Samyann's Blog, page 34

What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman – Audiobook Review

Approximately a dozen hours of listening, narrated by Tavia Gilbert.

First, being that this is an audiobook, I’ll address an opinion of narration. An initial reaction is ‘ugh’ and rolling of eyes. What She Left Behind should be clearly identified as a young adult novel. The narration is high pitched, valley-girly, very youngish sounding. I’ve no idea, but Tavia Gilbert sounds like she might tip being 20 years old. She also over emotes a great deal, over acts, over enunciates. You either like or dislike this type of voicing. Very annoying, for me.

Secondly, that part of the story taking place in the 1920s is disturbing. A beautiful young woman is committed to an insane asylum by her overly controlling parents. She’s as sane as you or I.  The descriptions of this time and place is well done, and an upsetting account of the treatment of the mentally ill at the time. I’ve no idea how much of this is historical fact or creative license on the part of the author … but, it’s horrid. Apparently anyone could easily be committed to an asylum, i.e., disgruntled parents, spouses. Chilling.

Seventy years later, in 1995, the lead character is a 17 year old high-school senior, tasked by a foster parent to help catalogue the contents of suitcases retrieved from … wait for it … an insane asylum. The high-school senior has her own issues, i.e., bullying at school and dealing with the murder of her father by her subsequently institutionalized mother.

This is a decent plot, the story intriguing. Suggest listening to the sample before investing … you may find the narration a bit grating.

 

Stone Cold by C. J. Box – Audiobook Review

About eleven hours of listening, read by David Chandler, book 14 in the Joe Pickett series. This is a fun mystery. Bad guys, good guys, and sweet romance (no erotica) traverse the pages and you’ll have fun following along. This adventure takes Joe Pickett to a remote area of Wyoming in an effort to track an elusive and wealthy murder-for-hire despot at the same time his daughter deals with a college campus mass shooter.

David Chandler does a nice job – male and female voices, the point of view is that of the lead character, Joe Pickett. Nice narration. No trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who.

Joe Pickett is the focal character for a number of C. J. Box novels, and I’ve fallen into the series having read book 14 and 15 at this point. Joe is a wildlife ranger/officer, who also does side-jobs for the governor. Nora Robert’s Anna Pigeon comes to mind. These two novels have convinced me to start the series at the beginning … I’ve become a fan! No problem jumping into the middle of this series, however. The stories stand alone with a little teaser to move on.

Enjoy ~

 

Endangered by C. J. Box – Audiobook Review

About 10.5 hours in length, read by David Chandler. This story is part of the Joe Pickett series of novels created by Box. Endangered falls into a category of police procedurals. Joe Pickett is a fish and wildlife officer and the exploit, his career choice, etc., might remind one of Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon. Until getting into the tale, I wasn’t aware that this story is part of a series. Not to worry, though, as these books stand alone. Some characters trickle through all novels, like Joe Pickett, his kids, family, temporary peripheral characters, etc. But, I inadvertently jumped into the middle of the series and still enjoyed … this is book 15, I believe.

Joe Pickett’s daughter is found near-death, beaten to a pulp, on the side of a road. His best friend is ambushed, also near death. The governor wants Joe to get to the bottom of the slaughter of an “endangered” species of bird. Three disparate issues artfully woven together are the thrust of Endangered.

The reading by David Chandler is great, and apparently he is the reader for more than one of the Joe Pickett books. Chandler does a good job with both male and female characters creating some very unique voices, nicely done. I liked the story immensely, particularly the psychopathic family Joe confronts.  Endangered is a fun read … a page-turner … yes, audiobooks can be page-turners :-). Don’t hesitate to jump into the middle of this series; you don’t need to start at the beginning. Enjoy!!

 

White Plague by James Abel – Audiobook Review

Narration by Ray Porter, approximately eleven hours of listening. A US submarine, cruising the frigid waters of northern Alaska, broadcasts an urgent message to the honchoes in Washington. They are suffering from an unknown ailment, a fire on board, and are stranded on the ice in tents. The dire circumstances bring together a team of experts, raise the suspicions of the Chinese/Russians, and the rest of the world panics. Wonderful descriptions of the desolate and frighteningly frigid area, clues to the sickness are examined, dismissed, re-thought. A platonic love affair is requisite and included, albeit the type A lead character has occasional twelve-year-old-boy thoughts at stupid moments … sigh.

