Jill

Being a first time Haruki Murakami reader, I have to say that I truly enjoyed his work. It's very much different from any book I've read and I'm looking forward to listening to other books from this author. It's a book that stays with you, when you've finished. Murakami created the feeling for me, that I was in the parallel timeline, with the characters. Even now that I've started a new book, I find myself thinking often about the story, and details that were left up to the imagination, of the reader.

I agree with some of the other reviewers, that parts of the book, as much as a third of it, wasn't necessary to enjoy the story and made it drag a bit, in places. Maybe it's because we've become an instant gratification society, and require continuous jolts of action, to remain engaged. I loved all the narrators, particularly Allison Hiroto and didn't find her voice annoying as other did. I feel it's one of those personal preferences, that we all have.
Overall a great way to spend 40+ hours of listening!

This story was a great getaway!

Usually I can guess the way a story will go, but this one offered up some surprises.
I really like that. The main characters were well developed and likeable, or easy hate, depending on their particular role. A host of suspicious ranch accidents, created constant money problems for Molly's struggling Grandfather.

Molly and Sam, were corralled into a relationship, by her Grandfather, in order to save the ranch. Both of them, were recovering from past errors. . . financial, relationship and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They would need to overcome fear of failure, and distrust of each other, to find laughs, love and a new life in Sweetgrass, Montana.

Wonderful way to pass the time! Great story that will tug at your heartstrings, make you laugh out loud and leave you wanting more. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series. Excellent job by Anna Fields on the Narration too!

In the same tradition of a Twilight Zone meets X-Files story, secret service agent Ethan Burke goes to Wayward Pines, Idaho, his mission is to locate and recover two federal agents who went missing.

He wakes up next to a stream, in a black suit and white shirt speckled with blood stains. No wallet. No money. No ID. No keys. No phone. That's all I'll say, don't want to spoil the story.

On every page, I kept trying to guess what would happen next, to no avail, and then the ending completely blew my mind!

Blake's vivid descriptions, constant action, thrills, mystery and intrigue, reminded me of my favorite books by Stephen King and Dean Koontz.

Intense and gripping, Pines is a masterpiece that had me thinking about the story, long after turning the last page.

I read this book on Kindle and enjoyed it so much I wanted to get the Audio version to pass the time while on the road. LOVED the narration of Paul Michael Garcia, it was perfect and made the book even more enjoyable. Brilliant!

I must first admit, I didn't really read enough of the book description before reading/listening it. I thought it was a self-help on organizing and de-cluttering. So imagine my very PLEASANT surprise to find a charming, witty story, wrapped around a reclusive, elderly, artist with a hoarding problem. LOVED this book and as a FANTASTIC side effect, it's inspired me to clear out all my old crap too! Jill is a new author to me, but I intend to read all her other books and will be the first in line to read a sequel or anything else she publishes! Great job narrating by Xe Sands too!

Everything was perfect, story, narration and production! It was so good, I listened 2 times in a row and that's a first for me! It would make a great movie or TV show. Loved spending my credit on this, I'll listen to this one over and over.

First of all, I LOVED the story line and wanted to love the book, I just didn't. This is my favorite kind of genre, sadly the characters weren't very likeable. The story jumped around too much and seemed to get stuck in long-winded, flowery, descriptions that didn't add anything to the book.

I liked the tonal quality of the narrator, but didn't like her for this book. Her southern accents were terrible and many times it was hard to tell if the male or female character was speaking. The males sounded a bit girly and the females a little bit masculine for young women. She does have a pleasant voice and was good for the descriptive parts, but not great in the conversations.

I heard quite a few wrong words, not sure if it was editing or narration errors, but I found it distracting.

I'm sad to say this was one of the few audiobooks, I wasn't able to finish. There were some really great elements to the story and I loved the theme. Maybe an additional editing session could have merged the pieces into something better, but this wasn't it for me.

I have to admit a teensy part of me was worried that BRAINRUSH II wouldn't be as good, as BRAINRUSH, the first book. Well folks, worry NO MORE! Grab a parachute, floatation device, helmet, plenty of weapons, flashlight, water and MREs, for this action-packed, adrenaline laced trip.

Don't forget to immediately, put on your parachute, you'll be needing it to dodge the bad guys. I hope you aren't afraid of water and can hold your breath, for a long, LONG time! You are saving the world from the "Bad Guys" so you'll need lots of weapons, help from unlikely sources and a lot of Aussie ingenuity to save your ASSets! You may think you have a bad case of Exploding Head Syndrome, except you won't need a doctor. Richard Bard's excellent description, of the characters and NON-STOP action scenes, place you right into the middle of the excitement. Twists and turns galore, throughout the book, with an ending that surprised me!

Strap yourself in. . . and get ready for a FANTASTIC Adventure!

Great Job Richard, LOVED it, highly recommend and CAN'T wait for BRAINRUSH III!

How can you write a review about this AMAZING book and do it justice?

Grover Gardner, The Narrator, was PERFECT, I LOVED him! My biggest worry, when I heard this was finally coming out in Audio was, I wouldn't like the narrator. All for naught.

The story was even better than I remembered it to be, back in 1990. King weaves his fantastic, magic with the stories of the people's lives, and the result is outSTANDing brilliance! If you haven't listened to it. . .you are missing out!

Here is a brief, VERY brief description of the story, for those that have never read it.

Book 1 - Captain Trips

"Captain Trips" is the common name for a human-made superflu known formally as, "Project Blue".
The virus is researched and developed at a U.S. Army base. A biological accident, combined with security malfunctions, allow an infected guard and his family to sneak off the base. This sets off a pandemic that kills 99.4% of the world's population, including some of the domesticated animals.
King describes the destruction of society, widespread violence, virus containment failure, and eventual death of virtually the entire human and animal population.
The few remaining survivors must care for their families and friends, deal with confusion and grief, as their loved ones succumb to the flu and the dead bodies pile up everywhere.

Book 2 - On the Border

"On the Border", tells intertwining stories about the small bands of survivors and their cross-country treks. They're all drawn together by a shared dream, of old woman (Mother Abagail, 106 yrs old) and a Nebraska corn field, whom they see as a safe haven and representation of "The Good".
Another group of survivors are drawn to Las Vegas by "the Dark Man", known as Randall Flagg. Flagg, a tyrant and brute, uses crucifixion, dismemberment, and other gruesome forms of torture as punishment for those who are disloyal and disobedient. He is evil with supernatural powers and exists in the story, to represent the opposite side of Mother Abagail, "The Evil".

Book 3 - The Stand

In book 3, the stage becomes set for the final confrontation as the two groups become aware of one another, and each recognizes the other as a threat to its survival, leading to "The Stand" of good against evil.
The good guys set off on foot towards Las Vegas on an expedition to confront Randall Flagg for the final battle between men.

Can the human race can learn from its mistakes?

After reading and hearing so much about this book, I really wanted to like it. The story line was interesting, after all, what's not like about a Circus at Night. Alas, through most of the book, the characters seemed dull, boring and not especially endearing.

The only thing that kept me listening was the fantastic performance of JIm Dale, I will certainly listen to more of his narrations in the future.

Nice, light listen. I liked it much better than the movie. Great job by the narrator Ellen Archer.