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Archive for Audiobooks

Review: The First Girl Child

By Jan

on June 7, 2020

Author: Amy Harmon;
Genre: YA Fantasy;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: Rob Shapiro;
Publisher: Brilliance Audio (2019);
Rating: (5 / 5).

An excellent coming-of-age fantasy with a lovely romantic subplot (or two). I had to force myself to pause the recording and go about daily life, but I rushed back to the book whenever I could. Excellent characterizations throughout, the complete story in one volume, and a slow burn leads to an exciting conclusion.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and the book hinges on a deathbed curse, an orphan raised in a monastery, and a corrupt king. Lots of honor and clans and swords, an interesting magical system, Nordic mythology, and familial love. No foul language or sex, with applicable violence but not overdone.

Rob Shapiro does a fabulous job with the audiobook narration; it doesn’t get better than this.

Reminded me of:
Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
The Once and Future King by T. H. White
Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Fantasy Tagged with Amy Harmon, fantasy

Review: The Society of the Sword Trilogy

By Jan

on June 7, 2020

Society of the Sword Trilogy

Author: Duncan M. Hamilton;
Genre: Fantasy;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: Derek Perkins;
Publisher: Podium Audio (2017);
Rating: (3 / 5).

I listened to the audiobook of this series, narrated by Derek Perkins, who did a fabulous job. He’s definitely going on my “favorite narrators” list.

The first book of this fantasy trilogy was really fun. A young thief on the street is plucked up and sent to an exclusive academy, where he—of course—discovers he has special powers. Those powers, along with hard work (unusual in these stories), allow him to become an excellent swordsman. From then on, he was super-human in sword fights, which weren’t really a challenge.

However, by the second volume, the amount of killing, betraying, and testosterone-juggling man-talk is pretty overwhelming. I think I nodded off a few times, but it didn’t make any difference in the long run. Basically, I think the series could have been much shorter and still as entertaining.

• Lots of bad men killing each other (or trying to)
• Some magic, not well explained
• Tons of political intrigue between countries (yawn)
• Interesting (if predictable) sword fights
• Huge body count, assisted by questionable morals
• Few characters have any redeeming qualities

Speaking of characters, there are VERY few women even mentioned in this story, and most of them are “whores.” Even the main squeeze was a prostitute for a while. The main character, Soren, grew in knowledge and experience, but his personality wasn’t fully explored. I would have had more empathy for him if he hadn’t been so ruthless.

By the time the drawn-out conclusion finally begins, the political maneuvering was getting very old. I couldn’t keep the main players in the plot straight in my mind, which is usually a result of listening instead of reading. The conclusion was satisfactory, if over quickly and—again—predictable.

Lots of violence, some foul language, some sexual references but nothing graphic.

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Fantasy Tagged with Duncan M. Hamilton, sword and sorcery

Review: Children of Time

By Jan

on June 7, 2020

Children of Time

Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky;
Genre: Science-fiction;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: Mel Hudson;
Publisher: Audible Studios (2017);
Rating: (2 / 5).

Publisher’s Description:

“…An epic story of humanity’s battle for survival on a terraformed planet.

Who will inherit this new Earth?

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age – a world terraformed and prepared for human life.

But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind’s worst nightmare.

Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?”

©2016 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2017 Audible Ltd

This is the second time I’ve attempted this book in audio format, and the second time I’ve given up on it. I was perhaps 35 percent into the story this time, and still not engaged in the plot or any of the characters. Giant, sentient spiders just don’t appeal to me, and the humans aren’t much better. I understand the concept and appreciate that Tchaikovsky evolved the species for a reason, honest. But this just didn’t do it for me.

I just listened to his novella Made Things and enjoyed it, so I’m not giving up on the author, just this book.

Narration by Mel Hudson was excellent.

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Science-fiction Tagged with Adrian Tchaikovsky

Review: The City & The City

By Jan

on June 7, 2020

The City & The City

Author: China Miéville;
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery/Thriller;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: John Lee;
Publisher: Random House Audio (2009);
Rating: (5 / 5).

I’ve had this book on my TBR list for years, but some comments on Goodreads reminded me of it recently. I grabbed the audiobook and was off.

As you can see by my “genre” choices above, this book isn’t easy to catalog. It’s basically a police procedural, but the unique setting is where the confusion—and the wonder—comes in. The book takes place in an imaginary Eastern European city that exists within another city, but the two are totally separated by allegiance. Citizens must choose to see only their own city and ignore—or “unsee”—the other. This leads to some wonderful quandaries where the book really shines. To investigate a murder, the detective must officially visit the other city and work with another police force. Meanwhile, a mysterious entity above all other authority is lurking and watching for those who “breach” the boundaries.