Ray Porter does an okay job, no trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who.

If you’re a fan of potentially apocalyptic stories that have a happy ending, you’ll like White Plague. It’s easy to follow along, fun to guess. Made-for-TV moments abound, but White Plague not gray-matter material, just a pleasant mystery. Enjoy!

 

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Philipp Sendker

Approximately 9.5 hours of listening, read by Cassandra Campbell. This story was German journalist Philipp Sendker’s first novel, originally published in German in 2002, subsequently translated for US and UK publication. The audiobook came out a good ten years later. I was initially concerned that the German-English translation would make the story awkward … not so, smoothly done.

A New Yorker travels to Burma to trace the whereabouts of her father, a man who abandoned her, her siblings, and her mother following a 35 year marriage. A good foundation! At this point, in my opinion, there are some problems in the writing/editing of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. After traveling to a remote little town, the tale of her father is told to her by a man who meets her in a dingy, fly-infested café. How he comes to be there, recognize her, know all about her, why she would go into this grungy place, none of this is conveyed by the author. Within a couple of meetings, she’s in his house, sleeping on his couch, and he continues to tell her the tale. Really? Come on, this is a worldly, well traveled, New Yorker!! Okie-doke. Reading on….

Continuation of the story involves the girl listening to a story about her father’s roots, physical limitations, dreams, desires, etc., in addition to the physical limitations, dreams, desires, etc., of the woman he has loved all of his life … a woman not her mother. The fundamentals of this being conveyed by a third party makes it a bit difficult to comprehend. How would her story teller know some of this stuff? Even after the final reveal, which takes place in the last few minutes of the story, he couldn’t … therein is another problem in the writing of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats.

Maybe the fairy-tale aspect of this story makes plot-holes acceptable. Dunno. I can understand how this story has the reviews that it does, all over the board, i.e., you like fairy-tales or you don’t. The prose is even poetic in places. Personally, I wish there had been more detail regarding motivation for abandonment. Thirty-five years? He hurt her horribly, and if he left his ‘true-love’ for over fifty years, he hurt her horribly, too. But … he’s supposed to be a sympathetic character? Sounds like a wimpy dude to me, and the story doesn’t tell me he is the selfish ass his behavior portends. Personally, I didn’t get the ‘love’ aspect of this story at all, even though a deep life-long love was, by the definition of some, well conveyed. To me, the impression was that selfish entitlement, regardless of who you may hurt, can be interpreted as ‘love’.

Regarding narration, Cassandra Campbell does an okay job. A little languid for my taste; bumped it up to 1.5 speed.

Basically, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is a bit far-fetched and bizarre for me.  I mean, his unique hearing is not a main element of the story … but, he can hear the heartbeat of an earthworm. Um. Gotcha. And, this is relevant how?

You may like it, though!

 

The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes – Audiobook Review

Just over fifteen hours, read by Susan Lyons. There are over thirty thousand reviews on Goodreads. You don’t need to hear much from me. This is a good story, well read. Enjoy.

 

Don’t Let Me Go by Catherine Hyde – Audiobook Review

Approximately eleven hours of listening read by Chris Chappell and Cassandra Morris. Don’t Let Me Go is the story of Grace, a ten year old girl living in a basement apartment with her drug addicted mother. The building is home to a myriad of quirky residents who take Grace under their wings, including a former dancer afraid to leave his apartment. They are collectively determined to shelter the girl from being trapped in the child services system of a big city. This is a cute story, would be a lovely gift for a young reader, especially one dealing with drug or alcohol addiction in the family. No language or pornography issues … a “clean” story.

Personally, I had trouble with narration by Cassandra Morris. The female lead is a little girl with a nail-on-the-blackboard voice. Ergo, it’s likely intentional, but it made me wince several times. Chris Chappell does a great job.

Sweet story. Enjoy!

