Hell on Heels: A Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter Novella
Written by: John G. Hartness Narrated by: James Foster Length: 2 hrs and 47 mins Unabridged Audiobook Release Date:01-15-16 Publisher: Falstaff Media The Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter series, is still going strong in Hell on Heels, the third title in the series. Harker and Detective Flynn have had changes in their relationship, a very slow building of trust and possibly a hint of friendship. Quincy’s language and attitude both remain foul, especially before, during and after any breath he takes. The entity Quincy is fighting in this book is Renfield. Not that Renfield, the original. This is one of his successors. When you are Count Dracula, you do not have to remember servants names. You just call them all by their predecessors name. Makes life easier. Unfortunately one of the previous Renfield was disturbed, more than bug eating disturbed and has come back to seek revenge on the Count, or as Harker calls his, Uncle Luke. Disturbed Renfield has no problem with killing present Reinfeld to get his revenge on his former employer. Harker and Flynn are working together to help Dracula. With that the story is off and running and like others has great action and pacing. When I wrote my review of the Kindle version of Hell on Heels, I stated, “The only way this book could have been any better is if it had been an audiobook read by James Foster.” And I was right. I enjoyed reading the book but listening to it narrated by James Foster is the difference between smelling chocolate cookies and eating them. His narration of the Quincy Harker series takes a two dimensional page and makes it three dimensional. He breathes life into the characters on the pages. I received a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for a fair review.
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Thicker Than Blood
Written by: Claire C. Riley, Madeline Sheehan Narrated by: CJ Bloom Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins Unabridged Audiobook Release Date:04-30-15 Publisher: Tantor Audio My original Thicker Than Blood (Thicker Than Blood, #1) audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer. Thicker Than Blood by Claire C. Riley and Madeline Sheehan has some similarities to other zombie apocalypse novels. The world they create is very, very bleak. There is constant danger and the living are often worse than the zombies. Bad things happen. It is a zombie apocalypse novel afterall. The big difference between Thicker Than Blood and others in the genre is two women are the main characters. All the action is told through their eyes, they narrate alternating chapters. The story is what happens to them, other than the dead husbands, only one male character has a significant role. The story starts about several years after the virus overtook the world. Leisel and Evelyn and their husbands were very close friends before the world went down the drain. After the virus wreaks havoc, Leisel and Evelyn have only each other. Leisel is generally the delicate buttercup and Evelyn is the tough as nails dame. Both women evolve through the novel. I liked female main characters. I did not like way women are portrayed as totally powerless in the post apocalypse world. I guess I am a firm believer in brains over brawn. I did not like the use of sex as a means of illustrating the male dominance over the females in the world. I never really felt any connection to Leisel or Evelyn. They were almost too extreme to be believable. Liesel was too weak and Evelyn was too strong. A more believable character would have been somewhere in between. All in the all, the story was good, not great, not groundbreaking but worth the read. The major problem I had with this audiobook was the production values and the narrator. It is somewhat hard to separate what was caused by the production values and what was the weakness of the narrator. To try to rule out any issues from my devices, I listened to this audio book on a Samsung Galaxy S5 phone, a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4, and a Dell desktop computer with speakers. I tried both devices with JVC bluetooth speakers. No matter what device or speakers I used, the sound was tinny. It reminded me of listening to a recording on a cassette recorder (showed my age there). I had to adjust the volume way too often. I could not just listen. I had to be ready to adjust the volume down for the raised voices and then back up for the quieter conversations. The production team should have make sure the volume was consistent throughout the entire book. Finally the narrator, CJ Bloom, was difficult to listen to. Some of the time, she had a very nice voice. But most of the time her voice was strident. So many sentences were said with so much emotion forced through them. It was exhausting to listen to. Again whoever was in charge of the production should have been picking up on the issues with the sound quality as well as the narrator’s performance. I would be willing to try another audiobook narrated by CJ Bloom. It may be a simple case of me not liking the style she narrated this one in. I will eventually try another book by the authors, either another collaboration or a solo effort. Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com 2389: A Space Horror Novel
