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Matthew

Member Since 2012

HELPFUL VOTES

8 reviews
26 ratings
66 titles in library
15 purchased in 2013

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Dodger

UNABRIDGED
- by Terry Pratchett
- Narrated by Stephen Briggs
Dodger

UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 30 mins)

By Terry Pratchett

Narrated By Stephen Briggs

Overall
(521)
Performance
(476)
Story
(467)

A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's...Dodger. Seventeen-year-old Dodger may be a street urchin, but he gleans a living from London's sewers, and he knows a jewel when he sees one. He's not about to let anything happen to the unknown girl - not even if her fate impacts the most powerful people in England.
Snoodely says: "Finally Revealed: Where Dickens Got His Ideas!"
"Classic Pratchett & Briggs"

Overall
Performance
Story

Would you consider the audio edition of Dodger to be better than the print version?

Yes.

What did you like best about this story?

It's Pratchett, in ye olde London, in the sewers. There's a woman in distress, a scoundrel, lots of rats, an assassin, and Charles Dickens, and Briggs is reading it... you want this book.

Which character – as performed by Stephen Briggs – was your favorite?

All of them. He's a killer narrator.

Any additional comments?

Buy it now.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Ever After: The Hollows, Book 11

UNABRIDGED
- by Kim Harrison
- Narrated by Marguerite Gavin
Ever After: The Hollows, Book 11

UNABRIDGED (18 hrs and 36 mins)

By Kim Harrison

Narrated By Marguerite Gavin

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(919)
Performance
(824)
Story
(828)

The ever after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It’s up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between magic users and humans fails. Of course, there’s also the small fact that she caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it.
Hassan says: "The best book yet!!!!"
"Decent kook, but I'm done"

Overall
Performance
Story

Marguerite Gavin is fantastic as a reader, but this is a good stopping place for me. I've listened to or read the entire series up to this point. While I've enjoyed it, I'm finished with The Hollows after this one, and here's why: Rachel makes the same mistakes she makes in all the other books, and the series has become formulaic.

She knows martial arts but gets into hair pulling fights that don't use her skills; she falls for bad men, berates herself for it, and does it anyway; she doubts her magical abilities even though she's bested... well, the best. She insults quickly and takes offense at perceived slights quickly, and she refuses to think before doing or saying anything. She acts much like an insecure teenager, not like an adult, although I suppose I've met adults who act like teenagers, so maybe that's a moot point. I could tolerate her personality for a while, but it's become exhausting. I don't want to want to smack the main character of a book every other chapter.

The writing itself has become tiresome for me as well. "Crap on toast", "tink's _____", and "if you don't _______ I'll ______" with nothing to back up the threat are just as common here as all the other books. The book starts and ends with a fight, like all the other books. Rachel is left on her own, nearly dies, and finds "strength in her friends" at the end, just like all the other books. She solves some problems and makes some new ones, leaving the series open for sequels... it's never-ending.

It's been a good ride overall though!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Scoundrels: Star Wars

UNABRIDGED
- by Timothy Zahn
- Narrated by Marc Thompson
Scoundrels: Star Wars

UNABRIDGED (14 hrs and 1 min)

By Timothy Zahn

Narrated By Marc Thompson

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(367)
Performance
(345)
Story
(346)

Han Solo should be basking in his moment of glory. After all, the cocky smuggler and captain of the Millennium Falcon just played a key role in the daring raid that destroyed the Death Star and landed the first serious blow to the Empire in its war against the Rebel Alliance. But after losing the reward his heroics earned him, Han's got nothing to celebrate. Especially since he's deep in debt to the ruthless crime lord Jabba the Hutt. There's a bounty on Han's head - and if he can't cough up the credits, he'll surely pay with his hide. The only thing that can save him is a king's ransom. Or maybe a gangster's fortune?
lawrence says: "I ROLLED MY CHANCE CUBES AND WON ON THIS BOOK!"
"Great"

Overall
Performance
Story

What made the experience of listening to Scoundrels: Star Wars the most enjoyable?

The voice acting was amazing... Lando, Han were dead on. Story was good too!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Red Country

UNABRIDGED
- by Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by Steven Pacey
Red Country

UNABRIDGED (19 hrs and 53 mins)

By Joe Abercrombie

Narrated By Steven Pacey

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(372)
Performance
(336)
Story
(330)

They burned her home. They stole her brother and sister. But vengeance is following. Shy South hoped to bury her bloody past and ride away smiling, but she'll have to sharpen up some bad old ways to get her family back, and she's not a woman to flinch from what needs doing. She sets off in pursuit with only a pair of oxen and her cowardly old step father Lamb for company. But it turns out Lamb's buried a bloody past of his own. And out in the lawless Far Country the past never stays buried.
Rob Cron says: "Stop Punishing The Author"
"Awesome"

Overall
Performance
Story

If you could sum up Red Country in three words, what would they be?

