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Tarike

Ocala, FL, United States | Member Since 2012

31
HELPFUL VOTES
  • 12 reviews
  • 14 ratings
  • 57 titles in library
  • 12 purchased in 2013
FOLLOWING
1
FOLLOWERS
10

  • The Second Ship: The Rho Agenda, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 39 mins)
    • By Richard Phillips
    • Narrated By MacLeod Andrews
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (397)
    Performance
    (356)
    Story
    (363)

    In 1948, an alien starship crash-landed in the New Mexico desert and brought with it the key to mankind’s future. Code-named the Rho Project, the landing was shrouded in secrecy, and only the highest-ranking US government and military personnel knew it existed. Until now....

    Tarike says: "STIMULATING READ"
    "STIMULATING READ"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    The storyline in this book is brilliant. It's majestic, but real. It's cynical, but on point. The content is inherently epic, but you still feel a connection with all of the characters, even if you decide that you hate some of them with a passion!

    The ideas that are in the story are common place in the small world that is science fiction, However, the author threads the needle of the storyline so well, that as an intermediate sci-fi junky, I can say with true conviction, that the book takes you on an amazing joyride that leaves you wanting for more.

    The narrator's range is sickening! How do you laugh in a completely different voice other than your own, and do it across various characters and still make it feel authentic is beyond me. It's not just the various voices that draw you into the story, it's also the little things that the narrator does, the pauses, the labored breaths, the quick bursts in emotion, etc.

    I loved the book, and I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

    13 of 13 people found this review helpful
  • The Last Man: A Novel

    • UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 57 mins)
    • By Vince Flynn
    • Narrated By George Guidall
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (2250)
    Performance
    (1953)
    Story
    (1928)

    The four dead guards didn’t concern Mitch Rapp as much as the absence of the man they’d been paid to protect. Joe Rickman wasn’t just another foot soldier. For the last eight years Rickman had ran the CIA’s clandestine operations in Afghanistan. It was a murky job that involved working with virtually every disreputable figure in the Islamic Republic. More than a quarter billion dollars in cash had passed through Rickman’s hands during his tenure as the master of black ops and no one with a shred of sense wanted to know the details of how that money had been spent.

    Scott C. says: "Couldn't be better...except"
    "Vince Flynn + George Guidall = 5 Stars, Duh!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I purposefully waited months to listen to this because I knew it was going to be worth the wait. Vince Flynn does it again with his no-nonsense style of writing: nothing is fodder, everything, no matter how small or insignificant builds on the momentum of the story: which is pure bliss if you're into politics, espionage, clandestine operations, military logistics, not to mention the psyche's of high stress individuals!

    Flynn takes you into the world behind the news headlines, behind all of the political posturing, behind all of the allegations and scrutiny around the CIA, and the work that they do at home and abroad.

    I really don't even want to write anymore, no spoilers here though. This book is just too well written to really find anything wrong with it. Well, the ending felt a little rushed, but that's probably because I waited a couple of months to listen to the darn thing. When something is this good, you know it's impossible, but you want to savor the memory of the experience forever.

    This one is a winner, and George Guidall gets as much credit as Vince Flynn! I know, it sounds absurd, but it's true. Guidall is majestic with his delivery of the narrations of every character, and when he really gets into it, the hairs on the back of your neck let you know that you're into it too.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • The Final Battle: Legion of the Damned, Book 2

    • UNABRIDGED (12 hrs and 33 mins)
    • By William C. Dietz
    • Narrated By Donald Corren
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (136)
    Performance
    (76)
    Story
    (75)

    The Confederacy is threatened by an uprising of the Hudathans, an unfeeling cyborg race that has built up its forces through stolen technology, and their only opponents are the members of the Legion.

    Carl says: "A Good Follow-on to the great first book"
    "Masterfully written, can't wait for the rest!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    LOD book 2 is a superb follow up to the first LOD book. Dietz really is a methodical mastermind. I would really hate to piss him off in real life. The way he plants these seemingly insignificant seeds that grow into these vast literary jungles is mind-numbing. I mean, I can't even begin to imagine the imagination that it takes to make up a story that can span several generations of lives and still be captivating, intriguing and profound all at the same time.

    It was quite sobering to see a single, but inherently epic story blossom into a still evolving, but very different story that was even more appealing than the first!

