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Mountain Man cover

Review: Mountain Man: Prequel

By Jan
 on November 8, 2018

Mountain Man: Prequel (Book 0, Mountain Man series)

Mountain Man coverAuthor: Keith C. Blackmore;
Genre: Fantasy/Horror;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: R. C. Bray;
Publisher: Podium Publishing (2018);
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5).

I saw the great ratings for this series and wanted to start at the VERY beginning; this is a prequel for the Mountain Man series. Wow, what a ride!

Main character Gus has a mostly-normal day as a professional painter, but that begins to go south quickly when a crazy man tries to attack some shoppers at the discount store where Gus and his crew are working. The small group of shoppers, checkers, and painters don’t know what to make of the situation, but it’s quickly apparent that something is desperately wrong.

Yep, it’s the zombie apocalypse.

The story includes lots of the undead and their victims, car chases and hit-and-runs (or make that splat-and-runs), and stealth and hiding. It’s gory, it’s nasty, and it’s fun if you like that kind of thing. Blackmore adds in some humor to take the tension down a bit, and I laughed out loud a few times. There’s also plenty of raw language, which is realistic, but if you’re put off by cursing, this isn’t for you. Of course, if you’re put off by violence and gore, the language is going to be the least of your worries.

Blackmore categorizes this series as horror, and I understand why. In addition to the frightening descriptions, you can’t help but imagine what you would do in the same situation, as well as feel the desperation and terror.

As for the narration, all I need say is that R. C. Bray did his usual stellar job of reading this book. He’s a favorite of many audiobook listeners, and there’s a good reason for that.

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Fantasy Tagged with ,
The Wrong Unit cover

Review: The Wrong Unit

By Jan
 on March 18, 2018

Review of The Wrong Unit: A Novel

The Wrong Unit coverAuthor: Ron Dircks;
Genre: Science Fiction;
Format: Audiobook;
Publisher: Goldfinch Publishing (2016);
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (5 / 5).

The protagonist of this book isn’t even human, yet his story was enough to make me cry.

The plot is a combination of quest, coming of age, and thriller. It’s set in a future where machines rule the planet and humans are slaves. It’s not quite as depressing as that sounds, but humans are absolutely not in charge anymore. They live in plantation compounds, working for robots, and have very little freedom.

Never fear, there’s a revolution in the works. It’s just taking a lot longer than expected.

For most of the book, the point of view is that of HeyYou, a caregiving android forced into a dangerous and puzzling circumstance. His charge is a human baby, and he’s totally unprepared for it. However, his common sense and compassion go a long way to save a bad situation.

The writing was excellent and the humor was well-placed; I laughed out loud several times (that’s saying a lot).

The author narrated his own work, which can sometimes leave a lot to be desired. However, Mr. Dircks did a fine job, and he certainly knew where to put the emphases.

It’s a simple story that will stay with you. Highly recommended for readers of all genres.

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Fantasy, Science-fiction Tagged with
His Majesty's Dragon cover

Review: His Majesty’s Dragon

By Jan
 on August 15, 2016

His Majesty's Dragon cover

“His Majesty’s Dragon”
Author: Naomi Novik;
Genre: Fantasy;
Format: Audiobook;
Narrator: Simon Vance;
Publisher: Books on Tape (2007).

I’ve had this book on my TBR list for quite a while. My husband is a big fan of the seagoing adventure books of the time period (Patrick O’Brian, C. S. Forester, etc.) and I’ve read a few myself. As a fantasy reader, I thought this would be a great combination, and I was correct. When I saw the narrator was Simon Vance, it was a no-brainer.

The story: During the Napoleonic Wars, a British warship captained by Will Laurence captures a French frigate. The frigate’s prized cargo is a dragon egg, a rare and valuable commodity. Dragons are used as a kind of air force in this alternate universe, and when they hatch, they bond with a human for life. Will becomes the unwilling partner to the young dragon, whom he names Temeraire, and they must leave the Royal Navy for training in the Aerial Corps to learn to defend England from the skies. Book 1 in the Temeraire series.

Ms. Novik is a talented writer and certainly knows the time period. The dialogue was wonderful and sounded authentic to my 21st-century ears. The women in the story were plainly ahead of their time (ahem), and although that seemed anomalous, this is fantasy, after all!

The story itself was handled very well and moved along at a fine pace until we got to the training. I felt it dragged somewhat in the middle of the book. There were quite a few characters to contend with and some didn’t have much depth, but perhaps these will be further explored in a future volume.

I would like to know more about how the characters are feeling, not just acting, and I believe this was somewhat lacking. A few points were belabored, such as that Will Laurence was honorable and cared for Temeraire, and that Temeraire was special for some reason; Those were obvious and didn’t need to be repeated and/or proven so many times, in my opinion.

Meanwhile, Simon Vance did his usual exemplary work with characterizations and accents. Coupled with the fine writing, there was never a time that I didn’t understand who was speaking or what was intended.

I am looking forward to the next book and have already procured it. I’ve also talked my husband into trying this one (in paperback, no less) and am interested in the results of his read.

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review, Fantasy Tagged with ,
The Wild Inside cover

Review: The Wild Inside

By Jan
 on January 23, 2016

The Wild Inside: A Novel of Suspense

Author: Christine CarboThe Wild Inside cover
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Contemporary detective thriller
Narrator: R. C. Bray
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc. (2015)

Department of the Interior Special Agent Ted Systead lives in Colorado now, but he’s been assigned to a murder case in Glacier National Park, Montana, where he grew up. However, it’s not a happy visit for him. He’s been haunted by the memories of his father’s horrendous death by a grizzly bear when Ted was only fourteen.

Ted’s a calm professional most of the time, but this case seems designed to disturb him. The victim was tied to a tree and killed by—you guessed it—a grizzly. Further, the supervisor of the park was the same man who blamed Ted’s father for careless camping practices all those years ago. It’s a difficult case, and throughout the investigation, Ted and his assistant Monty run into brick walls and unsavory characters. Meanwhile, Ted is reminded at every opportunity of the terrible events of his past and his paralyzing fear of bears.

The mystery itself was done very well, mixing a police procedural with a character study including interesting psychological twists. I had no idea who might have done the deed until it was revealed (although I don’t usually try to guess).

The book is filled with extremely expressive descriptions of the land, the weather, and the people. In fact, there were times when it was almost overkill, even though I normally enjoy description. Some passages were almost arrogant, in fact. Perhaps this wouldn’t have been an issue if one was reading instead of listening.

Mr. Bray’s narration was lacking in inflection and emotion, unfortunately. I enjoyed his work on “The Martian,” but this time, his monotone was difficult to get through. It reminded me over and over of Jack Webb’s “just the fact, ma’am” boring narration in the Dragnet TV series.

My conclusion: This was an interesting detective tale, but I recommend reading the book instead of listening to the audiobook. Contains plenty of violence but little bad language and no sex.

In categories Audiobooks, Book Review Tagged with