Jennifer Owen

I can't quite put my finger on the problem. I expected to become fully engaged by the story and enthralled by the narration, but it just didn't happen.

The story should have elicited some excitement, suspense, tension, but it just seem to drone on. George Guidall is one of the best readers in the business but perhaps his voice is now too soft to narrate a thriller or perhaps even the great Guidall couldn't instill life into this story. Either way, this listen was a bit of a disappointment.

This is the second Daniel Silva I've downloaded - I also listened to Death in Vienna - and it was the author's second chance because I do love spy/thrillers. Still, there are better books out there and better ways to spend a credit. Keep looking. Don't settle for merely OK.

I really don't care whether or not Crichton wrote this not, or if he did, if it's one of his earlier works. It is a boatload of fun to listen to and that's what matters.

The narrator works - he has a lovely voice, distinguishes the characters, and reads at the right pace.

The story works - it's a well-crafted, atmospheric,cohesive tale full of action and interesting characters. I was mesmerized by Port Royale, it's politics, pirates and precarious position in the 17th century Carribbean. It's a swashbuckling yarn that feels grounded in real history.

I'll be listening to it again - on vacation, driving in the car, doing the ironing, grocery shopping, walking the dog ......

Yes, I downloaded this title because Clive Cussler's name was right there in big, bold letters....... Sucker!

In spite of the 'woman-as sex-object' attitude of his Dirk PItt (NUMA) series, I love listening to them; they are a lot of fun. I'm more than happy to escape into this world. But I find the husband and wife treasure hunting team of this book ridiculous. The authors have given both Sm and Remi Fargo bloated helpings of artistic, physical and academic talents - oh, and money, but not a lot of substance; knowing what designer the wife wears and which dishes the pair orders a restaurant doesn't contribute a lot to character development. Their banal banter while they battle the bad guys doesn't help either. While fleeing for their lives they apparently don't have time to explain changes in plan, but they are happy to babble on about the wife's cleavage or the husband's driving ability.

The story could've been a good yarn, but it's told inconsistently. The team, for instance, seems to be able to get out of trouble by phoning home, getting in a Mercedes and heading to a 4 star hotel - more than once! It feels as though the authors are happy to get their protagonists into trouble and then lose interest in resolving the situation. The Fargos solve puzzles presented to them, either by meeting someone who'll give them 90% of the answer, or they indulge in brainstorming sessions remind me of putting a bunch of possible solutions in a hat and then pulling one out and going with it. They really shouldn't get away with such sloppy thinking time after time. And yet they do.

Clive Cussler has earned his reputation as someone who can tell a wonderful adventure tale. Too bad someone let this one fail.

Probably. Almost certainly. I'm sure I would've skipped passages, maybe pages, if I'd been reading this in print version. For the first 16 plus hours I was completely hooked and would've been tempted to "have a quick look ahead and see what happens". I would've missed some of the (important) nuances and twists that made this story so insistent - it insisted I listen to it!

I had no favorite characters - with only a few exceptions this is a nasty group. I don't want to meet any of them - but I was completely fascinated by them.

They were spot-on. I never doubted that they were the voices of the two main characters. 5-star all the way.

Not a moment, no. Most of the book moved me in the sense that it evoked emotions I don't use very often.

This is a story about some truly toxic people and it reads (speaks?) with so much intensity until the beginning of the end. The bleak outcome feels inevitable and either shook me up or annoyed me so much I felt I should write a review! Spend a credit on this book. It's definitely worth it. I'm going to find another Gillian Flynn to listen to.

Rollicking good fun.

The pacing of the plot - the action and the character development - is terrific. It's not particularly difficult to guess what's coming next but it so delightful listening to the story unfold, who cares?

In this reading, Rosenblat does an outstanding job performing Amelia Peabody. In the later novels I find that Peabody's "voice" becomes more strident and annoying, but here, it's perfect.

My favorite 'children-of-all-ages' story, beautifully read.

I was completely captivated by this download. The narrator is superb...his voice and this story simply belong together. The tale itself gently engrossed me and is beautifully crafted. Of course this is not Conan-Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (get a grip, people!) but Cullin's Holmes is just who C-D's Holmes could have become 45 years into retirement. As a 93-year old he sits firmly in the centre of this book, no-one else, nothing else.

Like a previous reviewer, I too bought this book on the basis of glowing reviews, and I too could not bring myself to finish listening to Part 1. This is a tedious tale: tedious, tedious, tedious and trite. Any research the author did could have easily come from a "Child's Illustrated History of Ancient Civilisations". The story is awkwardly constructed as the Waltari stumbles from tawdry scene to flat descriptive passage. The language is stilted and cumbersome.. I just can't bring myself to believe that even ancient egyptian translated into english sounds like that.

And then there's the narrator...ghastly! If this is his true accent, he shouldn't be reading to others. Donkey pronounced "dawnkey, done pronounced "dorn" and so on and so on.