Samyann's Blog, page 27

No Coming Back byKeith Houghton – Audiobook

No Coming Back is written by Keith Houghton, audiobook format narrated by Scott Merman at just about 8.5 hours. Narration is fine, you’ll have no trouble discerning who says what to who. The story, however, you may not enjoy.

If you’re looking for a feel good, happy ending, this book is not for you. It’s very rare for me to pan a book – writing a novel is a monumental effort. Ergo, even if I find the book to be a bitter pill, I still try to be objective. Well … that said …

A sympathetic lead character, Jake, takes us through a mystery surrounding the disappearance of his girlfriend. After many chapters of sleuthing and character development, the author gets diverted to an entirely different murder tangled into the dysfunctional childhood of Jake. Disjointed? Well, duh – I guess so! What happened to the girlfriend? We never find out. Not only that, but the only character in the entire book to really like, Jake, is ultimately a bad guy … a really bad guy. No Coming Back is an extremely disappointing read, nothing redeeming.

I hate loose ends and wonder how this ever got past an editor. Not recommended.

Dune by Frank Herbert – Audiobook Review

Written by Frank Herbert, narrated by Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, Simon Vance, Iliana Kadushin. This unabridged version of Dune is 21 hours in length, book one in a series. Narration is fun – lots of readers! Only one element of narration confusion, it seems a single character is read by more than one narrator.

In the style of the time it was written, 1965, Dune is verbose, loquacious, and long-winded. But, that was popular at the time … think James Mitchener, John Jakes, James Clavell, etc., big sweeping novels. Such is Dune, but contrary to his contemporaries, Frank Herbert is deep into Science Fiction with Dune. There are many, many reviews – like over 20K – ergo, there is little I will add.

There are a handful of books that are must reads if one is to consider themselves well versed in a variety of genres, i.e., To Kill a Mockingbird, The Old Man and the Sea, many more. If you want to include SciFi in a well-rounded literary mind – include Dune. 

A plethora of characters – considerable re-winding. The story is confusing, especially to a reader not fully open-minded to inventive world-building and considerable stretching of the imagination.

If you enjoy SciFi, you will enjoy and must read Dune. If you do not enjoy SciFi, skip it.

Tucker Series by David Johnson – Audiobooks

These comments address the The Tucker Series, as of this writing four novels written by David Johnson. All of the unabridged audiobooks are narrated by Laural Merlington. Lengths vary from just under six hours to just over ten. I was introduced to the first book via an Audible Daily Deal and enjoyed the story enough to finish the entire series.

The stories center around the lead character, Tucker. Tucker is an elderly woman, a victim of child abuse, who has been saddled with the raising of her three grandchildren. The setting is a life of extreme poverty in rural Tennessee.

My initial reaction is positive with a few codicils. Working through all four novels became a bit tedious, many areas a bit too preachy for my taste .. especially in books three and four. The characters were also very teary, lots of crying and angst. For those squeamish of the topic, some terrible child abuse is vividly described. There are many instances that had me rolling my eyes … some situations and character behavior lacks credibility.

Reason I liked these stories? Character development and narration. David Johnson does a terrific job with the character of Tucker. I’m sure you’ll find other characters in the stories that are well developed and believable. Narration by Merlington is excellent … unique voices for all characters.

If you are interested in a familial tale, with character development exceptional, you will enjoy The Tucker Series.

If you’re turned off by books that are very preachy and loaded with christian values, these are not for you.

Jericho Quinn Series by Marc Cameron – Audiobooks Review

All in audiobook format, this review references 6 books in the Jericho Quinn series. Most are narrated by Tom Weiner, State of Emergency by Luke Daniels. All are between 10-11 hours of listening, so in total, all represent approximately 65 hours of  the Jericho Quinn adventures.

Jericho Quinn is a Mitch Rapp (Vince Flynn), Jason Bourne (Robert Ludlum), Jack Ryan (Tom Clancy) … well, you get the idea. He’s the self deprecating good-guy-tough-guy, who loves motorcycles, that the world turns to in the event of an apocalyptic threat. Jericho and a few secondary heroes/heroine are the go-to characters for the Director of National Intelligence. Quinn’s code name is the ‘hammer’ … which should give you an idea regarding collective mission objectives.

The bad guys are middle eastern, the weapons that of mass destruction. Think bio weapons, nuclear warheads, dirty bombs, and the feverous attempts to quell what initially seems inevitable.

The Jericho Quinn stories are complex and a myriad of unrelated events are intermingled into a satisfactory conclusion. Each novel can stand-alone, but characters move through each book to the next. Some have a very distinct cliff-hanging ending prompting the reader to move forward to the next book to get any closure. Pay attention, moments are sometimes hard to follow without re-wind. Although these stories usually bring together seemingly disparate events, Cameron goes overboard a bit, in my opinion. There are many scenes that seem to add little, if anything, to the plots, and could easily have been removed. But, that’s just me, and you may come to a different conclusion. Basically, in my opinion, the books are good, but could have been shorter and less confusing.