    I must say that I have a very conflicted opinion about Donald Corren's narration of this series. On one hand, he performs the most significant characters very well. I would swear that it's not even the same narrator. On the other hand, there are so many characters, that the lesser characters all kind of blend in together, and this will sometimes trip up the listener, making for easy distractions that do not happen with the main characters because of the unique tone of voice that he uses for them.

    Overall, I loved it, and can't wait to see what Dietz dreams up in the part 3 of the LOD series.

    2 of 2 people found this review helpful
  • Shattered Hourglass: Day by Day Armageddon, Book 3

    • UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 27 mins)
    • By J. L. Bourne
    • Narrated By Jay Snyder
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (462)
    Performance
    (426)
    Story
    (427)

    In a desperate bid to take back the continental United States - where hordes of undead now dominate the ravaged human population - a Navy commander leads a global mission to the heart of the pandemic. Task Force Hourglass is humanity’s final hope, and his team’s agonizing decisions could mean living one day more - or surrendering to the eternal hell that exists between life and death.

    AudioBookReviewer says: "Aw shucks"
    "Truncated: YES, but.......Gratifying: YES AGAIN!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    With the first two books in the series, the author really won me over with the journal entry style of the story. While this book is not in the journal entry style, it was still a very satisfying listen overall. Is it as good as the first two books, no, but it is still very good nonetheless.

    Thank god I picked it up instead of listening to most of the previous reviewers whine and complain about the change of style and pace for this book! I mean seriously, if you think that you could have done a better job than the author, then write your own book and see what people like you have to say about it.....Anyhoo, obviously this series has stirred up alot of emotions for all types of reasons, the most important of which is what the world could possibly turn into if everything breaks down: communications, food stores and supplies, employment, travel, the government, heck all governments, just to mention a few.

    When life as we all have become accustomed to changes for the worse, when survival becomes your most basic need in life, that's what is so gripping about this book. Yes, the book's pace is quickened towards the end, but that is only in the last 2 hours or so. The first 8 hours of the book are phenomenal, and insightful, continuing in the tradition of the first two books.

    While I could easily see a part 4 of this series, this book isn't a cliffhanger either. The author, I think, and for whatever reason, gave everybody something to hang onto, and in the end, I felt good about the whole series in aggregate.

    The narration is the true reason why I gave this book five stars. Jay Snyder's range really shines on this one: he does everything from little boys and girls to hardcore special operations forces members! The way he performs the voice of the protagonist though is truly amazing. You begin to look forward to hearing his voice through the mass of characters that are in dialogue across various storylines and scenes.

    Keep and open mind, and give the author a break if you have read the other two books before this one. And if you have not read the other two books, the author did a great job of filling you on the backstory.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • Legion of the Damned: Legion of the Damned, Book 1

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 16 mins)
    • By William C. Dietz
    • Narrated By Donald Corren
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (361)
    Performance
    (188)
    Story
    (189)

    In the future, the terminally ill can prolong life by surrendering their consciousness to a cybernetic life form that is then recruited into the notorious Legion of the Damned, an elite fighting unit charged with protecting humanity.

    Steven says: "Worth the price of admission"
    "Who says that being stubborn is a bad thing!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Yep, if I wasn't stubborn, I probably wouldn't have gotten past the first hour of this audiobook. It starts out grudgingly slow, and extroadinary detailed. All of the details seemingly don't mean anything to you, and you realize that you are losing interest, before you can even decide if you like the story or not.

    However, my head-strong mentality mixed with my natural stubborness told me to push ahead, keep on trucking, and see if this story is really a wonderful train wreck, or simply a train wreck gone bad.

    I was presently suprised around hour 2 when the tide started to turn in the author's direction: the details started to come together, the characters started to make sense, and the story truly started to materialize into something with a ton of potential!

    If I only knew what was in store for me at the time. If I had listened to the negative reviews, if I had succumbed to the boring and drawn out introduction, I too would have given up on this gem. It's one of those books you either love or hate. I hated it in the beginning, loved it by end. Well, that's not completely accurate, I loved it way before the end, I just didn't know it yet.

