"A Delightful Read"
Kerry Greenwoods books provide a wonderful picture of Melbourne between the wars. With Phriony Fisher and the competent, smart and beautiful lady detective who none can get the better of. A delightful read (listen) beautifully read.
"Unlistenable"
I tried to get started on this several time - unlistenable
I don't think its possible
"Really Enjoyed"
Well crafted story about a Greek Detective and the events leading up to the invasion of Greece during the Second World War. Characterisation excellent, reading excellent.
"Crichton would have been disappointed."
This is the book Michael Crichton had supposedly partly written before he died. In reality I suspect that Crichton did no more than construct a plot outline and the book was largely the work of Preston. Like so many other books that purport to be 'co-written', it trades on the name and reputation of the established author but does not possess the quality writing that gained the author his original reputation because in actuality it has been write by someone of much lesser capability.
The plot is a great idea. It is all about a company that develops (and uses for badness and evil) a variant of nanotechnology where it actually shrinks things and people to a tiny proportion of their original size. It covers the adventures of 6 science students who discover something is wrong and are shrunk themselves and dumped in the jungle in Hawaii and their battles to survive against insects and birds (and of course, the baddies). However the characters are poor, the dialogue is atrocious and it is just badly written and presented.
"Where are you Tom?"
Atrociously written and badly read. I refuse to believe Tom Clancy was any where near this publication in anything apart from name. I did listen to the end only because I refused to believe it could not get worse - I was wrong.
"Delightful"
Really enjoyed this superbly read and written story. Actually checked some to the historical facts and couldn't fault them. Highly recommended
"Dan Brown has lsot more than a Symbol!"
I was totally and utterly disappointed in this book which trades on his (Brown's) past success. It is repetitive, predictable, stupid and badly written!
"One of my top 3"
This is one of my top three books for the last 5 years. I read it about a year ago and was entranced by it so when I saw it as an audio, I had to listen to it as well. The audio production is excellent, maybe the best I have come across so far.
It is really hard to explain to someone who has not read it. The Historian is is not a horror story but it is about vampires. It is set across Europe with wonderful characters and descriptions. The story subtly builds up tension as it replays the lives of father and daughter who are fascinated to the extent of becoming addicted to the mysteries surrounding Vlad the Impaler, a middle European tyrant who fought invaders five centuries ago and managed to dispose of a fair proportion of his own people along the way. As they chase the trail he left in manuscripts and maps in cities across Europe and they delve deeper, strange things start to happen and suspense rises in this beautifully written and well read audio book
"How can I say this nicely?"
This has to have been one of the most frustrating and annoying books I have ever listened to. I cannot believe a supposedly intelligent lawyer (hero) and his Russian Acrobat girlfriend (heroine) can be so continually thick as they are thrown from one assasination attempt to the next with the obvious villians turning up again and again as if invited. Each time the hero and heroine walk straight into the trap oblivious of doing exactly the same thing last time and the time before and of course miraculously escape with their lives (though I am not fortelling the ending). The only mitigating factor is the fascinating history around which the plot has been woven. Berry would have been better to have focus on that topic. The other factor making it bearable was that it was well read.
If you are looking for a well constructed, clever and twisting plot, forget this book. If you are looking for a relatively fast paced entirely predictable read, well, you may be able to get through it.
"What a Rollercoaster!"
The hero is just too good (as is the heroine), the baddies are particulrly bad and the story is just a little too bizarre. I also found the reader a bit hard to take at the start. But with all that negativism, (I clearly need to meditate and get back to my innerself) I have to admit that I listened right to the end and that once into it, I mostly enjoyed the trip into Tibet, the wild sea journey and the moral overtones about our decaying society.