Narration is fine. I take no issue with either reader. Luke Daniels has a unique take on the bad guy’s voice, however … a bit grating. But, he’s the bad guy, you’re not supposed to like him :-). You’ll have no trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who with either narrator.

Many of the well known authors of this genre, like those previously mentioned, are dead, and with them their wonderful characters. In my humble opinion, with this series Marc Cameron is making a credible effort to fill the void with Jericho Quinn.

If you like the genre, you’ll like these stories … and Jericho Quinn. Enjoy!

  

You Belong to Me by Karen Rose – Audiobook

Written by Karen Rose, narrated by Marguerite Gavin, an unabridged audiobook almost seventeen hours long.

This is a police procedural, a who-is-the-bad-guy mystery. The lead character is a medical examiner who is being stalked/harassed, i.e., she finds a dead body while on her morning run. Shortly, we learn that someone meant for her to find the corpse. A human heart is left in her car, another dead body is found in the lot of her club, that sort of stuff.

A transparent romance ensues – no surprise there – like Sandra Brown, et al, Karen Rose is a talented mystery writer who succumbs to ’sex-sells’ and feels it necessary to augment a great mystery with gratuitous and mawkish sex scenes that are a distraction to fast-forward through.  From the very beginning of the story, the two characters have internally orgasmic thoughts about each other as they force polite correctness, phony type-a-boy-gets-fluttering-eyelash arguments, and have mucho weak knees and optical intercourse. Get the picture? Another great mystery or contrived romance, you be the judge.

With regard to the audiobook reading, I hate dissing narrators. But … Marguerite Gavin narration is unnatural, distracting. Enunciation is forced, words sounding slurred on occasion, lisped, as if spoken by someone who has had one too many. Male voices are all snarls and growls and the lead female voice is whiny and vulnerable sounding – especially wimpy when ever the  drop-dead handsome investigative cop is present. That said, you’ll have no trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who.

I really like getting lost in this type of who-done-it, but I’ll be more cautious when it comes to selecting another Karen Rose-Marguerite Gavin collaboration.

A good mystery that could have been much shorter with elimination of some nonsensical come-hither crap, presented with questionable narration. But, you may think it’s just peachy – there are many good reviews, and many that nix it completely – so, I’m not alone. There’s that.

Shelter by Harlan Coben – Audiobook

Written by Harlan Coben, narrated by Nick Podehl, unabridged audiobook just over seven hours of listening, and released in 2011. This is very definitely a young adult book. Teenagers are the protagonists. There is no gratuitous sex, no bad language. Good gift for a young adult you’d like to introduce to reading.

A new kid at a high-school, Mickey Bolivar, becomes enmeshed in a mystery. He has met a girl and she suddenly disappears. Shortly surrounded with a Hardy Boys group of high school outcasts, Mickey and his cohorts travel through the pages in pursuit of justice for the missing girl. At the same time, he struggles with understanding his father’s death, his mother’s sad life as an addict, and an uncle-trying-to-do-the-right thing.

Narration by Nick Podehl is great, he does a wonderful job. I first heard his narration in a Nora Roberts book, Black Hills. Nice work.

In short, this is a great book for a youngster. Mature readers will roll eyes and get bored. But … that said, it’s a good story.

IF A MINOR SPOILER WILL BOTHER YOU, DO NOT READ FURTHER.

There is a major plot hole, however, specifically age related. One of the ‘bad-guys’ revealed at the very end of the story is too young to be a modern-day ENT rescue person and also a WWII Nazi. He’d be about 90 years old and therefore not in a physical condition to be an ENT. Doesn’t work.

Missing You by Harlan Coben – Audiobook

Written by Harlan Coben, narrated by January LaVoy, an 11 hour and 46 minute unabridged audiobook released in 2014. If you’re in the mood for a page-turning thrill ride, Missing You will do. No gratuitous sex, no language issues, just simply a good story.

A female New York police officer, jilted 18 years ago, is still single, and never got over her fiancé. Her best girl friend sets her up with an on-line dating site and guess who she finds? Yep, the old flame … but, he brushes her off. A teenaged boy asks her to find his missing mother, but is she really missing or on a long-weekend date? Her father, also an NYPD officer, was murdered 18 years ago … who killed him and why? There. Put all this together, stir it up in in a seamless, fast-paced mystery and you have Missing You. None of the above is a spoiler, you’ll learn this all in the first few pages.

You’ll be quite a way through this novel before these disparate events begin to link up and you’ll have more than one suspect. Word to the wise: be careful with these on-line dating sites. Yikes.

LaVoy does a good job creating unique voices for male and female characters alike, young and old. A bit slow for me, bumped it up to 1.25.

Good mystery. Enjoy!

