"Late last night, and the night before..."
This is the 2nd audiobook by King that I've downloaded (after Nightmares and Dreamscapes Vol. II), and I found it impossible to stop listening to! It kept me going during the wee hours of the night, AND on the road to and from work during the day.If you love Stephen King, and Sci-fi/ Horror, this one is for you.
A note about the narrator: IMHO, Edward Hermann is a perfect narrator, great distinction between characters, no distracting accents at all.
"Enter if you dare..."
Ok, so maybe it's not actually scary, but this is a typical Stephen King non-horror story. With a touch of the supernatural, a murder mystery, and a young boy with strange powers, it has the Master's signature all over it.
The story is fairly short (by King standards), but what it lacks in volume, it exceeds in heart. The life of a carny is an interesting one, thanks to Mr. King, and I enjoyed the education immensely!
My first impression of Michael Kelly's narration was, "this guy is drunk", but before long his voice grew on me. He excelled quite nicely at all the character's dialects and accents. Bravo!
Fans of Stephen King, I say go for the ride!
"Time flies when you're having fun...."
This was a 'page turner' for sure! It was exciting, full of twists, great scientific exposition on time travel, intriguing historical education, and a truly satisfying ending. The narration was excellent. I give props to narrators like John Bedford Lloyd, who can create such unique voices for every character. Loved it!!
"Crash Course in Avionics..."
I love Michael Crichton's work, especially the educational portions, and Airframe gave me some insight into the world of the airline industry. This one was typical Crichton, with lots of cool info, average character development (not unusual for this author), and best of all, it was a quick-moving, fairly short novel. Crichton completists, don't let this one fly over your head!
"Electrifying...."
What a great audiobook! This was a fantastic science fiction novel. The pacing was perfect, never a dull moment. I don't want to spoil the story so I will just say, if you like techno-thrillers, this is very similar to one, but without the jargon and complex language. The first act is mysterious, and once the story moves past the first act, it won't slow down till the riveting ending, where all is revealed! Great narration too! I love a good European accent (I'm not saying which!)
"On The Fence..."
On the one hand, this was a briskly paced mystery that I got through pretty quickly, which is a good thing. I also thought the narrator was excellent. There are a number of principal characters and Ray Porter successfully brought a unique voice to each of them.
On the other hand, the actual story was very middle of the road. Each plot twist was underwhelming, and the final revelations in the third act did not rub me the right way.
I would recommend this one to those with a (less discriminating) taste for the world of gothic horror, mystery, and/or science fiction. But it was too much of a mixed bag for my own taste.
"Surreal. In other words..."
This was a strange one. I was never bored, but the ending was not very compelling. A bit anti-climactic. There is a bit of sex throughout the book, so listen responsibly, kiddies!
I really enjoyed the narration. Both of the main narrators were soothing and gentle, and the third introduced late in the book was also very good.
Now, on to the biggest problem with this book. As many reviewers have pointed out, this book is repetitive. Here is an example (don't worry, it's not actual dialogue, just my impression of a typical conversation)
A: Are you hungry?
B: No, I already ate.
A: You already ate.
B: Yes
A:In other words, you put something in your mouth, chewed and swallowed?
B:That's right.
A: Was it good?
B: It was good.
A: In other words, You enjoyed it?
B: Yes.
A:Yes?
B: Yes.
A. In other words, you are stating an affirmative?
B:Yes.
This kind of conversation happened so many times, it may be responsible for an eighth of this book's length.
Though the story had some extremely moving moments, they were few and far between. It was different, though, that's for sure. My final analysis, the long journey is better than the destination.
"And Then I Was Impressed..."
This is my first trip to the world of Agatha Christie, and after researching for a good place to start, recommendations around the internet suggested this or Murder on the Orient Express. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. At first I wasn't sure I would like it, but the style of writing (this was 1939), was extremely easy to follow, the story zips along at a nice pace, and the narration is excellent. The epilogue makes the trip worth it, with a wonderful recap of the events which explain everything that happened. Not only will I have to re-read this one, I am already exploring more Christie novels. A+!
"The Force Will Be With Us, Always..."
The Thrawn Trilogy comes to a close in The Last Command, and I wish it didn't have to end.
If you've invested your time on the first 2 audiobooks, you won't want to miss this one! The story draws to a very satisfying conclusion, and for a Star Wars fan like myself, it's FUN! The sound effects, the sweeping Star Wars music of John Williams, and Chewbacca starring as himself! I generally don't care for music or sound effects in an audiobook, because it can be distracting. In this case, I love it! And Marc Thompson can throw a great voice on every character you put in front of him, rock solid performance!
P.S. Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy, anyone? I'd drop a credit or 3! Let's hope Marc Thompson will continue with an unabridged performance of the next series.
"The adventure continues..."
Following in the footsteps of last year's 20th anniversary release of Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, Marc Thompson delivers another perfect performance with this second installment of The Thrawn Trilogy. For the uninitiated, this series' popularity helped launch the expanded universerse we all take for granted now. For example, the 'Imperial Planet' was first named Coruscant in this trilogy. If you enjoyed it as much as I did, this audiobook will make you want to listen to the third and final book, The Last Command, thankfully also available unabridged and narrated by Marc Thompson. The Force is strong with this one!
"Killer Competition..."
What a fantastic book! This is a very cool story about a not-so-distant future where 100 teenage boys volunteer for a yearly, grueling, last-man-standing marathon. The competition is televised for America's entertainment, as one by one, the kids drop like flies. Put this in a pot, sprinkle some Running Man in, and you've got yourself The Hunger Games!
This is one of my favorite King stories, written under the psuedonym Richard Bachman.
Whether you are new to Stephen King (welcome to Planet Earth), or a fan looking for something else by the Master of Horror, I don't think this will disappoint!