necrophilia are.  We all know women are weak little flowers that need type A men to man-splane everything.

Liked: The mystery is a good one. There are many potential suspects including the victim’s father – the guessing is always fun.

If you can take sexist bullshit in character development, go for it.

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck

If you want to get a young-adult-girl interested in reading, this one would make a great gift. The Wedding Dress is a story of a wedding dress boutique owner who buys an old trunk containing … wait for it … a wedding dress. The sleuthing begins and moves through the lives of the three women who have worn the dress since it was custom made in 1912.

The Wedding Dress is a terrific novel for a young adult, tween female, or a die hard romantic. Not intended to be great literature but simply pleasant reading requiring no deep thought … only significant tolerance for strong Christian beliefs. If you’re looking for a nail-biting-page-turner, I suggest you skip it. More along the lines of a decent Nancy Drew-Christian Romance that will keep you interested.

No foul language, no sex, nothing but sweet syrup for the soul.

Narration by Eleni Pappageorge is fine, a respectable variety of voices, well produced. No issues with tempo, production, etc.

Close to ten hours of listening, The Wedding Dress  is written by Rachel Hauck, published by Oasis Audio, and released by Audible in 2012. A decent story and very listenable for the right audience.

Tilt-A-Whirl by Chris Grabenstein

Audiobook narrated by Jeff Woodman, released by Audible Studios, just over eight hours of listening. However, I listened to the first hour and executed a refund.

The description of the book was intriguing and the book available via Audible Daily Deal, so I bit. Excluding unnecessary four-letter words, it should clearly be identified as young adult with parental supervision. How’s that for convoluted? The writing and narration are juvenile.

You may find it peachy, but I suggest you listen to the sample and read reviews before investing. There are several decent reviews, so there must be some value to this book. Beats me.  Not my cup ‘o tea.

The Gray Man Series by Mark Greaney

These comments are in regard to the entire series which encompasses, as of this writing, six novels. Released from 2010 through 2017 by Audible Studios and narrated by Jay Snyder. These are unabridged, full length novels, ranging in length from eleven to eighteen hours. The Gray Man is a CIA operative – deep undercover-black ops. If you are a fan of page-turning, double-taps, and splattering brain matter — well, ‘ya found a series.

The lead character, Court Gentry, is a Jack Ryan or Mitch Rapp or James Bond or Jason Bourne… well, you get the idea. Although no explicit description is given, it wouldn’t take much to imagine him as a Type-A, patriotic, tough guy with a gentle heart. He’s a decent guy, ergo only takes out the bad guys. But he takes out a lot of ‘m. Lots.

Well researched, both in military ops and local color. No explicit sex, no language inappropriate to the character or situation. Very imaginative scenes, lots and lots of shoot-m-up stuff, and surprising plot twists. The action is breathtakingly fast – very well written. You’ll find full synopsis reviews elsewhere, but briefly: Court Gentry has been royally screwed by the CIA and he goes through hell and back to find out why. He gets into many jams there is no way he can get out of … no way … but somehow….

Anything more gives away too much fun. For the most enjoyment, start with Book 1, The Gray Man.

Jay Snyder does narration for the entire series, and is excellent. No issues. You’ll have no trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who. Only one minor complaint. At one time a character is supposed to be voiced with a Chicago/midwestern accent. Well, it’s not even close and sounds more like the Bronx. Small stuff, huh.

Anyway … these books are not great literature – just darned fun espionage. No doubt, there will be more books to the series. Enjoy!