Xavier

Narration is excellent. Story is filled with action that makes you cheer for the good guy. Protagonist is a hybrid of "Lancelot"(fights for the innocent and defenseless), "Clint Eastwood"(in his trilogy of spaghetti westerns..kills the brutal with fast passionless efficiency). He is lawman, judge and jury against those who brutalized his wife and son. But even more, along his quest for sweet revenge and justice, he saves countless lives he encounters who are innocent and defenseless against the brutal. I had so many"feel good" moments throughout this book as he punished the evil and saved the good. I recommend highly.

Great story! 3 generations of hard working Americans struggling to survive against the pre-civil war, post civil war, and post WWI challenges of life. Experience the toughness of the American river boat life during the Civil war. Experience the hard life of the cowboy, post civil war. Experience the tough struggle of Homesteader's as influenced by harsh weather, poverty, physical toughness, inflexible family values, unimaginable courage and religious fortitude. Enjoy the early American spirit that loved the fruit of the simple life: fresh air, a good roof over your head, a good meal on a regular basis and a loyal partner to build a family during a tough frontier time in American history. Lot's of action.

This is a book of philosophy. Enjoy, in a story format, the importance of good struggling against evil; ambitious hard work overcoming apathy and a sense of self entitlement. If this book was formatted as pure philosophy it would have been a challenging, albeit, boring read. As presented with characters during the industrial revolution, it was mind expanding and had profound messages about the human spirit, intelligence and courage. I feel I only digested a fraction of the stories messages. This book should be read again and again, as I plan to do. The simple message: work hard, work smart, believe in doing a quality job and you will be a winner and other winners will seek you out. If you are mediocre...expect nothing special to come to your life.

Vince Flynn is my favorite author of the counter--terrorism genre. I have never been disappointed with any of his counter-terrorism novels and I have read all of them. He never "dials in" his next book, riding on the success of his last. This story is thoroughly satisfying giving us a fast moving "surprise ending" plot set in current period Afghanistan. It gives us a vision of the complexity of working with challenging allies. As always, our hero Mitch Rapp, "kicks ass and takes names". I also enjoyed Vince's insight on U.S., as well as, Afghanistan inter-governmental intrigue. As always Mitch Rapp satisfies by rooting out the terrorists. I look forward to Vince Flynn's next Mitch Rapp adventure! I recommend highly.

High School and college history was so boring to me. I studied to pass the exams but this novel by Ken Folletet allowed me to better appreciate how WWII evolved , escalated, and ended. I also got a better insight into the human effects it fostered, e.g. hybris and ethonocentricity in its worst form. I learned that the human pain of this period of world history is a lesson to us all to not repeat the worst of human actions while inspiring us to foster the best of human bravery and tenacity for the sake of freedom.

This is book 3 in the Trilogy. I enjoyed the books so much I re-listened to all three books before starting a new author's work. The plot was thrilling and pleasurable. The characters were interesting and diverse. There was a satisfying ending too. I recommend highly. I loved it.

The message is important and I'm grateful for it. The science was not friendly to me. I took 4 years of high school math, 1 semester of higher level college math, high school biology, chemistry, physics, and two semesters of college biology and one semester of college anatomy. With this background under my belt you would think I would find this authors science interesting. No, it is boring. It is hard to listen. This book educates on the bad side effects of "wheat". It needs a new writer and a new narrator. Here's an example of how it could deliver it's excellent message and reach more people: "The Omnivore's Dilemma" authored by Michael Pollen is an excellent treatment on the bad side effects of "corn". Both give us excellent facts to improve our health. But "The Omnivore's Dilemma" educates on the ills of genetically modified corn in a way that is fascinating. I read the book twice and plan to reread it annually(and it was 5 times longer!). It was great! On the other hand "Wheat Belly" is so boring (after the first 30 minutes) that I have to read another audio book between 30 minute intervals of reading "Wheat Belly" to stay alert. It is like listening to a college biology/chemistry class: boring. Info is healthful but prepare for 7 hours of a sleepy college lecture.

In this book two of three books, our protagonist changes from victim to Avenger. I loved it. This was my second reading of all three books. It was worthwhile to read it twice because there are so many juicy details that can be missed in only one reading. Yes, there are a lot of characters and they have unfamiliar Swedish or Norwegian names but surprisingly I was able to enjoy the excellent plot in spite of the character richness. Our heroine gave me pleasure. She was able to satisfy three of the five human needs in book two. She had abundantly mastered the need for 1.basic survival needs of food, drink and the safety of shelter; 2. need for sexual gratification on her own terms; 3 self-esteem(bigger better material things for which humans strive). But she misses out on a sense of belonging(love) and self-actualization("What's it all about, Alfie"). But hey, this book was fun. In book one, she struggled for all five human needs....everything except sex. My normal venue for audio book listening is counter-terrorism, but the hero, or our country, is in a state of threat until the final 30-60 minutes. You can't relax for one minute. There is not enough time to enjoy more of the hero getting satisfaction along the way. Not so with " The Girl Who Played With Fire". The author rewards us with vengeance against our heroine's persecutors from Book 1 of this 3 part series. Yeah!!!!! The author lets our heroine heal and seek rehabilitation financially, physically, mentally, and slowly psychologically in tiny baby steps. The ending is amazing and shocking which propels you to the final book 3. I loved this trilogy and recommend highly. I saw "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" on cable last month with a 4 star rating so I decided to watch it, even though the movie write up did not intrigue me. But I said, if it got 4 stars it must be good. It was great after a 40 minute slow start of character development. Then the thrill ride was non stop. I've since ordered all 3 movies which originated in Sweden with American sub-titles. Expect to begin enjoying when they arrive later this week. Enjoy all three audio books in this series! I bet you love them!

I read this classic decades ago in high school. Today, I enjoyed the audiobook immensely. This is a great "period" classic which portrays a unique time in American history. Enjoy!

I spent so much of my life trying to rescue women, being the son of a single mom who struggled as a beautician to raise three sons alone. I learned to admire women who refused to be underachievers. The heroine of this novel is a champion of perseverance in the face of adversity, without soliciting emotions of pity or sentimentality. My mind raced through this exciting and rewarding thriller. I typically enjoy counterespionage and Western fiction genre. Too often, however, the counter espionage keeps you in a state of anxiety for the entire novel and does not give you enough opportunities to relax and enjoy action until the final end. Not so with "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and the two sequels that followed. The heroine gets sweet revenge and retribution throughout the 3 book series allowing the reader to enjoy a intellectually rewarding plot with many moments of emotional satisfaction as the heroine administers sweet revenge. Revenge can be so satisfying. Men who champion women may love this book. Women who refuse to let others control their destiny may love this book. Good prevails over evil. I finished all three books within 10 days. Last night I started listening again from the start. This is one of the best series I have ever enjoyed. I could not recommend any higher.

It was much to enjoy in this book: SEAL training, weapons, equipment, camaraderie, tactics and campaigns. However, I did not need the political commentary. A soldiers job is to be a soldier, not question whether orders get canceled after all one's hard work. Taxpayers pay for the soldiers world class training, equipment, and logistical support. You don't question lawful orders of the Commander in Chief, because a soldier knows only what is necessary to successfully complete the mission: he/she does not know as much as the next level of command because he/she does not have a need to know. This is for security of the mission. I overlooked this because aside from the authors occasional political commentary the story was outstanding. Special Ops warriors need to be careful not to give away our nations secrets.