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David

bookwyrm55

NC | Member Since 2007

HELPFUL VOTES

11 reviews
58 ratings
190 titles in library
8 purchased in 2013

FOLLOWING

FOLLOWERS

Lost Things: The Order of the Air

UNABRIDGED
- by Melissa Scott , Jo Graham
- Narrated by John Lee
Lost Things: The Order of the Air

UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 12 mins)

By Melissa Scott, Jo Graham

Narrated By John Lee

Overall
(7)
Performance
(7)
Story
(7)

In 1929 archeologists began draining Lake Nemi in search of the mysterious ships that have been glimpsed beneath its waters since the reign of Claudius. What they awakened had been drowned for two thousand years. For a very good reason. Veteran aviator Lewis Segura has been drifting since the Great War ended, fetched up at last at the small company run by fellow veterans and pilots Alma Gilchrist and Mitchell Sorley, assisted by their old friend Dr. Jerry Ballard, an archeologist who lost his career when he lost part of his leg.
Sires says: "1929 Set Historical Fantasy with Good Narrator"
"Wonderfully wrought historical fantasy"

Overall
Performance
Story

What made the experience of listening to Lost Things the most enjoyable?

I love the storytelling quality of John Lee's narration. He has the perfect tone to carry a story forward and draw me in.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Louis, because of all the challenges he faced, and the way he stepped up and overcame adversity.

Which scene was your favorite?

I love the big chase / fight on the airship. It's well written, and brings that very unique setting to brilliant life.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just enjoyed it thoroughly and looking forward to the next adventure for this crew.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Hand of Isis

UNABRIDGED
- by Jo Graham
- Narrated by Gigi Shane
Hand of Isis

UNABRIDGED (16 hrs and 27 mins)

By Jo Graham

Narrated By Gigi Shane

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(6)
Performance
(5)
Story
(5)

Charmian is handmaiden to Cleopatra. She is also an oracle, gifted with ancient memories that may hold the key to preserving Egypt. Through blood and fire, war and peace, love and death, she will face a desperate struggle that will remake the future of the world.
Gail A. Kummer says: "The word is Cavalry, not Calvary"
"Wonderful Historical Fantasy"

Overall
Performance
Story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I've read Margaret Atwood's CLEOPATRA and I find this a perfect companion piece. Both cover the historical events surrounding the fall of Alexandria perfectly from different perspectives. The narrator's voice is rich and well modulated. You are drawn in, and that's what good audio is all about.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Charmian, who is also the protagonist...it would be difficult to choose a different character in this one because the book is invested in that one character so deeply.

What does Gigi Shane bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ms. Shane captured a variety of voices and managed to remain true to them. The emotion feels very real - genuine. By the end of the book, as far as the reader is concerned, she IS Charmian ...

Who was the most memorable character of Hand of Isis and why?

Again, Charmian, and again, because most of the book is her interacting with the land, and the other characters.

Any additional comments?

This book takes you places you don't expect to go, and is also a good primer on the events surrounding Rome's wooing, and final capture, of Alexandria. You come to love, and to hate the characters right along with the narrator - and the protagonist - and when it's over, you find yourself withing for more.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
The Martyring

UNABRIDGED
- by Thomas Sullivan
- Narrated by Bob Walter
The Martyring

UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 23 mins)

By Thomas Sullivan

Narrated By Bob Walter

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(1)
Performance
(1)
Story
(1)

Kurt Hauptmann will learn to make stained glass to help men see the glory of God, one of the many bizarre heritages handed down from his ancestry. But the family has other, more frightening secrets. The path to God runs through darkness as well as light. And the bond of a family is blood, its own and that of its enemies.
What is the strangeness in Uncle Detlef, head of the stained-glass studio? Why has he descended from his cathedral roofs to steeplejack the perils of a secular world?
David says: "Ancient Secrets and top-notch narration"
"Ancient Secrets and top-notch narration"

Overall
Performance
Story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Bob Walter has the kind of voice that I put on a short list of those who - as narrator - could influence me to listen to a book I might otherwise have ignored. The story is rich and complex and the characters are vivid.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Martyring?

Without giving anything away, I would have to cite the scenes where the protagonist and his cousin interact closely.

Which character – as performed by Bob Walter – was your favorite?

The Detective

If you could rename The Martyring, what would you call it?

Bloodstained Glass

Any additional comments?