Written by: Iain Rob Wright Narrated by: Nigel Patterson Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins Unabridged Audiobook Release Date:11-17-15 Publisher: WRIGHT IDEAS LIMITED My original 2389: A Space Horror Novel audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer. This was my first introduction to the writing of Ian Rob Wright and narration of Nigel Patterson. It was a voyage of discovery. 2389: A Space Horror Novel is a relatively short listen, just under four hours. It is, as the title suggests, set in the future. And what a great setting, the Moon. The setup of the story is great. A select group of cosmonauts (astronauts from multiple nations) are called in to address a special situation. The amusement park on the Moon (you read that right, amusement park) has gone dark. No one is answering calls. Let’s just let that image of Disney World on the Moon sink in for a moment. The entrance tunnel opens to a large dome with the cosmos stretching to eternity over their heads. Or as the author puts it “like standing inside a transparent golf ball or one of those spheres that children put hamsters inside of.” He paints an incredible picture that helps lock in the setting. As the story progresses, the reader never forgets this is the moon. You cannot just run outside to escape the danger. The story takes about six chapters until the reader gets the first hint of what has happened. For the preceding chapters, I was holding my breath waiting. I knew it was coming. I didn’t know where it would come from or even what it was but the title says “Horror”. The suspense was great. I really enjoyed that the author did not reveal his whole plot the minute the team arrived. His use of language to paint very vivid pictures was excellent. For example, at a food court “the scrolling menu screen listed the extortion of prices”. “Extortion of prices”, what a great phrase and so true (how much do they charge for a bottle of water at Disney these days?). Another example is, “spilled out of the canyon like pus from a wound, squirting in all directions.” Eww, but it certain paints a picture in your mind. I do not do spoilers in my reviews so I cannot comment any further on the story. Nigel Patterson has a very nice voice. He does a good job on accents. I really enjoyed the fact that Mr. Patterson did not do falsettos or any distracting pitches for his female voices. His pacing was consistent with the action in the story. The major problem I had with this title was how it interfered with what I needed to get done today. Yes, I listened to it in one day. Yes, I kept stopping what I was doing (washing dishes, sorting laundry, whatever) because I was so caught up in the story. I would definitely pick up one of Mr. Wright’s books or Mr. Patterson’s narrations again. Story (Plot) 5 Performance 5 Production Quality 5 Attention Holding 5 Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com My original BAD WOLF (BAD WOLF CHRONICLES BOOK 1)audiobook review and many others can be found atAudiobook Reviewer.
Detective Lara Mendes, a by the book and new homicide cop, gets partnered with John Gallagher, the bad boy of the department. Their first case involves a woman killed and eaten by dogs. All the pieces do not fit; one bite is identified as a large wolf, not a dog, and one DNA sample is identified as not human and not canine. Lara and John try to solve the crime without actually working together in a stereotypical dysfunctional police partner relationship. This book is essentially a mystery with paranormal twist. The paranormal ingredient is no surprise based on the title. The not human-not canine DNA belongs to a werewolf. He is on a mission of revenge. To stop him, Lara and John first have to identify him. Next is wrapping their heads around the fact that such a thing as a werewolf can exists. The werewolf does have the ability of changing forms at will, not tied to the moon. The story progresses on a predictable path. Lara and John never break out of the run of the mill cop molds. The backstory on the werewolf does not make me have any feelings, either positive or negative, for him. The book ends abruptly. The reader would have to purchase the next book and the final in the trilogy to get the whole story. I was not impressed with the narration by Bob Barton. At points it sounded as though he was reading through the book for the first time. When John’s character reacts to Lara with a “sinister grating chuckle like some vaudeville diablo”, it just falls flat. It doesn't sound sinister but is definitely grating. At timestamp 2 hours, 20 minutes and 52 sections, the narrator does flub a line, stops and repeats it. It sounds like this: “A hack job shelf. Filed into it (throat cleared then percussive sound, like a movie clapperboard). Filed onto it were more of the same cheap notebooks.” I consider this to be an error on the part of production values. This should have been caught and edited out before it was released. I do not understand why there is not a “proof listening” step in the production of audio books. Authors should insist on it because it affects the reader’s perception of their work and whether the reader will try them again. I did not find the story compelling enough, either as a mystery or a werewolf story, to continue with the second book in the series. At same point I hope to hear another narration by Mr. Barton and see if it is just this title that is lackluster. Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com Story (Plot) 3 Performance 2 Production Quality 2 Attention Holding 3 Straight to Hell: A Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter Novella
