History Buff

Kind of scary. The whole Jack Ryan series (and now Jack Jr) keeps the alternative history of the world with it to make things flow seamlessly. Technology keeps advancing but the story line keeps going. Some of the detail (and in some cases hopefully supposition) is disturbing (assuming it's accurate) - especially for those who sometimes travel to the Middle Kingdom. The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good and you feel for some of the characters even though you know exactly what is going on.

More than some of Clancy's other recent novels I found myself asking "what would I do it if was in that situation?" Brings up some interesting moral questions, and also highlights some of the potential fear some of us might have in the cyber age.

I've read all five books and am now listening to them (just finished Storm, headed to the Feast). This is the best of the five so far, in my view. Lots going on, but easy enough to follow the characters. You love to hate one former "bad guy" and you feel bad once again for another, and you will be shocked more than you were by what happened to Ned in Book 1. Listen carefully!

I'm quite impressed by the performance. Although some characters sound similar to others, they do not within each chapter so keeping track of who's who is easier than I feared and this is well worth the listen -but make sure to read the Game and Clash first or you'll likely be confused until at least half way through the book.

The other books in the Grafton series are better, this one gets just a little silly with some technology that is a beyond today's and makes it more unrealistic than the others in the series. It's not terrible mind you, but Coonts other books are better.

While keeping the easy to read and overall sense of the series, the books are progressively getting darker, and even a bit scarier. My 5 and 8 year old have listened to this in their delight, less laughs but more intrigue.

The next two books are not yet on Audible, so I'm reading them to them - which is OK but I can't do the voices as David Tennet does so the performance is missing (I do try Toothless which they appreciate). The next two books get even somewhat darker and Hiccup is in more trouble. But book 8 sets things up and seems important later so don't miss it.

I liked the whole Grafton series and I like the new lead in Tommy. The story was exciting and kept you guessing who was the good guy and bad guy until almost the end - and some of them you love to hate.

Tommy, the accidental hero, works for Grafton and Grafton still has it too, even at his advancing age. It's quite fun.

The narration is OK, but there's much better out there. Since much of the book is in the first person, when there's little or no change when looking at other characters points of view it can sometimes be a bit confusing and I had to rewind a number of times to understand where the story was. But don't let that keep you from listening, because this sets the tone for Tommy's future stories and is worth the time.

Tommy is the luckiest man alive in some respects, and that gets a little over the top after he's shot three times and the next day is fighting the bad guys - could have at least a few days in the hospital to recover - but the rest of the story and characters are fun and exciting. The plot with Marisa keeps you guessing.

Koontz tells you what the bad guys are thinking so some parts are like watching Titanic since you know the end - but better than Titanic you don't know if Marisa is really the good guy or bad guy until the very end.

It feels like Koontz wanted to go one way but ended up going another at the very end - but maybe that's because he had the idea for the next book just then.

Looking forward to the next one.

Is Marisa good or evil. Selfish or Rightous. You find out, but boy Koontz keeps you guessing. Kept me wanting to listen.

Dennis was solid once again, his range didn't improve much but he did keep things interesting and I could listen for hours without getting bored.

Dennis is a good narrator, but some others have a broader range of character voices, but he does a solid job and I enjoyed listening to this book more than the prior Koontz with another narrator.

Solid - I have read or listened to almost all of the Koontz works, and this is very Clanceyesk and I like the characters and the twists quite a lot. I especially like the hommage to Clancey in this book.

One of the better books. I've always liked Clancy (since the 1980s) and while the story has changed with the times, once you get out of your head this is a "Jack Ryan" book you can get into the new characters. There are some great twists and turns in this one with Jr. globetrotting around. Not the best Clancy ever, but still a compelling read.

Some of the more recent Coontz books. I just finished listening to Traitors and Thieves was was solid. Clancy is better and Lou Diamond Philips is a much better narrator than for that book.

The plot kept me guessing. You really get to like the main character and there are twists that seem obvious but you can't quite figure out until the end. The story does end a bit abruptly with an epilogue - I feel like it needed a half a chapter just to tie things up a bit.

The performance is very good, changing voices even genders, makes it clear who is speaking, even during long conversations.

Not easy to turn off, but chapter's are sufficently long that you don't feel ashamed to stop for a period - almost like the end of an episode - not quite cliffhangers, but definately more questions to be answered.

I have subsequently purchased and read this book - it is as good as other Chernow biographices. However I would not listen given the narration. The book is biographical, and the performance was dry.

Hamilton by Chernow

He was not melodic nor enthusiastic when he should have been, droning on during battle descriptions, horse back rides, and other times when ones interest should be piqued.

I couldn't finish it.