Classic Joe Abercrombie

What did you like best about this story?

All of it. The story was good, the narrator was good.

Which scene was your favorite?

I had many, but I'd rather not post spoilers.

Any additional comments?

I would have liked it if the mages made more of an appearance, but I understand that Joe needs to save something for other books!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Pathfinder: Book 1

UNABRIDGED
- by Orson Scott Card
- Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki , Kirby Heyborne , Don Leslie , Kristoffer Tabori , Scott Brick
Pathfinder: Book 1

UNABRIDGED (17 hrs and 46 mins)

By Orson Scott Card

Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki, Kirby Heyborne, Don Leslie, and others

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(1827)
Performance
(1248)
Story
(1254)

Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg’s strange talent for seeing the paths of people’s pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him - secrets about Rigg’s own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.
DJM says: "Entertaining and Irritating."
"Pretty Good"

Overall
Performance
Story

Where does Pathfinder rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Somewhere near the top in some ways, but I've listened to a lot of audiobooks...

What did you like best about this story?

The narration was good. The time travel concepts worked for me, and seemed logical.

Any additional comments?

I wasn't a fan of the way the characters would occasionally bicker with each other. They argue at bad times for bad reasons, and it seems that bickering is used to fill up story that could be used for something else. I can't honestly say I liked any of the characters.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Nation

UNABRIDGED
- by Terry Pratchett
- Narrated by Stephen Briggs
Nation

UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 36 mins)

By Terry Pratchett

Narrated By Stephen Briggs

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(555)
Performance
(216)
Story
(216)

Thirteen-year-old Mau is the only one left after a giant wave sweeps his island village away. But when much is taken, something is returned, and somewhere in the jungle, Daphne - a girl from the other side of the globe - is the sole survivor of a ship destroyed by the same wave.
James says: "Transcends categories"
"Another excellent Pratchett Briggs colaboration"

Overall
Performance
Story

Where does Nation rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

At the top.

What did you like best about this story?

Hard to say what was best. It wasn't a typical Pratchett story, in that it wasn't a discworld novel. However, it was a great story about about communication across cultural and linguistic boundaries and understanding one's sense of place in the world.

What does Stephen Briggs bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice is perfect, his characters excellent. I wish he read all audiobooks, regardless of author or genre.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh, for sure!

Any additional comments?

Buy it now.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
1Q84

UNABRIDGED
- by Haruki Murakami , Jay Rubin (translator) , Philip Gabriel (translator)
- Narrated by Allison Hiroto , Marc Vietor , Mark Boyett
1Q84

UNABRIDGED (46 hrs and 50 mins)

By Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin (translator), Philip Gabriel (translator)

Narrated By Allison Hiroto, Marc Vietor, Mark Boyett

Overall
(2987)
Performance
(2581)
Story
(2549)

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.
A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 - "Q" is for "question mark". A world that bears a question....
Howard says: "Worth the investment."
"Sloooooooooowwwwwwww"

Overall
Performance
Story

What would have made 1Q84 better?

A better narrator. I couldn't finish it... I had to borrow a paper-back so I could read it at a proper speed.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was totally wrong for this novel. It's a long novel; you need an energetic reader for it. It was read slowly and calmly enough to put my 6-month old to sleep, easily.

Any additional comments?

Don't waste your money/audible credits, and buy the paperback if you want to read it.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel

UNABRIDGED
- by Pip Ballantine , Tee Morris
- Narrated by James Langton
Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel

UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 45 mins)

By Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris

Narrated By James Langton

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(443)
Performance
(392)
Story
(387)

Evil is most assuredly afoot - and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade... and a librarian. These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences - the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling - will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest...
Suzanna says: "Great Steampunk - worth a listen"
"Worth a read"

Overall
Performance
Story

This was my first 'read' of a steampunk book, although I've been aware of the genre for a while. Phoenix rising grabbed me early and never got boring. The writing is excellent, and the mix of steam-driven computers, Babbage-inspired mechanical gizmos and Victorian era mystery is convincing. James Langton does a good job voice acting the characters, and nearly got me to listen to the whole thing non-stop, to the dismay of my wife. I'd recommend this novel to mystery and fantasy alike.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful