"Pulp fiction at its finest"
The two Destroyer books available in audible (the other being Chinese Puzzle) are a fun and action-packed romp and the reading by Gray Gleason is fantastic, with the narrator doing a variety of believable voices and accents, from title characters Remo and Chiun to a host of others that fit into the pulp fiction nature of the novel. Hopefully there are more Destroyer novels to come with Gleason as the narrator.
"Taking it to the limit"
The Ice Limit again sees a few characters who have appeared in Lincoln and Child's Pendergast novels making an appearance.
I'm a sucker for unusual archaeology stories and while this novel is thematically similar to the authors' other book, Thunderhead, I still enjoyed the unfolding of the story.
Overall, a fun listen if a little slow moving at the beginning.
"Two stories in one"
Mount Dragon is essentially two genres in one -- first, it's a medical thriller and a pretty interesting one at that. About two thirds of the way through, however, the book takes a different turn and becomes an archaeology/adventure novel with western slant.
Having said that, both sections of the story are actually quite an interesting listen, although reader David Colacci is the real problem here.
Colacci's reading tends to have quite major changes in volume -- going from suddenly loud to occasionally so low in volume that I had to rewind and turn up the volume just to hear what was said, resulting in an ear-splitting jump when the volume goes up again later.
"This is archaeology?!"
Despite my negative sounding title (a quote from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) I actually quite enjoyed Thunderhead. Despite the implausible ending, the book is quite action packed and is a fun listen especially with the ever reliable Scott Brick.
It's also quite interesting to see some major characters from the Pendergast novels like Nora Kelly and Bill Smithback having their own stories.
"Ripping yarn"
I'm always a sucker for a good pirate treasure or swashbuckling novel. Riptide isn't a pirate novel, but it is about the search for pirate treasure.
The story is a bit like a cross between a Michael Crichton novel and a Dan Brown novel in that it features a lot of high-tech equipment with a story that deals with secrets and hidden treasure.
Riptide starts off a little slowly but it picks up pace eventually and reaches quite an exciting (though slightly far-fetched) conclusion.
Overall, a good listen, with narrator Scott Brick providing a solid reading, though it's not his best work.
"Sherlock short"
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle is a pretty short story in the Sherlock Holmes list of stories, and it's little more than an interesting weekend of couch sleuthing for Holmes.
Nevertheless, it's a fun listen and Cummings' reading brings it to life with very distinctive voices for each character that appears in the story. A fun, but short, diversion.
By the way if you google carbuncle, you'd get results that are less than appetizing! However in the story, carbuncle refers to a jewel.
"Wilde Tale"
Oscar Wilde's final play is a hilarious farce, well-acted in every way by the excellent cast. I found myself laughing uproariously while listening to it on my morning commute, which is a bit unfortunate since I'm sure I looked like one of those crazy people who talk and laugh to themselves. Get it -- it may not be very long, but it's literally a laugh a minute.
"Doctor, doctor"
Every time I see an audible book read by Tom Baker, I snatch it up. Here Baker reads and voices his most famous character, the floppy hatted, long scarfed, curly haired Fourth Doctor. Written by Terrance Dicks, this story has many of he same themes as many Doctor Who stories of the time (megalomaniac trying to take over the universe) but Dicks' writing is so taut and well-paced that you tend to overlook the tropes. Fun listen especially with Baker's fantastic range of voices
"True story of the Wild West"
Having grown up watching westerns and then the later revisionist westerns like Dances With Wolves, I've often wondered what the true Wild West was like especially from the perspective of the Indians. This autobiography answers many of those questions and gives us some insight into the persecution of the Red Indians by the whites, especially with regards to land rights. Throughout, the voice of chief Black Hawk comes through clearly, and shows us that the Red Indians were often forced into fighting for what was rightfully theirs. Excellent listen!
"Confusing"
Confusing is the only word to describe this Doctor Who audiobook -- the performances, while done very well by the voice actors, are marred by very little explanation of what's going on. There are loads of sound effects but these sometimes almost drown or distort the voices. Even after hours of listening, I just couldn't really get into what's happening or who's who as many voices sound almost alike.
"A classic reading of a classic book"
Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is perhaps one of the most famous books that I hadn't yet read until now. This classic science fiction tale about extraordinary (yet strangely ordinary) children who are asked to do extraordinary things is still as fresh and compelling today as it was when it was released.
Well worth the listen, with this version having a variety of voices contributing to the reading, including Card himself who has a cameo.
This anniversary edition also comes with a chapter from a new book in the Enderverse, as well as a lengthy and interesting rumination by Card himself on the history of and inspiration for the story that ultimately became Ender's Game the novel.
Highly recommended!