Samyann's Blog, page 9
October 15, 2019
Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson
Catching the Wind by Melanie Dobson is a flashback to WWII and a modern-day investigation. The story takes place in Europe, primarily in England. This is Christian literature, some passages are not for everyone – but an enjoyable story regardless of your personal bent.
Plot. In the early 1940s, a 13-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, neighbors and best friends, narrowly escape to England from Germany. They are separated immediately. Fast forward 70+ years. A wealthy old man hires our lead character, Quenby Vaughn, to find his friend. Quenby is a passionate journalist, who doesn’t give up. Nothing comes across as urgent in this story, but the old man is in failing health, so time is a concern.
Liked. Catching the Wind is a “what happens next” story – you just keep turning pages, or listening. The trials of the two in the 40s are intermingled with a modern-day detective procedural/investigation/love story. It’s a twisty mystery, Quenby following 70-year-old clues, surprises readers will enjoy. Narration by Nancy Peterson is fine, no issues.
Not so hot. There are sections too ridiculous to believe, religious or not. The author is expecting that you stretch possibilities far beyond remote credibility. The story is good without making the reader roll their eyes and sputter, ‘well, that’s a stretch’ – or – ‘gimme a break’. You will, promise.
Narrated by Nancy Peterson, 10.5 hours of listening in unabridged audiobook format, released in August 2017 by Two Word Publishing LLC.
October 11, 2019
The Humans by Matt Haig
Written by Matt Haig, narrated by Mark Meadows, about eight hours in length in unabridged audiobook format, released in July 2013 by Simon & Schuster Audio.
Plot. An alien life form is dispatched to earth to eliminate anyone with knowledge of a particular math formula/solution. One as serious as, oh … say E = mc2. The alien world takes over the body of a human male, the math professor who has solved this cosmic altering puzzle. He’s to kill his wife, kid, and anyone who is remotely thought to know the big secret – problem? He gradually begins to understand that humans aren’t so bad.
Liked. An enjoyable hypothesis brought to life in the story – it is a very fun SciFi. You’ll have no problem following the story. Some insightful philosophical views of the human condition.
Not so hot. The author’s fascination with the alien character arriving naked is a silly, childish grind to get through, and almost from the mind of a twelve-year-old boy. Ridiculous enough that the initial hour of listening almost had me return the book. A wasted hour+ that could have been conveyed within five minutes. Stick with it, it gets better.
Narration by Matt Meadows is great, no issues.
October 4, 2019
Northern Lights by Nora Roberts
Nate is a cop from Baltimore, burned by an ex-wife and burned-out because of more sad cop history. He accepts a job as sheriff of a small town called Lunacy, Alaska. He meets Meg and sparks fly. Meg is a bush pilot in the Alaskan wilderness and the daughter of an over-sexed innkeeper hitting on Nate with regularity. Throw in the years-old murder of the innkeeper’s husband, Meg’s father. There’s the plot!
Liked. Nora Roberts is one of the best-selling authors of all time, the queen of romance. In case you’ve been living under a rock, she is also J. D. Robb, author of the In-Death Series. So, sex interspersed with a decent police procedural murder mystery is her forte. Thus is Northern Lights. Nice audiobook to listen to while on a long road trip.
Not so hot. Meg is over-the-top snarky, ergo didn’t much care for her character. What do a gazillion Nora Roberts books have in common? A few things. One, terrific mysteries. Two, at least one heart-of-gold character, at least one will be drop-dead-gorgeous. Three, sex. Well, we have those elements in Northern Lights. This isn’t really all that bad, it’s a Nora Roberts book, predictable.
Narration is fine, no issues with production. Narrated by Gary Littman, about fifteen hours in length in unabridged format, released in June 2008 by Brilliance Audio.
If you’re a fan of Nora Roberts/J.D.Robb, you won’t be disappointed.
September 30, 2019
September 26, 2019
Blackwater – by Michael McDowell
Plot. A small river town floods. While boating through the deep, waterlogged streets, a young man spots a woman on the second story of the town hotel, sitting a bed. He rescues her, and the story lifts from this scene to a familial tale spanning generations. As the reader learns, this woman isn’t just a stranded stranger, she has come from the swampy river itself, has unusual insight and powers, and … is not completely human. Marriages, births, deaths, abandonment, war, abuse, love, family battles, good people and the wicked traversing the pages. Nothing is page-turning, it’s a journey through the lives of one family through the early years of the 20th century and on. Don’t be misled into thinking Blackwater is a “horror” story, it’s not. Although, it is paranormal, eerie; it is not a hide-under-the-covers scary novel. Pretend you’re reading a collaboration between the painters Normal Rockwell and Hieronymous Bosch, and the author of … say, Prairie Home Companion and a guy with the wonderfully twisted mind of Stephen King.
Narration by Matt Godfrey is excellent. No trouble discerning who says what to who, some creative voicing. No issues with production.
Blackwater: The Complete Saga is a compilation of several books that were originally published as a series. This rendition is the “complete saga”. Blackwater: The Complete Saga was written by Michael McDowell, narrated by Matt Godfrey, a long audiobook at approximately thirty hours of listening in unabridged format, released in September 2017 by Valancourt Books.
September 18, 2019
Hawke by Ted Bell
Hawke is book one of the Alex Hawke series consisting of about a dozen books at this writing. Hawke is a handsome-type A personality-good guy with a small circle of quirky friends that gets bad guys with limited shoot-em-up stuff.
