Douglas

If an audiobook doesn't gain my interest in 6 hours, I don't have enough hope to continue. The second half of Buffalo Soldiers may have been great, but the author never gave me any reason to care about what happened to the characters. We gain no insights into what makes them tick, or why they bother to interract. As the story slowly continued, it never really progressed. I love listening to books to pass the time along my journeys; this one took me nowhere.

This one starts out slow, but hang in there through the first 30 minutes & you'll be hooked on a great story. Terry Pratchett weaves a detective mystery, disc-style, about the theft of a potentially equillibrium-upsetting powerful weapon: The Gon.
Carrot, Vimes, and the other lovable characters of The Watch are on the case, even enlisting several non-human new members as crime fighters. The production quality of this book is not good, nor is it Nigel Planer's best verbal effort, but true discworld fans will have to listen anyway...

Not nearly as good as "Black", the first novel in this trilogy, and you would have to read that one first to understand this book. "Red" has some very good scenes, but is mostly a long narrative, with not much happening. While it is entertaining, it's just not as captivating or imaginative as I had hoped for. Maybe Ted Dekker is saving up his best ideas for "White" - the third in this series?

Is it a fantasy? Allegory? Mystery? This book is hard to define, keeping you guessing about what is "real" and what isn't. Timeless Christian themes are woven skillfully throughout the story. Author Ted Dekker creates refreshing, entrancing landscapes in the Colored Forest while contrasting it with the stark (yet seductive) forces beckoning from across the river. Some of the very original descriptions of Elyon's people and their innocence brought tears to my eyes. While there is lots of fast action, character development is rather spare. This is an excellent escape and a well-done book.

Tony Horwitz uses his immersion in Civil War environments as the background for his real quest: searching for his own identity. With only shallow American roots, he probes the heritage of Southerners
to see what make them so fervent about their past. He discovers racial division and strife mingled with honor and decency, but doesn't seem to find in his travels the personal significance he yearns for. Well-written, with lots of good Confederate details.
I agree with another reviewer that this narrator's accents were very
annoying, but the author's constant cynicism toward anything "modern"
was more so.

Either you get it, or you don't. For those who "get" Terry Pratchett and his madcap enchantment of Discworld, this book is another delight.
Rincewind, the hapless galactic runaway, finds himself unintentionally stranded in the weird land of XXXX (pseudo-Australia).
He also runs through a string of acccidental heroics wherever his sandals set down in this sun-scorched continent. Pratchett goes to great lengths to poke fun at everything Australian (especially the names) and wonderfully entertains us in the process. Meanwhile, the
"real" wizards back at home are desperately seeking Rincewind to help them cure the Librarian. Good story, good laughs, time well wasted.

I love stories about the human spirit, and people who rise to meet the most difficult challenges. The Cruelest Miles is such a story. You find yourself agonizing over the terrible disease raging through Nome, and cheering heartily for the brave men fighting to stop it. It has a good balance of Alaska lore and the day-by-day account of the race against the epidemic. The narrator was very pleasant, never getting overly dramatic. It is beyond me why people would choose to live there, but their self-sacrifice and spirit of co-operation are inspiring. There is also an unabridged version of this book, but 5+ hours of bone-chilling descriptions was enough.

Yes, this book contains explicit Christianity carefully woven throughout the story. Do we dismiss other books because they contain elements of Buddhism, occultism or New Age? I agree with another reviewer that it would be more helpful if Audible gave specific information about the content of its titles; but whose judgement do we trust for "evaluation"? I found Deadline to be very entertaining,
with a rapid-moving plot and well-developed characters. Narration was excellent, with several distinguishable voice interpretations.
Randy Alcorn has a wonderful interpretation of heaven, and describes it expertly. The mystery takes a believable path, and leads us to a satisfying conclusion.

Dan Chaon pens some very appealing passages in this collection of eerie stories. His viewpoint seems to be that detached and dysfunctional people are under the influence of various supernatural
essences. I'll go along with his premise, but I can't go along with the way his stories don't end. They simply stop. It was like being back in high school Creative Writing Class, where you're dropped into the middle of a plot and forced to make up an ending. I felt cheated; if I was creative enough to come up with good finishes, I'd be a writer instead of a reader.

Does Death have a soft heart (metaphorically or otherwise)? Terry Pratchett takes us on another wild, contorted tale where we get expanded insights into the sentimental wanderings of Death Personified. This 7-foot tall skeleton tries to get a better understanding of humans by posing as one of them, but through all his misadventures, he just can't seem to get the hang of being alive. If you like the Discworld stories, this one is the best of the best; lively characters, rapidly changing plot, and another excellent narration by Nigel Planer.