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joan

71 year old avid reader using either my eyes or ears. I make earrings that I donate to shelters and while I work, I listen to wonderful books. I also keep in mind that you have to kiss frogs to find princes - time's too short to bother with losers.

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY, United States | Member Since 2006

33
HELPFUL VOTES
  • 30 reviews
  • 64 ratings
  • 0 titles in library
  • 65 purchased in 2013
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  • Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 51 mins)
    • By William Rosen
    • Narrated By Barrett Whitener
    Overall
    (229)
    Performance
    (49)
    Story
    (51)

    The emperor Justinian reunified Rome's fractured empire by defeating the Goths and Vandals. At his capital in Constantinople, he built the world's most beautiful building, married the most powerful empress, and wrote the empire's most enduring legal code, seemingly restoring Rome's fortunes for the next five hundred years. Then, in the summer of 542, he encountered a flea. The ensuing outbreak of bubonic plague killed 5,000 people a day in Constantinople and nearly killed Justinian himself.

    joan says: "More history than Disease"
    "More history than Disease"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though it was more a history of the world from 100 CE to 600 CE than a history of the plague (as a disease), but well told and informative none the less.
    If ancient history is your bag, this is for you.

    23 of 23 people found this review helpful
  • The Tudor Secret: The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 14 mins)
    • By C. W. Gortner
    • Narrated By Steve West
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (86)
    Performance
    (67)
    Story
    (65)

    The summer of 1553 is a time of danger and deceit. Brendan Prescott, an orphan, has been reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family. Brought to court, Prescott finds himself sent on an illicit mission to the king’s brilliant but enigmatic sister, Princess Elizabeth. But Brendan is soon compelled to work as a double agent by Elizabeth’s protector, William Cecil, who promises in exchange to help him unravel the secret of his own mysterious past.

    joan says: "English History"
    "English History"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I've always been fascinated by Henry the 8th and the period after his death. The enmity between the church of England and the Catholics has been the subject of much writing and I've read some. If you are ignorant, this might not be the book for you. If, as I am, you're a history buff, go for it.
    While reading, I learned quite a bit about this period since much of the book is based on fact, all but the main character. It's a wonderful story, if a bit confusing with all the Lords, Dutchesses etc. If you read it, I would use some reference material (I confess I used Wikipedia) to keep the folks straight.
    Plots and counter plots abound and make for a really enjoyable narrative.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Alas, Babylon

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 14 mins)
    • By Pat Frank
    • Narrated By Will Patton
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (2638)
    Performance
    (1729)
    Story
    (1716)

    This true modern masterpiece is built around the two fateful words that make up the title and herald the end - “Alas, Babylon.” When a nuclear holocaust ravages the United States, a thousand years of civilization are stripped away overnight, and tens of millions of people are killed instantly. But for one small town in Florida, miraculously spared, the struggle is just beginning, as men and women of all backgrounds join together to confront the darkness....

    JerryL says: "Excellent audiobook"
    "First read this book 40 years ago"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    .. and loved it. Maybe now it's dated, although it shouldn't be. The story has a great premise but this version left me cold. Maybe "you just can't go home again."

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Rip-Off!

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 59 mins)
    • By John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, and others
    • Narrated By Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, and others
    Overall
    (171)
    Performance
    (157)
    Story
    (155)

    In Rip-Off!, 13 of today’s best and most honored writers of speculative fiction face a challenge even they would be hard-pressed to conceive: Pick your favorite opening line from a classic piece of fiction (or even non-fiction) - then use it as the first sentence of an entirely original short story.

    carmen says: "not just for sci-fi fans"
    "Some of the stories are pretty good"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    ...but the rest ... not so much. In some they seem to try too hard to make their stories fit the theme - taking a first line from a great book and winging it from there. Frankly, I was unimpressed, even though there were tales by some of my favorite authors.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The Lost Fleet: Courageous

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 42 mins)
    • By Jack Campbell
    • Narrated By Christian Rummel, Jack Campbell
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (2186)
    Performance
    (1202)
    Story
    (1225)

    The Alliance has been fight a losing battle against the Syndicate Worlds for over a century. Now, Captain John "Black Jack" Geary, who returned to the fleet after a hundred-year suspended animation, must keep the Alliance one step ahead of its merciless foe.

    Jesse says: "Great Scifi!"
    "Love this series"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Great sci-fi. If you're curious about my thoughts, see my comments for book 1.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The Fairy-Tale Detectives: The Sisters Grimm

    • UNABRIDGED (6 hrs and 11 mins)
    • By Michael Buckley
    • Narrated By L. J. Ganser
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (449)
    Performance
    (279)
    Story
    (291)

    The recently orphaned Sisters Grimm find out from their Granny, who they thought was dead, that they're descendents of the legendary Brothers Grimm. Now they must take over the family responsibility of being fairy tale detectives in a town where fairy tales are real. Their first case: a giant is destroying the town and it may have something to do with a boy named Jack and a certain famous beanstalk.