Written by: John G. Hartness Narrated by: James Foster Length: 3 hrs Unabridged Audiobook Release Date:12-18-15 Publisher: Falstaff Media I really enjoyed the first book in the Demon Hunter series, Raising Hell, so I jumped at the chance to review Straight to Hell. Quincy Harker does have some similarities to Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. If you enjoyed the Dresden Files, the Demon Hunter series will pull in you. Quincy Harker is still the same Quincy we met in Raising Hell, profane and attitude laden. The big change in Quincy’s world is Rebecca Flynn, the cop whose main goal was arresting him, is now his partner and they are both working for Homeland Security. This installment of the Demon Hunter series explains why Quincy has tolerated Rebecca instead of feeding her to his Uncle Luke. It also has flashbacks that illustrate what his life was like before and after he came to live with his Uncle Luke. His teenage experiments in exactly what it takes to wake a vampire during daylight are hilarious. The centerpiece of this story is protecting a direct descendent of David (you know, got in a fight with a Philistine named Goliath, that David) who has the power to bring about the end of the work by breaking the mythical seven seals as detailed in the Book of Revelations. Again as with the first book, the pacing was fast. Every scene taught us something new about Quincy or Rebecca and helped develop their characters. James Foster did another excellent job narrating it. If you have not had an opportunity to sample Mr. Foster’s work, the Demon Hunter series is a great place to start. He does male and female characters equally well. He brings attitude where it is needed and drops the room temperature a good twenty degrees when Uncle Luke speaks (creepy on so many levels). The production values were excellent. I have purchased all three Quincy Harker novellas on Amazon. As soon as Mr. Foster narrates the third one for Audible, I will pick that up also. Story (Plot) 5 Performance 5 Production Values 5 Attention Holding 5 "This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher through audiobook blast dot com at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review." My original Hell House audiobook reviewaudiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer
“It’s the Mount Everest of haunted houses.” Hell House is a novel written by Richard Matheson about the “Mount Everest of haunted houses.”It is a fitting quote as Matheson was Sir Edmund Hillary to the sci fi and horror genre. Modern writers, like Stephen King, and filmmakers, like George Romero, list him as one of their major influences. His credits include novels, short stories, screenplays, television, and even one non-fiction. Reading Hell House is almost a rite of passage for lovers of the haunted house genre.The book is centered on the Belasco House is rural Maine, so rural not even Stephen King has been there. The house was owned by an extraordinarily wealthy and amoral man. He built it as far away from everything as he could and in a generally unhealthy area to discourage unwanted visitors. While he lived, the opulent house was host to ongoing parties which increased in depravity and violence over the years. When family of guests finally checked on them, they found everyone dead, Belasco missing and the house abandoned. As the story starts Dr. Lionel Barrett is hired by another fabulously wealthy man to put an end to the question of whether there is life after death. Barrett does not believe in the soul. He is a scientist. In addition to his wife, Barrett takes Florence, a mental medium, and Ben, a physical medium and the only survivor of a previous Belasco investigation team. The ectoplasm hits the fan almost immediately on their arrival. The questions of who or what is haunting Hell House grow with each incident until the final chapter. Hell House is a very good haunted house story. It is not the best though. The Mount Everest of haunted house stories title belongs to Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. Matheson was definitely taking Jackson on with Hell House (Stephen King did his homage to her with his screenplay of Rose Red). There are many similarities in the beginning. Matheson uses a lot of sexual situations where Jackson does not. Matheson’s horrors are fully exposed while Jackson’s are implied and more frightening for that very reason. While it is not Mount Everest, Hell House is K2, still a good book and a classic in the genre. Ray Porter did a great job narrating it. His voice is smooth and calming, which adds to the horror in a very unique way. Even at the height of action, his voice never rises. He conveys all the emotion and horror without yelling or screaming. His characters are great. He must have an amazing vocal range. Barrett’s character has a deeper voice than Fischers. The women’s voices are slightly higher and the speech patterns different so it is easy to tell them apart. The production values were excellent. I also found that Ray Porter’s voice reminds of Bill Ratner (“Alexander feels a strange pulling sensation.”). I must confess that Haunted Houses are my favorite part of the horror genre. The audiobook of Hell House is a wonderful addition to my collection. Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty
Written by: Dan Jones Narrated by: Dan Jones Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins Unabridged Audiobook Release Date:10-20-15 Publisher: Penguin Audio Magna Carta: The Birth of Liberty by historian Dan Jones is excellent. As with his previous books, The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors and The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England , Mr. Jones makes a very complicated period of history accessible. The Magna Carta is often referred to as the starting point for our own Constitution. Ironically it was never intended as a tool to help the common man. It was intended to benefit the nobility by controlling a despotic king. Mr. Jones does a wonderful job of setting up the circumstances that required the creation of the Magna Carta. He also explains that it was not just one document and done. It was reissued with changes over the course of many years. It is a fascinating timeline to follow how a barons’s rebellion is credited in the creation of some many documents which brought freedom to nation’s citizens. Honestly I enjoyed John Curless’s narration of War of the Roses better than Mr. Jones’s narration of Magna Carta. I did enjoy Mr. Jone’s narration better than Clive Chafer’s narration of The Plantagenets. Mr. Jones has a pleasant voice. He certainly knows the text having written it. He provides emphasis where it is needed. It just comes down to personal choice in narrators. I would highly recommend Magna Carta. It is wonderful and not dry. This book was provided free from Audiobook Addicts on Facebook as a prize for a contest. The Blood Flag
By: James W. Huston Read by: Peter Ganim Runtime: 11.3 Hours Recording: Unabridged Release date: 11.10.2015 Publisher: Blackstone Audio Genre: Fiction/Thrillers/Suspense ISBN-13: 978-1-5046-7642-7 I would recommend that you have had some exposure to the early 20th century history to be able to get the most out of this book. I have read William L. Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich which helped me understand a lot of the “whats” and “whys” in the book. The book revolves around the search for the most holy relic to the Nazi culture, the Blood Flag (Blutfahne) which holds the blood from the first Nazi “Martyrs” who died during the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler treated it like a holy relic. It disappeared shortly before the war ended. Kyle Morrissey specializes in international terrorism for the FBI. He experiences a moment of unreality when days after attending the D-Day Ceremony at Normandy, he and his family are caught in a Nazi march in Germany. He questions how the evil the greatest generation fought and beat can still be in existence. As he researches modern Nazi-ism, he becomes obsessed, leading him to cooperate with the FBI agent in charge of tracking Neo-Nazis. Before too long Kyle finds himself looking for the Blood Flag as a way to gain admission to the top Neo-Nazi group in the world. I enjoyed the history in the story. I thought the characters, especially Kyle and Jedidiah were interesting but never fully fleshed out. During the incident that starts Kyle’s obsession, he is accompanied by his wife and children. They promptly vanish except for one or two mentions for the rest of the book. He drops his own work in International Terrorism to pursue his Nazi obsession and the FBI does not reign him in. Jedidiah’s backstory is never truly explored. He was a virulent Neo-Nazi and now he is a confidential informant for the FBI. I never really got a good handle on his conversion. The German officers in the equivalent of the FBI remained a question on whether they sympathized with the Neo-Nazis or not. To be clear, I enjoyed the book. I listened at every opportunity I had for the last few days. It certainly held my attention. But it ended somewhat abruptly and I was left with a lot of unanswered questions (see paragraph above). Peter Ganim did a nice job as a narrator. He handled all the accents, American (both Southern and more non descript) German, and Russian well. Mr. Ganim did a nice job with the few females when they made appearances. His pacing with consistent with the action. The production values were excellent. I would definitely listen to another book narrated by Peter Ganim and will read another by James W. Huston. I just wish he had made The Blood Flag a little longer so my questions were answered. Story (Plot) 4 Performance 5 Production Quality 5 Attention Holding 5 This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Jukebox dot com. At Least He's Not on Fire is a collection by Chris Philbrook. If his name is familiar you have probably come across someone gushing about one of his series. If his name is not familiar, slap yourself on the back of the head and pick up one of his books or audiobooks now. You are missing something great. This book contains three original stories and three excerpts from his different series. The title, oh yes, the title refers to an philosophical life view the main character of Adrian's Undead Diary adopts after surviving the first few days of a zombie apocalypse.
