John

This is a novelization of the movie released in 2010.

The author did a good job of describing what happened in the movie, adding in the thoughts and emotions of the characters so as to turn a good movie into a good book.

The production is solid and the narrator is adequate. (Having just listened to William Dufris' incredible rendition of The Maltese Falcon, any narrator would have a hard time bearing up under comparison. ;-)

This take on the classic tale of Robin Hood carries a great message for today: liberty is worth the risk.

I enjoyed this audiobook and guess that you will, too. Check it out. =)

Hammett had a wonderful way of telling a story which draws the reader in and offers characters which seem both genuine and interesting. Even if you know the plot, it is still a lot of fun to read it again.

The narrator here, William Dufris, is a veteran who knows how to tell the story Hammett wrote. His voices ROCK and his characterizations were wonderful. He had such an obvious grasp of the nuances of both the characters and the story that it was a joy to listen to his telling of this classic tale.

My only complaint is that Audible really cheaped out on the production.

This recording was obviously taken from a set of CDs and simply converted into Audible's proprietary format. How do I know? Because they LEFT IN THE CD TRANSITIONS. "End of disc 3....Disc 4...."

WTH? Really? They could not take the time during the transcoding to snip out maybe ten bits of audio which so glaringly interrupt the story, often in the middle of an exciting part?

Seriously, Audible, whoever was so lazy that they could not be bothered to get rid of a few truly annoying artifacts from the original format should lose their job.

The story and narrator are good enough that this audiobook is still worth getting, despite this shortcoming, but I have to wonder how many other audiobooks were shortchanged this way and what this means for the quality of Audible's other offerings.

The story was engaging and fun, following the journey of an airman from before the zombie plague through about 5 months of trials and tribulations. Told in the form of a diary, I liked the author's approach: detailing smart things to do and dumb things to avoid, using humor that made me laugh out loud a few times, and creating characters I wanted to follow.

The end, however, leaves a lot to be desired. I understand that this is a series but it seemed as though Mr. Borne had written out the year and sort of decided by whim to stop in mid-May.

The narrator was good though his voices were not as different as one might have wished. Still, he did a passable job and I enjoyed the performance.

Overall, this book is worth listening to but be prepared to spend the money or credit on future books in the series as this one is not a complete story in itself.

The book was solid, developing believable characters in an unbelievable setting -- the world of vampire hunters.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters as they careened through the story and, when one or another died, I understood how it fit in the story but wished they were still around, you know?

The narration and voices by Tom Weiner were excellent and it was easy to tell characters apart.

Interesting note: the #2 main character in Vampires is named Felix...just like the #1 character in Armor. The #1 main character in Vampires? Jack Crow...just like the #2 main character in Armor.

Highly recommended!

I loved Atlas Shrugged. I loved Anthem. So I was looking forward to We the Living with great anticipation.

Unfortunately, the characters in this novel grated. Of the three main characters, the only one I respected was the Communist. :-!

Of the other two, one got on my nerves for the last third of the novel and I hated the third before even halfway through.

For all of her realism, Rand seemingly REALLY gave in to the notion of Romantic Love in this novel . . . utterly unlike the mature decisions made by Dagny and others in Atlas Shrugged.

==============

Production value in this one was superb. Mary Woods is a *fantastic* reader and, if I am tempted to get another book and see she is the narrator, that will tip the scale.

Great characterization, recognizable differences between characters, inflection, singing! All were some of the best I've ever heard.

Brava, madame. Brava!

The author demolishes the standard Keynesian and monetarist models and delivers a straightforward and insightful Austrian approach to today's economic times.

His indictment of the Fed alone is worth the price of the book. The title for this chapter is telling: "The Elephant in the Living Room."

Even more importantly, chapter 4 "How Government Causes the Boom-Bust Cycle," is the best layman's explanation of Austrian Business Cycle Theory I have found. Presented clearly and cogently, even Paul Krugman could understand it were he so inclined.

Solid theory backing solid solutions, an A+ for content.

About production, Alan Sklar's narration is wonderful. Best I've heard, full stop.

He actually seems to have read the book beforehand and gotten a sense of the author's tone and style prior to recording.* Rather than the boring monotone of so many other readers, he invests the text with life and offers a vibrant rendition of the text.

Thank you Messrs. Woods and Sklar for offering the top combination of content and production I have yet to come across.

------------------

* Yes, as some other reviewers have mentioned, Woods has a bit of sarcasm in his writing. When one deals with ideas which should have been put out of our misery many years ago but somehow keep showing up like zombies in a drive-in theater, a bit of leeway might be allowed for the positive unbelief that these ideas still hold sway in so many "educated" circles. =/

Not only is the content fantastic (wonderful surveys of great works on freedom, free-market economics, the Constitution, etc.) but the quality of the production is first-rate.

Using different, talented speakers to form a seamless tapestry of sound and thought, the producers offer a compelling and engaging course which will entertain, educate, and enlighten.

A big FIVE STARS for the first audiobook I felt compelled to review.

Thank you CATO and Blackstone!

The production is high quality, but the guy talks soooo sloooowwwlllllyyyy that you can easily listen to it at 5x speed and understand every word.

As for content, Greene put a LOT of work into this and it really shows. The stories really help lock the laws into your memory.

But there is a ton of stuff in the book that the audiobook leaves out. The way it is organized, it would be impossible not to.

My advice? Get the book as well. You can find it online cheap and it has even more stories and insight to share.

Was the audiobook version worth the money? Yes.

Was it fun to listen to? Yes.

Do I recommend it to you? Only if you want to learn about power in all its gory details. If you're squeamish about the underbelly of wielding power, this is not for you.