"Less Stone and Dino, more crap about the Wealthy"
It seems Stuart Woods is drifting away from Stone Barrington. These books are more and more about peripheral characters and less and less about Stone and Dino. It's not the same and not what I buy the books for. They were never anything but fairly simplistic, but I enjoyed them for their escapist value. Now, with Woods concentrating on everything but Stone, including characters that were formerly the objects of derision (like Herbie Fisher who now has to be called Herb and who Woods has made into a younger version of Stone), I am close to not getting any more of them. If the next one is like this, I'm done.
"Good story well read"
First, I always like to hear George Guidall read a book. This is no exception. As to the book itself, I was drawn to the storyline involving the Vatican and the story started out seeming to go there, but then changed quickly. I think it is a book that really centers on the Israeli / Arab conflict with a decidedly strong point of view that is anti-Arab. I don't disagree with the point of view, but I do think it was not the kind of book that I was expecting. Many would love the book, and although I enjoyed it, it just wasn't what I expected.
"Really enjoyed it."
This was a science fiction (future sci-fi) book that painted a picture of a world gone awry, not as you would expect. It was well-crafted, and the narrator did a great job. I thought at first that it would be a pretty thin plot line, but if turned out to be really good. With future science fiction, you know the author has done a good job when you start believing in the world the author has created. The author achieved that here and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
"Heard before"
Like so many books in this genre -- the super-agent who has unbelievable skills in killing people and deducing far-fetched schemes of his enemies -- this book is filled with our super hero achieving everything while caring deeply. We can ignore the incongruity of him being an assassin who coldly kills people and him being a really nice, decent person. The plot was convoluted, but if you like this genre, you will probably like this book. I finished it, so I guess I have to give it 3 stars for that.
"Interesting writing, great narration."
Different, interesting, funny
Nate
This is an interestingly different book with a novel idea. I thought it had some problems toward the end. It always bothers me when I feel like the author is stretching the book out and having the characters do stupid things. But all-in-all I enjoyed the book. The author can write and the narrator was excellent.
"An excellent story, well-read."
I've never read the print version of this book, nor had I seen the television version of it, so the story was all new to me.
I thought it was an excellent story. To me, the only character that was really developed was Pug Henry. You don't really get to know any of the other characters -- especially the women, who can seem shallow or mere caricatures. Despite this, I enjoyed the book. I found the historical aspects of the book to be very interesting, and I would think that anyone who is not interested in WWII history would not be interested in this book at all.
The performance was excellent and it was easy to listen to.
"Stephen King at his best"
I have friends who have never read a Stephen King book because they think of him as a writer of horror stories. This book shows why they are so wrong.
There are very few writers that can write with both intelligence and depth, while developing an insightful and inspired story. Stephen King demonstrates why he is among those few with this book.
Before I read the book, even though I was a fan of King, I was worried that it was about an event I knew too well and that it would therefore be predictable or uninspired. It takes true genius to overcome that. I found this book engrossing. The narrator does an excellent job, but he has a great story, well-told, to work with. I highly recommend the book.
"An excellent book, well read"
I listen to different books, some with interesting twisting plots, others just for an easy, enjoyable listen. I would put this book smack in the middle of that. It has an excellent plot with interesting characters. But while it is certainly an easy listen, I thought it was better than most other books of this genre. I enjoyed it and it has caused me to seek out more Michael Connelly books -- now I'm listening to the Harry Bosch books. So I highly recommend it to those who have listened to Baldacci, Berendson, or DeMille. It may be a bit more straightforward, but it is a good read (listen).
"I liked it, but . . ."
I liked it. Like other Jeffrey Archer books, it seems very straightforward -- not a difficult read or listen. It bothered me that he was so off-base at the end of the book about a basic legal principle by injecting Miranda warnings long before they were ever used or required by the US Supreme Court. That shows a lack of basic research. But again, I can't say I didn't enjoy most of the book.
"Meandering nonsense."
First the positive -- the narrator is fine. But the story is a meandering mess with no one to like. An adult Harry Potter? Swearing, sex and violence doesn't make it adult or mature. The "story" feels like the author had no idea where he was going. SKIP IT.