The first original story is “All In”, about thirty minutes in length. (Please note, times are approximate because although I tried to watch the time stamp I was too caught up in the stories to get exact time. Hence the “about” length.) The main character finds himself playing poker with the devil. First thing he asks Satan is, “Ever been to Georgia?”. It just gets better and better from there and is not predictable at all. Hellhole is about 27 minutes in length. It is very original and horrifying. If there is a sinkhole in my neighborhood, my hair will finish going white overnight. Hellhole is seriously terrifying. The Vampire of Menlo Park, about 38 minutes in length, poses the question, “What if Thomas Edison was a vampire?”. The answer is creative and could easily be expanded to an entire book. The first of the three excerpts is from Dark Recollections: Book One of Adrian's Undead Diary, about 52 minutes in length. If you haven’t read AUD (as it is abbreviated), this is the perfect opportunity to check it out. When I reviewed the full book on Amazon I said it is one of the best zombie genre I have ever encountered. Since I love the apocalypse genre, that is saying a lot. Try this first chapter and you will, like me, willingly jump into Adrian’s world. Excellent series and an excellent introduction to it. The next excerpt is Tesser: A Dragon Among Us A Novel of the Reemergence, about 52 minutes in length. After listening to this except, I cannot wait for the Audible production that has just been announced. It was a wonderful first chapter. Imagine a dragon. Now make him cooler than any other dragon ever, including Smaug. Now give him intelligence and so very neat abilities that other dragons have not had in literature. Also throw in a magician’s apprentice, who just quit his full time job as an accountant to concentrate on his magic. Oh yeah, it is set in modern times. I have got to have this book. My son, who did a presentation on dragons in literature for one of his college classes, will probably fight me for who gets it first. The final except is The Wrath of the Orphans: Book One of The Kinless Trilogy. This is the longest segment at roughly 2 ½ hours long. Chris Philbrook creates another universe, Elmoryn, where the story takes place. I was very impressed with how well he fleshed out his universe for the Adrian series but this one is even more breathtaking. Elmoryn has war and magic and horror and characters that immediately get your attention. By the end of the except I cared about Malwynn and his twin sister Umaryn, the main characters. The Wrath of the Orphans is the first book of a planned trilogy. Book 2 is already out and book 3 is hopefully joining it soon. James Foster, who narrated all of Adrian’s Undead Diary, narrates At Least He’s not on Fire. As with AUD, he does a fantastic job. For example “All In” the devil and the main character have distinct voices. Foster’s accents in Tesser are spot on as usual. Foster is a finalist in three different categories for the 2015 SOVAS VoiceArts Awards. His narrations always take the author’s written word that one step further to pull you into their reality. The production values are prefect. I tend not to be a big fan of anthologies because they can be uneven or have only one gem among a box of “meh” pieces. This one though is all gem quality. As evidenced by my inability to get correct times on the different segments, I was drawn in and enthralled. Warning to my family, this year you will be charged in Chris Philbrook titles for me doing your taxes. "This audiobook was provided by Audiobook Reviewer at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review V Wars: Blood and Fire is the sequel to V Wars: A Chronicle of the Vampire Wars. Blood and Fire, like its prequel, is written by several authors, James A. Moore, Joe McKinney,Jonathan Maberry, Kevin J. Anderson, Larry Correia, Scott Sigler, Weston Ochse, and Yvonne Navarro. Each author is responsible for writing one or more of the fifteen different stories that make up the whole. I read the series out of order, reading the first, third and then this the second. The second book bridges gap between first and third. It fills in where the different types of vamps come from and introduces some of the new characters, like The Hippo.
