W. Christ

I love the Pendergast series. Do not read this as your first book. It would be more confusing without the background from some previous books in the series. For those reviewers that seem to be intolerant of cliffhangers, then I suggest you avoid all trilogies and absolutely avoid Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series! And for our friend who thinks there is too much violence - this is the Mysteries and Thrillers genre - by definition they tend to have violence. So, if you like a series that continues to develop characters and storylines, and appreciate the genre, then I think you'll enjoy this book and the others in the series.

I have all of the Pendergast series including the abridged ones. I really prefer unabridged in general. My only regret is not having Auberjonois as narrator. A recurrent pet peeve of mine is switching out narrators in a series. Marosz is competent, but he doesn't have the smooth southern accent of Auberjonois. Still very enjoyable.

Great finish. Sanderson did an excellent job completing the series for the late Jordan. Really long, but not full of fillers. Action keeps up the whole time. Glad they kept Kramer and Reading throughout. I really hate it when they change narrators as in some other series.

Listened to all in this series. Can't wait for the next one. The fantasy premises are absurd (aren't they all in the fantasy genre?), but it's all good fun. Oberon the dog is hilarious. Luke Daniels performed this to perfection. My criteria for a great reader is acting ability, able to create distinct voices for characters that enhance the author's work, and good comic timing. Daniels gets an A+.

Similar to the previous in the series, however less of a comedic element. Perhaps that's due to the second author. Still good. With no disrespect to Mr. Gigante, when one has listened to an entire series with a particular narrator (i.e., Dick Hill) it's REALLY hard to adjust to a new one. Dick had distinct voices for all the characters (plus, Dick's impeccable comic timing, delivery, and accents), so it was extremely difficult to adjust to the new voices. If this was the first book and Gigante was the narrator, I'd be perfectly happy with him. But, otherwise, it's like having your favorite TV program start the next season with all new actors playing the parts of the characters you are used to. Aaaargh! Note to audio publishers: Pony up the cash - or whatever your issue was - and get Dick Hill back!

I enjoyed the book, but when I saw the "Monster Hunter" title I was expecting the same characters. In this one, we just get one character. It was good, but I kept expecting the others to be called in at some point to help out (and couldn't figure out why they never were). The main character from the first two books in the series is totally missing and a secondary (albeit important character) became the focus instead. IMHO, what makes a series work is that people develop an affinity for the characters, which is why they come back for the sequels. Ultimately, I enjoyed the book, but never got over the disappointment of losing the other characters.

I think the entire Jack Daniels series is great. Good mix of mystery, thriller, and comedy. I don't think I could actually bring myself to read the book because the acting (not reading) of this series by Susie Breck and Dick Hill I think enhance the books tremendously. Their accents are spot on and Dick Hill's characters are hilarious. Good material is important (and Konrath delivers), but jokes delivered badly don't work. But Breck/Hill have impeccable comic timing and I often find myself laughing out loud (thus, I recommend you not listen to this in public, unless you want strange stares from people). If some graphic language and sex descriptions bother you, you might want to pass on this (i.e., not one to play in the car with the kids). I hope the editor whips Konrath to crank out the next in the series.

I enjoy this series so much. The listener really needs to listen to this trilogy in order starting with Brimstone, Dance of Death, then this one. The others (e.g., Cabinet of Curiosities, Still Life with Crows) can be read anytime, but these three must be done in order to really understand the plot. I got used to Rene Auberjonois in the earlier books and it's hard to shift gears to Scott Brick (whom I like and did an able job), but I thought Auberjonois really shined in his rendition. Glad to see he's back in the newly released Wheel of Darkness.

It's a mediocre suspense novel. The history, of course, is controversial because it's so off base. It plays mostly to those who want to do Catholic and Christian bashing.

I enjoyed it, but it is a marathon listen. Good, but too long. Save this one for a cross country driving trip.