    The author weaves a fantastic story that is inherently chaotic with a horde of characters (I stopped counting after 30), constantly switching storylines and scenes (usually across impossible distances), and all the while providing a fountain of information that, as a normally attentive listener, I found myself constantly losing track of some of the litte details that can define a character.

    I couldn't imagine reading the print version of this book without driving off a cliff in the process. The style that the book is written in is difficult, but ultimately quite satisfying.

    Yes, there is a ton of action and battle scenes of all types. Yes there are cheesy romances, even between cyborgs, but hey, it is science fiction, what do you really expect!

    Be patient, listen closely, and feed your stubborness, and you too will appreciate this complicated sci-fi work of art.



    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • Day By Day Armageddon

    • UNABRIDGED (6 hrs and 38 mins)
    • By J L Bourne
    • Narrated By Jay Snyder
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (2296)
    Performance
    (1430)
    Story
    (1431)

    In your hands is the handwritten journal depicting one man's struggle for survival. Trapped in the midst of global disaster, he must make decisions; choices that ultimately mean life, or the eternal curse to walk as one of them. Enter, if you will, into the world of the undead.

    Robert says: "Great book! More more more!!"
    "Way too short, but delightfully sweet!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    First off, let me say that I hate zombie flicks and zombie stories in general! Uggh, the clumsiness and the agonizing moaning and groaning of the un-dead, puh-leeease! The way they walk around and bump into each other and just can't seem to permanently die unless you obliterate their already dead brains, I mean seriously! I just wanna smack the first person that ever came up with this stuff.

    Well, after writing that I gotta say that I still feel that way, but boy, DBDA sure makes me forget about all of that when you are listeining to it! I mean, the storyline is just captivating. You're sucked in by the journal entry style of the narration, even though at first I really didn't like it. I thought that the story would be too biased, too one-sided. However, the author does a great job of painting the perfect picture, allowing you to see all aspects of the story quite clearly, and in a very pragmatic, non-partisan way.

    It's way too short for all of the things that transpire through the story, and leaves your mind in a lather about all of the events that could happen in the future, heck even in the present.

    For a certified non-zomb as myself, I gotta say that the author does a spectacular job with his depiction of a world gone mad. There are parts of the book that are down right gut-wrenching, while others are laugh out loud funny. I loved the balance that the book brought to the table, and in a very random way, nothing was at all predictable.

    The narrator was very good, but I couldn't give him 5 stars in earnest because he doesn't really do more than a handful of characters through the whole story, due to the journal entry style of the book.

    Overall, an excellent listen and I'm loading up my Archos to listen to Book 2 first thing tomorrow morning!

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • Moonwar

    • UNABRIDGED (15 hrs and 27 mins)
    • By Ben Bova
    • Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (59)
    Performance
    (57)
    Story
    (57)

    Seven years after the indomitable Doug Stavenger has realized his cherished dream of establishing a colony on the inhospitable lunar surface, Moonbase is a thriving community, a marvel of scientific achievement created and supported by nanotechnology: virus-sized machines that can build, cure, and destroy. But nanotechnology has been declared illegal by the home planet’s leaders, and a powerful despot is determined to lay claim to Stavenger’s peaceful city - or obliterate it, if necessary.

    Tarike says: "Didn't see it coming, not for a second!"
    "Didn't see it coming, not for a second!"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I snagged this audiobook based on it's highly acclaimed reviews. However, after the first few minutes of the book, I felt like there was an invisible fly trapped in the car with me. It was the narration: the deep, throaty roar that is Stefan Rudnicki. His authoritative voice was truly overwhelming at first, and impossible to get accustomed to. After the first hour or so, I got over it. His range is rather commanding, and at times a little scary to think that with such a deep voice he could whisper a baby to sleep if he wanted to.

    The storyline proved to be thoughtful, and inspiring. So much so, that your mind goes off on wild tangents thinking about what else in this futurustic world could be possible. The author throws in a lot of aloof, quirky commentary via most of the characters often. It gives this sci-fi thriller very terrestrial footing, and breaks the characters down to the subatomic level, allowing you to fully appreciate all of the characters in their own special way.

