Devlin Faust

I liked the movie, but Humphrey Bogart's representation of the Captain is more sympathetic than the original (the book).

Anyone who has ever had a very, very bad boss can empathize with the suffering of the progtagonist in "The Caine Mutiny". However, what is really good about this book is that it gives one small slice of what the American part of the WWII experience might have been like. No one in "The Caine Mutiny" is an exceptional individual, and the Caine doesn't do anything spectactular for the war effort. The Caine and it's crew are just one more cog in the machine that won the war, and this is a story about a young man who grows up (sort of) in the backdrop of 'doing his bit' in a largely unappreciated job.

The humor in this book is not overdone, but gives the reader a break from some of the drudgery that the main characters have to work through. That said, the actual 'mutiny' is, in of itself, almost a sidebar for the plot of the story.

What you get with "The Caine Mutiny" is something that is extremely well-written along with a first-rate narration.

I had downloaded this book some time ago, and kept it as a 'buffer', to listen to when one audiobook ran out and there was no quick replacement. When I finally got to listen to it, I was pleasantly surprised. Olberman does a masterful job, and gets things out of the reading that truly adds to the enjoyment of these Thurber classics.

Pure and simple; this book is excellent. To be fair, I like most Stephen King novels, but this one is in a class by itself. It has interesting characters that are well-developed, along with an inventive plot, which very quickly wraps you in. In addition, the narration is superb.

I understand that this edition has some 500 pages of material that the original release didn't have. That's good, because this is done so well, it leaves you with wanting even more.

Even the backdrop of highlander fly-fishing didn't really save this one. I've listened to another MC Beaton novel in this series, which was much better in terms of organization, character development, and also humor. This particular book has some charm, but it was Beaton's first effort and it falls a little flat as a 'whodunit.'

To be clear, I am totally done with stupid books about over-sexed vampires, but when I saw the reviews for this one, I decided to give it a try, mostly because it was such an odd concept.

What is being done here, is actually some very good writing. I majored in History in college, and had come across some of these peculiarly-worded documents that are used in the book, which are reltaive to both Lincoln and the Civil War. The author has done a masterful job in weaving these historical documents and events into the narrative.

While the use of history in this book lends to the suspension of belief (or even reality) necessary for the fictionalized account, the style of writing throughout is very good and it holds the interest of the reader.

There are some humorous parts in the book, a few of which are not intentional, but what has been done here is generally very good, and worth the listen, if you are seeking diversion.

Download the book and listen to it before it is too late! The movie is coming out this summer, and in striving to make it 'hit' for the masses, it's likely that changes are going to be made to the story that will cause it to lose much of its charm.