Samyann's Blog, page 54
June 20, 2014
The Hit by David Baldacci – Review
Audiobook. Cliche, but I can’t say much about this book that hasn’t already been said. The audiobook version has over 2000 reviews. Typical Baldacci, well produced, and excellent narration by Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy. They have a terrific delivery, with an extraordinarily smooth transition in dialogue. I appreciate that McLarty does all the author narration, in addition to the male voices … makes for a better listen. If you are a fan of Robie and Reel, you’ll enjoy. The alphabet soup of American agencies is loaded with bad guys and good guys and you’ll have fun deciding. Fun listen.
June 19, 2014
Robert E. Lee
Abraham Lincoln wanted Robert E. Lee to fight for the North during the American Civil War. But, Lee was loyal to Virginia, so he decided to fight for the South … and eventually surrendered to the Union commander, Ulysses Grant, at the end of the conflict.
June 18, 2014
Interesting amnesty ….
On Christmas Day, 1868, President Andrew Johnson issued an amnesty proclamation to all former Confederates, including Jefferson Davis. Only one Confederate was executed, Henry Wirtz, commander of the notorious prison camp at Andersonville.
June 17, 2014
Heaven and Hell by John Jakes – Review
North and South, Love and War, and finally, Heaven and Hell is an American Civil War trilogy. This final edition is intended to be the reconstruction period, so I thought … the rebuilding of the southern states following the war. Although a terrific series, this novel is much more focused on the development of the west, the American Indian wars. The history is interesting, but frankly, it would have been a better story if the author had focused on reconstruction and stayed with the American Civil War theme rather than cowboys and indians. These chapters reveal the further tribulations of one character, his personal demons, and a great deal of grizzly abuse, animals and people alike.
Although the novels would stand alone, you’d be shortchanging yourself not to start at the beginning. One of the most difficult accomplishments, at least in my opinion, is for the individual characters to come to life, seem real and alive. Jakes accomplishes this with several of his characters. The reader will make friends and enemies of them all. A fun, educational, and um….very long…listen. The entire series is read by Grover Gardner, and is approximately one hundred hours of listening. Gardner does a great job, but a little slow for my taste, bumped it up to 1.5.
June 15, 2014
Love and War by John Jakes – Review
Audiobook. Over forty hours of listening. Love and War is the second book in a three part trilogy regarding the American Civil War. Although historically accurate, the primary purpose of this story is not to convey history. It is rather to convey the effects of history of the lives of ordinary people. Sweeping and accurate, Love and War pulls the characters from North and South through the war years as human, flawed, and victims all.
Expect the epic-tale style of writing, a different type of presentation than the modern novel. Better, in my opinion, affording the reader the opportunity to savor the time and thoughts of the characters and the author.
Listened to this audiobook at 1.5 speed. Grover Gardner, although a terrific narrator for the series, is a bit slow for my taste.
June 12, 2014
North and South by John Jakes – Review
The original publication of North and South was in the early 1980s, during an era of epic and sweeping novels by authors such as James Clavell, James Michener, and a collective clamor for this type of story. The popularity extended to the television mini-series, i.e., Roots, The Thorn Birds. In my humble opinion, the abandonment of this type of writing is a shame, a narrow minded view on the part of modern day publishers. There seems to be a belief that readers are only interested in the immediate gratification of a 50,000 word novel chopped into a 2-hour television movie with over thirty minutes of commercials. I think they are wrong.
I read North and South shortly after the initial publication and loved it, as I do today. Not much I can contribute to other reviews, so will only say that although a fictional story about two families caught up in the war, North and South is an accurate portrayal of the emotions and fears that lead up to the conflict. It is not a history book, but few latitudes of creative license are taken, it is pretty authentic. This is the first book in the trilogy and ends with the secession of South Carolina and the firing on Ft. Sumter. The American Civil War begins.
The audiobook is long, over thirty hours of listening. Released in 2012, read by Grover Gardner, a pleasant read albeit a distressing period of American history. Worth the credits, I look forward to the sequels.
June 9, 2014
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen – Review
Water for Elephants is a love story taking place in the environs of a 1931 circus, as remembered by an old man in a retirement home. He dreams of being young, dropping out of Cornell, abandoning his veterinarian degree, and jumping a circus train following the death of his parents in a car accident. Boy meets girl performer who carries the baggage of a brutal husband. Nicely researched, Water for Elephants conveys the circus life of the time, the train, the cruelty, the dust and heat.
An enjoyable read, close to twelve hours of listening. Dual narration by LeDoux and Jones is good. One carries the chapters and voice of Jacob as an old man, the other as his life in the circus seventy years ago. Jacob’s frustration of being a young-man-in-an-old-man’s-body is wonderfully done, something we should all think about as we age … but never do.
Not for the faint-of-heart as it pertains to animal abuse, be prepared. Worth the credit.
June 5, 2014
After the Fire: Hidden Cove Series, Book 1 by Kathryn Shay – Review
The first reaction I have to this book is that it is written by a teenager with dreams of sexy firemen, love, etc., fundamentally immature thinking about serious life issues and recovery from trauma. The ideas are there, but the execution is a bit eye-rolling. I plan on sticking with this series simply to see how, or if, the author matures. The series contains a bunch of books, they can’t be all this valley girl.
The book is the first in the Hidden Cove series, and begins with a massive fire resulting in firefighter deaths. Three firefighter survivors are siblings, who After the Fire, vow to change their lives.
Adequately read by Jeffrey Kafer, After the Fire is eleven hours of listening. Kafer does okay with female voices, but basically he does the best he can with a mediocre book. I don’t often have trouble getting through an audiobook, but this one is an effort. I’m hitting fast-forward a bit.
June 2, 2014
A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin – Review
Fun listening. A Kiss Before Dying is just under nine hours, narrated nicely by Mauro Hentman. Written in 1953, the story might be considered today to be YA, in that the setting is the college world and there are no explicit sex scenes. A handsome, alpha male finds himself trapped into marrying a fellow student because of an unplanned pregnancy. The story follows his devious mechinations through her and her siblings to get his hands on family fortunes. The environs of the 1950s is a treat to listen to, i.e., a housedress is mentioned, as are phone booths, the bad guy wears a fedora (and he’s in college), a girl wears white gloves and a hat with lace, considerable smoking, all common place at the time. Part of creating most of the college-age male characters includes military service, i.e., Japan during WWII. Keep in mind that A Kiss Before Dying was written in the early 1950s, and is not simply a modern-day who-done-it written to convey the 1950s.
Shortly after this book was written, it received many plaudits in addition to an Edgar Award for best break out mystery novel. This story is probably a must read for anyone interested in reading, or writing, the crime thriller.
May 31, 2014
Postmortem, A Scarpetta Novel by Patricia Cornwell – Review
Couple of years on my to-do list, purchased in February, 2012, this audiobook is read by J. C. Critt and is about eleven and a half hours of listening. The story centers on Kay Scarpetta and her investigation into the brutal slayings of several women in Richmond, VA. First, I’m a fan of Kay Scarpetta. A great character, a bit saucy and supremely competent in her chosen profession as a medical examiner. She also shows a bit of vulnerability in her personal relationships, which is a nice, real-life trait. In Postmortem, there is a great deal of speculation on the part of Scarpetta and the lead police investigator, Marino. They ruminate, think, ponder, chat, argue, and Scarpetta has a load of internal dialogue. etc., to the point that I was a little anxious to get to the meat of the story … the serial killer himself. Some sections could have been a bit shorter, in my opinion, and some eliminated entirely as not having much, if anything, to do with the story. I drifted away from the audio, which forced me to either rewind or just let it go. Sadly, I let it go often.
There has been a bit of criticism of J. C. Critt, the narrator. Frankly, I disagree. I thought she did a great job, particularly with the voice of Marino. Very distinctive voices for both Marino, and Scarpetta.
If you like Patricia Cornwell, and in particular, the character of Kay Scarpetta, you’ll enjoy. You’ll get a kick out of the 1990 technology, i.e., no cell phones 
, and DNA is a questionable tool in the courtroom, but a forensics bonanza.
Personally, I believe other Scarpetta novels are better.