This book tells one of those rare stories that tightrope-walks between genres. It is a mystery. It is a thriller. It has historical aspects, and a bit of romance. It brings things like the art of creating stained glass, and the deaths of martyrs into focus for the reader. In a word? Memorable

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
The Hereafter Gang

UNABRIDGED
- by Neal Barrett
- Narrated by Chet Williamson
The Hereafter Gang

UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 11 mins)

By Neal Barrett

Narrated By Chet Williamson

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(10)
Performance
(6)
Story
(6)

On a hot summer Texas afternoon, Cindy Nance introduces young Doug Hoover to the two great secrets of life. Doug likes the first secret a lot. The second, that guys grow up and go to work, doesn't appeal to him at all. A series of meaningless marriages and do-nothing jobs prove Cindy was right. Turned off by the present, Doug tries to recapture the joys of his past Captain Marvel and cinnamon squares, Dr. Pepper and window-peeking fun. Nothing goes right until Doug meets Sue Jean.
David says: "Whimsical and Poignant"
"Whimsical and Poignant"

Overall
Performance
Story

Would you listen to The Hereafter Gang again? Why?

I would. There are a lot of levels to this story, and the narrators voice captures the characters and the laid back pacing perfectly.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Probably Sue Jean. Particularly after you get the entire story of the characters and come to realize why she acts as she does in the earlier segments of the story.

Which scene was your favorite?

I believe it would involve fighter planes and Jesus, but if I was to explain that, it would ruin an important part of the story.

If you could rename The Hereafter Gang, what would you call it?

Roundup at the Drive-Inn Corral

Any additional comments?

This is the sort of slow-burning story that sticks with you. When you listen, you get drawn in - you feel like you know all of the characters, and as it gets stranger and stranger, it happens subtly so that nothing strikes you as off-kilter until...it is. I would recommend this book to anyone, though there is some adult content that would be inappropriate for teen listeners.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Prodigal Blues

UNABRIDGED
- by Gary A. Braunbeck
- Narrated by Eric Dove
Prodigal Blues

UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 20 mins)

By Gary A. Braunbeck

Narrated By Eric Dove

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(9)
Performance
(8)
Story
(8)

After he finds himself stranded at a truck stop in Missouri, Mark Sieber gets one of the biggest shocks of his life when he recognizes the face of a little girl on a Missing poster as belonging to the same little girl he saw only a few minutes before. Looking around for some sign of her, he comes back to his table in the restaurant to find the little girl sitting there, waiting for him. "I'm sorry, mister," is all she seems capable of saying.
Shad says: "A unique story"
"Dark, but well written and unique"

Overall
Performance
Story

What did you love best about Prodigal Blues?

Very well crafted characters.

What did you like best about this story?

The sort of sing-song chanting voice.

What does Eric Dove bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

Engaging voice and breadth of characterization

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's very dark. It makes you think.

Any additional comments?

This is a horror novel. Not for the squeamish.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
The Sufferer's Song

UNABRIDGED
- by Steven Savile
- Narrated by Andrew Randall
The Sufferer's Song

UNABRIDGED (17 hrs and 5 mins)

By Steven Savile

Narrated By Andrew Randall

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(8)
Performance
(8)
Story
(7)

Small towns are meant to be sleepy. Safe. They are not meant to be meat. Within a single week, Kristy, Ben. and Westbrooke's residents have the comfortable safety of their world torn out from under them. People they have known all their lives turn on them and no-one knows what is happening, why, or how to stop it. There's blood on the streets, and the suffering has only just begun.
Shelli says: "Tried and tried"
"Dean Koontz-like Thriller"

Overall
Performance
Story

Where does The Sufferer's Song rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

This is a complex book based around a failed medical experiment - an experiment intended to help one control exactly the emotion they need at any given time - which goes wrong. The test subjects, some human, some animal, end up out of control, violent, raging - killing - and in many cases dead.

There is an array of characters lined up against the pretty much

What did you like best about this story?

The variety of characters

Which character ??? as performed by Andrew Randall ??? was your favorite?

Sort of copping out here, but the narrator's voice behind the story is my favorite.

If you could rename The Sufferer's Song, what would you call it?

Mental

Any additional comments?