    I didn't even listen to the first Moon book by Bova, I just jumped right into this one and picked it up pretty quick. I will definitely go back and embrace the other Moon books with the hope that I just didn't ruin it for myself.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • Andromeda's Fall: A Novel of the Legion of the Damned

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 42 mins)
    • By William C. Dietz
    • Narrated By Isabelle Gordon
    Overall
    (34)
    Performance
    (32)
    Story
    (32)

    All her life, Lady Catherine Carletto (called Cat) has lived for nothing but the next party, the next lover, the next expensive toy. Until, in a bloodthirsty power grab, Imperial Princess Ophelia and her cadre of synth assassins murder her brother the emperor, and go on to purge the galaxy of his friends and supporters - including Cat’s family. The Carlettos are known to be staunch supporters of the Emperor and Carletto Industries has been in the forefront of his pet project - developing cybernetic technology for the masses.

    Tracey says: "Fun read but not one of Dietz's best"
    "Great Storyline, but the quirks get in the way."
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    This story has some great features: good storyline, original sci-fi concepts, enjoyable characters and such, but the entire package when taken in aggregate comes up short. While I didn't necessary lose interest, I just never got hooked. You know when you listen to a good book and just can't wait to pick up where you left off, I never got that feeling until late in the second part of the book!

    The narration, simply put is sub-optimal. The narrator does not have the range that I'm used to, and she doesn't do a good job of telling an already flawed portrayal of events.

    There is quite a bit of action and drama, but it comes at you rather predictably, and the protagonist is unnaturally lucky. Bad things do indeed happen to her, but, you know something is wrong when a majority of the time an entire squad of soldiers are dead, but the protagonist always gets saved. It just didn't seem realistic after the first few revolutions of the same ending.

    I thought that with the backdrop of the opening scenes that this story would have been epic, but the experience turned out to be just below average.

    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • Wormhole: The Rho Agenda, Book 3

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 11 mins)
    • By Richard Phillips
    • Narrated By MacLeod Andrews
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (219)
    Performance
    (197)
    Story
    (197)

    When the Rho Project’s lead scientist, Dr. Donald Stephenson, is imprisoned for his crimes against humanity, the world dares to think the threat posed by the Rho Project’s alien technologies is finally over. The world is wrong. In Switzerland, scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider have discovered a new threat, a scientific anomaly capable of destroying the earth - and only Rho Project technology can stop it.

    W. Browning says: "My new favorite trilogy - LOVED IT ALL"
    "Truly Satisfying"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    What a series! Although all of the stories in this series are very well written and highly addictive, I must say that Wormhole was my favorite hands down. There were a lot of driveway moments with this one. Heck, this book was so good that I had driveway moments when I pulled in to a parking spot @ work!

    I usually pride myself on my ability to foresee specific events in a book before they happen, but this storyline was so complex with so many potential possibilities that after a while I just gave up, and enjoyed the narration.

    Although every book is all about perspective, the author really takes it to another level because even though you might despise a character, you always felt a deep connection with that character, and even resignation with whatever mischief and wrongdoing they were responsible for.

    Overall, a great story told by a phenomenal narrator. I am patiently waiting on a part four, hopefully! Please keep this series going Mr. Richards, prove all of my crazy predictions wrong, and indulge your readers with your spectacular vision.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • Confessions of a D-List Supervillain

    • UNABRIDGED (5 hrs and 46 mins)
    • By Jim Bernheimer
    • Narrated By Jeffrey Kafer, Talmadge Ragan
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (417)
    Performance
    (385)
    Story
    (390)

    Exploding from the pages of Horror, Humor, and Heroes, Volume One - it’s the full length adventures of the one and only Mechani-Cal! So grab your battlesuit and prepare to get a little nasty.

    Vincent Patterson says: "Excellent Book"
    "Diamond In the Rough"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    This is the only audiobook that I ever wanted to listen to a second time, immediately after I finished listening to it the first time!

    The storyline in its most basic form is not all that exciting. However, you find yourself listening intently, and hanging on to every last word of dialogue.

    Relationships between characters are quirky, spontaneous, sarcastic, cynical, and insanely whimsical. You are either nodding your head in agreement with the flow of the storyline or laughing out loud at some small event or statement said at just the right time.

    This one is a real sleeper and I'm kicking myself for having D-List in my library for over 5 months and shelving it for more notable audiobooks.

    In the end, the irony of the whole story plays with your mind and smacks you upside the head with you asking for more please.

    2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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