 

Bridge of Spies by Giles Whittell – Audiobook Review

Read by the author and just over eleven hours of listening. William Fisher, Gary Powers, and Frederic Pryor are the focus of Bridge of Spies. Most Americans have at least heard the name Gary Powers. He’s the U2 pilot that was captured by the Soviets and accused of spying. There is even a museum today in Russia with the wreckage of his airplane …  repeat: today. Old cold war enmities still exist, huh. Well, the fact is, he really was spying … a truism and embarrassment for the United States at the time. But … our soviet friends were not innocent victims in the spy games, as Nikita Khrushchev wanted the world to buy into his righteous indignation at the time.

The book is not a novel, it is not the thrill ride of a fictional James Bond (Fleming) or Mitch Rapp (Flynn) or Jason Bourne (Ludlum), etc. Bridge of Spies is the more mundane, and equally deadly, truth of spies … American, British, Soviet, and the political leadership behind the espionage … they’re all guilty, spying was (and still is) a truism.

Narration is great. It’s always nice to hear the words of the author as he intended.

Read this book as a prelude to understanding the upcoming movie to be released the fall of 2015 starring Tom Hanks. Who doesn’t like Tom :-).

Enjoy!

 

Remember When by Nora Roberts – Audiobook Review

Word to the wise! You must be a fan of the In Death series and be familiar with those characters, i.e., Eve, Roarke, Peabody. This book alone isn’t going to provide sufficient backstory to these characters for a completely enjoyable experience. The In Death portion falls right in line with the other In Death books, released in sequence with the series in about 2008. The first portion of Remember When is a very typical Nora Roberts mystery/love story that would very well stand alone and takes place in the early 2000s. The subsequent story takes place 60 years later, includes decedents of the first story main characters, thus Eve and the gang. For those who have been living under a rock, Nora Roberts and J. D. Robb are the same person.

The mystery surrounds sparklies … diamonds that disappeared in a modern day New York city theft. In book one, Nora Roberts weaves the love story of antique store owner and a handsome private investigator into a pleasant tale that results in a good portion of the loot being recovered. 60 years later, Eve Dallas gets to work on the rest. A very clever integration of a modern day love story and the mid-21st century world of the In Death series.

Susan Ericksen is the narrator of choice for most, if not all, of the In Death series, the voice of Eve, Peapody, Roarke, McNab, the rest of the In Death  gang. She is also the reader for book one of Remember When and does a great job, as usual. If you enjoy the In Death series and the Nora Roberts stories, you’ll feel right at home. These stories wear like comfortable old shoes; enjoy!

 

Stranger In a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein – Audiobook Review

Read by Christopher Hurt and just over sixteen hours of listening.

The listener must be cognizant of the cultural morays of the time during which Strangers In a Strange Land was written … late 1950s, published in 1961. Think post WWII opulence, manual typewriters, radio news, newspapers, Eisenhower, cold war … mom wearing a house-dress or white gloves and a girdle. The days of Mad Men, a Coffee, Tea, or Me mentality and obnoxious sexism to the extreme. There ‘ya go! The author will bring the hackles up on anyone who has a modern mindset regarding sexuality. A secondary issue is to have an open mind with regard to religion and/or religious belief.

If you can overcome these teeth-grinding bones of contention, the SciFi aspect of Stranger In a Strange Land  contains many interesting and creative concepts. The man from mars is a Michaelangelo-David type adonis, innocent as a babe. His thoughts are extremely literal, he has intelligence off the chart, reads encyclopedias and dictionaries to understand the ways of mankind. He has SciFi superpowers, i.e., telekinesis, can make things and people disappear, out-of-body skills, can throw himself into a type of near-death stasis, etc. He is has very high morals and understands (groks) little of the earth or it’s inhabitants.

Thus is the foundation of a romp through the story of Stranger In a Strange Land. The story is not about the world of Mars, it is about how a man born on Mars deals with and reacts to Earth and earthlings. It’s a platform for the author to convey views, a popular methodology in fictional literature that is more suited to non-fiction, in my opinion. As opposed to being preached at, I’d rather feel entertained … this book oddly does both.

For it’s time, Stranger In a Strange Land is an okay SciFi … be tempted to throw your player across the room because of some arrogant chauvinism on the part of the author. Narration by Hurt is good, nice tempo.