An interesting, if rather long thriller. Should appeal to Stephen King and Den Koontz fans - particularly their earlier works.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Soulstorm

UNABRIDGED
- by Chet Williamson
- Narrated by Chet Williamson
Soulstorm

UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 36 mins)

By Chet Williamson

Narrated By Chet Williamson

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(41)
Performance
(26)
Story
(26)

Three men are offered a million dollars each if they will spend a month in an isolated Pennsylvania mansion, The Pines. There they will confront madness, murder, and the ultimate evil – so that their billionaire host might find the key to life beyond the grave. But as they learn, dead souls dwell in The Pines. And death is just the beginning…
cynthia says: "This is a 'Must read'"
"Good old Fashioned Haunted House Fun"

Overall
Performance
Story

There have been several novels similar to this, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, and Hell House by Matheson, Soulstorm doesn't really add a lot of new elements to the world of seriously messed up houses...but it does add some interesting glimpses into characters with no holds barred. Sometimes it's difficult to realize that every action, reaction, and emotion the characters feel or express is an interaction with or reaction to the house. You come to like, and then loathe, and then distrust the characters one after another as they seem to weather the storm - or cave instantly to the power of the place. You want to root for them, but you know that even if they escape, the influence will desert them and they will realize how warped their thoughts have become.

An entertaining read, well narrated by the author.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful
The Nightmare Frontier

UNABRIDGED
- by Stephen Mark Rainey
- Narrated by Basil Sands
The Nightmare Frontier

UNABRIDGED (9 hrs and 26 mins)

By Stephen Mark Rainey

Narrated By Basil Sands

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(43)
Performance
(19)
Story
(19)

The town of Silver Ridge, West Virginia, has disappeared from the face of the earth. To the outside world, a chasm of impenetrable mist is all that remains of the town. But inside Silver Ridge, the nightmare is just beginning .Confined by this unimaginable barrier, the townspeople find themselves confronted by the denizens of a distant dimension: horrifying creatures that intend to transform the valley town into their own outpost.
bill says: "this is a Cthulhu Mythos story"
"Great Suspense...dark and spooky to the end"

Overall
Performance
Story

This is a wonderfully creepy Lovecraftian tale, set somewhere in the deep south. I don't know the accents of the area, but I'm frankly surprised by the reactions of a couple of other reviewers to the narrator. I thought the narration was steady, and engaging, and I also don't see how any narrator could be expected to be know the accents of each and every area of the country a book might be set in.

I thought the protagonist was well drawn, and that the troublemaking backwoods family was properly creepy. The female voices weren't perfect, but they also didn't detract from the listening experience. Overall a most enjoyable horror novel.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful
On the Gathering Storm

UNABRIDGED
- by Jason McIntyre
- Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer
On the Gathering Storm

UNABRIDGED (6 hrs and 15 mins)

By Jason McIntyre

Narrated By Jeffrey Kafer

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(4)
Performance
(1)
Story
(1)

At 29, Hannah Garretty is pursuing her lifelong dream of being a paid photographer. But in a curl of circumstance, she's snatched from her bohemian life on the island and vanishes into a forest lair where unspeakable things have happened... and will continue to happen. As Hannah grapples with her captivity and the knowledge bestowed to her by a special gift, we catch glimpses of her past life, before the abduction, through the lens of her childhood on the mainland and the last time she came face to face with her own mortality.
David says: "Entertaining and suspenseful"
"Entertaining and suspenseful"

Overall
Performance
Story

This book reminded me a bit of Stephen King's earlier works. The main characters, Hannah, is already more comfortable living in her own mind than in the outside world. Her life seems to shift through shades of reality. When she gets a fleeting glimpse of a young girl with unwashed hair through a car window, it launches her into a nightmare of kidnapping, confinement, and torture. The characters are very real and well-drawn...and though only a short period of time is covered in the novel, the listener will walk away knowing years of the characters lives. Very tense, great for fans of thrillers and horror alike.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
The Holy Terror

UNABRIDGED
- by Wayne Allen Sallee
- Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer
The Holy Terror

UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 33 mins)

By Wayne Allen Sallee

Narrated By Jeffrey Kafer

Overall
(4)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)

Serial killer Frank Haid, dubbed the Painkiller by Chicago police and media, murders 18 people - all paralytics. Commanded by an unseen presence that he calls ''Father'' and that speaks in the voice of an uncle whose rotting corpse he keeps in the living room, Haid destroys his victims and evidence in a way that puzzles police. Hardest hit are residents of Marclinn, a home for the handicapped, where survivors decide they must track down the madman themselves.
David says: "Not For Everyone, but Brilliant"
"Not For Everyone, but Brilliant"

Overall
Performance
Story

This book is filled with very real, very gritty characters from the streets of Chicago - the sort of people society forgets and kicks to the curb, or ignores completely. When a killer drops in among them, it's as difficult to get the attention of the authorities as it is to find the killer - and the killer himself, in this case, is also a flawed prophet. His motives are pure, if that makes sense. This books, much like American Psycho, is not going to work for everyone. Given the chance to draw you in, it never lets go.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful