Eric J. Krause

Loved this one. As I've said in another review, I'm not usually all that interested in zombie stories, but after reading a few good ones this month, I may have to revise my thoughts on the genre. This one started out as seemingly a young adult story, but as the zombie presence grew in the story, it quickly intensified to a true adult horror book. The characters were all quite well built, and as an author, I couldn't help but to take character-building notes from Mr. Thomas, as the four main-characters all had their flaws and heroic points to make them quite likable. The story is quite bloody and violently graphic, but that's to be expected from a tale of zombies. These aren't the old, slow-moving variety, but fast-moving and evolving creatures, which means no one is ever safe. If you're looking for a good zombie book, or a horror story in general, give this one a look.

As for the narration, I think the narrator did a great job of changing up his natural voice to give the characters distinct sounds, especially the four teens. They weren't much different from one another, but different enough that I rarely needed the voice tag to tell who was speaking. I always like that.

One final thing about this that I enjoyed: There was a short story on the end, and it, too, proved to be a pretty neat zombie story. It had a neat twist (which I, of course, won't spoil for you), and an interesting premise all the way through. So after you finish listening to Hissers, listen to the final hour of the recording to hear this story.

I found this to be a wonderful ending to this epic trilogy. It went on so many twists and turns that I had no idea where it would end up. I would guess what would happen next, and though I was right, the book would amp up what just happened to levels I wasn't expecting. It is quite violent, but that's the nature of the series, and I applaud it for being so gritty. All in all, this is a series that should be read. Dark? Yes, but also quite moving.

As for the narration, I found it to be excellent. Carolyn McCormick did an excellent job of mixing up her voice for the various characters without being silly. Some of the voices, basically those of Capitol characters, might have seemed a bit silly, but that actually fit the characters best. All in all, she did a superb job!

Loved this one. I'd never heard of the comic before I downloaded it, so I came into this world as a newbie. And it was fine. I'm sure there were back stories and character traits I missed for not knowing all about the Fables world, but honestly, it didn't matter. This was a good stand-alone story. The story is a mix between the past and present, both from the points of view of Peter Piper and his evil brother, Max. It all builds up to a climactic battle between the brothers, both of whom have told their stories well enough to see where their powers lie. It's a satisfying book which, as I said, stands alone, but it also makes you want to read all of the comics. Or at least that's what it did to me. I listened to the audio version, and Wil Wheaton narrated the book. He did an excellent job, and the characters jumped out of the story with his voice talents. If you enjoy retelling and updating of fairy tales, or you simply enjoy good fantasy stories, pick this one up.

I really enjoyed this one. It does a good job of continuing from book one, and the ending (with no spoilers) does an even better job of moving into book three. The characters come to life, not just because the narrator does a good job of giving them distinct voices (and she does), but because the author has done a wonderful job of fleshing everyone out. I was dreading the ending (this isn't a bad thing--rather a good comment because the book is so superbly written) because I thought I knew where it was going, but then it surprised me and took me in a direction I wasn't expecting. Once I finished listening, though, I could look back and see the clues that set up this ending quite nicely. Overall, I highly recommend this one...after you read or listen to book 1 first, of course.

This was quite an entertaining story. Harry Dresden is a real wizard, and you can even find him in the Chicago yellow pages. When Dresden is called by the Chicago P.D. to help in a crime that can only be magical in nature, a rough few days ensue for the wizard. He's threatened by the mob, targeted by a dark wizard, and even has a warrant issued for his arrest by the Chicago P.D., even though he's been helping them solve the case. This is quite an interesting world, filled with magic, demons, and even Bob, Harry's helper spirit (sort of) that lives in a polished human skull. In addition to magical problems, Harry has plenty of real world ones, as well. All of it adds up to an excellent story. James Marsters does a great job with the narration.

What a great book! Loved the story, and loved Wil Wheaton's narration. As a child of the 80's, I loved all of the pop culture references, especially since I loved video games and the movies of times. All of the trivia throughout that wrapped around the plot was so much fun. The game elements were so well done, and the drama throughout made this an excellent read/listen. I highly recommend this one; it's instantly made it's way into one of my favorite books.

I loved how this one was structured, with some traditional narrative framing the main thrust of the story, which was told through the journal writings of two rival magicians in the late 1800s, early 1900s. It gave interesting insight into how stage magic works, as well as using speculative elements to push the story to a new level. The narrator did a great job of changing his voice just enough to give the characters even more life. Overall, I highly recommend this one.