Ray

I listened to this book on the strength of having listened to the Narrator read Odd Hours (which, by the way was outstanding).

While the reader was excellent with his portrayal of multiple characters and personalities well executed, the reading could not overcome a bizarre and depressing story that seemed to wander and drift.

I am no stranger to bizarre story lines (reference the Odd Thomas stories) but this was neurotic in its morose and self centered characters. The author seemed to be trying to show the worst of anyone that could ever be shown without being a serial killer.

The author took what could have been an excellent vehicle and squeezed any possible life out of it before giving it a chance.

I would NOT recommend this novel. It is far too dreary.

No, no, no, no, no! Mr Glover sounds more like Kasey Kasem instead of Harry Dresden. Please do whatever it takes to get Mr Marsters to pick up the narration. If this continues, I would most likely go back to reading the book instead of listening.

Mr Glover is talented and excellent in his other roles, but this is not one of them.

Mr Cummings makes this a difficult listen. After having meandered through the first 1h43m of it, I am doubtful as to whether or not I will finish. The story might have been more palatable with a narrator who had some strength to their personifications. Good Vampire stories are about strength, desire and passion. This one seems to be about "Oh dear, unexpected house-guests! And how do I find sub sandwiches for the humans when all I eat is blood?! Oh dear, oh me."

To call it lame would be too kind.

This is not a kids story. With Parents and others having their throats slashed in front of their children, blood pooling over the floor and down drains, this book was not something that anyone under latter teenage years needs to read. Certainly not under 14 or 15.

The classification of "Audible Kids" should mean that it is suitable for "kids" not older teen readers.

This is definitely a reminder to us as parents to not just take some company's classification of something before handing off to our kids.

Having read all of the other Odd Thomas novels, I was, at first a bit apprehensive to listen to someone else's take on the voice which I had come to see as the "right" voice to personify Odd. Mr Baker nailed it. In addition to this, the versatility in portraying other characters was well done by far.

Mr Koontz' story was,as always, well written and entertaining. I will come back for more.

The essence of the story is good if considered as a fantasy allegory, which it obviously is, but the narration seems as though it were performed by Alonzo Music, the guy that did Garfield in the animated features. I kept waiting for him (the narrator) to go "Oooh, Lasagna...". That same narration accentuated the simplistic storyline.

I would love to lose myself in a world where Good and Evil were tangible and could be recognized at a glance, but this audio comic book paints with words just as a comic book paints frames and the reader has to fill in the imagined action. There are gaps.

The fault is not solely with the narrator. Having read a couple of other books by the author, I continue to be dissapointed by the promise of something containing a germ of good fantasy that continues to fall short of what would make a truly good read. The reading level is somewhere around 7 to 8 years old (before it loses credability).

This is one book I just deleted only a chapter or two into it. For whatever reason, I couldn't get past the foul language that was used. I have no use for authors who can't write well enough to provide a good story with out useless verbiage. If I wanted that type of environment, all I would have to do is hang out on the street. I listen for entertainment and enjoyment, that is, escape from all of the garbage this world presents. If your idea of a good read is adolescent obscenity then this is for you, if not, then don't waste your money.

PS. An excellent 'read' was the Da Vinci Code.Much better than this tripe.

Clark seems to meander about looking for ways to venture forth his cheesy vision of what the future will be like with barely enough plot to link one grand fantasy with the other. His path takes him on several rants (through his characters) concerning the stupidity of religion and faith. These grow tiresome and make me wonder if this is truly the same man who wrote 2001 and fueled my hunger for Science Fiction as a child. And if this were not bad enough we come to the narration. It is possible that Clark's exposition on the future could have been salvaged, but the nasal intoning of this work has firmly placed the last nail in the coffin of a performance that reeks of death. Mr.Hagon, please do not quite your day job...

I don't know how the full novel was, but, since Mr. Brown did the abridgement, I would assume that it was similar. This was an excellent and suspensful novel that did not beleauger the listener with trash for "effect". I enjoyed every moment and thought "I had it figured out." only to find out I did, then I didn't, then I did, then "OH!"... It was really a good listen!!