Plot – Book 1: Lord Alexander Hawke, as a seven-year-old boy, witnesses the horrific, brutal murder of his parents while on a Carribean cruise. Fast forward. Hawke is now a black-ops operator for the English government and is working undercover, again in the Carribean, for the United States.
Liked. Narration by John Shea is excellent. A good story that stands alone, no cliff hanger, although there are subsequent adventures to follow. Lots of intrigue and action. Hawke is more a military-experienced Sherlock Holmes than a tough guy. Not so hot. Although Hawke is supposed to be Ted Bell’s version of a Mitch Rapp, Jason Bourne, etc., he is not. Hawke makes me think of a privileged guy that probably went to the best private schools and wears patten-leather shoes.
Written by Ted Bell, narrated by John Shea, 16 hrs and 37 minutes of listening in unabridged audiobook format, released in February 2018 by Brilliance Audio. If you’re looking for an espionage hero who has a touch of British humor and sophistication, worth a look.
Elevation by Stephen King
Written and narrated by Stephen King, Elevation is a new twist for King. It’s on the eerie side, but not a hide-under-the-covers scary tale – just weird.
Plot: Scott, a friendly guy living alone with his cat in a smallish town, is a victim of a very bizarre ailment that even has his doctor stumped. He’s losing weight – nothing else, just losing weight. Problem is, his physical appearance, clothing sizes, et al., are remaining the same. The guy eats like a horse, runs, is physically fit! But, Scott’s bathroom scale shows him gradually dropping the pounds – getting lighter and lighter and lighter until… A secondary plot involves Scott’s neighbors, a lesbian couple being shunned by the town.
Liked. Don’t pay any attention to reviews dissing this book. It’s a very cool story on a very unusual premise that popped from the mind of one of America’s best storytellers. Imaginative as can be! Pretend a Frank Capra movie was written by Edgar Allen Poe.
Narration is great. King doesn’t read many of his books, but I like those he does … like Bag of Bones, in my opinion, one of his best.
Elevation is a short story just over 3.5 hours of listening, released in October of 2018 by Simon & Schuster Audio. There is a bonus, Laurie. It’s another, much shorter story … hint: Laurie is a dog.
September 16, 2019
Grace Valley Trilogy by Robyn Carr
This review addresses the entire series consisting of three novels. Deep in the Valley, Just Over the Mountain, and Down by the River.
The Grace Valley Trilogy is character-driven, a familial tale of small-town life. Grace Valley is a Mayberry R.F.D. town with the quirky characters of a sheriff, a dozen or so nosy neighborhood eccentrics who know everything about everybody, all with hearts of gold. The books are compilations of a few dozen isolated events that make up small-town life – a wealthy widow suspected of murdering her husband, a preacher addicted to gambling, an old widower who wants only to help those in need, a few men who abuse their wives and children, a town flood that endangers them all, the perils of the devastatingly poor, to name a few. Then there is our heroine, June Hudson – the town doctor who is loved by and loves them all – and finds love for herself.
No violence, no shoot ’em ups, none of that double tap grizzly stuff. These stories are ridiculously squeaky clean; give them as gifts, teens included. Far from great literature, and Robyn Carr has done better. But, they are listenable beach read stuff.
Starting with book one recommended else you’ll miss references and character development. Each book is approximately ten hours of listening, narrated by Therese Plummer. No issues with narration. Noted a few instances of “dead air”, but fundamentally okay productions.
If you’re looking for Lifetime Movie stories with predictable mysteries, here ya go!
August 20, 2019
The Elementals by Michael McDowell
The Elementals is a ghost story about three large estate homes on a beachfront. A family of quirky, diverse characters takes up residence in two of the homes, planning to dry out an alcoholic matriarch, “Big Barbara”, and enjoy the sun and beach. The third house is unoccupied, being swallowed by encroaching dunes – the haunted house! The basic thrust of The Elementals.
Liked. Every reader likes a good ghost story – so, this will do. Floors creak, dusky faces fade from view in dirty windows, images appear in sand, footprints disappear into darkness – all cool, ghostly stuff. Nice character building of some unusual people. Narration is great.
Not so hot. Would have been better if shortened by a couple of hours. In my opinion, there are a few irrelevant passages. The book has a few gripping scenes in the first two-thirds – but, the final one-third is much better. In fact, we don’t get a definition of “the elementals”, what they actually are, until the beginning of part three. Long build-up.
The book isn’t up to the ghost stories of say, Wendy Webb or Stephen King … but, if you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll enjoy.
Narrated by R.C. Bray, eight hours in length in unabridged audiobook format, released in June 2016 by Valancourt Books.
August 16, 2019
Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
Sawkill Girls is about a trip to a reclusive island from which young girls disappear. That’s pretty much the plot. The opening is intriguing; a horse is spooked by paranormal vibes from a young girl, rears, and high-tails it with the girl holding on, her head-splitting in pain. Okay, we’ll read on, this may go somewhere cool.
Well, in my opinion, intrigue stops. The characters seemed to go in endless circles of teenaged angst, despair, and pain about … something that after 10 chapters is not defined. It seems that the author is more driven to develop prose rather than a gripping story, i.e., the writing is okay – the story just isn’t there.
If you read a book a week, you’re going to read about 3000 – 5000 books in your lifetime. Over 1,000,000 are published every year … so little time, so MANY to choose from! Need to move on to the next story, life is too short. Rarely return an Audible book, but …
In that I didn’t enjoy the book, comments about narration would be problematic – let’s leave it at Lauren Ezzo’s interpretation wasn’t sufficient to keep me interested.
12 hrs and 58 mins of listening in unabridged audiobook format, released 10-02-18 by Harper Audio.