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch – Audiobook

If You Find Me is a novel written by Emily Murdoch, narrated by Tai Sammons … an unabridged audiobook 7 hrs and 51 mins in length. Of particular note, this is a debut novel released in 2013 and as of this writing, Emily Murdoch has not released another book.

Briefly, this is the story of a four year old girl, Carrie, kidnapped by her meth-addicted mother. Carrie is hidden in a state campground and for the next 10 years is subjected to sexual and physical abuse beyond the comprehension of many. A second child is conceived in a drug-indused/related stupor by Carrie’s mother and Carrie rears and loves her baby sister until they are ultimately found by Carrie’s father.

The story has the initial flavor of Nell, a movie based on a play about a wild child, who lived her entire life with her mother in an isolated mountain cabin. Unlike Nell however, the child in If You Find Me is self-educated, well read, and plays the violin. Although not stated within the book, Carrie’s mother can’t have been ‘all bad’ to have taught her to read, love to learn, and play the violin like a virtuoso. Carrie is not bitter, but a very loving, kind person. But … she has cigarette burns and scars on her back … so does the little sister. She is subjected to prostitution and rape. The conflicts are disturbing elements in the plot and I’m not sure this is realistic … but, there it is.

Something bad happened in those woods that has caused a traumatic muteness in the younger sister. Carrie is certain any potential future is contingent upon keeping the secret … but, her little sister’s muteness is something Carrie needs to address. Thus is the thrust.

Although the story is not specifically identified as young adult, the primary characters are teenagers – parties and high school are featured. The angst and fundamentally obnoxious attitudes of the teenager is evident in some characters, but most are unrealistically responsible super-kids, i.e., they-who-don’t-exist-except-in-the-minds-of-adults. But … this would make the book a great gift for a teenager.

The story takes place in rural Tennessee and Tai Sammons does a terrific job with the southern accents. Narration is fine.

Basically, the story is very well written, poetic at times. Murdoch does a terrific job with colloquialisms, the overall flavor of the rural environment, and the mind and motivations of Carrie.

An enjoyable read/listen … but it is, in my opinion, young adult.

Influx by Daniel Suarez – Audiobook Review

Written by Daniel Suarez, narrated by Jeff Gurner, 13 hrs and 45 mins, an unabridged audiobook released in 2014.

Influx is a wonderfully creative story, unlike anything I’ve read in recent years. A nasty, covert organization takes it upon themselves to protect humanity from technology advances. Brilliant scientists (Think Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, etc.) are abducted and imprisoned so that their technology inventions and research are deep-sixed … the rest of the world isn’t smart enough to reign in these advances … like fusion or gravity controls, immortality … we all need protection from our own intelligence and innovations. Example … there is a cure for cancer. But, isn’t cancer a method of population control? The earth couldn’t support a population bloom resulting from cancer cures, right? Thus is the thrust. That, and a greedy control freak is in charge.

There is considerably geeky high-tech that readers smarter than me may understand, but much of the science is way over my head. Sort of like Andy Weir’s Martian. Lots of scientific explanations … too many for my taste and frankly, a bit boring.  But there is also considerable advanced thinking of technology of the future … fun to imagine. According to Daniel Suarez, we’ve moved forward a lot, we just don’t know it … smart phones and Facebook are a joke!! If you’re a bit squeamish, be aware there are some gruesome torture scenes vividly described, nothing sexual but ewwwww.

Jeff Gurner is enthusiastic in narration, albeit a bit slow for my taste – bumped it up to 1.5. Male and female voices are fine and you’ll have no trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who.

The story is wild and dystopian science fiction; if you enjoy stretching your imagination with this genre, you’ll enjoy Influx.

Friction by Sandra Brown – Audiobook Review

Written by Sandra Brown, narrated by Stephen Lang, 11 hrs and 39 mins in the unabridged audiobook version released in August 2015.

A widower, and drop dead handsome Texas Ranger who has a short fuse, is confronted with a custody battle. His case is on the docket with a drop dead pretty judge. No spoiler, you’ll figure this out within the first chapter … but, he will save the judge’s life. We’re off and running with the who-and-why of subsequent thrills and chills.

I like Sandra Brown, her novels are always a fun who-done-it type mystery. But, there are many elements of this story I personally found very contrived. The judge is too subservient to the misogynistic attitude of the male lead, for one. He’s not physically abusive at all, just grated me the way he bullied and always seemed to get away with being an ass – the type A personality of the guy is a bit over the top and obnoxious.

I know sex sells (duh), but I really would like to see a talented author like Brown use her skills without including the requisite/required come-hither sexual crap. This is a great story without the wet panties, slamming against walls, slippery skin … yada-yada. There was a lot going on in this story, the transparent and silly sex scenes weren’t needed to create a great mystery.

*sigh* Be prepared to roll your eyes … especially with the first encounter … it’s ridiculous and would never have happened.

Pretty good good mystery or poorly written love story … you be the judge.