The events in Blood and Fire take place one year after the dormant DNA activates turning some humans into vampires. A truce has been in effect for several months concluding what is called the Vampire War. As the book begins, the truce goes up in flames and the second Vampire War begins. As with the first book, my favorite thread was by Yvonne Navarro. I really enjoy the character she created in Moonie. I would love to see Moonie have a book of her own. The character of The Hippo is wonderful. He is also in the third book but this book does a wonderful job of introducing him and explaining his behavior (and he have some behavior that needs explaining). The book chronicles events through different viewpoints, the vampires and people. Some of the characters are simply trying to survive while others are driving events towards a cataclysm. They vary from soldiers (both vampire and human), a reporter, a consultant whose expertise is vampires and folklore and others who are trying to keep out of harm’s way. Not all vampires are evil and not all humans are good. I think that is one of the strengths of this series, the large grey areas where one expects only black and white. The narration by Gabrielle de Cuir, Jamye Grant, Richard Gilliland, Roxanne Hernandez, Stephen Hoye, Arthur Morey, and Stefan Rudnicki is very good. I had no problems with any section or characterisations. The production values were excellent. I am fortunate that my local library system subscribes to hoopla service which gives patrons access to digital content. I checked V Wars: Blood and Fire out from hoopla, streaming it on my tablet and downloading it onto my smart phone. I would rate it 4 out of 5 stars overall: Plot 4, Performance 5, Production 5, and Attention holding 4. V Wars: Night Terrors:
New Stories of the Vampire Wars Edited by Jonathan Maberry Read by: various narrators Runtime: 15.6 Hours Recording: Unabridged Release date: 10.6.2015 Publisher: Blackstone Audio Genre: Fiction/Horror ISBN-13: 978-1-5046-1631-7 V Wars: Night Terrors, the third book in the V Wars series, was released in October 2015. It probably is not totally necessary to read the first two in the series before Night Terrors but it would help. I did read V Wars first and now Night Terrors. I did not realize I was missing the third book, Blood and Fire so I did get a little confused on one point. Like the original Night Terrors is written by several authors, Lucas Mangum, Jonathan Maberry, Jeremy Robinson, John Everson, Larry Correia, and Tim Waggoner. Each author is responsible for writing one or more of the fifteen different stories that make up the whole. The premise of the V Wars books is that a piece of dormant human DNA somehow become activated creating vampires and werewolfs. The first book dealt with the original event and its immediate aftermath. V Wars: Night Terrors takes place at least eighteen months or more after the original event. A war has broken out between the “beats” (normal humans) and the “bloods” (vampires). It is not that simple though. It is not just human vs. inhuman. Some humans work with vampires and some vampires with humans. Some are trying to eradicate the others while some are trying to find a way to coexist. I did enjoy Night Terrors but not as much as the original V Wars. One reason was there was more sex. I thought it was unnecessary for moving the story forward. It just seemed to be gratuitous, like the nudity in Game of Thrones. The other problem I had was the types of vampires. In V Wars, there are vampires, period. There are the beginnings of an introduction to specialization within the species but in Night Terrors it explodes. There were so many different types of vampires with different abilities and exotic names I could not keep them straight. At all. Just mentioning what type of vampire one was did not tell me if it was sun sensitive, extra strong or drank life essence instead of blood. It was just too much to keep track of for me. I did enjoy what I perceived as social commentary. In one story, “A Day in the Life” part 9, the action centers around the man who produces vampire reality shows. His biggest hit follows female vampires who live in the Hamptons. They discuss whether to have their fangs gold tipped and if chinchilla blood really the best. Think of Real Housewives of wherever gone horribly wrong and you get the idea. He also produced shows that were vampire on vampire violence, even an Amish Vampire, which he admitted was totally scripted. The production values were perfect. The narration was excellent. I think Stefan Rudnicki sounds like the author Benjamin Percy and had to check the credits to see who it was narrating. Gabrielle de Cuir and Stephen Hoye were fantastic. Jamye Meri Grant was great. The only problem I had was Sunil Malhotra. He has a lovely voice but at times he spoke too softly. I would need to back up, raise the volume and then lower the volume after that particular passage. Overall it was an excellent audiobook. I would rate it 4 out of 5 stars overall: Plot 4, Performance 5, Production 5, and Attention holding 4. "This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review” Dark Recollections: Adrian's Undead Diary is one of the best zombie genre I have ever encountered. Since I love the apocalypse genre, that is saying a lot. Adrian is just normal guy living in a small town (New England I think). He has a girlfriend, a job and a past. All three have a direct impact on the story.
The dairy is Adrian’s way of coping with witnessing the ugliness of the end of the world. The majority of the story is entries from Adrian's diary. There are a few points where the story switches and shows the events Andrian’s has described from another person’s perspective. Adrian is one of the most human character I have ever encountered in literature. He is a flawed man with a good heart. He is trying to survive the world gone mad while retaining his soul. Adrian also has a great sense of humor. James Foster does an excellent job narrating the audiobook. His ability to verbalize the author’s words is so complete that I literally see Adrian’s shoulders slumping as he sighs or a wry grin as he gets sarcastic about the events of his day. His voice is always clear and his volume remains consistent. The production values are great. I listened to Dark Recollections: Adrian's Undead Diary in less than 24 hrs because it was so compelling and enjoyable. The icing on the cake is the fact that Dark Recollections is only the first of eight books in the series. I have already picked up books two through four. Dark Recollections: Adrian's Undead Diary is the zombie apocalypse that you want to survive. Story (Plot) 5 Performance 5 Production Quality 5 Attention Holding 5 "This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com." "After listening to “Full Metal Jacket Diaries” I understand how this movie was elevated to the iconic status it now holds."
