Avid Reader

I've read most of David Weber's Honor Harrington series so I thought I'd give the audio version a chance. Sadly, a terrible reader ruined what is otherwise a really good science fictions story. In most cases the narrator talks in a monotone with little differentiation between the various characters' voices. When not talking in monotone, the narrator spoke in an up and down cadence that becomes so annoying I couldn't finishing listening.

It's a fun and entertaining listen with better characters and story than many of Collins' recent novels. Once the story gets going it pulls you in and doesn't let go.

The reporter character and how reacts to the pirates. Very unexpected.

I wasn't a fan of the narration. In general, I don't like multiple narrators unless each person is playing a specific character. The change of narrators in this story was driven by the character taking center stage, but when the POV changed the same characters were being voiced by a different actor and the differences in style were distracting.

Overall, a very good Jackie Collins novel with less of the cookie cutter Hollywood story and characters. You could tell Collins put some time and thought into the plot and characters. Sure, there were a few of the "usual suspects": actors, models, etc.; but also some new celebrity types that made it a little more interesting. Easily one of Collins' better novels in awhile.

Normally, I'm not a fan of steampunk but I was pleasantly surprised by Phoenix Rising. I liked the two main characters, Eliza Braun and Wellington Books, which made a somewhat meandering story easier to take. While the plot does drag in certain place it's interesting enough to keep you listening. Much of the credit for that has to go to the narrator, James Langton. He inhabits each of the characters and gives their own voice quite nicely; however, his New Zealand accent was questionable at times. While there are some major plot holes and unsettling events that may turn off some readers/listeners, overall this a was really fun story and I look forward to more adventures from Books and Braun.

I don't know what disappointed me more: the boring plot, the stereotype main character, or the retread villain. This book was little more than an amalgam of tired stereotypes, flat dialogue, and uninteresting characters. It was a complete waste of a credit.

Wow, was this one bad book. From the story itself right down to the poorly chosen narrator this book was a disaster. Let me start with the story itself. The characters are one-dimensional, unexciting, and down-right stupid. The plot itself is like something out of a bad episode of Miami Vice meets The Dukes of Hazzard. I'm only a recent convert to Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, so I went into this novel with an open opinion. Unfortunately, the book's heroine, Alexandra Barnaby, isn't likeable enough to keep your attention. Then there's the narrator, C. J. Critt, whose vocalizations for each character sounded exactly the same. Not to mention she sounds like an old woman, not a young woman in her early to mid thirties as I envisioned the main character. Unless you're truly a fan of Evanovich this book can be skipped and forgotten.

I was really disappointed in this novel. Nothing of real substance happens! Martin seems to have contracted Robert Jordan Syndrome: a large book with little to no plot movement. I hope the next book is a hell of a lot better than this one. I will admit that I enjoyed Martin's choice to bring Cersei forward with her own point-of-view chapters, but even then very little happened.

On the choice of John Lee as narrator, I thought he was OK. I was never a fan of Dotrice, but he did do a better job with the large cast. I've heard other books narrated by Lee and he always sounds like Yul Brynner.