    Tina says: "Funny twists"
    "A bit too cute"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I enjoyed this book but it's a one-liner carried a bit too far. I did, however, enjoy it enough that I might listen to the next in the series. My library has it for me to borrow. Would I buy it? Maybe not.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Taliesin: The Pendragon Cycle, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (19 hrs and 17 mins)
    • By Stephen R. Lawhead
    • Narrated By Wanda McCaddon
    Overall
    (303)
    Performance
    (82)
    Story
    (85)

    It was a time of legend, the last shadows of the mighty Roman conqueror faded from the captured Isle of Britain. While, across a vast sea, bloody war shattered a peace that had flourished for 2,000 years in the doomed kingdom of Atlantis. This is the remarkable adventure of Charis, the courageous princess from Atlantis who escapes the terrible devastation of her land, and of the fabled seer and druid prince Taliesin, singer at the dawn of the age. It is a story of an incomparable love that joins two astonishing worlds....

    John says: "A Classic interpretation of a Classic tale"
    "Mamouth!!!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I loved this book until the last 15%, then, for me, it went off the edge. A silly, vindictive girl messes things up just to work some more suspense into the plot. Made me crazy.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Rally Cry: The Lost Regiment, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 29 mins)
    • By William R. Forstchen
    • Narrated By Patrick Lawlor
    Overall
    (296)
    Performance
    (121)
    Story
    (123)

    When Union Colonel Andrew Keane led his blue-coated soldiers aboard the transport ship, he could not have foreseen that their next port of call would be neither in the North nor the South, but on an alternate world where no human was free. Storm-swept through a space-time warp, Keane's regiment was shipwrecked in an alien land, a land where all that stood between them and destruction was the power of rifles over swords, spears, and crossbows.

    pakkmom says: "Kept my interest"
    "Couldn't get into it"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    This might have been a good listen but I couldn't get far enough into it to find out. The narrator is bland and sounds like he's reading rather than telling a story. I've read one other by this author (try One Second After - great read) so I thought I'd give this a try (and it was on sale). And I often try books by really prolific authors figuring that if lots of his stuff gets published there must be something there.
    Sorry, Mr. Forstchen, I can't waste my time on books I'm not enjoying.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Empire Builders

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 49 mins)
    • By Ben Bova
    • Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki
    Overall
    (87)
    Performance
    (56)
    Story
    (56)

    Dan Randolph never plays by the rules. A hell-raising maverick with no patience for fools, he is admired by his friends, feared by his enemies, and desired by the world's loveliest women. Acting as a 21st privateer, Randolph broke the political strangle-hold on space exploration, and became one of the world's richest men in the bargain.

    Jan Saell says: "And excellent book and hard to stop listen to"
    "Too political-too many characters"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I usually love Ben Bova's writing but.... This book might be better read with ones eyes rather than ones ears. There were more characters in the first 3 chapters than I could keep track of. And it was very involved with many political, environmental and financial plots. I love Rudnicki's narration and here he excelled, but not enough to make up for the embroiled story.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Fangoria's Dreadtime Stories, Volume One (Dramatized)

    • ORIGINAL (4 hrs and 11 mins)
    • By Steve Nubie, Max Allan Collins, Dennis Etchison, and others
    • Narrated By Malcolm McDowell
    Overall
    (11)
    Performance
    (10)
    Story
    (11)

    "A Fungus Among Us" by Steve Nubie: A mysterious fungus is causing people to act like zombies before their heads explode and spore - like snakes ooze out of their brains! "Wolf" by Max Allan Collins: A modern-day werewolf whose appetite for beautiful young women vacationing at a lodge retreat has guests and workers panic-stricken. "The Late Shift" by Dennis Etchison: A company takes flesh-peddling to a whole new level. Plus three more original short stories, fully dramatized to thrill and chill you.

    joan says: "Quite my taste!!"
    "Quite my taste!!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Loved the stories, varied as they were. Kookie, fun, and gory all at once. How? Read and hear.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • A Christmas Grace

    • UNABRIDGED (4 hrs and 28 mins)
    • By Anne Perry
    • Narrated By Terrence Hardiman
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (44)
    Performance
    (22)
    Story
    (22)

    Thomas Pitt's sister-in-law, Emily Radley, is suddenly called from London to be with her dying aunt. Leaving her husband and two children behind, she makes the long journey to her aunt's home in Connemara, an all-but-forgotten town on the coast of Western Ireland. Emily soon discovers that a tragic legacy is haunting the once close-knit community. Violent storms ravage the coast and keep alive painful memories of an unsolved murder-and unsettling fears that a culprit may still be among them.

    joan says: "Not her usual"
    "Not her usual"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I love her detective fiction - but this isn't it. It very soft and warm, which wasn't what I was looking for. Others might enjoy while I stopped partway through.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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