Read the full review at AudiBook Reviewer: http://audiobookreviewer.com/reviews/full-metal-jacket-diary-matthew-modine/ The story was an EMP apocalypse (as opposed to zombies or nuclear war). It seemed like the details as far as what would survive an EMP and what would not, were correct. The author also showed the effects on different populations The two main characters are a middle aged widower and his daughter, a first year college student. The disaster is shown primarily through their eyes and a few other characters.
I liked the main character. I liked the fact that he was not an ex-seal alpha male type. He was an ordinary joe trying to survive long enough to find his daughter and keep her safe. I wasn’t as wild about the daughter. Granted she had lost her mother recently but she seemed too mature and forward thinking for a first year college student. She is the one who realizes the food fight in the cafeteria is destroying food they will need in days to come. And then she stands up to all the other students and puts a stop to it. She is definitely more mature than I was at that age. So she was not as believable a character as her father was. I liked Mr. Lucas’s voice. It was different than other narrators in a way that is hard to quantify. Probably the best I can express the difference is he sounded like a regular guy, which the main character is, so good job narrator! I really appreciated that he did not do a falsetto for the female voices. By subtle changes in tone, accents and speech patterns Mr. Lucas did a very good job of representing each character, no matter what gender or age. The accents he did were also very believable. The production values were good for the most part. When the narrator raises his voice, for example when the serviceman calls the main character to warn him that something is going to happen, the sound quality is not as good. I know it is very hard to create raised voices and still keep that audio and the regular level audio on a good level. Other than raised voices, I thought the production values were good. My attention was not absolutely riveted. I enjoyed the book but it did not keep me awake wanting to continue listening to it. I would still recommend Breakdown Season 1 to any disaster or post apocalypse fans. It looks like Season 1 is just the start of what may be a much longer series. I would suggest that Mr. Lucas be retained as the narrator because he really gave the main character a believable voice. My first review for AudioBook Reviewer.
"I enjoyed “Father Made Me Do It” as an audiobook so much so that I purchased the Kindle version. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. Hell has never been so much fun." Read the review at: http://audiobookreviewer.com/reviews/user-submitted/guest-review-father-made-demon-ascension-book-1-jami-brumfield/ The Name of the Rose
ABRIDGED by Umberto Eco Narrated by Theodore Bikel "Abridged but fantastic!" I do not usually like abridged books but this specific one is fantastic. If you have read or listened to the unabridged Name of the Rose, you know it contains information overload. Between the philosophical discussions and Latin phrases, it can be a tough book to read. This abridgment leaves the story intact but cuts the academics . The narrator is great. He conveys the emotion and the personalities and at the same his voice has a very relaxing quality to it. Yellow Zone: A Journal Documentation of the End of America
UNABRIDGED by Jacqueline Druga Narrated by David Dietz "Narrator great; not wild about story" I would definitely listen to another book narrated by David Dietz. I found his voice enjoyable and versatile. He was able to do women's as well as men's voices without the women seeming falsetto. This was my first exposure to Jacqueline Druga. I cannot say I found the story to be an good as other post-apocalyptic books like "The Dead Lands". While David's reading was great, it seemed the production values were not as good as some other books I have listened to. The sound quality especially when he raised his voice was not great. I know that is a studio production issue and one that should have been addressed by the producer of the audio book not the narrator. Robinson Crusoe 2244
UNABRIDGED by E. J. Robinson Narrated by Malk Williams "Original and enjoyable" I received a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an unbiased review. I enjoyed this book. It was an original story. The narrator had a nice voice. He conveyed the emotion in the story well. I liked this book so much I am going to buy the Kindle edition of the book. I will be watching for the author's next work. I recommend Robinson Crusoe 2244. Serum