The characters are not the focus, and most of them are pretty bland. Yes, we want the main character to succeed on his tenacious quest for a murderer, but we never really get a sense of who he is. We’re never sure who the good guys are, either, which is difficult for an author to pull off, but Miéville does it in several of the works I’ve read. I don’t admire the author’s politics, but I do admire his writing.

John Lee does a terrific job with the narration (as usual). His pacing was excellent and his accents were good enough to differentiate the characters.

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Modern Fiction Tagged with China Miéville

Review: The Monastery Murders

By Jan

on March 31, 2020

The Monastery Murders (Stanton & Barlings #2)

Author: E.M. Powell;
Genre: Historical Mystery;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: James Langton;
Publisher: Brilliance Audio (2018);
Rating: (3 / 5).

After giving the second book a chance to change my mind about this series, I’ve given up. It’s not a bad mystery or a badly written story, but it just didn’t catch me. Also, the body count is prodigious and the methods of the killings are gruesome, which never interests me. There are so many other historical mysteries set during this fascinating time period that I’ve enjoyed more.

The audiobook narrator, James Langton, did an excellent job, and I have no complaints about the production.

Finally, the addition of homosexuality into the story just reeks of political correctness, c2020, and that was the nail in the coffin for me. It was totally unnecessary to the story and really took the ending of the book to a low point.

Contains violence and murder, no foul language, gruesome descriptions, and some sexual references

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Historical Mystery Tagged with historical mystery

Review: Patient 3

By Jan

on February 27, 2020

Patient 3

Author: Chris Chau;
Genre: Science-fiction, apocalypse;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: Coy Dugger;
Publisher: Chris Chau (2019);
Rating: (3 / 5).

In the near future, the main character is put into a coma-like state to wait for a cure for a mysterious disease. He wakes after seven years to an alien-destroyed world and a quest to survive. There are lots of surprises waiting, both for him and for you.

The story was fun and the characters likable, but this is a plot that has more twists than a slinky. Don’t assume anything, be sure to suspend your disbelief, and you’ll make it out alive.

Coy Dugger’s narration was fine, although it was mostly a straight read without many accents or inflections. That made it a little difficult to know who was speaking at times. There were also places where no pauses between sentences kept the pace irregular; that might have been the editor’s fault, but it was annoying.

Apocalyptic themes, some violence, no sex, and no foul language.

The author/publisher provided a complimentary copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Science-fiction

Review: Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind

By Jan

on February 27, 2020

Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind

Author: Yuval Noah Harari;
Genre: History, Anthropology;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: Derek Perkins;
Publisher: HarperAudio (2017);
Rating: (3 / 5).

I took my time with this audiobook because I wanted to concentrate on the topic. Dr. Harari highlights the history of cognitive hominids, which is obviously a huge issue to cover in a little over 15 hours (or 464 pages in the paperback). But the subject is fascinating and the organization of the book is excellent.

As a Christian, I disagree with Harare’s bleak opinion of religion in general, but I’m willing to listen to the scientist’s viewpoint on anthropology and human evolution. My own opinion is there is a way to fuse both (or all) convictions, but this particular author doesn’t agree. He also appears to contradict himself several times throughout the book, and I would hate to be his neighbor, based on his opinion of human behavior.

Narrator Derek Perkins added a bit of mockery to his tone, which may or may not have been intended. It was annoying at times, but I stuck with it in order to absorb what the good doctor has to say about human history.

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Non-fiction Tagged with Yuval Noah Harari

The Women of the Copper Country book cover

Review: The Women of the Copper Country

By Jan

on February 27, 2020

The Women of the Copper Country

Author: Mary Doria Russell;
Genre: Historical fiction;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell;
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (2019);
Rating: (4 / 5).

Ancestors of mine were copper miners in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so I was excited to read this one. This was a character study of several people involved in a mine strike in Houghton County, Michigan in 1913. The main character was Annie Clements, a miner’s wife who did everything she could to help her community and make life better for the miners and their families.

The story was well-written and the characters were interesting. I got bogged down in the middle of the long strike and the struggles of the townsfolk and I skipped some of the second half, but it was an interesting story of early labor struggles and there were several side stories. For anyone interested in early labor union history of the United States, this would be a great read.

As many other listeners of the audiobook have mentioned, the narrator mispronounced several place names, which was distracting. Otherwise she did a good job, but shouldn’t you ask first before you try to pronounce names?

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Historical Novel Tagged with audiobook, Mary Doria Russell