jacques

I did not immediately like this book. I had to start and stop three times before it finally got into gear. I was so reminded of the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony that i kept that in mind throughout. I loved Xanth when I was a kid, so this was a fun book for me. This is definitely not for everyone, but it's worth a listen (especially if you can get it in the bargain bin)
Has the feel of a dream, Look into the peep hole of the hypno gourd, "we are on an adventure, you may join us if you wish"
Narrator was good, but Benito Mussolini kind of sounds like Dracula.

The meat of this book is really excellent. I never got bored, not once. That is an amazing accomplishment in a book this long. An ever changing adventure that will hold your attention to the end.

However, I did find myself becoming impatient with the writer's long and flowery descriptions of everything from the beauty of someone's eyes (and everybody seems to have beautiful eyes in this book) to the various merits of an article of clothing. He describes the shorts worn by farmers as "noble", among other things. Yup, Noble shorts... If it were not for the endless parade of eyes the colour of sand in the last days before the monsoon. Or The brilliant and endless blue of a winter sky, softly caressed by delicate clouds of a deep sadness...

Really a great book, but if ten of fifteen hours of ''soft lips like the velvet petals of the lotus'' were removed, Id have liked it better.

The first thing I noticed was the narrator. She delivers the story with all the emotion of a weather reporter, apparently trying to shout over the sound of the rain. Then I noticed the banal conversations between characters, the rote police jargon, the cliché so pervasive it seems almost deliberate. The story did not flow so much as it was excreted in chunks, kind of like a comic book. The language was of a sophistication also appropriate to the comic book. ''that monster kills children, I'll get him if it''s the last thing I ever do." or " Will I ever be able to love again?''

Ever read a book and wonder how it ever got published? The mistake was compounded when some decided to make this an audio book. I thought that if i could get used to the terrible narration, I might find some redeeming qualities in the story. I'm sorry to say I found none. After two hours, I switched to another book I had on my Ipod, Hold tight by Harlan Coben. Scott brick is not my favourite narrator, But he is a professional, and the difference between this, and what I had just turned off was like a splash of cold water in the face.In short, this thing plods along with all the grace of a drunk monkey, and I hope this review will save somebody a hangover.

There was a number of really good stories in here, some a bit dated but still very good.
Some were not so good. The stories which concern one man's descent into madness, usually written in the first person, and ending with the reader wondering wether the events described had actually taken place, or were in the narrator's mind. Kind of like ending a story with '' It was all just a dream'' I've always thought that stories like that are a bit of a cop out. Still worth the time and the credit.
There wer a couple of stories i recognized from T.V. and movies. The Gremlin, of course from the twilight zone. The distibutor very likely inspired Stephen King to write Needful things. (one of his best in my opinion) And One year aniversary was used for an episode of The outer limits.

The story is divided into three parts; The first is of the events leading to the disaster which brings on the end of the world as we know it. This first part was excellent, I was absolutely absorbed in the story, the characters, and the possibilities for the world after.

In the second part, The story sadly veers left into the compost heap. The second part concerns the social politics of a colony of survivors 100 years after the disaster. It doesn't go anywhere, and it doesn't go there fast. Petty rivalries, jealousy over women, who gets to be the leader this year. He said, she said post apocalyptic daytime soap opera.

In the third part, a small group of people get wise and decide to decamp, Here the adventure begins anew. And more or less redeems itself.

I had this book in my wish list for about a year. The reason it stayed there was that Audible wanted two credits for it. I'm glad I waited, it's worth a listen if you like this kind of thing. But if I had paid 2 creds for it, my review might have been a bit more negative.

I was worried this might be confusing, complicated, and convoluted. Spy novels often are.
But this one was easy to follow, and very entertaining. Nothin too heavy, and not one of Follett's greatest works. It was still a good, solid read.

After the first three books in the Gunslinger series, I found the quality of the writing had suffered. (excepting Wolves of the Calla) The stories seemed hastily written and had little respect for what came before. Wind through the keyhole is a book that stands on it's own. A story within a story, it uses the landscape of midworld without depending too heavily on the characters from the gunslinger stories. A nice fairy tale for grownups in a world which is moving on. Mr. King, my faith in you is renewed.

The audio is terrible, listen to a sample before you buy. I could not finish it. It sounds like it was recorded in the 1940s and is being played through blown out speakers. I'll have to find another version, i'm told this is a great book. Guess I'll have to wait to find out.

Another lovably naive protagonist, haplessly dragged into a world of magic and demigods. I like dthis book, but not as much as some others from Gaiman. It was a bit like one of the nightside books by Simon Green, only not quite as garish. Nothing too complicated, a good easy listen. If you know and enjoy Neil Gaiman you'll probably enjoy this book.

This one is described as a sequel to American gods, (Which was an excellent book) and while it plays in the same world, it's not really connected. Myth and legend told for a modern audience. A lovably innocent protagonist, haplessly dragged into a world of magic and gods by accident. His father a selfish, good natured and totally goofy god. His brother, an equally goofy pain in the neck who won't go away. The way Gaiman mixes myth with the modern world is a real treat to read. And he weaves in a subtle thread of absurdity that will make you laugh out loud. Add to all this a really excellent narrator, who would give Jim Dale a run for his money, and you got a winner.
I think American Gods was a better book, but the narration was far better in Anansi boys.
You don't need to read them both in the order they were published, but you do need to read them both.
I had never heard of Neil Gaiman until I joined audible about 2 years ago. This is the second novel of his that I have enjoyed, and you can be sure there will be more in my library before too long.

Peter Straub has an interest in pedophelia which I do not share. His descriptions of human cruelty and outright psychopathy are gruesome, detailed and offputting. I'm not the sort who goes out of his way to find things to be offended by, but this guy pushes the limits of good taste. His prose is unique, and annoying after a few hours, you'll have to listen to a sample to understand what i mean. It's difficult to describe, street thugs who talk like university professors. Long speeches using long words do describe a trip to the medicine cabinet for aspirin. It's just wierd, I listened to the whole book, hoping it would get better because I liked what he did with Stephen King. but I found myself feeling kind of queasy sometimes, vivid descriptions of rape and torture and child abuse. Not really my bag. I could compare this to what you might get from a movie like Saw. If you've seen that, and you liked it, you'll probably like this.
In a nutshell, it was sick.