UNABRIDGED by Christopher McDonald Narrated by Robert Lee Wilson "Narration needs to be redone" The narration and production values were simply horrible. As another reviewer mentioned, there seems to be a lot of background noise and not a very good recording. There were also huge problems with the narration. The narration cleared his throat, repeated text (Chap 6 in audible/5 in physical book at time stamp 02.31, 02:41, 03:41 and 04:42 to just list a few examples), mispronounced words and at times seems to be talking to someone else (again Chap 6 time stamp 01:41 sounds like he says to someone, "it says here" then reads line from book). I would not be willing to try another book from Christopher McDonald unless it was very inexpensive. I would definitely not listen to this narrator again. Serum was not worth the listening time. Perhaps it would have been worth the time to read the book but in this case, the narrator made it impossible to follow the story because his narration issues were so distracting. I received a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for a fair review. I am sorry to have to rate the book so poorly because I know the author put his heart into writing it. I suggest the author try to find a different narrator for any future projects and consider redoing this one. I will not buy the ebook version of "Serum" because after listening to this narrator turned me off on it. UNABRIDGED
by Rob Dircks Narrated by Rob Dircks "Unique and enjoyable" What made the experience of listening to Where the Hell is Tesla? the most enjoyable? Disclaimer - I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for a fair review. This was such an enjoyable audiobook that I purchased the kindle version. Very unique story, really enjoyed the modern form of a story told through correspondence. (It has me thinking about Dracula told thru email and social media.) I really liked the narrator's voice. He has a nice voice with a hint of "gravely". It fit what I envisioned the character sounds like. I recommend "Where the Hell is Tesla?" The Six Wives of Henry VIII
By: Alison Weir Read by: Simon Prebble Runtime: 22.4 Hours Recording: Unabridged Release date: 1.1.1991 Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC ISBN-13: 9781470325503 The Children of Henry VIII By: Alison Weir Read by: Simon Prebble Runtime: 15.7 Hours Recording: Unabridged Release date: 7.9.1996 Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC Genre: Nonfiction/Biography & Autobiography ISBN-13: 9781470325510 The Six Wives and The Children of Henry VIII To anyone to who loves Tudor history, the author Alison Weir is a familiar name. I first read both these books, The Six Wives of Henry VIII and The Children of Henry VIII, when they came out in the 1990's. The books themselves are excellent. Simon Prebble does an great job narrating them. He has a great voice. If you are interested in the Tudors, these two non-fiction books are a good place to start, especially before you read any of the historical fiction books about the Tudors. The Tudors: The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty
By: G. J. Meyer Read by: Robin Sachs Runtime: 24.9 Hours Recording: Unabridged Release date: 2.23.2010 Publisher: Random House ISBN-13: 9780307705662 The Whole Tudors, not just Henry VIII September 18, 2013 This book, narrated by the late Robin Sachs, is fantastic. As a narrator, no one else is as good except Simon Vance. The contents of the book are comprehensive, covering Henry VII improbable rise to king through his son, the most infamous Tudor and continuing with all three of his children this book gives you the complete story. Nothing happened in isolation. Often occurrences in one reign where reactions to their predecessor's reign. I especially like the background chapters which filled in the details of various aspects of Tudor life from royalty to commoner. A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918
By: Thomas Penn
Read by: Simon Vance Runtime: 14.6 Hours Recording: Unabridged Release date: 3.6.2012 Publisher: Blackstone Audio Genre: Nonfiction/Biography & Autobiography ISBN-13: 978-1-4708-0601-9 Simon Vance does an excellent job narrating Winter King. Note to big authors: hire him for all your audio books! The only reason this book does not get 5 stars on the story is because it is very in depth about what Henry VII did to keep the nobles in check, the financial blackmail, the use of obscure laws and crippling fines. For someone who is a casual history buff, it will probably be too much. For someone who is interested in the Tudors and especially how a man with very little claim to the throne gets it and manages to keep it, it is a great book. The Pageant of England is a four book series by Thomas B. Costain. The books in the series are The Conquerors, The Magnificent Century, The Three Edwards, and The Last Plantagenets. All four audio books are narrated by David Case who also records under the names of Frederick Davidson, Edward Raleigh, James Nelson, and Ian McKay, The Conquerors covers William the Conquerer through John. The Magnificent Century covers the regin of Henry III. The Three Edwards covered Edward I through Edward III. It ends with the beginning of Richard II. The Last Plantagenents covers Richard II through Richard III.
If you enjoy English history, this is a good series. I prefer Dan Jones to Thomas Costain in terms of writing style. Costain wrote over fifty years ago and can seem a little dated at points. As far as the audio books themselves, I would give them four out of five stars. I was not sure I would like David Case's voice. I found that he does do a good job on this series. I am not sure I would like a work of fiction narrated by him but for non-fiction, he is very good. Overall the series was good enough that I purchased all four audio books through Downpour.com |
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